‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ reunion: Teresa gets attacked; we learn nothing

In watching the first part of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion special Sunday night, we really wish that it served a little bit more of a purpose than it actually did. Yes, there was all sorts of juicy stuff discussed in between talk about families being “ruined,” insults flung at Caroline Manzo by Teresa Giudice, and allegations that our most famous star of the Bravo series was trying to make Jacqueline Laurita’s son having autism all about her.

At the end of the day, though, this special really showed what was the biggest flaw in Bravo’s strategy to film their seasons so long before they actually aired: there was no element of surprise to it. Even though this reunion was taped early this month, the majority of the topics have all been played out for months now. We first heard about the allegations that Melissa Gorga may have been an exotic dancer almost a full year ago via the tabloids, and Jacqueline released the autism story on her own earlier this summer. Really, in many ways this reunion felt a little bit like a regurgitation-fest, with each woman taking their turn talking about things we already know.

In addition to the reunion being so far removed from the actual season, the other issue that we saw within here was simply that these ladies may be a little bit too famous even for their own good. Even if the likes of Teresa and Melissa filmed this season a week ago, a good chunk of it would still be leaked thanks to everyone knowing who they are. The spoilers have become so rampant due to the extreme level of fame (plus the greed of the tabloids to make money) that this show would almost be better off at this point with live feeds a la “Big Brother.” It’s still fun to watch, but it’s akin to tuning in to “The Bachelor” after someone has already spoiled the winner. There’s only so much entertainment you can get without the surprise.

Do you enjoy these reunion shows as much as you used to?