The Hard Times of RJ Berger

The Hard Times of RJ Berger is a U.S. comedy series that premiered on June 6, 2010. The idea for the series came from David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith. The series is produced by the music channel MTV, which also holds the broadcast rights in most countries. The protagonist is RJ Berger, a teenager plagued by low self-esteem.

Storyline

The series is about high school student RJ Berger, the chronic “loser” who is anything but a ladies’ man. His only friends in high school are Miles Jenner, obsessed with the dream of popularity, and sex addict Lily Miran. RJ leads a dull life, constantly referring to himself as a “pale, strange creature” and is especially bullied by basketball player and heartthrob Max Owens, the school’s arrogant and self-absorbed student body president. This life takes a sudden turn, however, when RJ’s pants slip down during a basketball game and most of the student body sees RJ’s “not-so-little secret,” his huge penis. Because of this unexpected fame, he suddenly comes to the attention of RJ’s crush and (at the beginning of the series) girlfriend of Max Owens, Jenny Swanson. As the series progresses, RJ becomes more confident and tries to make his “celebrity” work for him. In the penultimate episode of the first season, Lily is hit by a bus which, according to the bus driver, has “no brakes” left. She is seriously injured and falls into a coma. She awakens from this coma for a short time on the night of the prom, which is the season finale, as RJ had promised to deflower her that same night, and intends to make good on that promise despite Lily’s injuries. The two make love and the season ends with RJ leaving the hospital saying, “My name is RJ Berger and I just did the right thing.” Meanwhile, Lily’s heart stops and the doctors rush to revive her.

Synchronization

Charisma

USA

The Hard Times of RJ Berger was produced for the American network MTV. The first season began airing there on Sunday, June 6, 2010^[1]. The series premiere followed the 2010 MTV Movie Awards to capitalize on their high viewer interest. The series pilot was repeated the following Monday, and in the same Monday night slot, the remaining episodes of the first season ran until August 23. The renewal of the series for a second season was already announced at the beginning of August.^[2]

The second season was shown in the United States between March 24 and May 30, 2011, again on MTV. On August 11, 2011, it was announced that the series would not continue after the second season.^[3]

Germany

In Germany, the series The Hard Times of RJ Berger is shown on pay-TV on MTV Germany and on free-TV on VIVA, which belongs to the same corporate family as the American MTV. The German series premiered on MTV Germany on August 22, 2010. The season ran there until October 31, 2010.

The second season was shown on MTV starting August 21, 2011,^[4] while it was shown on free TV on VIVA from September 22, 2011.^[5]

Episode list

Season 1

Season 2

Criticism

The series often received very scathing reviews. Ken Tucker of the US television magazine Entertainment Weekly wrote:

Trivia

• The series is based on the short film The Tale of RJ, directed by David Katzenberg and produced by Seth Grahame-Smith. In this short film, RJ is played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who has also portrayed dramaturgical loser types in Superbad and Role Models?!
• Each episode of the first season was shot in just three and a half days.
• On the online service iTunes, as well as the online video store Maxdome, each episode appeared in the German version three days earlier.
• Scenes (especially flashbacks) that were too difficult to show were shown in cartoons.
• Although Jareb Dauplaise, Kara Taitz and Amber Lancaster are over 30 years old, they play 16-year-olds in the series.

Web links

• The Hard Times of RJ Berger in the Internet Movie Database (english)
• Official website of MTV
• Official website of MTV Germany
• Character description on the official website
• The Hard Times of RJ Berger on Fernsehserien.de

Individual references

1. ↑ Bernd Michael Krannich:Play By Day: “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” Launches on MTV.serialjunkies.com. 6 June 2010. retrieved 14 August 2011.
2. ↑ Bernd Michael Krannich:MTV extends “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” – thanks to Justin Bieber?.serialjunkies.com. august2, 2010. retrieved august 14, 2011.
3. ↑ Bernd Michael Krannich:MTV is canceling The Hard Times of RJ Berger after season 2.serialjunkies.com. august13, 2011. retrieved august 14, 2011.
4. ↑ The Hard Times Of RJ Berger 2. MTV.com. Archived from Original september 16, 2011. Info: Thearchive linkwas automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check original and archive link according to instructions and then remove this notice.@1@2Template:Webachiv/IABot/www.mtv.de Retrieved August 14, 2011.
5. ↑ Mariano Glass:VIVA with a bunch of new series from the U.S. and Canada.seriesjunkies.com. 10 August 2011. retrieved 14 August 2011.
6. ↑ Ken Tucker:‘The Hard Times of RJ Berger’ review: Where are Beavis and Butthead when we need them?.Entertainment Weekly. retrieved March 25, 2011.