MTV is following in its own footsteps this fall by introducing yet another reality show about someone tangentially related to the popular music of today. "Run's House" chronicles the domestic life of Joseph Simmons, aka Reverend Run, frontman of '80s rap group Run-DMC.
In the premiere episode, which aired last week, Simmons diffuses his quarrelling sons Russy and Diggy while planning a graduation party for daughter Angela. She and Simmons debate throughout the episode about the magnitude of the affair; she imagines a massive bash with a celebrity DJ and iPods as party favors, while he leans towards a gathering among a few friends more akin to a backyard barbeque. Though Simmons eventually wins out, he awards Angela a brand new Mercedes-Benz at the end of the festivities for being such a good sport.
One would expect MTV, the network that effectively invented the reality genre with "The Real World," to produce reality shows with a certain amount of polish. Think again. The network has hit a low with "Run's House;" stripping away the glossy veneer of well made-up "reality" stars and perfected camera angles, there is no worthwhile content remaining.
While other reality shows of late have made strides in presenting at least the appearance of authenticity (VH1's "Breaking Bonaduce" comes to mind), "Run's House" takes a big step in the opposite direction. Some scenes seem so meticulously scripted one can't help but wonder where the cue cards are hidden.
In this way, "Run's House" manages to capture the worst of two television genres. It is a sitcom without any comedy writers, and a reality show that details events unworthy of being filmed. This is "The Osbournes" without the dysfunctional family members and parade of obscenities. And while a preaching, loving patriarch may be successful at raising his family, watching him do so simply doesn't make for entertaining television.
The few actual humorous moments "Run's House" are buoyed, expectedly, by Simmons himself. Reacting to a suggestion to have his daughter's graduation party designed by Christopher Pierre, Simmons snaps, "Even that name sounds expensive!" Unfortunately, the comedic elements suffer from the same lack of authenticity as the rest of the show. Was that quip really delivered on the spot, or poured over for hours by a team of writers?
The biggest flaw of the show, however, is surprisingly hard to notice; hardly anything actually happens in the first episode. MTV does a great job of glossing over this fact by sewing together bits and pieces of footage so that the show is one continuous stream of family discussions and banter. However, at the end of the episode, the only thing accomplished is the debate leading up to and execution of Angela's graduation party. While in a more zany or outright offensive family this might entail a half-hour's worth of entertaining highs and lows, this one drones on about party favors and the size of the guest list. The most dramatic moment is when Angela breaks down while preparing for her party (her father won't agree to the $20,000 of celebratory fireworks she had wanted to arrange).
Yet it's not the number of digits in the Simmons family bank account that makes "Run's House" intolerable. Rather, it is the fact that aside from the flaunting of money, there appears to be nothing that goes on in this family that doesn't go on in any run-of-the-mill, relatively stable American family. To many viewers, the show will seem more blandly wholesome than their own upbringings. When a reality show is less engaging than reality itself, it's time to change the channel.
