Back to New York

Coral, Mike and Lori are the first to arrive from the Staten Island Ferry. As they drag their bags across town, they wonder who will be their other roommates in the loft on Hudson Street and whether they are on Road Rules or The Real World. Coral and company enter the loft first, and are blown away that this amazing place is their home for the next five months. The other group-Malik, Nicole and Kevin-arrives shortly after and everyone explores the ""phat loft."" Rachel arrives soon after the rest of the group.

The mysterious seventh roommie finally makes her appearance. Everyone is stoked to see that it is Rachel. The roommates begin to get to know one another. It is quickly revealed to Kevin that Lori is now ""conveniently single."" The flirtation between them begins the first night as the roommates go out drinking together. Meanwhile, Mike gets his first lesson in being socially conscious as he inadvertently generalizes about the intelligence of African Americans. Malik keeps quiet, but Coral lets him have it. After being ignored for two days following the incident, Mike confronts Malik and Coral and makes peace. The sexual tension continues to mount between Kevin and Lori, but Kevin keeps backing off, stating that he ""knows they will hook up eventually, but it doesn't have to be now."" Lori feels somewhat rejected and begins to become insecure about the situation.

The tension between Mike and Coral continues when Mike is unaware that February is Black History Month. Coral is unwilling to give him any slack, and it is clear that the other roommates think she is being unreasonable. Malik, on the other hand, is really patient with Mike and offers to teach him about one black figure every day of the month. Nicole tries to overcome her insecurities and agrees to go on a date with a guy named Rene that she met at a club. Though she's physically attracted to him, she is turned off when he admits that he voted for George Bush. She decides not to see him again because of his conservative beliefs. When she returns home, Malik pours her a glass of orange juice, and she remarks, ""why am I going out when I got it at home?""

As the roommates explore the nightlife of NYC, Rachel's having a tough time being the youngest roommate and under 21. The female roommates convince Rachel that a little makeup, a tube top, and a fake ID are her tickets to a fun night out. Rachel isn't quite ready for a scamming guy who informs her that she is making him ""hard."" Will Rachel ever venture out again at night? On the hook-up front, Lori is falling even harder for Kevin, if that's possible. The situation gets even more complicated when Kevin kisses Lori in the heat of the moment on the dance floor. However, he quickly qualifies the kiss by telling her that although he finds her attractive, he doesn't want to be with her. Humiliated, Lori begins to notice that Kevin is not only snubbing her, but flirting more with the other female roommates. Will she get over this obsessive crush and find love in NYC?

Valentine's Day has arrived and the girls are not happy with their single status. Brace yourself for this one...Mike is in the doghouse again with Coral. It all starts when Mike refers to his visiting female friends as ""some freak panty-droppers."" The female roommates then snub the ""panty-droppers"" and make references to this nickname to their faces. This, of course, pisses Mike off. When he confronts Coral at a house meeting, she lets him have it. There is a little love in the air, however. Lori finds a new focus for her flirtation: a cute British bartender named Stevie B. Meanwhile, Kevin sends flowers to his girl Emily at home, and Mike enjoys a date and goodnight kiss from ""panty-dropper"" Becky. The female roommates decide to make a statement on V-Day by dressing in black and having a girls' night out. Mike is left alone to sulk. He decides to try and win back Coral's affections by surprising all of the girls with personalized flower vases and cards.

Mike still can't seem to find his place among the women of the house. They don't want to hang out with him and don't understand his sense of humor. This is quite a shock for him, because he is used to being the funny guy that everyone loves to be around. His only method of release is attending heavy metal concerts such as Linkin Park, which the other roommates refuse to attend. On a happier note, the roommates are stoked to find out that they'll be working for Arista Records. But the excitement fades for most of the roommates when they discover the job requires them to form a street marketing team focusing on rock bands. Mike, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. Just when he was feeling like the house outcast, he finds something that could possibly change his life. Of course, the first day on the job has to have some drama. Guess who Mike has to share a desk with for the next five months? You got it, Coral. She's more pissed off than we've ever seen her-first when she finds out s

You thought Mike and Coral's arguments were bad? You'll see the art of arguing taken to the next level between Malik and Nicole. Whatever sexual tension that existed between them when they first met has been destroyed by their inability to see eye to eye on numerous topics, all related to black culture and how they choose to live their lives. The bottom line is that Nicole accuses Malik of being hypocritical because he promotes black culture through his appearance, style and music, but is open-minded about dating outside of his race. Because Nicole feels very strongly about marrying inside her race, she struggles to understand Malik's openness and feels let down by his behavior. Malik gets crushed in any argument with Nicole on this topic, and when Kevin decides to stick up for Malik, Nicole lets him have it and tells him that he doesn't understand because he is ""not a black woman."" The fact that Malik discusses the situation with Kevin makes Nicole even more upset.

Lori seems to be the focus of the house these days because of her fondness for singing at the top of her lungs while her roommates try and go about their business. How annoying is it? Kevin describes her singing as ""a seal in labor."" Even easy-going Rachel can't deal and tells Lori, ""We love you...but please don't sing."" Lori feels put out, because she thinks that the roommates don't understand how important music and singing are in her life. Meanwhile at work, the roommates are broken up into two teams that are responsible for creating focus groups for Arista's new rock artists. Nicole, Rachel, Kevin and Malik don't take the assignment as seriously as they should. Their focus group members and the group's outcome end up being a complete joke. Mike, Coral and Lori's group is a success, mainly because of Mike and Lori's ability to find people who truly enjoy rock music.

So we start off this week with a familiar scene...Nicole and Coral yelling and giving one of their roommates a hard time. However, this time they aren't yelling at the boys, but at Rachel. It seems that Nicole and Coral were giving Rachel a hard time and she finally got to the end of her rope and starting crying. The general opinion in the house now is that Coral and Nicole are isolating themselves more and more each day from the rest of the roommates.

Just when the tension in the house has reached a record-high level, the roommates find out that they are jetting off to Morocco for a week-long vacation. The guys aren't overly thrilled about the trip because of their female travel companions, but they quickly change their minds when they arrive at the ultra-luxurious desert oasis where they will be staying. Things continue to get better. As the roommates lounge by the pool, a mysterious white van pulls up, and out jumps the six Road Rulers. Everyone is stoked to have some new friends to hang with for the week, particularly the guys. Well, everyone but Coral and Nicole. They couldn't care less about the Road Rulers as they continue snubbing everyone around them. Coral may have finally met her match. Adam isn't going to take her attitude for one second and throws it right back at her. During their first night at dinner, Coral snaps at Adam, ""I think you are the dumbest person I have ever met."" Adam replies,"

The roommates are back from their trip to Morocco with a new appreciation for New York and a new attitude towards each other. Mike has vowed to be himself at ""a level 10 rather than a level four."" Mike is also excited for a visit from his friend Sarah from Ohio. He describes their relationship as ""friends with privileges"" and notes that Ohio girls are much more fun than the girls he has met in New York. Fun, indeed--Mike gets the self-proclaimed honor of being the first in the house to ""get some ass."" The girls are shocked and disgusted to find out that Mike did the deed while Malik and Kevin were trying to sleep in the same bedroom. Coral even threatens to ""never have sex again"" if they keep discussing Mike's sex life. Meanwhile, Rachel's got a crush on a guy named Gabe who plays guitar in a band. She informs her female roommates that he kissed her ""after the Warped Tour last summer."" Everyone is a bit skeptical of this boy and Coral warns Rachel

Lori's band is not going as well as she had hoped. The practice sessions have not moved past jam sessions. They don't have any real songs or even lyrics. Lori tells Rachel that she is ""a recording artist"" and that she is shifting her focus in that direction. As luck would have it, Lori and her roommates get the opportunity to tour the Arista offices and meet the president of Arista and Arista recording artist Usher. They also get to sit in on a real recording session with a new Arista recording artist named Lennon, who happens to be a 19-year-old girl. Lori is excited as she watches Lennon record. The following day, Lori, Mike and Rachel decide to explore the Arista offices some more. They meet a music supervisor named Nicky, who shows them some of the music he is working on. Lori tells him that she is a singer and that she would love to give him a demo CD. Several days later, Nicky calls Lori into his office and admits that he was really surprised

The tension in the house is diminishing these days, except between Nicole and Malik. They still aren't speaking, although Malik hopes that they can all be friends someday. Most of the roommates seem to think that Nicole should just let it go. Meanwhile, Malik and Mike are expecting visits from their families. Mike is surprised to learn that his separated parents are coming to visit him ""together."" The roommates find that Mike's parents are different than they expected. Coral describes Mike's mom as ""a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader."" As Kevin joins them for dinner, Mike gets embarrassed by his dad's comments about black culture in Cleveland. It is obvious that Mike is experiencing a tremendous amount of growth during his stay in New York.

The girls are fed up with being single. During a ""Girl's Night In Virgin Margarita Party,"" they make a pact that they will each try and get a date by the end of next month. Lori decides to work on getting her date immediately. As a result of her daily walks to and from work, she discovers a cute doorman standing outside of Harry Winston's. She gets up the courage to approach him and they end up having a very flirtatious conversation. He invites her back later in the week for a tour of the store, and Lori thinks this one is in the bag. On tour day, Lori gets the full princess treatment, including the opportunity to try on expensive one-of-a kind jewels, one of which was worn by Madonna on her wedding day. After the tour, Lori asks out the cute doorman. He replies uncomfortably that he is busy. Then he adds, ""I am practically married."" Thoroughly embarrassed, Lori mumbles goodbye and heads towards Arista. So much for that!

The roommates are excited to find out that they get to compete in a window display contest as part of their job at Arista. They are split up into two teams. Rachel, Mike, Nicole, and Malik must build a display for Dido. Kevin, Coral, and Lori must create a display for Outkast. Each team gets to work with a BMG representative who will help them execute their ideas. Nicole comes up with an idea for her team and gets upset with Mike when he tries to give a suggestion. It is clear to the entire group that it is ""Nicole's way or no way."" Things get even worse after Nicole and Mike have a screaming match on the streets of New York, just because Mike took the van without telling Nicole. Nicole's attitude affects the team spirit and subsequently they lose to the Outkast team. Nicole tells Coral that she ""is glad that her team lost."" Everyone is pretty annoyed with Nicole at this point.

Believe it or not, there is still peace in the house. The tension and conflict seemed to have disappeared. Coral and Mike are hugging, Coral and Kevin are having serious talks, and the guys and girls are actually hanging out and enjoying it. Coral even admits that she has been going down the wrong path and intends to make a change. What happened? Meanwhile, Nicole is consumed by the fact that her dream boy, Bobby, will visit her in New York. The only problem with Bobby, Nicole says, ""is that he doesn't like me."" So Nicole devises a plan to ""get some"" from him. She will pretend that she's feeling saucy from the alcohol and will make a move on him, blaming it on the booze. The plan seems to be working at the beginning of their date, as they sip expensive champagne before heading out to a club. However, Nicole forgets that she is a ""lightweight.""

The boys have made a pact that they won't get involved with the girls in the house. They are going to treat them like sisters. Not surprisingly, this pact has helped improve the Lori-Kevin relationship. Lori's no longer enamored with him and Kevin has his eyes on Beth, a model he met at Nell's. Kevin and Beth connect almost immediately and quickly start dating seriously. Kevin likes her ""because we can finish each other's sentences. It's very rare when you have that with someone."" Unfortunately, it's the roomies' last month in NY and Kevin doesn't think it makes sense to get serious with someone when he's going to be leaving soon. While Kevin deals with the trials and tribulations of love, Lori is busy preparing for her final show with the Bostonians, her college a capella group. This final performance is so important to her that she's willing to get involved in a hum war with current arguing champion, Coral.

Rachel's youth is starting to show. She and Coral get in a tiff about house cleaning. Apparently they've set a schedule in the house for cleaning and Rachel's the only one that can't seem to follow it. She's used to her mom taking care of her, and it's tough getting used to being responsible for yourself. But it's even tougher when you're trying to figure out who you are while worrying about how your mom is going to react. When Mike challenges Rachel about her mom, Rachel shuts him down: ""We're not having this discussion."" Meanwhile, the whole RR gang is in town and the RW crew is excited to see them. Malik is especially psyched to see Jisela. There is always a lot of sexual tension when they both are in the room. Malik says, ""Jisela brings a lot of fun-loving spirit. A lot of energy."" And apparently that energy spreads to everyone else as Rachel finally joins in the fun when they all go out to the West End.

The Real Worlders are going to the Hamptons! As an added bonus, they're each allowed to bring someone from Casting Finals along. That's no problem for Malik, who'd been trying to get Jisela back for a visit anyway. Malik is in love with Jisela and he's letting it show. He tells Mike, ""We both really fell for each other really quickly. We both really love each other. That's just honest and true."" The other person in love in the house is Nicole. Her dream boy, Bobby, was supposed to visit at the same time as the trip, so she gets to invite him along. Lori tries to get Nicole to define the Nicole-Bobby relationship and she can't. This time, however, she doesn't have a secret plan to take advantage of him; she wants to lay it all out on the table and tell him how she feels. He's her best friend and she wants him to know how much she cares for him.

As we've already established, Nicole wants Bobby. But he's not sure if that's what he wants. As he says, he's ""not ready to be had."" The other girls don't see what Nicole sees in Bobby. She seems to be a different person with him. For someone so assertive and in control, she lets him boss her around. Coral thinks she's way too into Bobby and she worries that Nicole ""will make a fool out of herself."" While Nicole's foolishness is in question, there's no doubt that Jisela is acting a fool while she's in the Hamptons. Jisela brought her own video camera and spends large amounts of time making fun of the guys, especially Kevin and Malik. When Malik sees the video and shares it with the other roommates, Coral gets pissed. She doesn't appreciate Jisela talking about people when she's an invited guest. She lets Jisela know that Kevin, Malik and Mike are like brothers to her and that ""if [she] was making a joke, it wasn't funny...[she] needs to clear it up.""

It's the last week working at Arista and the gang has one huge final project. They are responsible for getting Arista's new rock band, Adema, added to the playlist at New York's world famous K-Rock. The gang is unprepared for the task ahead of them. When they get to K-Rock and make their pitch, they are bombarded with questions that they can't answer and seem totally underwhelmed by the whole situation. Malik notes, ""None of us are really feeling the music and it shows."" Surprise, surprise, K-Rock doesn't choose to add the song to their roster. While the group's musical career is coming to an end, Lori's is just beginning. Nicky, the Arista producer whom Lori met earlier in the season, wants her to come in and try singing on a track for him. She's nervous about the whole process and invites Mike, Coral and Nicole to come along with her.

It's the last few days in the house and everyone is reminiscing about the times they've had together. Coral and Mike have lunch together to discuss their tumultuous relationship. They reminisce about how they started off on the wrong foot, from Mike's comments about race to Coral's attacking him for the way he talks about his friends. From that difficult beginning, they've grown to trust and truly care about each other. When Coral opens up to Mike about her father leaving her when she was 9 because he had to do jail time, Mike realizes that ""this girl really trusts [him]."" Rachel, meanwhile, is delighting in making fun of Mike's alter ego, The Miz. She lets her friend Stubu wear Mike's toy belt and takes pictures of the kid and all his 40-pound glory. Mike responds by drenching Rachel in the shower and giving Stubu the Atomic Wedgie.

Can you believe it? The Real World, MTV's long-running series which deals with the lives, romances and turmoil of seven completely strangers from different ethnic backgrounds and religion, has reached its 10th season. The show remains popular as it opens viewers (and the cast members) minds up by discussing issues about sex, rascism, suicide, birth control, homosexuality and religion. This special episode brings back most of the show's cast members from past seasons whose lives have been affected by the show's realism. Among the 49 returning are Ruthie (Hawaii), Syrus (Boston), Heather B. (New York) and Melissa (New Orleans). Hosted by MTV's John Norris, we look back on the greatest Real World moments followed by interviews from the cast members and special guests who have found the show inspirational.