| The Real World: Hawaii | |
|---|---|
The cast of The Real World: Hawaii |
|
| Format | reality |
| Created by | Jonathan Murray Mary-Ellis Bunim |
| Starring | Amaya Brecher Colin Mortensen Justin Deabler Kaia Beck Matt Simon Ruthie Alcaide Tecumseh Holmes, III |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 23[1] |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | MTV Syndication |
| Original run | 1999 – 1999 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Real World: Seattle |
| Followed by | The Real World: New Orleans |
The Real World: Hawaii is the eighth 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. First airing in 1999, the cast lived in a modern beach house in Honolulu, Hawaii. This was the second of five seasons to be filmed outside of the continental United States (The Real World: London in 1995, The Real World: Paris in 2003, The Real World: Sydney in 2007, and The Real World: Cancun in 2009), the only season not named after a city, and the first season set in the United States to be filmed outside of the mainland United States. It is notable for the cast's concerns over castmate Ruthie Alcaide's excessive drinking, resulting in her leaving he house to enter an alcohol treatment program, which is cited as one of the series' memorable moments by Time magazine.[2]
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The cast resided in a 4,095-square-foot (380.4 m2), single story, three bedroom, four bathroom house at 3169 Diamond Head Road in Diamond Head, Hawaii. The property's two-story guest house housed the Control Room and production offices during the filming. At the time of the filming of the series, the Diamond Head House rented for $10,000.00 USD a month, and was listed for sale for $7,500,000 in 2006. By March 2008, both houses were torn down, and new building permits were issued in February 2008.[3]
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. The seven housemates worked at the Waikiki Location of Local Motion, a clothing and surf apparel store. They were responsible for booking in-store entertainment under a company they christened "7 Strangers Productions."
| Cast Member | Age | Hometown | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Mortensen | 19 | Thousand Oaks, California | Colin was a college student at UC Berkeley prior to filming the show. Originally, he was one of the people who just missed making the cast, and was chosen instead to host an hour long look at the casting process. In the last segment of the casting special, he met with the show's producers. There, they informed him that he was the final housemate, much to his surprise. Despite initially returning Amaya's affections, he eventually came to feel, along with Kaia and Matt, that Amaya was needy. He was also upset that she flirted with friends of his when they came to visit. Other cast members also disliked how Colin treated Amaya and how he talked to her. |
| Amaya Brecher | 21 | Oakland, California | Amaya is a woman who attends UCLA. She became attracted to Colin, with whom she had an on-off relationship. Amaya revealed that in the past she had an eating disorder and issues with her body, but insisted that this was no longer the case. Near the end of the season, the bulk of her roommates began to turn on her, citing her insecure nature and speaking ill of them outside of their presence. |
| Matt Simon[4] | 22 | Del Mar, California | Matt became close with Ruthie's twin sister, particularly during the discussions he, she and her other sister had over Ruthie's drinking problem. He wrote to her when the cast visited India. |
| Justin Deabler | 21 | Kingwood, Texas | Justin is an openly gay student at Harvard Law School and a self-described child prodigy. He does not develop a rapport with the others. He takes exception to Teck directly asking him if he's gay in the first episode, and is highly critical of almost all of his fellow housemates, the details of which he goes into during the group trip to India. He refers to Kaia as "ineffectual" and says that "Teck's schtick is so tired it's comatose." He tries to sabotage Amaya and Colin's relationship during the India vacation, but after the trip, he leaves the house, leaving partly due to his frustration with the other housemates, but citing as his primary reason a family emergency at home. |
| Margaret Emily "Kaia" Beck[5][6] | 22 | Chicago, Illinois | Kaia's adopted name, means "stability" in Swahili. She was comfortable walking around topless on-camera. She is a student at UC Berkeley, majoring in African-American studies. MTV.com describes her as "a strong woman in every sense of the word", "extremely conscious of her body, [as] she maintains a strict diet and exercise routine." She is also described as an excellent and outspoken debater who will challenge ideas she does not agree with.[5] |
| Ruthie Alcaide | 21 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Ruthie is a bisexual, adopted, Filipina college student at Rutgers University, and a triplet with a brother and sister, in addition to a second sister. She has a penchant for over drinking, which often results in her passing out at bars, and inappropriate behavior like giving a table dance for her boss' wife. During another binge at the house, she takes a drinking glass and throws it, shattering it. During the first episode, she loses consciousness, and her house mates call the paramedics. Her housemates, along with Ruthie's two sisters, explore the possibility of sending her to a rehab center, but cannot do so without her consent. After Ruthie drives home from a bar intoxicated, her housemates have a meeting with her and tell her she must go to rehab or be evicted from the house. Ruthie feels betrayed, but goes to rehab, eventually returning when her stint is completed. |
| Tecumseh "Teck" Holmes III | 23 | Peoria, Illinois | Teck is an outgoing African-American man. He and Ruthie strip naked as soon as they arrive at the house in the season premiere, and jump into the pool. |
Amaya went on to co-host Stargazing and Sign of the Times, two programs on Karma Air, with astrologer Cortney Litwin.[7][8]
Ruthie Alcaide went on to become a singer in a band, and a lecturer on college campuses about her experiences.[9] She has also appeared in alcohol awareness commercials on the Armed Forces Network (AFN).[10][11] Explaining her dislike of labels pertaining to her sexual orientation, she has stated that she does not like being called "straight", "gay" or "bisexual", saying, "Just call me Ruthie".[9]
Teck Holmes went on to pursue an acting career, appearing in films such as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, and on television series such as Friends[12] and NCIS.[13] He is currently hosting the Cartoon Network game show Hole in the Wall.[11][14]
| Cast Member | RW/RR Challenges | Challenges Won |
|---|---|---|
| Colin Mortensen | Battle of the Sexes | Battle of the Sexes |
| Amaya Brecher | Challenge 2000, Battle of the Sexes | None |
| Matt Simon | - | - |
| Justin Deabler | - | - |
| Margaret Emily "Kaia" Beck | - | - |
| Ruthie Alcaide | Battle of the Sexes, Battle of the Sexes 2, The Gauntlet 2, The Duel 2 | None |
| Tecumseh "Teck" Holmes III | Challenge 2000 | None |