Any thoughts on Jersey Shore's 2nd Season Premiere?

Q: What is a landmine?
A: A skinny version of a grenade.

Season one of Jersey Shore was a fantastic trip of entertainment for yours truly. Not only did it fill the void of "best 'worst' show I watch" created when I stopped watching nip/tuck, but also Jersey Shore took bad TV to unprecedented levels.

The hot tubs, the house music, the unprovoked acts of violence and the fist pumping - oh the fist pumping... All of it resulted in a symphony of filth too wonderful to go unrecognized.

A key aspect to the "purity" (and I realize that is quite the poor choice of words) of the show's quality was how the entire first season was taped before it aired. Taped before it became a smash hit. Now, with all the cast members, "self aware" (yes, the Terminator reference is a much better allusion) I feared the show would change for the worse.

Tonight MTV aired the season two premiere, which left me expectantly ecstatic. I'm still smiling, as I had to run over to spill out my thoughts immediately upon viewing.

I should admit that the majority of the episode was poor. All the lead-up to their reunion in South Beach was understandably necessary, yet tough and at times unwatchable. In my opinion, the show stalls when the cast members are isolated. Vinnie at home with his family is nice and sweet, but this isn't a show on the Hallmark Network. There is zero hope of entertainment watching Angelina by herself getting waxed or at an airport.

Get the crew together and watch the sparks fly - this is the antidote to any threat of the aforementioned "self aware" phenomenon. True, other people will be interacting differently with them - but who wouldn't when there are MTV cameras in a club? When they are all in the house together they will all keep each other honest and in check.

At about the 40 minute mark of the premiere, when everybody was in a cab, the episode hit its stride. The last 20 minutes of the show was classically spot-on for what us watchers tuned in to see. It left me with shear schadenfreude ebullience.

• Angelina's complete lack of timing or tact
• The juxtaposition of the silent cab of guys to the near fist fighting girl cab
• Ronnie close to tears confronting his ex-girlfriend and looking elsewhere for company
• The Situation reminding us the meaning of "grenade" and introducing us to the term of "landmine"
• A montage of Ronnie in the background acting crazier than a Baskin Robbin's next to a Jenny Craig

And all of this with a relatively low amount of Snookie. She's going to assume her role as the cleanup hitter. Yeah, you saw her SNOOKIE cowboy hat. Her gorilla boyfriend wants meatballs. Fried pickles are a life changing experience. But pretty soon she's gonna unleash her dance floor cartwheel of blurred glory. She will be lifted off the ground by another in some fashion. All in the house will rally to an unknown to anybody else cause on her behest.

All in all, tonight's episode left me wanting to say one thing to all associated with the production of the show: Come at me, Bro!