Name the last spin-off series that created multiple successful spin-offs of its own. There is likely only one show that has ever been able to pull off that feat, and it’s a reality series on MTV called The Hills. That series was spun from Laguna Beach, which in turn is really a spin-off of several prime-time scripted soaps, most notably The O.C.. Now The Hills has created at least one spin-off, The City, and there are rumors that the stars of The Hills may return to television in another series. With the fifth and final season of The Hills as we know currently airing on MTV, it’s time to look back at season four and decide whether or not this reality show is for real or just scripted that way.
Three years in and MTV is still following the breakout star of the innovative and hugely popular reality series Laguna Beach, Lauren Conrad. Lauren moved to Los Angeles after graduating high school to attend fashion school and eventually got an internship with Teen Vogue magazine. She initially got an apartment with her friend Heidi. However, since then they have ended their friendship because Lauren didn’t like the guy Heidi was dating. Lauren quickly made new friends with Audrina, who Heidi actually knew first, and Whitney from Teen Vogue. As far as Lauren’s love life goes, she finally learned that Jason is not the guy for her and is now trying to stay out of the relationships of her friends.
For this fourth season of The Hills, Lauren is still attending The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in pursuit of her career as a fashion designer. Heidi currently works for Bolthouse Productions, a public relations firm in Los Angles which is responsible for many high-profile events popular with the media. Heidi is still dating Spencer as their up and down relationship continues to do just that, go up and down, but how much of that is planned? Heidi and Lauren still hate each other, by the way, but Heidi is the least of Lauren’s worries.
In the fourth season, Lauren has moved into a new house with her friends, Audrina, and long time best friend from the Laguna Beach days, Lo Bosworth. Audrina works for Epic Records and seems to make a pretty good living. Soon Lo and Audrina start to fight, and Lauren is left in the middle as a peacemaker. Somehow Audrina is still hanging around slimy Justin Bobby, and Lauren is still looking in all the wrong places for the “right” guy. Elsewhere, Heidi is also having some roommate problems this season when both Spencers sister, Stephanie, and Heidi’s sister, Holly, both arrive on the scene. This puts a strain on the “Spidey” relationship. Meanwhile, Whitney begins a bicoastal life style traveling between Los Angles and New York as required by her job for People’s Revolution, a fashion industry public relations firm. She ultimately leaves that job when she lands a position in the Diane von Furstenberg fashion house.
What made Laguna Beach and the earlier seasons of The Hills so interesting at first was because it had an unique format. These were the first reality shows where the cast members NEVER talked to the camera directly. It was almost voyeuristic in nature. This season it’s clear that The Hills is no longer reality. Certain situations are blatantly set up and managed to get exactly the stories and reactions that the producers think will make for great dramatic television. It’s really come to the point where the stars of this show aren’t even denying it anymore. They tell you in interviews that certain scenes have been re-shot and lines have been cut down to play up the drama. There are even reports everywhere that the people on this show get paid lots and lots of money to be on the show. This really hurts the overall quality of the series in these later seasons.
The fourth season of The Hills is officially where this season made the complete transition to a scripted reality series. Some may argue that there are no true reality shows anymore; The Hills is just wising up to the fact. That really hurts the show. Everyone on this series is obviously just trying to make a name for themselves, and that means none of these people are truly likable anymore. Even Lauren starts to get more annoying and fake during this season. Whitney is about the only one you can root for, and that’s likely due to the fact that she hardly appears. On her own series, The City she is definitely less likable than when she did appear on The Hills. But in the end, this series still has some great teenage soap opera storylines going on here. So no one should wonder why this show is so popular with the target demographic that MTV is aiming for. At the same time, this season is less of a guilty pleasure than earlier seasons due to the fact that the majority of the people on this show now are less likable than they use to be, and it’s harder to care what actually is going on in their lives.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – We’ll Never Be Friends
The tension between Lo, Lauren and Audrina continues and soon things reach boiling point.
Episode 2 – Drama Follows Them
Stephanie’s birthday party is around the corner and so everyone tries to make an appearance. Also things start to change for Whitney.
Episode 3 – Better Off As Friends
Whitney’s love life starts to heat up while Lauren’s starts to cool down. Meanwhile Heidi and Spencer fight.
Episode 4 – Boys Make Girls Cry
Brody attacks Stephanie and insults her, just before he’s arrested.
Episode 5 – Something Has To Change
Brody is still in jail, so the girls try to come up with a way to get him out. Plus Audrina and Lauren finally sit down and talk to each other.
Episode 6 – You Always Miss A Best Friend
Justin goes MIA. Holly calls Lauren, but how will Heidi and Spencer react to that?
Episode 7 – While Lauren’s Away
When Lauren is away for a couple of days, Stephanie and Doug start dating secretly. How long will that stay a secret though?
Episode 8 – Don’t Act Innocent
Doug and Stephanie have to explain themselves to Lauren. Meanwhile Heidi’s mother pays a visit.
Episode 9 – If She Never Met Spencer
Heidi tries to reach out to Lauren. Meanwhile Audrina has a date, but what will Justin say to that?
Disc Two:
Episode 10 – Who to Choose?
Spencer sets an ultimatum for Holly to move out. Meanwhile Audrina checks which boy is best for her. Will it be Justin?
The Lost Scenes (part 1)
Episode 11 – You’ll Never Have This
Spencer tries to break up Stephanie’s relationship. Meanwhile Lauren and her friends meet in Cabo.
Episode 12 – Want You To Be With Me
It’s time for the truth in Stephanie’s and Audrina’s relationships.
Episode 13 – It’s Her Move
Audrina is searching for a new place to stay with Justin. Meanwhile Heidi runs into trouble at work.
Episode 14 – Back To New York
Whitney and Lauren are called to New York to work on Buckler’s Fashion show. Meanwhile Heidi has to deal with her new situation.
Episode 15 – One Last Chance
SBE offers Heidi one last chance. Meanwhile Holly finds a new place to crash.
Episode 16 – You Did This
Audrina believes a rumor she hears: that Lauren hooked up with Justin. Meanwhile Holly tries to get Heidi away from Spencer.
Episode 17 – It’s About Trust
The Pratts try to be a family for once and Audrina hopes Lauren will talk to her again.
Episode 18 – Dream Boy, Dream Job
Whitney gets an incredible job opportunity in New York.
Disc Three:
Episode 19 – Mr. & Mrs. Pratt
Whitney prepares to move to New York and Spencer and Heidi make a holiday trip to Mexico.
Episode 20 – I Heidi Take Thee Spencer…
While one couple argues over legalizing their marriage another one is about to get married. Also Lauren runs into Heidi.
The video is given in anamorphic widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer this season is fantastic for a television series. Colors are strong and the picture stays mainly crisp throughout each episode. No major or minor problems here.
The audio included is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. There are subtitles available in English as well. No major problems here either, and pretty much top-notch audio quality for television series.
Cast Interviews –
Lauren, Heidi, Audrina, and Whitney are all interviewed about the events of this season. This is basically a summary of the entire season through each of their eyes. All together this totals 52 minutes. Again interesting to hear if you are a hardcore fan of the series, and since there are no audio commentaries this season, you have to listen to these to learn behind-the-scenes stuff. The girls are actually more likable and seem more real when they are talking about the show, rather than actually being in the show.
Deleted Scenes –
There are 24 deleted scenes that total 40 minutes. Here you actually get to see some “real” scenes that didn’t fit into the main storylines the producers wanted to tell in the actual episodes.
“Lessons In Love” Featurette –
This runs 5 minutes and basically the girls you tips on dating. But they are not love experts and they tell you that when they all urge viewers to pick up a book names “Lessons In Love”. So this is a big promo piece for this book really.
The After Show Remixes –
These are short one or two minutes clips of goofy moments from the show and mixing them in with a song in the background. The subjects focused on these bits include how many times people drink, say “Oh my God”, characters who have left the series, and various crying moments. These poke fun at the series, which means they are quite entertaining.
Photo Shoots –
Both the photo shoot for the season 4 promotion and the cover of Rolling Stone are shown here. These are somewhat fun to watch.
“Virtual Hills” –
This is a 2 minute tutorial for the website, where you can create your own character that can interact with other fans who have created their own little world with the cyber characters from the show. Super fans will want to do this for sure.
The Hills is still the top-rated show for women between the ages of 12 and 34 everywhere. The quality of the fourth season dropped when compared to earlier seasons due to the fact that the people on the show seem more fake. But if you love drama, you will love this show. If you want the best of The Hills try the first or second season. But if you want to prep yourself for season 5, this is the season to get since this new scripted reality is Hills at its best. Hardcore fans will want to buy this for sure, but the lack of audio commentaries this season might disappoint some.
Paramount/MTV Home Entertainment presents The Hills: The Complete Fourth Season. Created by Adam Divello. Starring Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, and Spencer Pratt. Running time: 392 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: March 3, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
