As the new guinea pigs head to their digs in the city, each one has individual anxieties over what to expect. For the outspoken Coral, it is wondering if she will be living with her casting special arch nemesis, the "pretty, pretty princess" Ellen. For Lori there is anticipation over knowing whether sparks will continue to fly with her flirt partner in crime, Kevin. And for Rachel, the wide-eyed youngest member of the cast, there is a much-welcomed nervousness about the entire experience.

We see Coral, Lori and Mike meet while on the other side of town Nicole, Malik and Kevin get together. Each trio takes their beeper driven journey through the cold streets of New York City. At this point, not only do the chosen cast members not know who they will be living with, but they also still don't know which show they are on. Once arriving at the house, the now six members realize that they are indeed on Real World. All of them are in awe of the house, but it is the inner city Nicole who is particularly shocked convinced that she was going to be on Road Rules. Once Rachel manages to make her way through the Big Apple, the final seven are complete. For most of them, it's a sigh of relief quickly followed by a "what now?" feeling of excitement.

Nearly seconds after all the house members are present and accounted for stereotypical sound bites start to fly. This lets the viewer know what kind of season they are in store for. Rachel, at 18, is quickly dubbed the innocent virgin having never experienced a lot in life, mostly due to her age and her overprotective mother. Mike is the male version of Rachel in innocence, but instead his comes off as plain ol' ignorance. Just like on the casting special, there is little insight thus far into what make Malik and especially Nicole tick. Lori is instantly smitten with Kevin and both are surprised to see that neither are attached as they enter into a sexually charged roommate situation. And while every cast has their queen bee, this one seems to be no exception with the confident and cool Coral seemingly sitting above all the happenings at the Real World mansion.

Half of the episode features the cast members walking around the city taking in the sights and looking like tourists. The rest of the time is spent with the roomies acclimating themselves to the new setup as well as each other. Early on, Mike makes his first of what I guess is many to come, ignorant comments about African Americans. As if that wasn't bad enough, he says this to two of the show's African American roommates. For the soft-spoken Malik he tries to keep his hurt in perspective. With the temperamental Coral however, it is obvious that Mike has opened a can of worms of the "don't go there" variety. Poor uneducated Mike instantly gets burned at the stake for his dumb ass comment, but perhaps the worst part is that he waits forever to begrudgingly apologize. Now really, how dumb can one boy be? One season watching Mike and we just might know.

Meanwhile sexual tension permeates the house. Lori pines for Kevin while Kevin keeps Lori at bay. My bet is these two will indeed hookup, but as far as being a full fledged Real World couple I have my doubts. Mike, who has adopted a frat boy mentality on women, quickly zeroes in on Rachel because she's cute in a different way, and of course scores double points because she's innocent. Nicole and Malik share a connection that carries over from the casting special as well. I wish I could say more about that, but at this point there's nothing more to say.

So with one episode down and a zillion more to go, I have a few thoughts for consideration. Malik- is it Maa-leek or Maa-lick? Also, does anyone else think he looks and sometimes sounds like Prince only with an Afro? Lori- how long before the Catherine Zeta Jones comparisons start kicking in? And finally a scary thought, cast member Rachel was only eight years old when the first Real World New York aired.

While it is still too early to say, I don't feel that there is the same camaraderie potential present in this new house. I'm sure all of them will get along and fight just like every other season, but I have a hard time envisioning life long friendships with this bunch. I suppose only time will tell how Real World 10 stacks up against its nine reality dosed predecessors.

Janet Branagan is a freelance writer and pop culture addict from New Jersey.

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