Russian Dolls Show on Lifetime TV

[Boethius]

I think your description is a little harsh, Gator.  Plus, none of them are Russian.

Drama and outrageous personality is what sells.  It's all manufactured.  I never watch reality television, nor do my kids.

[Daveman]

I think your description is a little harsh, Gator.  Plus, none of them are Russian.

Drama and outrageous personality is what sells.  It's all manufactured. I never watch reality television, nor do my kids.

I don't either.  It's annoying.  The only reality TV show I ever got into was "Lost in Space" which followed the exploits, trials, and tribulations of a family (and cohorts) on a weekly basis.

[Muzh]

Danger, Will Robinson! We are approaching a dark nebula.

[Gator]

I think your description is a little harsh, Gator.

 
Probably, but the shallowness, egotism, and disrespect shown in the edited snippets turned me off.
 

Plus, none of them are Russian.

That was my earlier point. 

Drama and outrageous personality is what sells.  It's all manufactured. 

Not so much manufactured as edited.  Perhaps if we saw the vast sequences cut in the editing room, our impressions of their personalities would differ. 
 
If someone filmed me for a week,  the vast material would show that I am one the most generous, warm, and intelligent beings in the world.  Nevertheless, us gators are cold blooded and I am sure the editor could find some scattered moments that could be sequenced to contradict my otherwise charming ways.  For example, I enjoy dining on cats that come to the lake for a drink of water. 

[OlgaH]

Olga ! Totally agree with you. Russian people do not talk to each other in english , it is all staged and badly acted.Thank you for this little episode, did not watch it till the end though:)) I think it is like the same show they used to have Jerseylicious or something about italian community, the same scenario ,-the same stuff different title, only Russian dolls are even more trashy, unfortunately, it is just a shame !Though I suppose they can not be called Russians fully, they are  more of an American products, I think, I might be wrong!

Jazzyclassy,
I think they are products of their own 

Plus, none of them are Russian.

 

Oh, a short scene with borsch was just ridiculous

Drama and outrageous personality is what sells.  It's all manufactured.  I never watch reality television, nor do my kids.

Yes, Boethius, I agree it's all manufactured that even can not be called a reality show. It's like a cheap soap opera with bad actors casting. Everybody already knows the questions and answers, what to say and how to say, you can see it with the naked eye. 

[Jazzyclassy]

Jazzyclassy,
I think they are products of their own 

  

Agree of course!

[possum]

I can't say that I'm thrilled with Anastasia's decision to switch majors again and go to law school.. Who's going to pay off those loans? Her mother is getting old and may not be around much longer. That is so irresponsible of her.. At least Anna's got her little modelling school.

[possum]

Speaking of Anna.. I thought she was being such a biatch when she told Eddie he had no money. Obviously, he's done quite well for himself. He's hanging out with a bunch of hotties at all these expensive places, probably paying for everyone.. and she has the gall to accuse him of being a bum! Anastasia was right for not going to her stupid fashion show.

[Ade]

Speaking of Anna.. I thought she was being such a biatch when she told Eddie he had no money. Obviously, he's done quite well for himself. He's hanging out with a bunch of hotties at all these expensive places, probably paying for everyone.. and she has the gall to accuse him of being a bum! Anastasia was right for not going to her stupid fashion show.

Dude, spoilers!

[possum]

It sucks that Anastasia looks bad now because of her failure to attend "the big event" while Eddie looks like the bigger person for showing up.. He betrayed Anastasia's confidence! If he hadn't sent that text to Anna, she would never have known they'd been dissing her behind her back.. I'm just so furious I have no respect for Eddie at this point..

[Lily]

Looks like you can watch some here:

http://tv-flix.com/russian-dolls-php/

they ask you to fill out one from surveys. I picked up the IQ test, it is quicker

[Ade]

Oh my giddy aunt. Seriously ужас

And what's with Anna's "we moved here from the Ukraine"?

And who talks to their mother like that Anastasia?

These are just silly spoiled Americans refusing to grow out of their teens and pretending to be Russians.

[Jumper]

like i stated earlier, this phenomenon has been reported on countless times in various news reports and  magazines..
 
while the reality series is just your typical scripted for TV garbage, spun off of the theme..
it's more than rumor or TV,  that many high end NYC society partys or very high end clubs, have long been noted for their attendence by a whole sub group and sub culture of young extreemly  mercenary women of mostly russian decent.
I forget the monikor given them,(i think its *the Natashas* - like the Turks give prostitutes there) but its been around for  a decade and a running joke in those circles if a NYC male socialite gets entangled or ensnared by one.
 
 
an article on the more worldwide phenom, buit it specifically talks about NYC
 
http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/24/russia-bond-girls-oped-cx_mk_1125kaylan.html
 
"When I asked them if they felt ashamed, they would first wax defiant, as in "Why? Your women have been chasing rich men for centuries--you call it capitalism. So this is capitalism. We are new to it, that's all." But the most perceptive admitted that they felt ashamed ... about everything--and ultimately, about nothing."
 

[Nat]

And what's with Anna's "we moved here from the Ukraine"?

They moved when she was 3, so that time it really used to be the Ukraine

These are just silly spoiled Americans refusing to grow out of their teens and pretending to be Russians.

I have the same feeling. Renata's age women are still Russians (also very spoilt ones, I'd say  ), but the younger ones are pure Americans  It seems to me that Diana and Ana even speak without any accent, is that so?

Anyway, all of them are not Russians in the first place, because they all immigrated on the wave of Jewish immigration and are Jews.

[Ade]

They moved when she was 3, so that time it really used to be the Ukraine

Ah. But do you think she really was making the distinction?

I have the same feeling. Renata's age women are still Russians (also very spoilt ones, I'd say  ), but the younger ones are pure Americans  It seems to me that Diana and Ana even speak without any accent, is that so?

Renata was cool; we were amazed at how calm and placid she was given everything including her husband.

And yes, a lot of these younger women don't sound Russian to me.

Anyway, all of them are not Russians in the first place, because they all immigrated on the wave of Jewish immigration and are Jews.

Aren't Jews from Russia considered Russian?

[Nat]

Ah. But do you think she really was making the distinction?

I don't think so. She's probably heard her parents calling the country like that since she was a child, so she calls it the same way. There was a discussion of this matter on RWD once - Ukraine used to be a republic, and republics usually go with "the", so it's not a big deal really

Renata was cool; we were amazed at how calm and placid she was given everything including her husband.

Yep, Renata is nice, even too nice But I just don't remember the names of her bitchy friends 

Aren't Jews from Russia considered Russian?

Well, I think no, not by Russians, anyway. But that's a very delicate and a complicated issue. During the decades of soviet regime Jews were discriminated, so they did their best to seem Russians - and this is a habit which can't be given up easily, because their well-being depended on it. So they are used to calling themselves Russians, but in fact their lifestyle is usually a bit different from Russian one. Do you remember the proverb at the beginning of the first episode? In Russian it's a proverb about Jewish mothers 

[possum]

Aren't Jews from Russia considered Russian?

Only by Americans.. In Russia you are whatever ethnicity you are. For example, no one thinks of Azeris or Chechens as Russians, even though they live in Russia and may have even been born in Russia. Russia is not a "melting pot" like the US, it's a place where people of 140+ ethnicities live peacefully side by side pretty much without mixing..

[Jazzyclassy]

Only by Americans.. In Russia you are whatever ethnicity you are. For example, no one thinks of Azeris or Chechens as Russians, even though they live in Russia and may have even been born in Russia. Russia is not a "melting pot" like the US, it's a place where people of 140+ ethnicities live peacefully side by side pretty much without mixing..

I agree!

[ML]

There is some confusion here regarding the concepts of nationality versus religion.

As I understand it, Jewish refers to a religion, not a nationality.

So saying that Jewish people living in Russia are not Russians would be akin to saying that Catholic (or put something  else here) people living in Russia are not Russians; yes?  For sake of discussion; lets assume that all persons we discuss in this regard were born and raised in Russia.

I would agree that Jewish people living in Russia may have different outlooks than Orthodox people living in Russia; but they are all Russians.

[possum]

There is some confusion here regarding the concepts of nationality versus religion.

As I understand it, Jewish refers to a religion, not a nationality.

So saying that Jewish people living in Russia are not Russians would be akin to saying that Catholic (or put something  else here) people living in Russia are not Russians; yes?  For sake of discussion; lets assume that all persons we discuss in this regard were born and raised in Russia.

I would agree that Jewish people living in Russia may have different outlooks than Orthodox people living in Russia; but they are all Russians.

I think where a lot of Americans get confused is that they think of people living in a country as belonging to that country, or rather as citizens of that country.. and that's all they are, everything else is secondary. After all, that's the American way, isn't it? People come to America, become citizens, and they are considered Americans.. Just like that. America is all about, well, America.. It's all about "country first". Russia, on the other hand, is all about ethnicity, culture and religion.

ETA: try to think of Russia not as a country, but as a gathering of people, and it'll all become clear to you.

[Jazzyclassy]

I think where a lot of Americans get confused is that they think of people living in a country as belonging to that country, or rather as citizens of that country.. and that's all they are, everything else is secondary. After all, that's the American way, isn't it? People come to America, become citizens, and they are considered Americans.. Just like that. America is all about, well, America.. It's all about "country first". Russia, on the other hand, is all about ethnicity, culture and religion.

ETA: try to think of Russia not as a country, but as a gathering of people, and it'll all become clear to you.

I second that:)  Russia is totally about ethnicity , religion and culture and I do not think it is racist at all.It always surprises me that in the UK as well ,some people who had Indian parents, born in India and had Indian up bringing call themselves English , just because they were born in the UK, but their surrounding was almost purely Indian as they socialize with Indian community.Yet they might possess some  purely English features though they are  mostly Indian, nothing wrong with that, just they can not be called British.And they act like the Indian people would do,not like the British ones.

[Jazzyclassy]

In this show people are Jewish and I just do not get it,why they called it Russian dolls?)

[possum]

I second that:)  Russia is totally about ethnicity , religion and culture and I do not think it is racist at all.It always surprises me that in the UK as well ,some people who had Indian parents, born in India and had Indian up bringing call themselves English , just because they were born in the UK, but their surrounding was almost purely Indian as they socialize with Indian community.Yet they might possess some  purely English features though they are  mostly Indian, nothing wrong with that, just they can not be called British.And they act like the Indian people would do,not like the British ones.

Yes, a lot of Americans have this view of Russia as this racist backward country, but that's total bs.. They see a report on Fox News about some dark skinned fella getting beat up on by a bunch of shaved morons in Moscow and automatically assume that's how the entire Russian population is.. when the truth of the matter is Russia is a very ethnically diverse country with hundreds of years of recorded history of 140+ nationalities living together relatively peacefully.

[Jazzyclassy]

Yes, a lot of Americans have this view of Russia as this racist backward country, but that's total bs.. They see a report on Fox News about some dark skinned fella getting beat up on by a bunch of shaved morons in Moscow and automatically assume that's how the entire Russian population is.. when the truth of the matter is Russia is a very ethnically diverse country with hundreds of years of recorded history of 140+ nationalities living together relatively peacefully.

True, absolutely

[possum]

One other thing is, countries like England and the US have been around in their present form FOREVER compared to Russia, Ukraine or the Balkans, for instance.. Go try to convince a Serb living in Kosovo that he/she is actaully a Kosovar and see how far you get..