Stuffing the Bravo Sausage Into Its Platinum CasingEvery season of “The Real Housewives” is shaved down from hundreds of hours of footage into anywhere from 13 to 25 hourlong episodes. Much of the series is stakes-setting — establishing the precarious perfection of the housewives’ lives — so each cast member need be truly interesting (i.e. lose her temper, faculties or inhibitions) just once or twice in a period of several months to ensure an entertaining season. Lighter footage — what Mr. Baiardi calls “tasking” scenes — is scored with less bass, sparser, high-pitched instrumentation, and physically smaller drums. Every few seconds, three quick string notes in a minor key abruptly cut in — VHHVHHVHH — and fell silent.

Source: New York Times October 20, 2018 10:00 UTC