Real Housewives of the Ghetto

OK. I admit it. I absolutely love watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. It's almost like a sketch you'd see on Dave Chappelle's show. Housewives reminds me of the Chappelle sketch about slavery reparations. I'm guessing that's why the Atlanta version of the Housewives franchise has been the most popular. We've all seen noveau riche white trash, which makes the Orange County and New York shows just retreads.

Not since the Jeffersons have we seen African-American women moving on up in a television show. The Jeffersons had class without ever seeming pretentious or like fish out of water. They got out of the ghetto through hard work, and never pretended to be something other than what they were. Well, George did now and then, but the joke was always on him. By contrast, the women featured in Real Housewives of Atlanta climbed out of the ghetto on the backs of their husbands and are totally preoccupied with hiding who they really are...or used to be.

Lisa is hand's down the most likeable woman on the show. Smart, beautiful, energetic, industrious and until the reunion show, the peacemaker. On the reunion show she was ready to kick Kim's ass, which only boosted her appeal in my book. She's the most real to me, and the most comfortable with who she is. She has apparently reinvented herself after a failed marriage, two children (now with the daddy) and a bankruptcy.

DeShawn has got a lot of things going on, with nothing really happening with any of her endeavors. Her foundation and real estate business appear to be more concept than reality. Though she is not the brightest bulb in the Housewives chandelier, she's at least smart enough to know that it's better to let people think you're stupid than to open your mouth and prove it. By the reunion show she had distanced herself (literally and figuratively) so much from the other housewives that she hardly appeared on camera. She just sat on the sofa as far away from the other women as she could get without saying a word.

Kim is like a Nashville streetwalker, with money. A New York Post article does offer some evidence that Kim is, in fact, only 30 years old (29 when the series was taped). As they say back in Kentucky, that girl done been rode hard and put up wet. Quite a few times if you ask me. According to the Post article, she was boinking a police sergeant at the tender age of 16 or 17. Lucky for her it wasn't Drew Peterson. What is it about cops and under-aged women? If you can believe what you read on the Internet, Kim used to call herself Barbie when she dressed up as a nurse and stripped at the Cheetah Club in Atlanta. I'd be willing to bet that's where she met Nene and Sheree.

At the tender age of 19, the Post article says Sheree was busted--twice--for theft. They also report that her attempts to steal a fortune from her exhusband have apparently been thwarted. Once a thief, always a thief. I guess she'll focus on stealing ideas for her new line of clothing now.

And that leaves us with NeNe. I have to admit that I like NeNe. She's a riot. If you search the Internet you'll find rumors that she isn't all she's cracked up to be. She was allegedly evicted from their big fancy house--a rental--and now resides in a condo in a zip code much farther down the economic ladder. On the reunion show, I thought she was going to kick Kim's ass, but Lisa held her back.

The good news is that they're already working on a second season. Given the "we'll never be friends again" feelings of most of the costars, next season promises to be even better than the first. Who knows, maybe Lisa or NeNe will finally get what they've wanted for a while--the chance to kick Kim's ass. I hope so. I want to know what she looks like without that big polyester wig.