Lisa's SUR Opening on The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Was Disturbing

This week's next to last, season 2 episode, of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was an odd one.

Real odd.

Very contrived. Almost like it was scripted.

I thought the episode would start off with the girls still in Hawaii obsessing over Kim. Instead the episode began on the mainland.

Mainly focused on the opening of Lisa's SUR restaurant add-on.

Did I make it up in a bad dream last night, or did I actually see on this episode that SUR stands for Sexy Upscale Restaurant?

Lisa's staged SUR opening had so many drama elements piled up it was ridiculous.

There was an ex-girl friend of Adrienne's husband Paul. Not much drama came of that.

Then there was a waitress who Brandi learned had an affair with her ex, Eddie Cibrian, while Brandi was in the hospital birthing a baby. When Lisa learned that one of her waitresses had done Brandi wrong, Lisa sent the waitress home for the night. Not much drama came of that either.

Brandi seems so level-headed and funny. Eddie Cibrian must be a moron.

And then there was Adrienne's personal chef, Bernie, who shows up and is greeted by Lisa who then tells an assistant she doesn't know who that was. And then speculates that it might be Adrienne's cook. Bernie does not like Lisa, always referring to her as that "British lady across the street." Bernie did not provide any drama.

And then there was the uninvited arrival of Cedric, the Houseguest from Hell. Finally some of the scripting delivers some drama. Several were shocked to see Cedric there. Lisa asked Cedric to leave. Cedric did not seem to understand why Lisa would want him to leave.

Methinks the Bravo producers told Cedric they'd give him a thousand bucks if he showed up to make for some drama.

And then there was Taylor.

Taylor Armstrong.

Which is not her real name. A weird looking Oklahoma con-woman who, I think, drove her husband, Russell. to suicide.

Taylor shows up at Lisa's opening of SUR with her extremely creepy, likely ethics violating, supposed therapist. The therapist is all simplistic smarm, which Taylor pretends is helping her.

Arriving at Lisa's SUR opening, a night which should have been all about Lisa and  her opening, Taylor insists all the housewives gather together so Taylor can once again ruin a party with her personal pity party.

All the housewives pretended to care, except for Kim who locked herself in what must have been SUR's only bathroom, because soon there was a line wanting to use the facilities. Kim's gay Bull Mastiff boy friend, Ken, tried to get Kim out of the bathroom, to no avail.

Finally, after what seemed a couple of hours Kim emerged from the bathroom, acting happy like a crazed loony bird. Because that is what she is.

The scene of Kim telling her sister Kyle about her litany of woes with the gay Bull Mastiff boyfriend, including being 3 months late with ovulating, well, it was just too much.

How can Kim still be ovulating? Kim appears to be at least 60. Is that not well past the period when periods arrive and well into the age of menopause?

I think Kim's gay Bull Mastiff boyfriend, Ken, is a saint to put up with that nutcase. Just watching Kim get ready to go to Lisa's SUR opening was bizarre. Hauling so much stuff to a one night stay in a hotel? And then throwing it all over the place, on the floor?

What drugs is Kim on and why does she have such a problem keeping track of her stash, I watched and wondered?

And another thing. Is California Child Protective Services looking into removing Taylor's daughter, Kennedy, from Taylor's care?

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Night of Beauty Where We Learn What Drugs Kim is Taking

Pre-Procedure Kim Richards

No, that is not Beverly Hills Housewife Kim Richard's face after sniffing some contraband substance into her nose.

What that white substance is is a perfectly legal ointment of the pre-surgical sort, administered by Adrienne's plastic surgeon doctor husband, Paul, at Paul's "Night of Beauty," where he tried to drum up some business for his practice by treating the Beverly Hills Housewives to some touch-ups.

Kim's sister Kyle opted for some laser octopus procedure in the hope it would vanquish her love handles and what she refers to as her "muffin top." I think "muffin top" means fat lower back.

I don't remember if Camille showed up for any work at Paul's "Night of Beauty." Camille seems perfect, to me, just the way she is. I know Brandi did not show up. Lisa did, but opted just to watch because she had to go to work and did not want to frighten her customers by looking all puffed up and burnt.

The most interesting part of Paul's "Night of Beauty" was the, what seemed to be a sort of staged, pre-op scene with Kim, in which Paul does a medical uptake with Kim to determine what meds she might be on that might conflict with whatever beauty meds Paul might have to administer to give Kim her "Night of Beauty."

Paul seemed to have a very good bedside manner, whilst talking to Kim. During this talk Kim revealed she is taking Topiramate, Trazadone and Lexapro. Paul then informed us that taking these meds can cause the patient to present the symptoms of a slurring, dizzy drunk.

So, now we finally had an explanation for Kim's slurring, dizzy drunk behavior.

Paul told Kim that these meds do not mix well with booze and asked Kim if she'd consumed any alcohol while on these meds. Kim claimed she has been booze free.

Topiramte (brand name Topamax) is an anti-convulsant (anti-epilepsy) drug. Have we been informed, previously that Kim is epileptic or prone to convulsions? Among the side effects to this med are memory problems, confusion and psychomotor slowing.

Trazadone and Lexapro are anti-depressants of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor class.

I've known a nutjob who took Lexapro along with a cocktail of other prescription meds. She was a way bigger mess than Kim.

Actually, Kim was seeming like the sane one of the group in the latest episode. Bailing on Kyle's silly "Psychic Party" in order to do something construction, like pack for a move.

When Kyle showed up at Kim's, near the end of the episode, with Kim finally telling Kyle she's been seeing someone, for a year, and was moving in with him, Kim seemed the rational, adult in the moment. While Kyle was the self-absorbed child, making it all about her. Why could Kyle simply not just be supportive and choose to believe this was a good thing, until, or if, shown otherwise?

Kyle's weird need to have Kim closer, at the same time Kyle's behaviors seem to be rather alienating, is very strange to watch. And where is big sister Kathy? The mother of niece Paris Hilton? Doesn't Kathy live in Beverly Hills? Does Kathy, with very good reason, have very little to do with Kyle? And Kim?

Changing the subject to that contrived seance at Kyle's house. Methinks in Beverly Hills it would be very easy to run a seance con job operation. It seems as if it would not be very difficult to get little nuggets of info on these women, which,  they, apparently, are easily conned into believing you are divining the info from beyond the grave.

Changing the subject from Kyle's seance to Camille Grammer. Ex-husband Kelsey trying to get sole custody of Camille's kids is such a bad boy behavior. I know Kelsey has millions of fans. But, there are several million watching Camille on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills amusingly, and somewhat vindictively, giving Kelsey a well-deserved bitch slap.

Courtesy of Camille we now know Kelsey was not very blessed in the lovemaker department, has interesting choices in outerwear and sometimes likes to go both directions on a swing.

And then there is Taylor. What a piece of work. I'm glad Paul was able to do some more beauty work on her. I wish he'd enlarged Taylor's lips a bit more. Taylor and deceased husband, Russell, thinking Lisa is the source of tabloid gossip about them is so pathetic. Taylor whining that Lisa is telling people she has no friends is also so pathetic.

And next week's preview, that showed the housewives confronting Taylor about Taylor telling the girls that Russell beats her, looks to be epic.

I watch too many CSI type TV shows. Which has long had me wondering if there is an ongoing investigation into Russell's apparent suicide? It seems way more likely, to me, that Taylor would be the one who might administer a beating, than Russell, who never has evidenced the slightest semblance of a temper, on screen. Something that can not be said of Taylor, who seems to have a very short fuse.

I am being a bit surprised at how much of the Taylor/Russell story is being shown. I somehow thought it was going to be mostly edited out.

Beverly Hills Friends of the Housewives Dana Wilkey & Brandi Glanville

When she first appeared on RHOBH I did not realize Dana Wilkey was an addition to the cast. Brandi Glanville I knew had been added to the cast, but I thought she was added as a fully empowered Housewife. But, on the Bravo TV Real Housewives of Beverly Hills website, Dana & Brandi are simply "Friends of the Housewives."

I liked Brandi right from the start of seeing her. Which quickly had me wondering what was Eddie Cibrian thinking when he cheated on Brandi, the mother of his kids, with LeeAnn Rimes, then leaving Brandi, divorcing and marrying Rimes?

Now, if Eddie Cibrian had had the misfortune to have somehow found himself maritally bound to Dana Wilkey, I would fully understand doing all the cheating he wanted to, let alone leaving her for LeeAnn Rimes.

This Dana Wilkey person is a puzzlement. Supposedly she is a successful party and event planner. She was the planner behind that bizarre $60K birthday party that the now deceased Russell Armstrong and his wife, Taylor, could not afford.

Last week, and the week before, we saw a bizarre Dana game party she threw for the girls in her mansion somewhere in the hills. Dana's mansion does not look lived in. Dana dresses like she shops the bargain bin at Goodwill. And then brags about her sunglasses costing $25K.

Dana's conversations with the Housewives often have a very strained feel of desperation about them. Trying to get the girls to go on a vacation together. Acting like she's been bonded with them forever. I've known a person like this in my past. It's kind of creepy.

But not as creepy as Paris Hilton's aunts, Kim and Kyle Richards. Kim has really shown herself to be a whacked out nutjob, so far, on season 2 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The main things I got out of the most recent episode of RHOBH is how ridiculously big the houses these people live in are. Adrienne's spa day for the girls. In a spa she has in her house. With enough food to feed a couple homeless shelters, was bizarre.

But not as bizarre as seeing how lost Adrienne was in her own kitchen when Lisa came over to show Adrienne how to cook a chicken. I suspect if Adrienne had not been born into a fortune, earning a fortune on her own likely would not have happened. And she probably would have learned how to cook a chicken decades ago.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills High in the Rockies with Chocolate Chip Cookies & Taylor Armstrong's Giant Lips

Two episodes in to the 2nd season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills I can say I am being way more entertained by these housewives than the majority of that bunch from New York City.

Speaking of RHONY, the latest buzz on the Interwebs, regarding those NY broads, is that Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon, Cindy Barshop and Alex McCord have all gotten the boot. I say very good riddance to the shrill harpy Jill, the mentally warped Kelly, the dour sourpuss Cindy, but why Alex? That is very perplexing. I like Alex.

Back to Beverly Hills. After all the angst in the media regarding how Bravo was going to handle the death of Russell Armstrong, with possibilities ranging from canceling the show, postponing it, re-editing it, or just airing it as planned, I thought the end result was very thoughtful. Air the show as scheduled, with a 10 minute opening where the Housewives and husbands, sans Taylor, show up at Adrienne Maloof's to commiserate about the tragedy. And then on to the show.

The first appearance of the now grieving Taylor was weird, breathlessly running into some store to tell Kyle she'd run into Lisa's former permanent houseguest and con man, Cedric.

Taylor turned drama queen at a dinner party at the Maloof's due to a remark by Lisa's husband Ken regarding his opinion about therapy.

I don't think we yet know the whole story and truth regarding Taylor Armstrong and her relationship with her now dead husband, Russell. But, I really feel very little sympathy for that annoying swollen lipped woman.

On episode 2 the housewives fly to Colorado, invited by Camille, to her home in Beaver Creek. Landing in Denver the housewives are mortified to learn that, due to a closure on I-70, they would be taking a 4 hour limo ride to their destination in the Rockies.

Kim Richards seems to have turned into an almost non-stop chatterbox. 4 hours with that in a limo would wear on my last nerve.

I could not help but wonder why the girls did not fly directly to Beaver Creek. If Beaver Creek has no airport, surely nearby Vail or Aspen does. Methinks the 4 hour limo incarceration was used for drama potential.

Camille's house in the mountains was quite nice. Camille is being very likable in semi-bitter divorcee mode.

The only other thing that sticks in my memory, besides the hot platter of chocolate chip cookies delivered to those spoiled ladies when they reached the bottom of the ski slope, was the outdoor spa scene with Kyle and the hyper-annoying Taylor Armstrong.

Kyle & Taylor in a Hot Spa
Surrounded by Snow

Taylor was in woe is me mode. Kyle was trying to get Taylor to tell her one single specific fact of what was behind the woe. The dialogue went something like this...

Taylor: I just have so much resentment.
Kyle: What’s the resentment about?
Taylor: It’s just been a long time.
Kyle: What’s been a long time?
Taylor: I'm tired.
Kyle: What are you tired of?
Taylor: It’s been a lot of years.
Kyle: Why not go?
Taylor: I want so badly to make it work.
Kyle: Why stay?
Taylor: I'm scared.

If I were Kyle I think I would have told Taylor I was not interested in listening to her whining if she was unable to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her.

Of course, now that we know some of the sordid details behind Taylor's closed doors we know she's probably resentful about being broke, about her husband's abusiveness, her husband's twisted sexual proclivities and just the stress of living the life of a con artist.

Unlike The Real Housewives of New York City, there are really none of the Beverly Hills Housewives who I think are so disgusting, or uninteresting, that I think they should be booted.

I'd willingly open my door (or TV screen) to any of the Beverly Hills' ladies. I'd slam my door in the face of Jill Zarin or Cindy Barshop. I might let Kelly Bensimon in just to be amused by her loopy nonsense, for a very short while. And then I'd ask her to leave.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Ends On a Low Note With Kyle Screaming & Kim in Tears

Well, the first season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is now history.

Almost.

We still have the two part Reunion to "fight" through.

I found watching these housewives both amusing and annoying.

As in some of them are very annoying housewives. And in a different way of being annoying than annoying housewives on some of the other Bravo Real Housewives franchises.

I think it was the extreme shallowness of so much of some of these BH Housewives lives that annoyed me. To live such privileged existences and then to spend your time on such petty personal bickering is a sad sad thing.

Of the BH Housewives I liked Lisa VanderPump and Adrienne Maloof the best. With Adrienne seeming, by far, to be the most grounded and normal of the group.

My opinion of Lisa slightly altered in the final episode. Why is it that that strange upset in New York City can not just be forgotten? It really was a big brouhaha about nothing. Why did Lisa feel she needed to get to the bottom of it? To get the "truth" out of Taylor. Why did it matter so much to Lisa? To the point that Lisa had deduced that it was Taylor who had triggered Camille into the outburst in New York that so dominated the weeks that followed.

It was Lisa who caused Taylor to confront Kim at Taylor's birthday party ahout what was really said about Camille during some airport or airplane conversation. It all seems so trivial and inconsequential it is hard to remember what these Housewives are all twisted up about.

So, at Taylor's birthday party, Kim is a bit drunk. Does not take well to Taylor confronting her. Soon it escalates, til all the Housewives are putting on a Shouting Show for the party guests, to the amusement and befuddlement of their husbands.

Again, it seemed Adrienne was the only adult in the group.

Kim left, somehow ended up in a limo with that creepy Brit guy who Lisa keeps trying to hook her up with. Then Adrienne gets in the limo to conduct a therapy session. And then Kyle gets in the limo and soon the interior of the limo exploded into Kyle F-bombing Kim and eventually dropping the shocking, shocking, I tell you, revelation that Kim is an alcoholic.

Which apparently is true, due to the fact that soon after this incident Kim Richards spent a week in alcoholic treatment rehab type center.

I really don't get how these Housewives can be so fabulously wealthy, living in such fabulous homes, driving such fabulous cars, or being chauffeured in fabulous limousines to fabulous parties and other fabulous events and yet somehow can not simply enjoy their fabulous lives and instead wallow around like low-class, un-educated, trashy miscreants with bad manners.

For the most part.

And another thing, I was late to the Beverly Hills Housewives, finally starting to watch about 8 episodes ago when one of The Real Housewives of Camano Island, Carlotta Del Rio, told me I was missing some good stuff. Including this character named Camille.

At that point in time I did not realize Camille was the wife of Kelsey Grammer. And I had trouble understanding the high level of contempt Camille was held in by viewers. Eventually I sort of got it. But then, by the end, I sort of actually like Camille. It is Kyle who seems a villain to me, more than Camille.

But, really, all these Housewives should learn it is a wise thing to listen to what Adrienne is saying.

And one more thing, regarding Kim Richards. On the Watch What Happens Live episode which followed the RHOBH finale, Adrienne and Taylor were Andy's guests. At some point someone asked if anyone knew what Kim's source of income was. No one knew, with Adrienne properly opining it was no one's business.

Which had me a bit curious about Kim Richards. From the Wikipedia article about Kim I was surprised to learn how extensive Kim's TV and movie career has been. Much more extensive than sister Kyle.

I also learned from whence Kim's children came. She's been married twice. First to G. Monty Brinson, having one daughter, Brooke, from that assignation. Then in 1991 Kim was engaged to a commodities salesman named John J. Collett who was murdered by a hit man. Kim then married someone named Gregory Davis, with whom she had Whitney and Chad. Both marriages ended in divorce. At some point in time Kim had another daughter, Kimberly, courtesy of ex boyfriend John Jackson.

I was unable to learn at what point in time Kim took to the bottle to help soothe her many sorrows.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Raise the Tax Rate of the Upper Bracket

When Bravo's Real Housewives of New Jersey came on to my TV screen, I avoided them. I did not want to get hooked on any more of the Bravo Housewives. Atlanta and New York City were enough. And I've never been able to watch much of the OC Housewives due to the fact that the one named Vicki Gunvalson bugs me bad. Watching that Vicki girl discomforts me.

So, when the D.C. Housewives came along, I did not look at a single second of them. Same with the Beverly Hills Housewives.

Well.

Carlotta Del Rio, she being one of The Real Housewives of Camano Island, informed me that The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was being highly entertaining. And that the Beverly Hills had one particularly despicable Housewife in the form of Kelsey Grammer's (now ex) wife Camille. Who has managed, even before the Beverly Hills Housewives have finished their first season, to become the most reviled Housewife in Bravo Housewife History.

So, I saw my AT & T U-Verse On Demand had the latest 4 episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills available for viewing. And so I viewed them.

Not knowing anything about these Housewives, except that one was married to Frasier, I found them instantly very entertaining.

And zipping all over Beverly Hills highly interesting.

Watching so much conspicuous consumption made me conclude the Bush tax cuts for the upper bracket need to go, and the upper bracket needs to be taxed more.

I had to go to the Bravo Real Housewives of Beverly Hills website to find out how these women managed to live these bizarrely privileged lifestyles.

Taylor Armstrong married a skeezy looking venture capitalist named Russell. This explains how she can afford massive amounts of collagen injections, or whatever it is that causes gigantic swollen lips.

Lisa VanderPump is a Brit. What a name. VanderPump. I like Lisa. She seems to have come by her money by working hard and being creative, opening a lot of bars in Europe and restaurants in America. She has a live-in houseboy named Cedric. And a cute little dog named Gigolo she sleeps with.

The Richards sisters, Kim and Kyle, were child actors, both appearing in the Disney movie, Return to Witch Mountain. I'm pretty sure that's the name of the movie. Both have reproduced multiple times. Kyle is married, while Kim is not a wife. And it really does not appear that she actually lives in Beverly Hills. Both are aunts to Paris Hilton, because Paris' mother, Kathy, is the sister of Kyle and Kim.

Adrienne Maloof is like Lisa. Normal. And she seems to have come by her money the honest way. By earning it. Her family owns the Sacramento Kings, the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, a film, television and music producing business and the world's biggest skateboard competition. Adrienne does a lot of charity work. And she has really pedestrian tastes. I saw her spread Peter Pan Peanut Butter on white bread. Yuck.

And then there is Camille. What is wrong with Frasier, I mean, Kelsey Grammer, that he picks such awful women to mate with? This one makes Lilith look like a catch. I have not seen all of what has made the viewers despise Camille. But, today I saw a part of an episode I have not watched. Camille was planning a trip to Hawaii. Basically she had all this help to make the trip work, including a couple nannies. Camille acted as if planning this trip was extremely hard work. Very taxing for her. But she basically did nothing except ask questions, like if the pool would be heated. what cars will be there to drive, that type stuff.

Anyway, new episode of RHOBH tonight. I have my DVR set to record it.

I don't know when The Real Housewives of Camano Island starts up. I wonder if Carlotta Del Rio will be the Camille of that series?