Jersey Shore ... First Up

Jersey Shore ... who would have thought? I didn't watch it regularly last season, but I did catch a few episodes. Here's how I understand this show. Four girls (Snooki, Jenni, Sammi and Angelina) and four guys (Mike, Pauly D., Vinny and Ronnie) were picked by MTV to live (and work) in a house in Seaside Heights on the Jersey Shore while cameras followed them around. Angelina left the house mid-season because either she didn't want to work at the tshirt shop or wanted to be with her married boyfriend. Not sure which. The show, surprisingly, was a huge hit for MTV. Teenagers and twenty-somethings loved to watch this group of twenty-somethings get drunk and make complete jerks of themselves. They get in fights for no reason. Say the dumbest things. "I'm not trashy. Unless I'm drunk." And, there was a love story. Gotta have that. Sammi and Ronnie fell in love, and it lasted all of two months at the Jersey shore.

Now, the show is back, but this time they are in Miami. (I'm having a hard time understanding Jersey Shore in Miami but whatever ...) They again have jobs. This time at a gelato shop. However, once again the point of the show is to watch them go to clubs, make a mess of the house, argue with each other, argue with other people, use profanity, get in the hot tub, watch them all dance and the guys avoid the grenades (ugly girls). The show has launched a whole new set of terms that I'm having to learn.

Does this show have any redeeming value to society at all? No. Are there any lessons to be learned from this show? No. Is there a point to this show? No. Would you want your daughter to date Pauly D or Mike or Vinny? No. Would you would want your son to bring Snooki or Jenni home? Absolutely not. Would you want your daughter or son or dog anywhere near Ronnie? No.

Why do people watch it? To get a laugh. My daughter says it's because she doesn't really know anyone like these people. They are cartoon characters. They are a freak show. Having said that that ... they are not evil. They are just stupid.

OK, the first three episodes have basically focused on the fact that Angelina's baaaaack (and nobody likes her and nobody wants to be her friend and she's annoying as hell), and that Ronnie is playing Sammi for a fool. He's getting drunk and sloppy with every girl in sight at the clubs while Sammi waits patiently in bed (seriously, does the girl ever get up?) at the house. He looks like a pig, and she looks pathetic. You know this ain't gonna end well.

Mike actually is coming off as the nice guy ... actually seeming to feel a little sorry for Angelina because the girls have dismissed her until episode 3. Snooki hasn't found her moment yet. They were the break-out stars last season, so we'll see what happens. Jenni is scary but a little boring so far .... This season, Angelina and Ronnie are playing the fools, and the shows have been focused on them with both of them getting so drunk they can't remember the nights before ... Ronnie can't seem to remember his grenade-chasing and Angelina can't remember her assault on Pauly D. She says she can't anyway.

Favorite Moment So Far (episode 3/Creepin): When Pauly D, Mike and Vinny left Angelina behind at the house when she turned her back for one moment. They really didn't want her to go with them when they went to the club.

Most Cringe-Worthy Moment (episode 3/Creepin): When Mike referred to the girl that Pauly D. was cozying up to in the hot tub as a "hyena" and the rest of the girls they had brought to the house as being from the "Bronx Zoo." Ouch.

Favorite Quote (episode 1/Goin South): Comes from Snooki. "I don't go tanning anymore because Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning. I feel like he did it intentionally for us like McCain would never put a tax on tanning because he is pale and probably would wanna be tanned." Take that Obama, she knows who you are.

The OMG Really? Moment (all episodes all the time): Jenni and her "girls" as she calls them. Where did she buy those things? And, she should get her money back. It's not a good look for her or anyone else. They don't look or act real. Where's her mother or her boyfriend or just an honest production crew member when she needs one?

More on Jersey Shore next week. This was a "catch up" post. Tomorrow Hoarders from TLC ...