The Real World: San Francisco

The Real World: San Francisco was the third season of MTV's popular reality television series The Real World, which focuses on seven diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships.

The third installment of the series, which first aired in June 1994, featured the housemates living in a house at 953 Lombard Street in San Francisco, California, from February 12 to June 19, 1994. The Real World: San Francisco is perhaps the most noteworthy season of the series, and definitely one of the most socially relevant. In particular, the depiction of Pedro Zamora's struggle with AIDS, as well as the confrontations between David "Puck" Rainey and his housemates (most notably Zamora) are the dominant themes of the season. It was the second season of The Real World to be filmed in California after The Real World: Los Angeles in 1993.

Season changes

 * This season was the first to feature a castmember, Pedro Zamora, dealing with a serious, life-threatening illness.  Future seasons would feature castmembers dealing with other illnesses, such as Lyme disease and cystic fibrosis. This is also the first season to feature an Asian American, Pam Ling.

Pedro
Pedro Zamora (February 29, 1972 in Havana, Cuba - November 11, 1994 in Miami, Florida) was a Cuban-born American AIDS educator. A native of Havana, Cuba, he came to the United States during the Mariel Boat Lift. A brilliant honors student whose beloved mother died from skin cancer when he was 13, Pedro had wanted to become a doctor, but after discovering he was HIV positive in November 1989, decided to finish high school and become an educator instead. In the premiere, Pedro informs the housemates, by showing them his scrapbook of his career as an AIDS educator, that he has AIDS. Although the castmates were informed ahead of time that they would be living with someone who was HIV-positive, Rachel is made uncomfortable by this and distances herself from Pedro initially, stating that she wants to know how this will affect her, but says nothing to the others for fear of seeming intolerant. Nonetheless, Pedro took this as an act of rejection on her part. The two eventually formed a rapport, and he educated her on AIDS, the myths surrounding it, and the people living with it. Pedro's roommate Puck, on the other hand, was not so curious about Pedro's life, and made derogatory remarks about his life as an educator. Pedro distanced himself from Puck, and because of Puck's friendship with the others, this served to occasionally distance Pedro from them as well, which created tension in the house. Pedro confided to his friend Alex Escarno that he feared the stress caused by his conflicts with Puck were causing his health to further deteriorate, as Pedro suffered weight loss, night sweats and was sleeping more and more.

He then announced that he would move out if Puck did not. Puck was voted out, and Pedro remained. Pedro was also depicted falling in love with Sean Sasser, a fellow AIDS educator, and they exchanged wedding vows on the show. During his last days, he received a phone call from President Bill Clinton thanking him for his work. Clinton, along with Attorney General Janet Reno and Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, expedited visas for the members of Pedro's family who remained in Cuba after the Mariel Boat Lift, reuniting the family for the first time in 15 years. Pedro died on November 11, 1994, mere hours after the final episode of his season of The Real World aired. He was 22. Pam, Judd, Sean, and his family were all present. A number of organizations were created in his name, including the National Pedro Zamora Project (founded by Pam, Judd, Pedro's sister Mily, and his husband (Sean Sasser), the Pedro Zamora Memorial Fund, the Pedro Zamora Youth Clinic, and the Pedro Zamora Foundation.

Puck
David "Puck" Rainey (July 18, 1968 in Alameda County, California) was known for having poor hygiene and being self-centered and abusive towards the other cast members. Pedro was appalled, for example, when Puck ate peanut butter out of the jar with his fingers after picking his nose with them. Puck agreed he was not an easy person to live with but also indicated that he liked who he was, and wasn't going to change. Puck's perceived self-centeredness, and the manner in which he desired to be the center of attention (as when, for example, he insisted on dominating conversations, including ones started by others), served to alienate him from the other roommates, beginning with Pedro. Because of Puck's friendship with the others, this served to distance Pedro from the other housemates, though the others eventually grew tired of Puck's behavior as well, and ultimately voted him out. Puck retaliated by making prank phone calls with anti-gay comments directed at Pedro that he left on the housemates' answering machine, and by continuing to antagonize the roommates on the occasions when he ran into them after the show ended. Puck again displayed the same angry, combative behavior at a Real World reunion show that aired after the show's fourth season. Puck later got married in an episode of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

Rachel
Rachel Campos (October 22, 1971 in Tempe, Arizona), a conservative Cuban-American Republican, tries to break the stereotype that Republicans are "very suburban and Laura Ashley" by getting a tattoo and acting "open and free and running around," according to Pam. She also gets her belly button pierced, and her mother tells her piercings and tattoos are for low class people with low IQs. Rachel and Puck flirted in the beginnings of the show; they were shown kissing, and despite previously assuring Rachel that he would not reveal their kiss to the others, later did so anyway after tensions between him and Rachel later grew. Rachel later said she regretted kissing him. Pedro accompanies Rachel on her visit to her family in Arizona, and while her Cuban-American family is very conservative (their cat is named George Bush), they are accepting of Pedro. By the end of the show Rachel is much more educated about AIDS, but Pedro tells her that he's disappointed they could not become better friends. In another episode, Rachel invites Judd and other housemates to a College Republicans function; Judd says the panel of speakers were sexist and racist, which Rachel sees as unfair. After her stint on The Real World ended, while the fifth season of the show (set in Miami) was being filmed, Rachel was in a serious car accident. She sustained injuries to her leg and the other passengers in the car, including her fiance at the time, were killed. Rachel later met Sean Duffy of the Real World: Boston cast and they married; they now have two daughters and a son and live in Wisconsin, where Sean is an attorney. Rachel was ridiculed because she became pregnant with their first child before they married, which some felt did not coincide with her Republican values.

Judd
Judd Winick (February 12, 1970 in Long Island, New York) is a Jewish-American cartoonist from Long Island, and a self-described "bed-wetting" liberal. In his scenes and interviews, he often provides humorous insight into the goings-on in the house. A recurring premise of the show is his search for love. In the first episode he expresses an attraction to Rachel, but is disheartened to find that she's a Republican. He gets involved with a friend of Rachel's when two of her female friends come to visit. Judd asks a girl out, only to be told later that night that she just got engaged. Judd is Pedro's roommate, and the two become best friends. Judd developed feelings for housemate Pam, and after the show ended, they fell in love and later married. Pam is now a physician and Judd is a syndicated cartoonist. He wrote a graphic novel called Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned about Pedro's life, and their friendship. They both continued Pedro's work in AIDS education. He has also gone on to become a well-known writer in the comic book industry, having enjoyed popular runs on titles such as Green Lantern and Green Arrow, both in which he attempted to create positive gay and HIV-positive characters like the new Speedy. Judd's tenure on The Real World and his interaction with writer Dave Eggers is mentioned in Eggers' memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Cory
Cory Murphy (August 28, 1973 in San Diego, California), an unassuming and naive Christian girl from Fresno, California, found it difficult to be confrontational when necessary, and became upset at times during her stay in the house, as when her attempts to find a job were fruitless, or when tensions arose between her and Mohammed's girlfriend when Cory asked her if she was "half white" due to her light skin tone. Mohammed and Cory had a discussion about racial issues, and Cory tearfully admits she comes from a rather "white" world and did not mean to offend Mohammed or his girlfriend. Cory was roommates with Rachel, and after Jo moved into the house and became friends with Rachel, with whom Cory had been close, Cory talked about how she'd felt pushed aside. Cory also felt excluded by the closeness of Judd, Pam and Pedro, but halfway through their six month stay in the house, Cory became closer to them, and their trio became a quartet. By the end of the show, Cory acknowledged that she has changed a lot.

Mohammed
Mohammed Bilal (March 28, 1970 in San Francisco, California) is the only San Francisco native. An African-American musician, he is immediately accepting of Pedro's homosexuality, because he says one has to be accepting and understanding of it in San Francisco. He appears to be the most low-key and calm member of the house, even when confronting Puck. Mohammed was a practicing Muslim, and "cleansed" the house of negative energy by lighting incense when Puck was evicted.

Pam
Pam Ling (April 21, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an Asian-American Phi Beta Kappa member from Harvard, an overachiever, and in her third year of medical school. In the first few weeks of their stay in the house, she was finishing up a difficult rotation. Like Mohammed, she was one of the more calm and low-key roommates, and was the one of the last roommates that Puck would agree to talk to during conflict resolutions with the rest of the house. She became close with Pedro and Judd, and three became inseparable, with Cory joining them halfway through their stay in San Francisco. She attempted to maintain a long-distance relationship with her then-boyfriend, and the roomies surprised her by having him visit San Francisco on her birthday, putting on a mock presentation of This is Your Life, with a tuxedo-wearing Judd as the announcer, and her boyfriend as the final person to appear. Unbeknownst to anyone, Judd had developed feelings of his own for Pam, and after she would get home late at night from work and fall asleep with a book across her lap and a pen in her hand, Judd would turn off her bedside lamp, put the book away and cover her up. Pam and Judd supported Pedro by attending his lectures whenever they could. After the show ended, their relationship deepened during their visits to the hospitalized Pedro, and they eventually married. They also continued Pedro's work in AIDS education. Pam completed her residency in primary care at the University of California, San Francisco, in 1999, and entered into an AIDS-research fellowship.

Jo
Joanna Rhodes (August 7, 1971 in London, England) was Puck's replacement after Puck moved out. Jo was a native of England and in one of her first episodes, it was revealed that she had an abusive ex-husband against whom she had to get a restraining order, and had to appear in court to ask that the order be upheld when her ex-husband contested it. She is friends with a guy named Steve who helps her out during this, and although it is apparent that he desires a relationship with her, Jo does not, because she felt that it would take some time for her to start dating again after being is such a volatile relationship. She was also a staunch vegan, which caused some tense moments during the group's trip to Hawaii, as when she forced herself to vomit when she accidentally ingested a salad that she was later told contained pork, and when she later became upset when some butter accidentally touched her food. Rachel and Jo became friends quickly. Judd labels Jo and Rachel the "high maintenance twins" while they're in Hawaii. The cast is often frustrated when Jo and Rachel take a long time to get ready to go eat dinner, forcing the other cast members to wait on them. Judd dislikes how Rachel and Jo flirted with the male instructors on a scuba trip. A decade later, she participated in the Gauntlet 2, where she demanded the police escort her out just upon her arrival.