The Real World: Philadelphia is the fifteenth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World , which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. The Philadelphia installment began filming in April 2004, and premiered September 7 later that year. This was the fourth season to be filmed in the northeastern United States, after The Real World: New York in 1992, The Real World: Boston in 1997 and The Real World: Back to New York in 2001.
Season changes
The Philadelphia season is the first with two openly gay men, Karamo Brown and William Hernandez, in the cast. (The first season to have two gay cast members, regardless of sex, was the 2002 Chicago season, although the 1999 Hawaii season featured a bisexual woman and a gay man.) This was the first season to feature an openly gay black male.
Police altercation
On November 29, 2005, two Philadelphia police officers were arrested for aggravated assault, simple assault, criminal conspiracy and reckless endangerment, due to an altercation they had with a plainclothes officer guarding the Real World house during filming the previous year. According to UPI and TMZ.com, Officers Patrick Cavalieri and David McAndrews were off-duty when they went to the house during filming of the program, and began banging on the door. Officer Brian Copeland, the plainclothes officer guarding the house, tried to stop them, and was allegedly assaulted by the two fellow policemen, who were suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, according to a department spokesman. Cavalieri, a five-year veteran of the force, was eventually fired. One of the charges against him dropped, but he was found not guilty of another, and reinstated in his job. He later sued the city and Copeland for violations of the his civil and constitutional rights, asking for a minimum of $50,000 in damages. Copeland alleged that Cavalieri and his "friends" severely beat him, causing severe eye damage. Cavalieri alleged that Copeland was not an officially licensed police officer at the time of the incident, that he did not identify himself as an officer before attacking him, and that he lied several times during the investigation regarding his version of the incident and the injuries he incurred.
Assignment
Almost every season of The Real World , beginning with its fifth season, has included the assignment of a season-long group job or task to the housemates, continued participation in which has been mandatory to remain part of the cast since the Back to New York season. The Philadelphia cast worked for the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena football team which is partly owned by Jon Bon Jovi. As part of their duties for the Soul, the cast planned and built a playground for underprivileged children as part of the Northern Home for Children program.
The residence
The cast lived in a building at 249-251 Arch Street at 3rd Street in Old City Philadelphia 39°57′08″N 75°08′43″W / 39.9522°N 75.1453°W / 39.9522; -75.1453 . The 14,494-square-foot (1,346.5 m 2 ), three-story building, which is adjacent to the Betsy Ross House, was built in 1902, and known as the Union Bank of Philadelphia Building until 1970, when it was sold to Seamen's Church Institute to house global seafarers. It was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in January 1977, and purchased in 2003 by Yaron Properties, Inc for $2.2 million USD. $3 million more went into renovating and furnishing the building for production of the series, which included 42 mounted cameras for filming. The interior was designed by Norm Dodge of Norm Dodge & Associates.
In March 2004, producers ceased construction after completing two thirds of the project, and announced they were leaving Philadelphia because of disputes with Philadelphia trade unions. Joey Carson, CEO of Bunim/Murray Productions, and Ted Kenney, a producer on The Real World , met in private over a two-week period with the trade unions. The meetings were brokered by Mayor John F. Street, Governor Ed Rendell, Congressman Bob Brady, and other civic leaders in order to keep the production in Philadelphia. The flap delayed renovations by several weeks. The interior decorations used for the series remained until as late as October 2004. The building is currently an art gallery for the Art Institute of Philadelphia's F.U.E.L. Collection.
Cast
Episodes
M.J. and Landon are the first to meet, and find they have things in common. They meet Shavonda. Sarah then meets Willie, and admits her nervousness about the experience to him, and they agree to look out for one another at the house. M.J., Landon and Shavonda arrive at the house first and tour it. They are joined by Willie and Sarah, who finds M.J. very attractive. Karamo and Melanie meet at the Philadelphia Art Museum, and arrive at the house last. Sarah says she likes to walk around nude, and after removing her bra, invites her roommates to inspect her breast implants, but Landon demurs. M.J. hasn’t associated with many gay people, but comes to respect Willie on the cast’s first night out. Shavonda is surprised when Karamo reveals that he is also gay, but keeps this from the others.
Continuing from the previous episode, the cast returns home. Sarah and M.J. talk and flirt all night. Willie suspects Karamo is gay, but Karamo doesn’t want to come out to everyone yet, fearing M.J. and Landon will turn on him when they find out. Landon and Shavonda express disbelief of the depth of M.J.’s two-month relationship back home with a woman named Ashley. Willie and the women go out the next night to a gay club, while the others to another club. Karamo reveals that he is gay, much to the surprise of Landon and M.J., who feels that Karamo defies gay stereotypes.
M.J. thinks Sarah is attractive, but isn’t certain what she wants from him. Shavonda and Landon are attracted to one another, but she laments that she is in a relationship, and on the phone, tells her boyfriend Shawn that she wants to see other people. M.J. is sympathetic, as he has a girlfriend too, but insists that he would break up with her if he felt he were about to be unfaithful. The two couples share beds, though Karamo disapproves. The next morning Sarah indicates she kissed M.J., but he says he doesn’t remember it. He breaks up with Ashley over the phone, and later flirts with women at a club. Sarah is furious when he asks her for the house number so he can give it to a blonde girl, but he later tells her at the house that their prior kiss was not the signal of a relationship, much to her hurt. Shavonda is not amused by Landon’s drunken antics, but he says in the confessional that he loves her.
Sarah is happy with the breast implants she got for graduation, but Melanie does not believe in plastic surgery. Sarah feels she is being intrusively judgmental. Sarah reveals she had an eating disorder since she was 17, and was bulimic just six months ago. Willie meets Daniel, an old friend, at a gay festival, and they realize a mutual attraction. M.J. and Landon aren’t completely comfortable having a number of gay men in their house all at once. Willie laments that while he now closer to his father, his mother still disapproves of his sexuality. He and Daniel later snuggle in bed. He wants to take things slow, but is excited at reconnecting with Daniel. When Melanie gossips to Landon and Karamo about the $140 Sarah spent on jeans, Sarah expresses hurt to her over this. Mel apologizes, and the two resolve the issue. Willie and Daniel make out in the shower before returning to bed, much to the others’ curiosity.
Karamo and Landon discuss their views on race, and experience conflict in the episode. After Shavonda’s father fails to send her some money he promised, her ex-stepmother offers help. Shavonda doesn’t have a great relationship with her father, and feels she can’t rely on him. M.J. respects Karamo but feels it is not reciprocated. Karamo admits to being “borderline racist”, and doesn’t typically have white friends. At a club, policemen surround Karamo on an anonymous tip that he had a gun. M.J. intervenes, and tries to calm Karamo, but Karamo gets angrier. He later says that this has occurred to him more than 20 times. M.J. feels he holding the incident against him, but when he offers a handshake and a truce, Karamo walks away to pray.
M.J. feels Karamo has rejected him as a friend, but Karamo was offended that M.J. thought he was overreacting, which Karamo sees as insensitivity. While out walking, passersby harass and throw objects at Landon and M.J., and someone at a bar throws a stool at M.J. Karamo later laughs it off as karma. The cast receives their job working for the Philadelphia Soul football team, and are excited at the prospect of meeting Jon Bon Jovi. They attend a game in a VIP suite. Willie is enthused that he’ll earn some money. M.J. is reminded of his own dashed NFL dreams. They get lost on the way home, and while driving through a questionable neighborhood, Karamo is amused at his roommate’s apprehe
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