<P> At the time of its initial airing, reviews of the show were mostly negative . Matt Roush, writing in USA Today, characterized the show as "painfully bogus", and a cynical and exploitative new low in television, commenting, "Watching The Real World, which fails as documentary (too phony) and as entertainment (too dull), it's hard to tell who's using who more ." The Washington Post's Tom Shales commented, "Ah to be young, cute, and stupid, and to have too much free time...Such is the lot facing the wayward wastrels of The Real World, something new in excruciating torture from the busy minds at MTV ." Shales also remarked upon the cast members' creative career choices, saying, "You might want to think about getting a real job ." </P> <P> Nonetheless, the series was a hit with viewers, and the initial seasons have come to be reassessed . Writing in 2011, Meredith Blake of The A.V. Club found the cast to be "ambitious, articulate, and thoughtful". Though she conceded that nearly all of the cast were pursuing careers as performers, and thus had ulterior motives for appearing on the show, she found their motivations "relatively noble" compared to that of later participants in reality TV shows, many of whom wanted simply to become famous by appearing on TV . She wrote that later seasons of The Real World had become "too much to bear" after "cast members figured out that the best way to get screen time was to act out - not to sit around having freshman dorm - room - style conversations about race relations ." She wrote that, by contrast to more recent examples of reality TV, "The Real World: New York now seems incredibly, achingly earnest, bracingly raw, and sweetly idealistic ." </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Cast Member </Th> <Th> Age </Th> <Th> Hometown </Th> <Th> Biography </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Rebecca "Becky" Blasband </Td> <Td> 24 </Td> <Td> New Hope, Pennsylvania </Td> <Td> Becky is the daughter of a psychiatrist father and a German immigrant mother who runs an antique store in Philadelphia, to which her family moved when she was 13 . She attended NYU Film School, and worked as an actress with playwright David Mamet's theater company, but eventually returned to her first love, music, and has been working as a folk singer . She now finds herself at a crossroads, as she knows she wants to do lots of things in her life but is unsure about which direction to take . Described by MTV as "moody" (a label affirmed by Kevin and Becky herself), she is searching for a mature relationship, and in Episode 8, begins seeing Bill Richmond, one of the show's directors . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Andre Comeau </Td> <Td> 23 </Td> <Td> Detroit, Michigan </Td> <Td> Andre is a singer and guitarist in an indie rock band called Reigndance, with whom he has played with for three years, and with whom he moved to New York exactly one year prior to moving into the Real World loft in the season premiere . He says he grew up with music, as his mother, who had an album with Capitol Records, came from a musical family, a cross, Andre says, between The Manhattan Transfer and The Osmonds . Described by MTV as "the prototypical Gen - X guy", he and Reigndance make a video . He divides his time between Detroit and New Jersey . He rooms with Heather because both of them stay up late . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Heather B. Gardner </Td> <Td> 20 </Td> <Td> Jersey City, New Jersey </Td> <Td> Heather is a hip - hop artist with the group Boogie Down Productions, who is on the verge of getting her big career break . She's toured, and has been on The Arsenio Hall Show, but says that in going solo, she has to start all over again . During the season, she is seen recording her album, The System Sucks . According to MTV's biography for her: "She has a lot of drive and dedication to whatever she is doing . She makes friends quickly and always speaks her mind regardless of the consequences ." When discussing racial experiences in Episode 1, she says that after going to an entirely black high school, going to college with people of different ethnicities was a new experience for her . Because she says she stays up at nights, she rooms with Andre, who sleeps well into the day . She has a cat named Smokey who is sometimes shown in conflict with Norman's dog, Gouda . In Episode 2, she is seen recording for her album The System Sucks . She considers herself authentic, and thinks that Eric, by contrast, is too concerned over his image and what people think about him . In Episode 12, she and Eric have a discussion on her belief that he is insincere and expresses little of substance, and his complaint that she is unfeeling and dismissive, eventually coming to an understanding as friends . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Julie Gentry </Td> <Td> 19 </Td> <Td> Birmingham, Alabama </Td> <Td> Julie, a Southern girl, is an aspiring dancer, though her father wants her to study to be a computer expert, in case her dance career doesn't work out . The youngest of the cast, her time on the show represents her first time in New York . According to MTV, her "innocence, engaging personality and desire to learn about the world make her the darling of the loft ." She and Eric become especially close . She has not been successful in love, claiming that she could write a book on bad dates . Julie was cast to be a "fish out of water" whose first experiences in New York City could be the lens through which the viewers would be introduced to the series . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Norman Korpi </Td> <Td> 25 </Td> <Td> Wakefield, Michigan </Td> <Td> Norman, who is of Sicilian descent, left Michigan to find a career in painting, and formed a company with his partner called Gouda, which is named after Norman's dog . As the first openly LGBT Real World cast member, his sexuality becomes the focus of attention during the season, as when he has to deal with the issues that arise after he develops a serious relationship . MTV describes him as a free spirit who enjoys a good conversation, a joke, a story, or an anecdote at the drop of a hat, and who adds a lot of humor and heart to the show . Norman explains his bisexuality by saying that as a Pisces, he is always looking to be open - minded as to who to love . Julie finds his manner of revealing his sexuality in Episode 3 to be genuine and uncontroversial . Heather finds Norman to be authentic, as he does not care what others think, and says that he brings out the best in people, allowing them to feel a childlike sense of freedom . He is an avid Trekkie . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Eric Nies </Td> <Td> 20 </Td> <Td> Ocean Township, New Jersey </Td> <Td> Eric is a print and TV model who's been working for in New York for a year, having just recently begun doing commercials . His father, an NBA referee, wasn't always there for him growing up, and as a result, he had a troubled youth . He is on probation after being arrested approximately a year and a half ago for possession of steroids . He considers himself a very sensitive person, and doesn't like it when people take advantage of him . He is close to his sister, Kim, and his mother . Because he knows the importance of having strong role models, he volunteers to work with children in Episode 5 . He is described by MTV as a "charismatic" man whose good looks easily get him attention from women . He rooms with Kevin, with whom he discusses their different views on race in Episode 5 . In Episode 12, Heather and Eric have a discussion on her belief that he is insincere and expresses little of substance, and his complaint that she is unfeeling and dismissive, eventually coming to an understanding as friends . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Kevin Powell </Td> <Td> 26 </Td> <Td> Jersey City, New Jersey </Td> <Td> Kevin, the oldest member of the cast, is a poet, writer and educator . He says that his father, who never married his mother, "disowned" him when he was about eight or nine years old, and as a result of lacking a strong male role model, Kevin got into a lot of trouble as a teenager, which is why he now mentors a young man named Morris to help him fight negative influences from the streets, and also allows him to see that he has common ground with Eric . Having abandoned his initial thoughts of law school, he is now studying political science, and moved to New York in 1990 to pursue his writing, doing news articles and music reviews . He has a girlfriend named Kaseemi . He has strong beliefs regarding issues of race, and more than once gets into heated arguments with his housemates over these issues, and says the racist treatment he has suffered by the police, and the atrocities suffered by various peoples throughout American history give cause for his anger and bitterness, and his dismissal of the idea of the American melting pot . He concedes that he has his own prejudices moving into the loft, some of which were disproven, and some not . He sometimes finds it difficult to connect with his housemates, and after they play a prank on him, he leaves the loft, later saying after the prank's revelation that he considered moving out . He rooms with Eric, with whom he discusses their different views on race in Episode 5, and in Episode 11, has a heated argument with Julie, who says he threatened her with a candlestick holder . He denies this, and sees the reaction of the cast members who took her side as being influenced at least in part by race . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Cast Member </Th> <Th> Age </Th> <Th> Hometown </Th> <Th> Biography </Th> </Tr>

The cast of the real world season 1