Buffalo / Erie County MoreHome City & Region Sports Business World & Nation Opinion Deaths L... Reality gets a jolt of comedy.

HOLLYWOOD — The Los Angeles mansion appeared serene from the outside — a stark contrast to the controlled chaos within. "Charm School" was in session.

An army of technicians paraded around a mass of wires, production equipment and heavy lights. In one particularly cramped space, two producers huddled in front of several TV monitors, looking at several women in custom "schoolgirl" uniforms.

Mark Cronin and Cris Abrego gazed at a live picture transmitted from another room where an etiquette class was being conducted. When one camera zoomed in on a frowning "pupil" with a history of troubled relationships, they exchanged triumphant glances.

"Look at her, she's about to lose it," Cronin said with barely restrained glee. Abrego nodded in agreement: "Yeah, she's going to start crying any minute."

It was another day in the world of unscripted television for Cronin and Abrego, who in the past few years have emerged as one of TV's hottest producing teams. Their in-yourface VH1 series such as "The Surreal Life," "The Surreal Life: Fame Games," "My Fair Brady," "Flavor of Love" and "Strange Love" spotlight the seldom good, often bad and frequently ugly behavior of D-list celebrities well past their glory days.

With a steadily growing fan base, the shows have turned VH1 and the celebreality brand into a cable powerhouse. Produced by their respective production companies, Mindless Entertainment and 51 Pictures, the Cronin-Abrego formula has proved to be reliable: Recruit a bunch of aging, egomaniacal stars-that-were or stars-thatwanna- be, inject a situation fraught with competition, conflict or humiliation, pour on alcohol, light match, roll camera and let the fireworks begin.

The popularity of the celebreality brand, including "Breaking Bonaduce" and "Dice Undisputed," which are not produced by Cronin and Abrego, has changed the programming dynamic of VH1.

But along with the high ratings, the shows, particularly "Flavor of Love" and "I Love New York," have been disparaged for perpetuating negative cultural images.

Cronin and Abrego argue that those who criticize their shows as being racially offensive are missing the point — that they are creating a new kind of pop culture by bringing outrageousness to the realityshow genre in showcasing larger- than-life characters. The shows do not perpetuate racial stereotypes, they say, but feature unique personalities that represent no one but themselves.

Abrego focuses on channeling intriguing story lines for the personalities while Cronin searches for how to create humor: "It's important for us to have strong story lines as we create the conflict," Abrego said.

Despite some heated discussions, the two seem to mesh well. Cronin, 34, who is single, fires off wisecracks and one-liners. Abrego, 42, who has young children, is lower-key.

They are both pleased with the success of "I Love New York," which revolves around 25-year-old Tiffany Pollard, a.k.a. New York, who was jilted twice by Flavor Flav in "Flavor of Love."

"What you see is what you get. I'm not putting on a show for TV," she said. "And working with Mark and Cris is one of the most liberating experiences I've ever had. They don't guide me or influence me, although sometimes I might want to fly off the handle, and they say, ‘Maybe you should second guess that.' "

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