The Hills - General Discussion

[Tatum]

I watched three episodes in a row while home from work Friday afternoon, and...wow.

OK, I know any of these people would look at my life, working in an office from 8-5 (and in the winter, more like 6-6 or longer), living in the midwest 'burbs, eating at the Olive Garden and buying whatever Amazon Prime will deliver, driving a (lower) mid level SUV, and think, wow her life sucks.

But I look at them, (except for maybe Whitney), and think, what a bunch of sad sack losers. Sure, they may drive nice cars and live near a beach, but they just reek of desperation and self loathing, which they try and disguise with false arrogance. They're all so paranoid all the time that they're going to be left out of something. And they spend so much time talking about how "they don't care"- and it's clear- they really, really, REALLY care. This is totally normal behavior- for 16 year olds. Some of these people are closing in on 40 and still haven't managed to grasp self confidence or self awareness. And if they haven't by now, I doubt they ever will.

Also, did Spencer dress so tacky on the original run? The large jackets, the shirts with the loud prints, the rings on every finger? He looks like the bastard love child of Richard Simmons and one of the guys from Run DMC.

And Heidi really should not wear her hair so severely. The high ponytail pulled back so tightly is a look very few women can rock, and Heidi is not one of them. It makes her hair and face look greasy and old.

Honestly, Brandon Lee's girlfriend's face is the only one that looks remotely natural. Even Ashley, Jason's wife, is kind of bizarre looking. And Whitney I am not sure- she does not like I remember. Not sure if that's plastic surgery or something else. Maybe I am just used to seeing her with a lot more makeup.

[chenoa333]

On 9/13/2019 at 7:12 PM, Tipsymcstagger said:

My internal monologue: “I hate that I watch this shit.”

I know! But these dopes make me feel like a direct descendent of Albert Einstein. A Mensa society member!

[chenoa333]

On 9/16/2019 at 6:25 AM, Tatum said:

Sure, they may drive nice cars and live near a beach

Those nice cars are most likely financed, or up for repo and the houses on the beach are probably being paid for by grandparents or mommy/daddy. These people don't own a damn thing.

[LemonSoda]

On 9/16/2019 at 9:25 AM, Tatum said:

And Whitney I am not sure- she does not like I remember. Not sure if that's plastic surgery or something else. Maybe I am just used to seeing her with a lot more makeup.

The biggest change is the natural aging process, she lost her cheeks which made her nose more prominent and her face shape more oval. If you look at old photos she had much fuller cheeks. The icy blonde hair lit up her face and makeup did make a big difference. But the biggest change is her face thinning out. 

[chenoa333]

On 9/16/2019 at 6:25 AM, Tatum said:

He looks like the bastard love child of Richard Simmons and one of the guys from Run DMC.

🤭 He's always dressed oddly. You know the saying: dance like nobody's looking? Spencer dresses like nobody is looking

On 9/16/2019 at 6:25 AM, Tatum said:

Heidi is not one of them. It makes her hair and face look greasy and old.

😁 That's f'n funny!

[politichick]

On 9/14/2019 at 1:49 AM, scrb said:

Most of this season has appeared fake.  For instance this vow renewal thing appears to be done for the show.

Or how quickly Stephanie reconciled with Heidi and Spencer.

Then in the last two episodes, they drop this bombshell about Brody and Kaitlin’s open relationship.  Umm when she was prodding him about having a baby earlier, it might have been nice to know about this little wrinkle.

You knew it was true because neither denied it and mostly complained it was nobody else’s business.  That’s true but what do you expect, people are going to gossip.

At least Ashley didn’t make shit up, unlike Spencer who made up vicious things about LC in order to become famous.  Yet they all came to celebrate Speidi, talk about trashy people.

Kaitlin says she is always in control, lets Brody have threesomes.  Brody says she gives him a lot of freedom.  Doesn’t sound like they’re describing the same situation.

Of course outside the show, their relationship didn’t last.  They never got around to making the marriage legal so that’s convenient for whoever had more money coming into their “marriage.”

There were some real genuine moments in the finale, which you couldn’t say about the rest of the season.  Very interesting that Brody and Kaitlin talk about the legalities of marriage. He probably didn’t want to legalize it after hearing about the legal hassles Audrina was going through.

There was also chemistry as Stephanie and others teased Justin about learning right then and there that he and what’s her name were bf and gf.  

Justin Bobby apologizing to Audrina also seemed real.

Whitney talking about her complicated feelings about her miscarriage was genuine.  Odd that Timmy has appeared on the show but when she does events and scenes with the other cast, she’s always solo.

If Brody and Kaitlin both return to talk about their breakup, we know they both need money.

Spencer said in his Cosmo recaps more than once that he was trying to be cool with Stephanie in large part so she didn't go ballistic on him on blogs and social media and he had to kind of make up with her before the wedding so their mum wouldn't be angry. He did write some very fun and snarky bits about her as well as her friendship with Justin Bobby, though. (Love how that name has stood the test of time.) His recaps for this show and Siesta Keys are really fun to read and he is not too proud to say that he loves being on reality TV.

He also said that Brody was so never going to make that marriage legal because he did not want that girl getting any of his family money.

Whitney looked so different, as someone else here as noted, and definitely would have benefited from some mascara, a bit of lippy and a better hair color. Can't blame her husband for not wanting to go to cast events if he didn't have to. I missed some episodes, but based on Spencer's recaps, so did Whit. And why did she name her son Sonny? I think that's a horrible name!!!!

[Tatum]

2 hours ago, politichick said:

Spencer said in his Cosmo recaps more than once that he was trying to be cool with Stephanie in large part so she didn't go ballistic on him on blogs and social media and he had to kind of make up with her before the wedding so their mum wouldn't be angry. He did write some very fun and snarky bits about her as well as her friendship with Justin Bobby, though. (Love how that name has stood the test of time.) His recaps for this show and Siesta Keys are really fun to read and he is not too proud to say that he loves being on reality TV.

He also said that Brody was so never going to make that marriage legal because he did not want that girl getting any of his family money.

I was glad he clarified that his insistence that Brody apologize to Stephanie was not him all the sudden playing protective brother, but rather that he knew any friendly overtures to Brody prior to an apology would be met with Stephanie taking the most inopportune time to come screaming at him. You could argue that it's enabling her, but it's not him being a hypocrite. Spencer has always been pretty transparent that he does what's good for Spencer.

I wonder how aware Kaitlynn was that she and Brody were never going to make it official.

I was disappointed that Whitney basically facilitated a meeting where Kaitlynn could passive aggressively bitch out Ashley. Poor Ashley was probably so stoked to hang out and drink some wine and instead she gets a lecture while Whitney just sits there with a judgmental look on her face. Whitney could have least given her a heads up that she was going to be ambushed or tried to steer the conversation back to something else.

[TrixieTrue]

7 hours ago, Tatum said:

I was glad he clarified that his insistence that Brody apologize to Stephanie was not him all the sudden playing protective brother, but rather that he knew any friendly overtures to Brody prior to an apology would be met with Stephanie taking the most inopportune time to come screaming at him.  

That's interesting, because to me, Brody's apology was one of the better ones I've seen on this show. Usually we get something along the lines of "I'm sorry you were offended." (Ashley's apology to Kaitlynn was something along those lines). Brody's seemed sincere and for once, Stephanie was very quiet and just listened.  

[LemonSoda]

Binge watching the original series because I have nothing better to do. I had forgotten the atrocious storyline of Audrina believing Lauren hooked up with Justin Bobby. 

[teapot]

16 hours ago, LemonSoda said:

Binge watching the original series because I have nothing better to do. I had forgotten the atrocious storyline of Audrina believing Lauren hooked up with Justin Bobby. 

That was crazy!  And I thought it was fake...except for LC crying...was she *that* good of an actress???  Confusing to this day!!!

[LemonSoda]

6 hours ago, teapot said:

That was crazy!  And I thought it was fake...except for LC crying...was she *that* good of an actress???  Confusing to this day!!!

I think the emotion was real. She felt so betrayed that Audrina would even question something so atrocious that the anger and hurt made her cry. Even if certain situations were fake, I feel like the emotions were always real. Lauren and Heidi on the boat crying? That might’ve been producer instigated but the hug, crying between them was real. 

 

[Black Knight]

9 hours ago, teapot said:

That was crazy!  And I thought it was fake...except for LC crying...was she *that* good of an actress???  Confusing to this day!!!

My opinion always was that Audrina made the whole thing up for attention (and also maybe she was bitter about Lauren not liking/approving of Justin Bobby and this was her weird revenge by trying to make it seem like Lauren actually hooked up with him and so he couldn't be a loser after all), but Lauren wasn't in on it and was genuinely upset.

One thing that struck me was how Audrina brought that woman to her confrontation with Lauren. I don't remember her being introduced or otherwise identified and she certainly didn't look like someone Audrina would have for a friend. My suspicion is that she was Audrina's publicist or something like that.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎6‎/‎8‎/‎2020 at 9:05 AM, LemonSoda said:

Binge watching the original series because I have nothing better to do. I had forgotten the atrocious storyline of Audrina believing Lauren hooked up with Justin Bobby. 

I was not surprised. Audrina is pretty stupid.

[LemonSoda]

3 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I was not surprised. Audrina is pretty stupid.

Truth! 

[pinkandsparkly13]

Yeah I hated Audrina at that time, for believing it in the first place and then calling all their friends and asking them about it, going around calling Lauren a slut. Actually I read some stuff from Lauren about that situation recently. She talked about it a long time ago, but I only recently saw it. She said Audrina called her and asked if she did it, and she just laughed and asked if she was serious and Audrina said yes. She heard people in the background calling her a slut. I guess Audrina heard it from someone she trusted so she believed it. Lauren said she actually confronted that person sometime later. 

I also hated that Audrina didn't think she owed Lauren an apology for anything at first. I'm like yeah you do! You wouldn't believe her and you went around talking crap about her when she did nothing wrong. I mean Lauren was nothing but a good friend to pretty much everyone. Why would she think she would ever do that, with Justin of all people? She was so stupid. I mean I guess if she heard it from a good friend she thought she could trust, I could see why she might believe it even though it's completely outrageous. Idk if that friend made it up just to see the drama unfold or if they heard it from someone else who wanted to cause drama. 

[LemonSoda]

Did anyone else listen to Whitney’s podcast with Lauren? 

[UGAmp]

On 10/9/2020 at 9:07 PM, LemonSoda said:

Did anyone else listen to Whitney’s podcast with Lauren? 

I did! I enjoyed it! I think Lauren keeps everything close to the vest and isn’t going to share a ton after being completely out of control with what was shared on tv of her life for several years.

I saw some complaints that Lauren didn’t ask Whitney many questions but it was technically an interview with Lauren, hosted by Whitney. I thought there were good questions but you could tell Whit was nervous. I hope they can truly rekindle their friendship after growing apart. It didn’t seem like there’s any bad blood between them. Just time and life got in the way. I’m very curious as to the friend Whitney mentioned that she had a falling out with who became one of Lauren’s best friends. 

Lastly, Whitney has a YouTube channel and did a series during quarantine rewatching every episode of The City with her husband (who was a producer on the show). It was super entertaining and you got some behind the scenes info and comments about what was fake and producer driven. You also basically get to watch every episode since it is playing as they comment on it.  I highly recommend! They just finished The City last week and will be doing the original seasons of The Hills next!!

[LemonSoda]

9 hours ago, UGAmp said:

I did! I enjoyed it! I think Lauren keeps everything close to the vest and isn’t going to share a ton after being completely out of control with what was shared on tv of her life for several years.

I saw some complaints that Lauren didn’t ask Whitney many questions but it was technically an interview with Lauren, hosted by Whitney. I thought there were good questions but you could tell Whit was nervous. I hope they can truly rekindle their friendship after growing apart. It didn’t seem like there’s any bad blood between them. Just time and life got in the way. I’m very curious as to the friend Whitney mentioned that she had a falling out with who became one of Lauren’s best friends. 

Lastly, Whitney has a YouTube channel and did a series during quarantine rewatching every episode of The City with her husband (who was a producer on the show). It was super entertaining and you got some behind the scenes info and comments about what was fake and producer driven. You also basically get to watch every episode since it is playing as they comment on it.  I highly recommend! They just finished The City last week and will be doing the original seasons of The Hills next!!

I’ve always felt that way too about Lauren. Not in a snob way but in an “I lived my life on tv for years and now my life is my own” type of way. 
I understand why she needed to distance herself from all of it. 
I’m curious who the friend is too!

Whitney mentioned having to close down Whitney Eve, has she ever said why? It closed without notice. It just disappeared. I loved a lot of the designs but the materials not so much. 

I need to watch her City commentary! I wish it had been given another season. I know many find her boring but sometimes we need a boring, good person on tv to help balance the trash. 

[UGAmp]

8 hours ago, LemonSoda said:

Whitney mentioned having to close down Whitney Eve, has she ever said why? It closed without notice. It just disappeared. I loved a lot of the designs but the materials not so much. 

I need to watch her City commentary! I wish it had been given another season. I know many find her boring but sometimes we need a boring, good person on tv to help balance the trash. 

You should definitely watch it! Whitney gives a lot of insight into her fashion line. I forgot how much it was a featured storyline on the show, especially the second season. Basically, once her dad sadly passed away, it was too hard for her and her sibling/s to continue to run the business. The line was never super successful. She actually says Kelly Cutrone advised her go down the path Lauren did: an affordable fashion line in a store like Kohl’s. Whitney wanted higher-end stores to sell her stuff with a higher price point. She says if she could do it all over again, she would have done what Lauren did. 

I wish there had been more seasons/episodes too! When it ends, you can tell production had no idea. there’s no resolution and really there aren’t even cliffhangers. It just ends. Which is wild because I would have bet money that Erin quit working at Elle in one of the last episodes. It’s hinted that she’s thinking about it but she never officially tells Joe Zee. Mandela effect I guess.

And bringing it back to The Hills: I remember Lauren was supposed to have another reality show that focused on her fashion line at the time, Paper Crown. She refused to let it include her personal life so they axed it. I wish that show would have been made. Or was being made now! It’s still an option! Get on it MTV! 

[Black Knight]

We have a separate thread for The Hills: New Beginnings. I have moved the last two posts there. Thanks!

[snarts]

If Spencer & Heidi are having financial issues, why the heck do they have two assistants when neither of them work full time outside of house? Why does Heidi need a glam squad?  She comes out looking ridiculous anyway.

I am shocked, really, that Justin Bobby has become my favorite. 

[moonchild81]

i think the friend lauren is talking about is lo

[aghst]

MTV rebooting The Hills with a new cast for Paramount +

 

https://deadline.com/2022/05/the-hills-next-gen-reboot-series-mtv-1235026618/

 

[UniqBlue69]

Quote

“They will navigate realities of race, class, identity, addiction, family drama along with the thrills of romance and becoming self-made amidst the exclusive enclave of the hills in Malibu.”

I hate to throw out the word "woke" because I feel it has been co-opted as a dog whistle by bigoted assholes but it would seem to fit. The original series was largely successful because each episode was a frothy, easily digestible 20 minutes in which we got to watch vapid, pretty twenty-somethings whose biggest concern was whether that night of revelry would take place at Les Deux or .. okay, apparently Les Deux was the only Hollywood hotspot because we never saw the cast carouse anywhere else. Point is, MTV needs to get it together because this ain't it.

[aghst]

Hmm, I missed the part about twenty somethings.

The original were high school kids, so they should have been 17 or 18 at the oldest.

And New Beginnings, the cast was well over 30?

I didn't know the Hills were set in Malibu.  Are there apartments or sub $2 million homes in Malibu?

Yeah if the reboot is about them going from one club to another or one fake event to another, like New Beginnings, then the producers probably believe New Beginnings had the right formula but the cast wasn't right or too old to draw big ratings.

OTOH, these producers probably don't have great ideas either.  All reality shows these days is about getting the cast together at these fake events and they can snipe at each other.

Snipe at each other on social media and then get together at these events for face to face confrontations.

So ply them with booze and encourage them to trash talk each other, profit!

Some of the cast members on New Beginnings are in their twenties aren't they?

Pamela Anderson's kid and that chick who was supposedly married to Brody?  Watch them bring them back to the cast.

[snarts]

53 minutes ago, aghst said:

The original were high school kids, so they should have been 17 or 18 at the oldest.

And New Beginnings, the cast was well over 30?

I didn't know the Hills were set in Malibu.  Are there apartments or sub $2 million homes in Malibu?

The original was Laguna Beach.  That was set in high school.

The Hills was a sequel to Laguna Beach that followed Lauren down to Hollywood (the hills being the Hollywood Hills, not Malibu).  The cast was all in their early 20s.

The Hills of late had many of the original cast (minus Lauren) with some extras thrown in, all in their 30s.

This new version might be more interesting. I'm thinking Siesta Key vibe but in LA.

[aghst]

They need to be a lot better than Siesta Key, which is dreck.

Need to be more imaginative than Hills New Beginnings though I have no expectations that it will be.

 

At least the original JS cast, while leaning into the usual bing drinking debauchery  of reality shows, also showed some quirks.

They tried to tout this guido culture, which was mostly about over the top hairdos, including for guys.  MTV had actually done a doc about guido culture feature a couple of the cast members.

Then someone got the bright idea, do a show and make them get drunk and fight and the rest is history.

 

The only Hollywood/LA culture which they will play up are the stereotypes.