Made in Chelsea is the British equivalent of Laguna Beach or The Hills.  It features the idle rich, including the heirs to some very prominent British brands (it would be like have the Hershey and Oreo heirs flitting around New York, sleeping with each other and acting inane) (I would probably watch that show…)

Anyway.  The much-anticipated third series of the show returned this week.  If you watched the trailer (above), you already know that the advert featured the entire cast at a wild party in Marie Antionette-style couture.  When we left off at the Christmas special, Caggie and Spencer appeared to have finally gotten together. We learn in the first moments of the season that, not only has that fizzled in the face of Caggie’s extended Australian holiday, she’s actually tattooed another man’s initial on her arm.  Even Hugo thinks its brutal.

Speaking of Hugo, he spends the entire episode talking about how phenomenally changed he is by Natalie, the generic and plastic looking girl he’s been dating (for what? three weeks?) and how he understands domesticity now.  When not speaking rhapsodically about the boring girl he’s dating, he’s feeling sorry for his single friends – whom, he muses, aren’t yet capable of his mature commitment.

Poor Spencer – one of the more likable members of the cast – spends the entire episode getting shat on.  First he discovers that Caggie’s indifferent (although apparently she made no effort to contact him while in Australia, which should have been his first clue).  Then, we learn that Hugo’s more or less abandoned him to hang out with his vacuous new squeeze.  On the bright side, Spencer is tanned, coiffed as ever, and looks great in a bomber jacket.

Proudlock, another of my favorite characters, takes Jaime to church with him.  This is clearly just a pretense for introducing Kimberley, another vacuous blonde (albeit a more likable one than Hugo’s girlfriend).  She is immediately hit on by…everyone.

But the real question is, did it meet expectations? It wasn’t exactly compelling, but I’m not giving up quite yet.  I expect Ollie and Cheska to have some major freak out at each other at some point; Hugo and Ladyfriend are clearly doomed, which could be entertaining; Spencer might meet someone who isn’t psychopathic and manipulative (I’m rooting for you, buddy. Maybe revisit Louise?).  And one can assume that there will be ostentatious displays of wealth all around, lots of Mark Francis saying “Dahling!“, and probably a curveball or two along the way.

On the whole, the show was pretty boring, but with just enough crazy that I’m going to hang in there and see what happens.