"Jersey Shore" gives Italian Americans a run for their money

Jersey boys… move over. MTV has concocted yet another campy reality TV show, but this one is not a “Real World” or “The Hills.” This time it comes in the form of a raunchy, scandalous, trashy soap opera version of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” (even though those adjectives pretty much describe that show as well) called “Jersey Shore.”

Basically the show follows eight “guidos” and “guidettes” who rented a townhouse in a resort town called Seaside Heights for the summer. They pretty much fight, party, drink, have sex, drink more and yell at each other. But, hey, it is still entertaining to watch these eight make fools of themselves, not to mention there are some pretty hot guys to look at. So bring on the episodes…

This show is being described as a “self proclaimed” hit by MTV and MTV says that this is its first hit show since “The Hills” debuted three years ago. The last episode of “Jersey Shore,” which aired Thursday night, brought in 2 million viewers compared to its premiere night which brought in 1 million.

Next week’s episode is sure to bring in the punches, literally. The trailers for the next episode showed cast member Nicole “Snooki” Pollizzi getting decked in the face by a man at a bar. MTV decided to pull this footage from this week’s episode.

MTV states in a written statement:

"What happened to Snooki was a crime and obviously extremely disturbing. After hearing from our viewers, further consulting with experts on the issue of violence, and seeing how the video footage has been taken out of context not to show the severity of this act or resulting consequences, MTV has decided not to air Snooki being physically punched in the face.”

The incident will still be talked about in the course of the episode and the episode will end with a message from loveisrespect, which is the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. Dan Ferro, who was a Queens’s gym teacher, was the man who got in the alteration with “Snooki.” He arrested on the spot, found guilty of the assault, ordered to take an anger management class as well as pay a $500 fine.

MTV has claimed that they are taming this show down a bit; however, it may cause them to lose ratings. Many critics have called this show an “embarrassment” and a “train wreck.” Italian Americans are not happy as they say this show offends them. Being an Italian American myself, I find it purely entertaining and I believe that this show is one of the funniest shows on television. On a side note, it even brings in more drama than any of the CW shows combined. As long as it does not lose its touch, I will continue to watch it for sure.

Be Sure to check out "Jersey Shore" at 10 PM EST on MTV.

Check out earlier episodes here

For all things Entertainment, visit my Home Page.

Check out the West Palm Beach Teen Relationships Examiner