Audra's The Surreal Life Page

"The Surreal Life" is a lot like MTV's "The Real World," meets VH1's "Where Are They Now?" Seven well-known people from various pop culture genres (movies, television, music) are filmed 24 hours a day as they live and interact in a 3-bedroom house in the Hollywood Hills together.

Corey Feldman

I must confess, were it not for the preview of my favorite Goonie and Bop! pin-up boy, Corey Feldman, I wouldn't even be watching "The Surreal Life." Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I still love Corey Feldman! "The Goonies," "Stand By Me," "The Lost Boys," "License To Drive," "Dream A Little Dream," "The Burbs"...to this day whenever I see one of these movies on TV I must sit and watch the whole thing. Happy as I am to see him now, I'm a litle sorry Corey is on "The Surreal Life." It's clear the show's message is, "Look how ridiculous these people are," and I feel almost protective of Corey because he is such a part of my preteen memories, if that makes sense.

Vince Neil

Motley Crue was the first hard rock I ever got into, so I consider them to be a part of my transition into teenager-hood in the 80s. Oh, don't act you never thought Motley Crue was cool!! In my opinion, Vince Neil was the king (or queen?) of 80s hair rockers. I mean, look at that first picture. Doesn't it make you want to break out into, "He's the one they call Dr. FEELGOOD!!"?

Emmanuel Lewis

The 80s nostalgia continues with Emmanuel Lewis, the actor who played Webster! Remember his house on the show with all the secret passageways? I wanted to live in it! If you're wondering what he's be up to lately, he has his degree in theater arts, and founded his own music label in 2000 called Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment.

MC Hammer

Oh my, what can I say about MC Hammer. He was the bane of my existence in 1990. See, my last name is Hammer, so it was just a constant barrage of "Hey, Hammer Time!" and "U Can't Touch This!" It kind of ticked me me off, because his last name is really Burrell. He had usurped my name and then exploited it! What could I do? I finally just gave in, embraced the comparison, and bought myself a couple pairs of those genie pants that he wore, with the crotch hanging down around the knee.

Gabrielle Carteris

I never watched "Bevery Hills 9021," but I know Gabrielle Carteris played a high school student on the series when she was about 30 years old in real life. Now she lives the domestic life as a wife and mother of two girls.

Brande Roderick

I had to consult IMDB for information on Brande Roderick, since I had not heard of her before. Apparently she appeared such classic films as "Club Wild Side 2" and "Stripper Wives" before becoming a Playboy Playmate, Miss April of 2000. After that, well, I have to let IMDB do the talking for me: "Beautiful and talented, Brande Roderick joins the internationally renowned hit series 'Baywatch Hawaii' in the starring role as lifeguard Leigh Dyer." Shame on me for not being familiar with the star of such an internationally renowned hit series!

Jerri Manthey

Once again, I never saw an episode of "Survivor" in the Austrlian Outback, where I've heard Jerri Manthey was rather "bitchy." I like her already because if the general public regards her a "bitchy," she's most likely an intelligent, assertive, aggressive, confident woman who is not afraid to show it. I'm looking forward to seeing how she handles herself on the show. Oh, and she also posed for Playboy.**

** Apparently Jerri Manthey was apparently a later addition to the cast as Robin Givens (Darlene on "Head of the Class," ex-wife of Mike Tyson) turned down the offer. Other women who declined to be on the show include Mindy Cohn (Natalie on "The Facts of Life") and Maureen McCormick (Marcia on "The Brady Bunch") It's a shame because I actually would have known any of those three. I wish I had more to say about the three women on the show, but the truth is I'm not really familiarwith any of them.

Episodes 1 and 2 "New Friends"
January 9, 2003

Favorite quote:
"I definitely don't eat sushi. And I definitely don't eat sushi off no naked woman." - Hammer

Episode Highlights:
The cast met and divided up the three bedrooms. Vince chose to be Corey's roomate in the blue bedroom. Hammer and Manny (Emmanuel) will share a bunkbed in the yellow bedroom (Manny insisted Hammer take the top bunk). Gabrielle, Brande, and Jerri will all stay in the red bedroom.

Some cast members talked about why they agreed to come on the show. Corey said he wants to change his image. Hammer wants to examine a different side of himself. Gabrielle is apprehensive, but her friends convinced her it would be funny. Brande wanted to hang out and get to know the cast members who she grew up watching. Brande expressed disappointment that Jerri was coming to the house instead of Robin Givens, as she had been previously told, because she did not know Jerri, and she felt Jerri didn't belong there. I sympathized with her because I felt the same what about Brande herself.

Corey was filled with angst at being away from his girlfriend, Suzie, and feeling left out in the grocery shopping because he doesn't eat "normal food." He told the gang that he is a vegetarian for moral reasons, and got very defensive about his views when Gabrielle commented that Corey's shoes were leather, which is an animal product. Gabrielle said she knows people who who are vegetarians only for health reasons, and Corey quickly retorted, "That's the wrong reason." Gabrielle commented that was a pretty judgemental statement, after which Corey argued and denied about 3 times that the words "wrong reason" ever escaped his lips. I don't know where the defensiveness came from. I'm sure the rest of the cast would have been accepting of Corey being a vegetarian. A lot of people are. Hammer commented that Corey was like an 18- or 19-year-old who wants it to be known they are doing their own thing. Actually, Corey is 31 years old, so was that maybe a backhanded insult by Hammer?

Each member of the cast had to answer one question, which they each drew out of the middle of their own fortune cookie. The answers must not have been that fascinating because I don't remember any of them except for Vince Neil's. It asked something like: what was a time when life hit you with a brick? He talked about his 4-year-old daughter, Skylar, who died of cancer seven years ago. This was obviously a pointed question and I felt awful for Vince that they did this to him on the first day, while the others got off pretty light with their questions.

The show prepared a sushi lunch for the cast, served on the mostly naked body of a woman, who was lying across the table. Vince Neil and the women all dug in and enjoyed it. Hammer and Manny turned around and left immediately, and Corey followed them. Manny explained that he is a "private person" and is uncomfortable with the naked woman on the table. Hammer agreed and added that he doesn't support the exploitation of the woman in that manner, and Corey commented that he couldn't eat the sushi anyway since he is a vegetarian, but also that his girlfriend would probably be uncomfortable with that eating situation. They return to the table to explain to the rest of the gang and Gabrielle says something like, "If you’re going to preach to the choir, you better be willing to sing." ...Huh??

At the end of the hour, Corey proposes to his girlfriend, Suzie, over the phone and asks her to come and get married on the show. Suzie accepts. The wedding will be on the 10th episode.

WB Quiz:

Which Surreal Celebrity Are You?

I am most like:

Vince Neil
How much? BARELY
Like Mötley Crüe's former leadman, Vince Neil, you, my friend, are the life of every party you attend. Full of energy and enthusiasm, you have a knack for entertaining yourself and those around you even in the most mundane circumstances. Despite your tendency to search out trouble, you always have a way of coming out on top.

Other "The Surreal Life" Pages:

Sir Links-a-lot.net: The Surreal Life