«I BELIEVE IN TELEVISION. IT'S GOING TO TAKE OVER FROM THE MOVIES»

Jersey Shore is based on the durable formula of MTV's archetypal reality show, The Real World: several young, preferably maladjusted people are put up in a house and filmed incessantly as they waste each other's time, and ours. The genius of the Jersey Shore update is to do away with The Real World's halfhearted nods to diversity and focus unapologetically on a narrow slice of humanity meant to yield maximum vulgarity and slapstick. The featured "subculture" - as MTV generously calls it - comprises a carefully toned, extravagantly gelled, and carcinogenically tanned bunch recreating in the distinctly unscenic Shore town of Seaside Heights. Besides intoxication and unplanned parenthood, the cast seems constantly on the verge of violence. One member, "Snooki," has taken a blow to the face on camera - twice. Snooki is small and female, by the way, and not the only housemate known by an enigmatic nickname; others include "J-WOWW" and "The Situation."

Philadelphia Inquirer
Jan 12 2009