You wouldn’t think a bunch of people living together in a cool house makes for great TV but apparently it does.

MTV was the first to start this trend when it introduced the “Real World” all those years ago, where as the intro of the show tells us, “seven strangers are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped, find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real!” How real can people be you ask while having cameras constantly following their every move, even into the washroom?

Well, the show keeps coming back so they certainly are doing something right.

After 16 seasons the show is still going strong having plunked na?ve country folk, the jaded city kid, snobby rich brat, the homophobe, the slut, the obligatory gay person and the bitchy girl no one likes (along with every other stereotype one can think of) together in ridiculously pimped-out houses all over the United States (one season was also in France).

This time, the joke’s on the “12 modern kids” who get duped into thinking they will be the 17th cast of the Real World. Oh the house is tricked-out alright, but not with glitzy pool tables and indoor balconies.

Instead, lava lamps, wall panels, and hideous shag carpeting adorn the groovy home. Puke orange and green didn’t go together then and they still don’t go together, why resurrect that?

Welcome to MTV’s “The 70s House” where cast members are forced to relive the era that brought us the rise of disco, bell bottoms and TV dinners (for that hip new contraption called a microwave!).

Cell phones, laptops, iPods and CDs are taken away and the cast is forced to live as if it were the 1970s. Britney and Coldplay are replaced with the BeeGees and ABBA, and forget that cordless phone and CD stereo, only old-school phones and record players are available.

The cast is even forced to dress the part, and are provided with funky (and hideous) clothes to complete the look. No use of modern “slang” is permitted, and anytime disco music is played in the house, the cast MUST dance the Hustle, no ifs ands or buts. Sleeping? Too bad! Get up and shake your groove thing foxy ladies!

OK, enough of that. I think it’s a fascinating idea for a show, but sadly, Canada is limited, as only satellite subscribers will be able to view it Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. If the thought of fondue and Pong makes you shudder than this show may not be for you. If you’ve seen it, be sure to email me and let me know what you think at amy.sharaf@andpop.com.

Until next week, cool cats!






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