I'm ashamed of myself: I watch "The Hills"
Watching "The Hills" on MTV must be my sick form of self-loathing.
The fourth season of this faux-reality series kicked off Monday night, and I shamefully admit I caught the opening episode. But why? The "characters" are boring or way too whiny (that means you, Spencer Pratt). They can barely speak in complete sentences, possessing the communication skills of fifth-graders. The party scenes are wearing thin. The whole LA thang is wearing thin. (Not to mention that we get about 15 minutes or so of actual show in a commercials-laden 30-minute slot.)
Yet, I watch. And, my sense of taste be damned, there is a glimmer of hope that this season has potential:
- Audrina, who heretofore had the spine of a wet rag, let the insufferable Lo have it verbally in the opening show. You go girl. (She's pictured, at left, in this Jeff Lipsky photo for MTV. The main gal, Lauren Conrad, is on the right. In the middle is gal pal Whitney, trying to do her best Uma Thurman impersonation from "Dangerous Liaisons," the movie.)
- Spencer and his equally narcissistic and vapid puppet, Heidi, continue to dredge up conflict with anything that walks on two feet and has a pulse. This time, it's Spencer hatin' on Heidi's sister.
- Lauren continues to have no clue about dealing with other people.
So, yes, "The Hills" is my vice for the next few weeks. Here's hoping for more fireworks and less shots of Lauren moping around.
Comments:
Felicia, Felicia. Our poor, jet-lagged Anglophile, still wrapped up in that tattered Union-Jack that you wore home on the plane, still digging out 5-pound notes from your wallet and dreaming of a Tube stop at Fashion Fair. You soak up the cultural wonders of London and then come home to ... "The Hills"??? In my mind, I see the sturdy, fortified Felicia returning to confront such vapid programming with a Julie-Andrews cluck and a swift turn of the dial to BBC World News. Do not succumb to the inanities of Heidi and Spencer, Felicia! Be strong!
OK, I admit that I (sort of) watched the first episode of "The Hills" too. Not because I wanted to, but because it was on in my living room, and I didn't have any choice in the matter. My favorite part was when Heidi -- she's the near-comatose one who is unlucky enough to cohabitate with Spencer, right? -- whined to her sister that she didn't need to have her family know all her business. Um, yes, so they can just watch it on MTV instead.
Posted by: Donald Munro at August 19, 2008 12:06 PM
Donald, I know you fret about my cultural well-being here, but I confess I have this capacity to absorb low-brow drivel at an alarming rate. Really, it's amazing. I rationalize that it makes me appreciate even MORE all the masterpieces and wonderful art I saw in London. Isn't that a zen kind of thing?
Posted by: felicia matlosz at August 19, 2008 12:12 PM
Felicia, Felicia, Felicia ... I too am sad to admit that I watch The Hills. I even watched the marathon of past Hills episodes on MTV over the weekend. What the he## is wrong with me -- us? I am completely sucked into this sad, excuse of a program... yet, I'm fascinated by it in a train-wreck sort of way. This is the only program that my two teen daughters (16 and 18) will actually watch with me. It's our family-time. I'm sure there's some tv-viewing study that would say our family unit must be screwed up.
Posted by: tracy at August 19, 2008 4:17 PM
Tracy, look at it this way. I'd rather you watch this with your kids than, say, parents who bring their 8-year-old to see "The Dark Knight." It's a good film but not fit for children. Yet, some parents think nothing of exposing their youngsters to violence and a psychotic madman.
So, watch "The Hills" as I do, with a degree of shame but total lack of will power to turn away.
Posted by: felicia matlosz at August 19, 2008 4:31 PM
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