Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County - TV-PG

"Real" OC is just like the fake one; mature teens.

TV Rating: TV-PG Network: MTV Genre: Reality TV
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this show offers plenty of mild profanity, sexuality, and other possibly objectionable content, as well as general silliness. Even teen viewers may take offense at how empty and shallow the minds and lives of the cast members appear to be. Alternatively, teens may be easily swayed by the lavish, lax lifestyle of these teens who shop, lounge, and tan on their parents' dime.

Families can talk about what's important in their lives vs. what seems to be important to the teens on the show. What parts of their lifestyle are appealing? Which ones aren't? Is anything on the show similar to your own teens' life? What impression does this program give your kids about Southern California -- or teenage life in general?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Betsy Wallace

According to MTV's promotional line for LAGUNA BEACH: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY, "it's one of the wealthiest beach communities in the world, and MTV has unlimited access to the tight-knit power clique of the rich, beautiful teens who live there."

Regretfully, MTV's description is much more exciting than the actual footage. While this show isn't quite as racy as its inspiration -- Fox's drama The O.C. -- it manages to offer even less substance.

Each episode consists of scenes from the lives of real kids attending high school in Laguna Beach, California -- most notably Lauren "LC" Conrad, Kristin Cavallari, Stephen Colletti, and Tallan Torriero. Some of the teens have graduated and gone off to college, allowing for underclassman to take center stage.

Rather than following the reality show format of having cameras on the cast at all times, isolated segments are presented in a dramatic format (as if they were scripted), complete with musical score. The result is a series that resembles a soap opera, but one in which even less happens per episode. Wildly different camera angles of the same scene should leave audience members wondering exactly how many takes were shot to get the latest confrontation, just right.

The problem with adding dramatic conventions to a reality show is that there's no drama in the sense of crafted characters, conflicts, and resolutions. Episodes feature the recurring characters talking and going places -- and preparing for important rites of passage like prom and graduation -- but meandering, meaningless scenes stack up to produce a show about nothing.

Because the community banned MTV's cameras from the classroom, you never see the Laguna Beach kids at school. Most are college-bound, but the show only features their leisure time. As a result, they come across as more careless and flaky than they really might be. Some teen viewers will enjoy watching two girls vie for the same cute guy's attention (as well as seeing the guy switch back and forth). But this love/lust/flirtation triangle grows boring quickly, and a critical teen viewer may wish for more characters and more variety in subject matter.

Better MTV reality series with a dramatic-yet-informative twist include MADE and Miss Seventeen.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content High school girls dress as sexily as possible; constant focus on the opposite sex and who's hooking up with whom; sexual innuendos; love triangles.
Violence
Language Slang and some mild profanity ("slut," "bitch," etc.) as teens speak in their "real," unscripted manner.
Message
	Social Behavior Jealousy and petty behavior are common; characters have love triangles and talk behind each other's back; the cast is uniformly white and wealthy. Qualities that might make these kids good role models aren't highlighted. One girl has vowed to abstain from sex until marriage.
	Commercialism The featured teens have expensive cars and clothes and more spending money than the average teen.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco The teens do a lot of partying and some of them drink -- they're never seen with containers of alcohol since they're underage, but it's implied. Teens appear to be intoxicated during a spring break trip to Mexico, as well as during parties.