The First & Second Season

MTV's Run's House is a reality television series that first aired in 2005. The show is about hip-hop artist Joseph Simmons (a.k.a. Rev Run) and his family. Rev Run was a member of the musical group Run-DMC and the younger brother of Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons. This reality show takes a look at life in the Simmons' household, which includes Rev Run's busy life as a father, businessman, minister, his wife's latest endeavors, and the kid's adventures in life. As far as reality television shows go, Run's House is pretty entertaining. There is a lot of diversity in content, with storylines dealing with youthful to adult issues.

Run's House is filmed in Saddle River, New Jersey, where Rev Run and his family live, and the surrounding area. Run's wife is Justine; she is a loving wife and a good mother. She has two children with Run, and is the stepmother to his other kids. The two children born from Justine and Run are Daniel "Diggy" and Russell "Russy". They are the two youngest in the family. The other children are Vanessa, Angela, and Joseph "Jojo". Vanessa is a gorgeous twenty-something who has appeared in Maxim (there is a season two episode dealing with the photo shoot). Angela in a young adult in her final teen years and she works in the family business amongst other things. Jojo is the middle child and he is an aspiring rapper/producer. Together, these seven make up Run's House, and all the drama and fun that follows.

In the show's first and second season, the content ranges from everyday family issues (like talking about S-E-X to the little ones) or bigger ordeals (like the family business). All of which, are far from common, and how uncommon the situations this family deals is part of what makes the show so entertaining. For instance, the series premiere is a solid representation of how fun and entertaining Run's House can be. Angela is graduating high school and she has worked hard, receiving almost perfect marks throughout. For a celebration, she and Justine are planning a big party, which is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars with the hottest DJ, a special dance floor, and an amazing fireworks show.

The catch is that Run does not want to spend this much money on it. The drama that unfolds dealing with the situation is quite fun; Run quelling the exorbitant party demands and the girls' reactions. But all turns out well and Angela ends the day with a big surprise. This episode is a great example of the loving, fun dynamic the family has together as they tackle everyday (and usually out-of-the-ordinary) situations.

The remaining season one and two episodes continue with a similar tone and also provide additional perspectives with the family businesses (music, clothes, and jewelry). It makes for fun entertainment that most will appreciate. Run's House is a solid production with a perspective into the very busy household of a wealthy rapper/businessman/minister/family man.

Season One - Episode Guide

1. Angela's Graduation: Daughter Angela is graduating from high school and Rev Run wants to reward her for being a straight-A student by throwing her a party. Angela dreams of a blowout complete with iPod goodie bags, a $10,000 glass dance floor over the pool, and guest DJ Funkmaster Flex. Her dad, on the other hand, has less expensive visions of hotdogs on the grill and kids dancing around the pool. Although the party didn't turn out to be Angela's vision of fly, Run's birthday gift was more than anyone expected.
2. Run's Facts of Life: Rev Run invites emerging hip-hop group Union Turnpike to the house to figure out how to convince his brother, Russell Simmons, to sign them to his new record label. Justine sees this as the perfect time for the girls to go to the spa. The only favor she asks of her husband is that he gives Diggy and Russy a talk about the "birds and bees." Later on, at Phat Farm headquarters, Russell gives the boys from Union Turnpike an equally awkward talk on how to make it in the rap game.
3. There's No Place Like Home: Run's blood boils upon finding that his pool house has become filled with family junk. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Angela express their desire to move out and share an apartment in Manhattan. With eyes bigger than their budget, the girls tour some of NYC's most glamorous real estate. A day of looking at penthouse apartments takes the girls from Trump's ivory tower down to the ground floor of their reality. In the end, the pool house is clean, the girls decide to stay put, and once again all is cool in Run's House.
4. Do Your Best, Forget The Rest: An innocent family trip to the bowling alley turns explosive when Russy has a meltdown about losing. In an effort to teach the family about good sportsmanship, Rev Run designs a competition that backfires when the Simmons realize that Russy isn't the only one who needs to control his competitive nature.
5. The Fruits of Labor: Justine loves to eat, and she and Run are struggling with the weighty consequences. Determined to slim down, Justine enlists the help of a personal trainer. Meanwhile, Angela is hungry for a shot to work at Baby Phat with her aunt, Kimora Lee Simmons. After a lot of hard work and running countless errands, Angela gets to finally walk in her aunt's shoes, if only for a moment...
6. Simmons Family Vacation: Vanessa gets a modeling job in Colorado, and Dad decides that her shoot would be the perfect end of summer family vacation. The Simmons leave New Jersey and embark on their first outdoor adventure in Keystone, Colorado where "fly" is just a type of fishing.

Season Two - Episode Guide

1. Baby Fever: Justine makes an announcement that throws the family for a loop. Vanessa, Angela and Jojo leave the house to visit their birth mother and Rev Run plans an evening of total kid chaos to show Justine that having another child is not the answer. The only problem is that Run's plan backfires.
2. A Healthy Heart: The family fish dies, so mortality is the subject of the day. Justine worries that Run hasn't been to the doctor in 12 years, and when she insists, he reluctantly goes. Back in the family recording studio, Jojo tries to help Diggy with a new track but discovers that helping a brother out isn't so easy.
3. All Work and No Peace: Being a minister, partner in the family business, sneaker king, hip-hop artist and father of five really takes its toll on Rev Run. He asks the Bishop of his church to help him balance his busy work schedule with life at home. Back at the house, Russy takes his own frustration out on a defenseless Game Boy and his parents force him to do chores to earn money to replace it.
4. Maximum Growth: Vanessa gets a chance to pose in Maxim Magazine but worries what her father will say. Jojo is on the road to becoming a driver but finds out that it's not as easy as it looks on paper, and Rev Run gets a sign from above to buy a new Lamborghini.
5. Vegas Vacation: Rev Run takes his family and new sneaker line to the MAGIC fashion trade show in Las Vegas. Behind the scenes, eh enlists help from Vanessa and Angela to plan a romantic surprise for Justine. While the girls scheme, Run and Uncle Russell put Jojo to work at the Run Athletics booth, and he struggles with wanting to be treated like an adult and still wanting to be a kid.

6. Rev's Fix It List: Some of Rev Run's husbandly habits are wearing thin on Justine and laving her feeling disrespected. She asks him to "fix" a few things about himself that are driving her crazy. At the same time, Diggy's inability to be dressed and ready for church on time is topping Run's list of pet peeves. Run vows to work on Justine's "fix-it" list while showing Diggy that it's possible to be both fly and on time.
7. Rev Mom: Rev Run and Justine discover that she is not only pregnant, but also very serious about her dream of becoming a jewelry designer. Run is left in charge of the house as Justine tends to business in the city. Between the kids getting braces, never-ending errands and planning Diggy's birthday party, Run discovers that Justine's "day job" is harder than he thought.
8. Downward Facing Dawg: Seeking relief from the stress of his life, Run seeks the advice of his brother, Russell. Following Russell's example, Run decides to give yoga a try in hopes that peace will find him. As Run is reminded that he and his brother march to the beat of a different drummer, Jojo and his friend, Zack, hit the studio and take their first steps towards lyrical enlightenment.
9. Anger Management: Russy destroys yet another Game Boy, and Run and Justine decide that he could use some professional help. On the recommendation of the doctor, Run takes Russy for karate lessons with hopes of helping Russy manage his temper and achieve greater focus. At home, Angela decides she wants to start a magazine. Luckily, Run has the connections to make it happen.
10. Two Down and One to Grow: When Angela decides that she needs a dog as a fashion accessory, Re Run puts his foot down. He says that she can get the dog the day she moves out. Angela and Vanessa wonder when that day will come. After some careful reflection and gentle advice from Russy Run and Justine realize that the time might be right after all.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is pretty good. The image remains fairly sharp throughout the episodes with detail crisp and clean. However, there are occasional patches when the episodes get a little dark and rough.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The track is dialogue driven, but is supplemented with plenty of background music. The music came off fairly rich and vibrant. For the dialogue, it generally sounds good, but there are moments when the cast talks too softly.

There is also support for closed captioning.

Extras:
For extras, Run's House has approximately two hours of extra footage. The extra footage is called "Family Confidential" and there are sixteen segments. Each segment follows an episode and has cast interviews, additional/extended scenes, behind the scenes, and other related content. The segments automatically follow at the end of an episode, but they can also be accessed from each disc's bonus menu. In addition to the bonus footage, there is previews for Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up, Save the Last Dance 2, and The Hills: The Complete First Season.

Final Thoughts:
Run's House is a reality television series about the very busy household of Joseph Simmons, a.k.a. Rev Run. This DVD set includes the show's first and second seasons, a total of sixteen episodes. In each episode, the content focuses on one or more aspects of the Simmons family as they deal with not-so-ordinary situations. The issues they tackle in conjunction with the great family dynamic make each episode a lot of fun. For those who enjoy reality programs, Run's House should be on your list.