Fun
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Nostalgic
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Choked Up
Curious
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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: December 16, 2010
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, “The Dinner Party From Hell” (Season 1, Episode 9). [Watch it on Hulu.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Each version of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise has experienced its signature moment. The one that defined the series and made people pay attention. The New Jersey table flip. “Scary Island” with the New York women. Sheree’s “Who gon’ check me, boo?” in Atlanta. The Beverly Hills cast got their signature moment only nine episodes into their run, though the star at the center turned out to not be any of the housewives themselves.
The main conflict in season 1 was between Kyle Richard and Camille Grammer, over … honestly, I don’t even know. Personalities clashed, they both fancied themselves the stars of the show, whatever it was. So when Camille threw a dinner party for all the ladies, they each brought backup. Kyle brought her good friend Faye Resnick, veteran of the O.J. Simpson media circus and soon to be portrayed by Connie Britton in American Crime Story. Camille brought her pal Allison Dubois, celebrated medium and the person whom Patricia Arquette played in the NBC series Medium. Like any great chamber piece, the fractures established themselves quietly, before cracking wide open in spectacular fashion.
In any other episode, Camille calling out Faye for her Playboy spread and then describing her to the cameras as “the morally corrupt Faye Resnick” would be enough for the highlight reel. But then Allison got good and drunk, whipped out her e-cigarette, and began needling at the ladies, teasing her psychic abilities and basically daring the ladies to ask her for a reading, all while claiming to be “off the clock.” Like a chain-smoking version of Kristen Wiig’s “don’t make me sing” SNL character, only with malicious intent.
Once Alison set her sights on Kyle, it was all over. I can’t say whether Allison is a real psychic; but she certainly knew that hitting Kyle in her marriage insecurities was the right offensive maneuver. “He will never emotionally fulfill you,” Allison said to Kyle about her husband. “Know that.” That’s not even the meanest thing that gets said! That’s probably whatever she meant by telling Faye to leave by saying “You’ve got two legs … last time we checked.”
After the fracas is broken up, it’s funny to watch the aftermath. Both Team Camille and Team Kyle surmising that the other ones were mean girls in high school. Or how about when Camille says that if she weren’t around, “the other girls” (cut to Lisa, Adrienne, and Kyle) would start to devour one another. Which basically IS what happened once Camille left after season two.
[You can watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills‘ “The Dinner Party from Hell” on Hulu.]
Related:
Decider Classics: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, “The Dinner Party From Hell”
