'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this summer due to the off-screen tragedy of Russell Armstrong's suicide.
As Bravo execs hastily re-edited the trailers and footage for the upcoming Season 2 to (perhaps) cast Russell in a less unfavorable light, his mother blasted them for not delaying last night's planned Season 2 premiere.
Despite the media furor, Bravo Media president Frances Berwick said last week that, "given that these episodes were filmed months ago," the premiere would air as planned, albeit with a new pre-taped interview with some cast members discussing the tragedy.
So what did happen on last night's premiere?
Bravo stood by its promise to air suicide prevention PSAs during 'Real Housewives' and the episode got off to a somber start with the pre-taped interview.
Taylor was noticeably absent and, although sympathy for Russell wasn't exactly abundant, the housewives agreed that perhaps they'd been so busy supporting Taylor that they hadn't noticed how bad things had gotten for him.
Just days before his death, Russell had said in an interview that "This show has literally pushed us to the limit."
However, even the dead don't get a free pass with these 'Housewives,' and Lisa Vanderpump confessed that "I had too much information to want to connect with him." Adrienne Maloof agreed, saying that: "The things we were told about their marriage was heartbreaking."
Kyle Richards offered the opinion that Russell was a victim of status-obsessed Beverly Hills. "That's all he ever wanted to be -- be successful ... when it all went down the tubes it was too much pressure."
Bravo editors then used her gift of the gab to segue into the re-edited episode: "As difficult as that is, life goes on ... it has to."
Although last night's premiere had been edited in light of recent events, critic Tom Gliatto of 'People' says it was not much different from a version he watched earlier this summer.
"The changes weren't drastic. Gone from the hour ... was a segment that had Taylor and friends in a sexy lingerie shop, discussing her relationship with Russell and saying she hoped to re-spark some intimacy between them."
He adds that "Also snipped were some thoughtless comments by Lisa and her husband Ken about what they thought was Taylor's ability to manufacture emotions."
No footage was shown of Russell, but there was a lot of talk about the Armstrongs' marital difficulties, and we saw a fragile Taylor breaking down during a dinner party attended by all the 'Housewives' at Adrienne's house.
She tearfully left the table when Ken took it upon himself to offer his opinions on marital therapy, culminating in his declaration that he'd feel "weak" if he had to resort to it. Insensitive? Undoubtedly, even before Russell's death, but did Bravo really need to emphasize it by airing his comments twice?
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