NYC PREP
9 p.m., Bravo
To be honest with you, while watching the online preview for the new Bravo reality show “NYC Prep” — which follows the lives of a group of well-to-do teen-agers in New York City — I couldn’t tell if what I was feeling was revulsion or envy. Sure, there’s some envy there: who wouldn’t have wanted to have all the booze, smokes, money and sex they could handle back when they were 16? But that’s also where the revulsion comes in. Teen-agers — even rich, connected, grown-up-too-soon teen-agers — are notoriously stupid, even the smart ones. Given that, all I could think while watching the preview was: Where are these kids’ parents? And: How is this possibly legal? Every shot seemed to be of a 16-year-old with a drink in his hand, and I ain’t talking cherry Coke. Does Bravo have a Get Out of Jail Free card for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, or does New York City not prosecute that kind of thing anymore? Sex, say these kids, is as casual as a kiss, and drugs are plentiful. Expressions, probably not coincidentally, are vacant and jaded. Ever wonder how all those Master of the Universe types who crashed the stock market then skated off to Aruba in their Lear jets got to be such greedy, soulless d-bags? Tune in and find out.
—David Koon