The Real World - Season 5

First aired: 7/10/1996 22 episodes

The Real World: Miami is the fifth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow and document their lives and interpersonal relationships. The season was filmed in Miami Beach, Florida, and first aired in 1996.

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Episodes

1. Welcome to the Picture Show

Aired: 7/10/1996

The roommates are at home saying good-bye to friends and family. They arrive at the Miami Beach house in pairs--Cynthia and Sarah, Flora and Joe, then Mike and Melissa. Dan arrives solo. The roommates explore the house; the girls vie over the upstairs bedroom. Joe and Sarah shock the roommates by jumping into the pool fully clothed.

2. Beauty is Only Skin Deep

Aired: 7/17/1996

The roommates meet Landon and discuss possible ideas for their business venture. Flora gets frustrated when the group rejects her idea for a trendy coffee shop. Dan is turned down for work at CafÃ© Torino but is successful in his Ocean Drive magazine pursuit. Flora uses her sex appeal to get a bartending job and a date with her employer, Louis. At home, the roommates decide that Flora ""acted like a ho.""

3. The Temptation of Joe

Aired: 7/24/1996

The roommates get primped to go dancing at Bash while Joe stays home to show he's ""unavailable."" Later, Joe brings out an old photo album and professes his wild attraction to women. When Joe flirts with a waitress at dinner, Mike wants to know his secret with women. In meeting, the roommates discuss more business ideas. More signs of relationship trouble arise between Joe and his girlfriend Nicki.

4. The Silence of the Dan

Aired: 7/31/1996

Cynthia is frustrated about the men in her life and her overall dating situation. Dan feels isolated when communication problems with his roommates arise. Meanwhile, he is discovered at the Michelle Pommier agency and participates in an Armani runway show. His roommates show their support at the show, deciding to put their conflicts temporarily on hold.

5. Torn Between Two Lovers

Aired: 8/7/1996

As the group struggles to establish a business, Joe heads back to New York for the weekend to move out of his apartment and prepare to relocate to Miami. During this same weekend, Flora's on-again, off-again boyfriend Mitchell visits her from Boston. Their rocky relationship seems fine and dandy when he's in town, especially since he doesn't know about her other boy toy, Miami businessman Louis.

6. Fear of Commitment Poster Children

Aired: 12/11/1996

Melissa and Dan introduce us to their significant others. Cesar, Melissa's boyfriend of four months, has become extra possessive ever since she moved in the house. He has a problem with sharing her with the other cast members. Dan and criminal defense attorney Arnie start spending some quality time together--the problem is that Arnie walked out of the closet so quietly that his parents didn't hear him. As Dan struggles to help Arnie come out fully, the group continues to come up empty-handed and can't seem to agree on a business.

7. America needs Underwear

Aired: 8/21/1996

The group's problem of starting a business might be solved when Robert and Everett, two local fashion designers, propose to Dan that they should have their own fashion line. At first the group doesn't match Dan's excitement but they eventually realize that this is an opportunity for them that might actually work. Sarah, however, isn't so gung-ho about the idea and decides to start a side business delivering restaurant supplies to clients on the beach.

8. Stand by Me?

Aired: 8/28/1996

It's How to Be a Player 101 with professor Joeâ€¦his long-distance relationship with Nic is put to the test when he meets Leah in a fashion show. Despite expressing his love for Nic, he seems like Leah's touchy-feely friendship. Meanwhile, Flora's relationship with Louis is also heading towards rough waters. It becomes obvious that Louis is getting tired of her childish antics when she is bitten by a poisonous spider and he refuses to take her to the hospital, believing that it's not as bad as she says it is.

9. Say It Ain't so Joe

Aired: 9/4/1996

Nicole visits the house. The roommates are shocked when they see how gigantic Nicole is. She immediately makes a bad first impression with the roommates by complaining constantly about Joe. During dinner everybody is cracking jokes about Nicole. Mike expresses his frustration about the business. The roommates need to commit to this project or else he is out of the deal.

10. Act Up!

Aired: 9/11/1996

Joe and Nicki are in turmoil again. The roommates are concerned when Joe mysteriously disappears. When he returns, the two lovebirds are blissfully happy and vow to never again face such a crisis. Dan is finding that Arnie remaining in the closet is a growing problem. While Dan's brother is visiting, Dan and Arnie's relationship comes to a head. In the end, Dan agrees to be there for Arnie to help him through the process of coming out of the closet.

11. Dependence Day

Aired: 12/11/1996

Sarah's outside world collides with her world at home, thrusting the house into chaos. Flora gets fed up when three kids from the inner city come over for a visit and wreak havoc as they explore the house. Flora throws the kids out and gets into a heated argument with Sarah. In the end, Flora and Sarah learn to accept each other's differences. Meanwhile, Cynthia shows her frustration at the house due to her lack of independence, which she enjoyed back home.

12. Act Out

Aired: 9/25/1996

Melissa hasn't been herself lately and has been rude and condescending to everyone. She insults Sarah's friend even before they are formally introduced. In another incident, Melissa snags a personal letter that Dan wrote to a friend and reads it out loud to everyone. Finally, Melissa and Dan have an all-out war. The two make up the next morning when they open up to each other in a sincere moment.

13. Meet The Renzis!

Aired: 10/2/1996

Dan is unnerved about his parents coming to Miami for a visit, but is surprised to discover that they are suddenly very accepting of his lifestyle. Dan's mom even spends time with his boyfriend, Arnie. Things don't work out quite as nicely for Mike and his sometime girlfriend Heather. She wants him to settle down and marry her, but he isn't ready to commit to one woman. They spend a weekend together in Boston, but Mike finds that he is as indecisive as ever. Sarah's puppy, Leroy, is also introduced.

14. Resignation

Aired: 10/9/1996

Business matters are coming to a halt. Joe and Flora are getting frustrated because no one else is doing any work, and they can't seem to make the decisions necessary to commit to a business. The others are speechless and hurt, but Sarah seizes the opportunity and presents a downscaled, easy to implement business plan: home delivery of cakes and treats. After sampling the desserts that they will be selling, the other roommates are ready to get on board, and it looks like Delicious Deliveries might happen. Meanwhile, Cynthia spends some time coming to terms with the kind of men she's been dating, and decides to stay and help with the business. Joe's friend Joonmo shows up and helps Joe realize that he did the right thing by stepping back from the business.

15. A Class Act

Aired: 10/16/1996

Joe finds himself about to fail the one class that stands between him and an MBA from Fordham University in New York. Trying to complete the course from Miami, Joe must try to satisfy his professor, who is unhappy with the material he has turned in. Although Joe sends in a video about his crisis in leaving the business, he fails to impress his professor and in a last-ditch effort he flies to New York to give a presentation on the final day of class. With the help of a friend, he is able to make the grade. Meanwhile, Flora is engaged in a power struggle with Mark of Hospitality Purchasing over what his share in Delicious Deliveries should be. Mark and Flora maintain that each of them should have control over the business. They finally hammer out an agreement and move on to more important thingsâ€¦like teaching little Leroy to fetch and sit.

16. Why Do Fools Fall in Love?

Aired: 10/23/1996

Flora and Cynthia get into a spat when the dog bites Cynthia. Cynthia misses ""real"" people: her family and the neighborhood in Oakland. Excited, she flies to Atlanta for a reunion with her mother and sisters. They share funny and bittersweet memories. In a true ""family moment"" they sing together, recalling the memory of Cynthia's late father and sister. Dan also has a family encounter when he flies to Kansas to see his parents and brothers. He and his mom continue the frank discussion of Dan's sexuality that they started in Miami a few weeks earlier. When Dan returns, he makes a date with Johnny, a new romantic interest. Even though Arnie is jealous and hurt, Dan contends that he never committed to Arnie. On the business front, Joe wants to give his shares to the dog, prompting disbelief and criticism from the roommates.

17. ...Lies, and Videotape

Aired: 10/30/1996

There's a full moon over the Miami house, bringing sexual tension between the roommates to a head. Mike brings home a waitress for some fun in the Jacuzzi, and the two are joined by Melissa. The threesome quickly moves upstairs to the privacy of the bathroom, but it is obvious to Dan, Flora and Sarah that something wild is going on inside. Sarah tries to push Flora through the bathroom window to get a better look, but the window breaks, shattering the mood. Later on, Melissa and Mike deny that anything happened.

18. Liars and Lovers

Aired: 11/6/1996

The roommates continue to spin around in their orbits, the pull of each personality influencing all the others. Dan is having trouble fitting in with the group, which Flora and Sarah attribute to him being a liar. Sarah calls him on his promised commitment to the business, which he can't seem to muster, while Flora confronts Dan in front of the others, calling him a liar to his face. Meanwhile, Joe returns to New York City for graduation and during the commencement ceremony, he proposes to his beloved. Upon returning to Miami, he announces his engagement at the surprise birthday party that Mike throws for him.

19. Nature Calls

Aired: 11/13/1996

Cynthia, Dan, Joe, Mike and Sarah take a camping vacation on a desert island in the Bahamas--""roughing it"" with a gourmet cook and deluxe gear. But the real focus is on experiencing nature by sailing, snorkeling and lounging on the beach. Even Cynthia, who is skeptical about the lack of facilities and is afraid of water, is won over by the beauty of the islands. As Sarah's pictures prove to Flora and Melissa, it was a great vacation experience.

20. Everyone Gets the Jackson

Aired: 11/20/1996

Every time Sarah's friend, Hank Jackson, visits Miami, things get a little crazy. This time he's brought a home movie that he shot on his last visit, and he screens it for the roommates. Everyone loves it at first, but Flora soon realizes that she doesn't like how she was portrayed, and neither does Melissa. While Flora confronts Hank, Melissa avoids him--despite having a close e-mail relationship with him in previous months. Disappointed by Melissa's actions, Sarah sums up the general mood in the house by accusing Melissa of numerous lies. Melissa denies any wrongdoing and decides to pack her stuff and move out.

21. None of Your Business

Aired: 11/27/1996

With only days left before the deadline to start a business, Flora decides to pursue a coffee shop concept in addition to the dessert delivery service. She and partner Mark frantically try to get the necessary materials together, but Flora's power plays alienate the roommates. In the end, the investors decide that their conditions have not been met. There will be no business. In the midst of all this, Dan finds out that he'll be moving to Milan to model, and has to break the news to his boyfriend Johnny.

22. Ba-Bye

Aired: 12/4/1996

As the roommates get ready to leave the Miami house, Cynthia receives a job offer in Miami that she can't pass up. Unfortunately, her schedule won't allow her to go back home at all, but she looks forward to her new job. Flora will be staying in Miami with Mitchell even though he initially stands her up at the airport. Dan is moving to Milan to pursue his modeling career, jeopardizing his relationship with Johnny, and they share an emotional good-bye. Mike, Sarah and Joe are all going their separate ways: Mike is going home to Jacksonville, Joe will be starting a new life with Nic, and Sarah is heading back to San Diego with her dog, Leroy