It started innocuously enough: it was a hot night at the end of summer break and I was trying to relive my high school years by watching Beverly Hills 90210 or The O.C. But instead of those gratuitous drama marathons, there was another one called The Hills.
Who are these blond girls? I asked myself. Is this show scripted or not? And then eventually, why have I been watching this for five hours?
For a few more days I tried to pretend. I said to my family, “No, see, it’s just so bad,” and, “It’s an interesting illustration of American society-” but the truth is, I liked it. I like The Hills.
A spin-off of the narrative reality show Laguna Beach, The Hills follows four girls in their lives and careers in Los Angeles.
Certainly, The Hills is missing a few
facets of L.A. life – the crime, the poverty, the underground world of sex trafficking. But as I watch the show’s stars throw high heels and Pinkberry yogurt cups at one another, I get a 22-minute pause from the real world, a play in reality.
Another great thing about The Hills is how easily you can begin your trip of triviality. MTV.com is equipped with the most advanced streaming video service of any television channel. You can watch every MTV show, including The Hills, from the first episode to the most recent. If you want more background, MTV has every episode of Laguna Beach available, too. Each episode is broken up into three short parts which can provide a rejuvenating five-minute study break during midterms.
Best of all, at least for this avid Perez Hilton follower, the show’s villain, Heidi Montag, can be found every day in the media doing the most laughable things. In the past few months, as she tries to build her career as a pop star, Montag had plastic surgery on her nose, lips and breasts and filmed a music video on the beach with nasty boyfriend Spencer Pratt’s camcorder. She even gives such winning answers to questions as, “Yeah, my music is its own genre. Its own entity,” in an interview with Lulu Bates from Television Without Pity. Each new day brings another fun reason to hate her.
It’s a great show for yelling at the screen action, so I recommend getting a group together. If you prefer a more solitary, embarrassed viewing experience, it’s usually available online about three hours before airing.
The extended third season of The Hills begins March 23. It’s on MTV, found in dorm rec rooms on cable channel 38, on Mondays at 10 p.m.
