Ratings for MTV's darling, "The Hills," are down this year over the last season -- whereas Season Three netted over 4 million viewers, this outing (the fifth) has been flatlining around 3 million. This might be less surprising, if it weren't the cherished show's last season (or, at least, supposedly the last with heroine Lauren Conrad intact -- the AP is reporting today that the show's producers are in talks about a Season Six) and if it weren't a markedly better, more dramatic, more eventful season than the fourth or even its putrid spinoff, "The City."
Why no love for Lauren? The L.A. Times and other have speculated that viewers will continue to atrophy as the show distances itself from the actual lives of its "real" main characters, and now more than ever does that appear to be true. The first few installments of this season have led us to believe that Heidi and Spencer -- -- are calling it quits. And that the "unattached" Lauren, Lo and Audrina really need a girls' trip to Hawaii, to get over the lack of men in their lives.
Meanwhile, Conrad is inseparable from boyfriend and "My Boys" actor Kyle Howard, and has been for months (single girls' weekend? ), while the rest of the cast is gushing about Speidi's wedding this Saturday, to which Conrad and others have been invited (bridesmaids are asked to wear ivory, yellow or green -- and don't worry, MTV will be rolling tape). No need to sit through all those commercials, this season OR next, when you can just hit refresh on Us Weekly.
So for something a little fresher, check out Tuesday's TV column from Washington Post TV critic Lisa de Moraes. Conrad dishes via a pool call about how hard it was for her to learn dialogue for her upcoming guest appearance on "Family Guy" -- she was cast as Brian's new love interest, a genius version of herself. Duly, her script was full of "big words" and flashy genius vocabulary, causing the need for an acting coach whose sole advice seems to have been, "Consult a dictionary."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
