This new reality show on We just aired its second episode yesterday and it is centered on the lives of the Braxton sisters, their individual journeys as well as the one they take as a family. Unquestionably the most recognizable of the family is Toni, whose recent financial struggles and divorce have landed her in the news; this show is documenting as she reinvents herself and starts a new chapter in her career. Her four sisters, three of whom are her backup sisters, also have their place in the show. The one that stands out the most of the four others to me would be the youngest, Tamar, who is without doubt an attention hog. More about that later. I believe Traci is next in line after Toni; Traci was one of Toni's backup singers but left the industry entirely to be a wife and a mother. Towanda is one of the backup singers and as of the last episode, was getting ready to give her husband separation papers. Trina is another of the backup singers who also is part of another cover band and as of the last episode, was confronted about her recent behavioral shift and increased drinking. Then there's the baby, Tamar, who is the other backup singer and if I remember correctly had a little stint as a solo artist herself. She's married to Toni's manager, which as I'm sure you're aware causes some strife as Tamar strives to once again establish herself as a solo artist instead of just being known as one of Toni's backups; however it looks like her husband is still doing his job as Toni's manager and doesn't look too open to the idea at the moment.
The first episode was more of an introductory episode, introducing us to the sisters and where they're at in their lives; the latest episode focused on Trina, in reference to her recent DWI arrest, behavioral shift and increased drinking. Trina is shown as 'enjoyin the drank' anyway, but according to her family the usage has increased in recent weeks, which boils down to her unhappiness in her marriage, where I believe mutual infidelities were committed. Earlier in the week Tamar spoke with Trina's husband, where she came to the conclusion that Trina's husband was definitely a contributor to her sister's behavioral shift, which prompted them to call the family's therapist for help. Because of her sudden anger at her sisters when they went to visit her at her other band practice under the idea that she was the lead singer and they walked in when she was doing backup so they confronted her about it, her sisters thought it would be best to schedule an intervention of sorts. Like most who are cornered into an intervention, Trina was upset and felt her sisters were sticking their noses where it didn't belong and at first seemed to be very closed off by the questions posed by her sisters and therapist, but it came out later that she was dealing with alot of pent up anger and frustration because of the events unfolding in her life at the time. There was a little focus on Towanda, who is also going through marital problems with her husband, who from the little bit I saw appeared to be a dick who doesn't listen to a word she says, seemingly perfectly content with her being the breadwinner and having her needs neglected for his own. The last bit about her showed her telling Toni she was going to give him separation papers, hopefully to show him that she can and will leave, encouraging him to change his ways. There was a little bit about Mommy Braxton's blackberry dumplings and how she was making for a cook-off, which apparently nobody liked but her; I found that a little funny. They didn't want to hurt her feelings, but they all hated them. The next episode previewed Toni talking about how everything was a segue into the Tamar show, and then it cut into a clip with the 5 at dinner and Tamar was talking about her sisters' husbands and basically how none of them were any good, which seemed to be upsetting all of her sisters.
I gotta admit, I'm not too fond of Tamar. She seems too loud, too over the top, and quite negative when it comes to others' ventures because she's so focused on her own and what she wants. I want to like her, I really do because she's pretty funny too, but she has to grow on me, I guess. Toni seems pretty much the way I pictured her, calm and more peaceable, a softspoken person. Granted, alot of attention has been on her other sisters, but from what I have seen, she's likeable. Trina seems confused, like she's in a fog about what to do in her life. Towanda seems calmer, a bit more fun-loving but grounded, although she seems to be battling a little of her own confusion as to what she should do. Traci by far seems the calmest, probably because she's not in the industry with her siblings and doesn't have as much stress as they do. In short, they're a likeable bunch, entertaining and completely individuals, but centered on their family at the same time. It's a good thing to see in the wake of so much unhappiness in families and divorce. Hearing that they have their own family therapist brought a raised brow from me, mainly because I'd never heard of that before, so that showed me that some growing had to be done to get to that point, but because she's still on call it shows that they're committed to being a better and closer-knit family. It's a refreshing thing to see nowadays, when most troubled families or families with individuals battling their own demons prefer to sweep the issues off the rug or go on in dysfunctional bliss, either because they don't want to deal with the issues under the rug or are afraid to confront them all. This family looks like they're open to dealing with them in order to stay together and I like that. If we weren't a gubment family, I'd suggest we get a family therapist too. lol
I like the show. It's entertaining, focuses on more than just one person, and allows us to see a little more of what really goes on, what I mean by that is that its not The Hills type of reality, its just reality. I've heard that We is no stranger to making things worse than they seem because they do it with Bridezillas, but they get viewers and show what happened to lead up to these previews and allow us to discern these situations for ourselves. If a drama-filled preview is what gets viewers to watch, then that's their tactic I guess. It works, so I can't hate entirely. This show is filled with drama, but its normal family drama from having so many personalities and lives functioning in such close vicinity all the time. If you like family shows, the Braxtons or hell even just one of the sisters, I say continue watching. If you're not fond of attention hogs, the sometimes misleading previews or overbearing relatives or if it reminds you of your own family and you're looking for an escape, Braxton Family Values probably isn't for you.
Bitchy Grade: (out of 5 bitchy stars) 3 stars= just bitchy enough
Btw, here's the Bitchy Grading System for new tv show reviews:
1= baby bitch
2= close, but no bitch
3= just bitchy enough
4= a lil too bitchy
5=total bitchfest!
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