Warm Glowing Warming Glow

Take Your Bobo and Leave Me in Peace

Dear Jenny,

Is there something wrong with me that I'm starting to really appreciate Spencer? I used to hate the guy. Remember the cheap, fake-out engagement ring? Remember when he and Heidi tried to fix Brody up with Jen Bunney? Remember "I'm on Team Heidi"? What happened? Did he have some sort of actual, legitimate spurt of personality growth? Or are the producers just feeding him all the best lines because they can't think of anything else to do with him (sort of like Lo in that way)?

Not much to report about the rest of The Hills, except Stephen! Colletti! Should we care? It's been so long since Laguna Beach that I'm not even sure what we're supposed to think about him and Lauren maybe possibly getting together, except totally not, because Stephen! always just wants to be friends (now it's coming back to me). Hey, remember when Stephen! Colletti! was going to be a big star? He shot a film in Rhode Island and no one cared about the more famous actors, they just wanted to catch a sighting of Stephen! (Or so our Aunt said.) Did that film ever come out?

Meanwhile, on the other coast, a pretty good week for Blair Waldorf and for Chuck Bass, a kind of sucky week for everyone else. I don't know how I feel about Nelly Yuki as a cliche -- mildly offensive? not offensive? racist? post-racist? -- and the plot made very little sense (as in, how come Blair was able to win back all the A-girls so easily, after last week's Butter disasters?), but as usual, Leighton Meester worked it for all it was worth. Plus, did you see that cape Blair was working in that one scene? Chuck also managed to make crazy couture (a fire engine red trenchcoat!) work for him, plus something about the Serena-SAT-stand-in really sent me over the edge. BUT the Serena plot is a little boring. Michelle Trachtenberg, at this point, carries so much baggage from earlier roles, that I'm having a hard time with her as Georgina. I can't even tell if she's doing good or bad work here. What do you think? Would this story be better or worse, had Mischa Barton taken the role?

The Paper is finding its groove, isn't it? I still feel like I already know these kids, I mean like I went to high school with them as well. Do you know what I mean?

Love,

-- Pete

Monday Night Round-Up

Gossip Girl. Wow. It's been such a long time that I'm having a hard time evaluating last night's episode. It was good, but was it good? How do I feel about Blair not quite getting her revenge? A little sad. How far has Little J fallen? Really freaking far. Am I excited about or dreading the arrival of Michelle Trachtenberg? A little of both. How great will it be if Serena and Chuck team up to fight Georgina? Really freaking great. [Edited to add this.]

The Hills. Another really choppy, confusing episode. I'm not sure I know what I was looking at. The big girl-non-fight scene at Goa was very poorly choreographed, almost like someone (Lauren!) was ignoring her marks. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to feel about these various conflicts, or whether or not I'm supposed to care. I think I'm sympathizing with Spencer again. Weird.

The Paper. I'm still awfully excited about this show. I think we're heading somewhere pretty interesting. Amanda is spectacular. I feel like I went to high school with her -- the ambition, the self-delusion, the purple tights. Don't you know that girl?

Can't Talk Now. The Paper Is On!

Dear Peter,

I don't know what to tell you. It won’t surprise you to learn that I haven’t been watching Step It Up and etc. (See my open letter to the networks, You Have Grossly Overestimated My Interest in Dancing Shows [2006])* Mostly, I can’t get past the title. Why not Step Up and Dance? What, exactly, is the It? Is it the same thing as That Way (See Backstreet Boys, How I Want It)? Or is it the same thing as That (See Meatloaf, I'll Do Anything for Love, But). I don’t know, maybe I’ll give it a try. You did introduce  me to the incestuous pelvis-grinding horror that is Your Momma Don’t Dance, and that’s wonderful.

Have to go now. Amanda has a new nose!

Love,

Jenny

*(cf. You Have Grossly Overestimated My Interest in Celebrity Poker [2004] and You Have Grossly Ovestimated My Interest in Hairdressers and Fitness Trainers [2005])

OMFG

A funny thing happened to me last night. I watched the premiere episode of The Paper, again, and then I saw this promo:

and then my head exploded.  April 21, for serious.  -- Pete

Are Heidi and Spencer Broken Up or Not?

Dear Jenny,

I'm going to move pretty quickly through my responses to The Hills, because I want to get to its new timeslot neighbor, and because I'm a little bit uncomfortable about the whole thing. OK. Here goes. I think I'm sort of siding with Spencer in this break-up/relationship vacation debate. I think it's possible that Spencer has feelings and that I can relate to them. Weird, but serious. I mean, yeah, I get that Spencer is trying to manipulate Heidi, but I also can understand why he would do that, and I don't really think Heidi is being fair to him -- she wants him to go away but she also wants to control his actions. I don't know -- maybe she just allowed Spencer to trick her into an untenable argument, and all she really wants is for Spencer not to hook up right in front of her. This gets confusing, though, when you think about the whole show aspect of these actions, in which case Spencer is really doing these things because the producers tell him to, so Heidi is angry with the wrong person, but Heidi is just as controlled as Spencer and so can't say who's making her angry.

Oops.  Longer than I intended, and now my head hurts. Thanks, artifice!

New topic: I am in love with The Paper. Did you watch this? Did you read about it? I was actually walking around my living room afterwards, saying, "Oh my God," over and over again because I couldn't believe how much I was looking forward to new episodes. I'm a little worried that The Paper is a bad fit with The Hills, because in some ways it's its antithesis -- nerdy kids, not vacant beauties; emotion playing right out in front instead of scrunched in and implied; lowish production values (I need to check who's producing it, but it looks a lot like Made to me) instead of that Go Go Lucky spit-polish. I guess it doesn't matter, though, if people  like the show enough to watch it and talk about it.

Love,

-- Pete

"Surface But No Volume"

Nancy Franklin is brilliant, easily one of my favorite television critics.  Here's a really good -- albeit pretty loose -- response to The Hills.  -- Pete

Poochie!

Dear Jenny,

I think I'm about ready to pack it in on The Hills.  I know!  It's just not the same show anymore, though.  The artifice is starting to make my head hurt, for one.  A bigger problem, though, is the seeming abdication of our Core Four in favor of what seems to be shaping up to be The Stephanie Pratt Show, starring Stephanie Pratt, featuring Special Guest Star Stephanie Pratt. 

What do you think?  Maybe what MTV needs (in addition to viewers willing to watch the rest of its programming -- cheap shot) is another spin-off -- The Pratts (too obvious?), starring Spencer, Stephanie, their parents (don't you want to get aload of them?), Heidi and Brody. 

Meanwhile, our show can concentrate on the much more promising storyline about Whitney and Lauren's adventures at People's Revolution, because I L-O-V-E Kelly Cutrone. 

Love,

-- Pete

The Smell of Burning Hair

I forgot how much I liked The Hills.  I almost missed most of the premiere because I had to get up and pace, it was all just too exciting.  I mean, they got Mariah!  And she pretended that she's a fan!  And she told us a story about a curling iron accident she once had, kind of like the one Lauren had on the show!  It's possible she also sang, but I didn't stick around for that part.

Everyone else seems to be as excited as I am -- or maybe there's just nothing else on.  Either way, there's almost too much coverage to handle.  This is the best response I've read, today, anyway. -- Pete

LCTV

This semester, I've been culling articles more for one of my classes than for here: I read this article about The Hills and its role on MTV (um, sole success) and didn't even think about linking to it, although I was considering bringing it to class. 

I Think I'm Going to Throw Up

The only reason to watch MTV (seriously, people) returns tonight.  Here's what Virginia Heffernan has to say about it.