Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
Genre	Reality TV Teen drama
Created by	Liz Gateley
Starring	Lauren Conrad (Season 1–2) Kristin Cavallari (Season 1–2) Tessa Keller (Season 3)
Opening theme	"Come Clean" by Hilary Duff
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	43 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Tony DiSanto
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	MTV
Original run	September 28, 2004 (2004-09-28) – November 16, 2006 (2006-11-16)
Chronology
Followed by	The Hills
Related shows	Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, often referred to simply as Laguna Beach, is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from September 28, 2004 until November 16, 2006. It documents the lives of several teenagers living in Laguna Beach, an affluent seaside community located in Orange County, California, United States. It differs from the usual reality show in that it is structured as a traditional narrative (more commonly seen in fictionalized television dramas or soap operas) rather than a straightforward observant documentary-style, which reality TV purportedly attempts to portray.

Having been relatively successful, the series produced an even more popular spin-off called The Hills, which follows the life of one of the Laguna Beach characters Lauren Conrad after she graduates high school and pursues a career in Los Angeles.

Overview

Development

During initial development of the show, ideas were to create a reality show which followed the lives of several wealthy teens. MTV producers thought about setting the show in Beverly Hills, mimicking the successful fictional 1990s FOX television show Beverly Hills, 90210. Producers scouted numerous other affluent Southern California rich towns and beaches including San Marino, Santa Barbara, Palos Verdes, Carlsbad, Malibu, and Dana Point, before deciding to locate the show in Laguna Beach.

Its name was derived from the popular teen drama series The O.C., which glamorized the life of the wealthy living in Newport Beach.

The main character and narrator of the first season Lauren Conrad's home can be seen on MTV Cribs ^[1] This house was the setting for several scenes in all seasons of the show.

Format and structure

Each season documents the lives of a group of young people living in Laguna Beach, California and attending Laguna Beach High School. Casting would interview applicants about school, their social life, and any romantic interests in search of a story to document that would be of interest to the target audience. Cameras were not invited into the school, but a single camera was taken into formal dances usually by a cast member and some footage was used on-air. The only event to which cameras were allowed was graduation because it was in a public venue rather than the school itself. According to the MTV behind the scenes show “The Hills: Revealed” which aired July 14, 2010, school officials originally agreed with the producers to let camera crews shoot on school grounds and school events such as prom. However, because of the widespread, public backlash against the “wardrobe malfunction” of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show featuring Janet Jackson - a show which MTV produced - administrators later changed their mind and decided not to be affiliated with Laguna Beach production. For this reason, most of the episodes were shot with the cast around town or going out, producing a noticeably different tone of reality show.^[2]

Each season started with the introduction of new characters, in an order tied by friendship or love interest. The season usually follows the same structure in which romantic relationships played a bigger role toward the beginning and rivalries were played up nearing the finale. The major themes throughout the seasons include romance/unrequited love, friendships and rivalries, and the presence of wealth.

In the case of rivalries, production invited cast members and their friends to a "peace bonfire" on the beach, in which cast members were to clear the air of any drama. The bonfire was documented early in season 1 where Stephen and Kristin fought because of a new boy Kristin was interested in, Sam. In season 2, Jessica and Alex M were to discuss Alex M's relationship with Jessica's ex-boyfriend, Jason, but Alex M did not comply with "not kissing Jason in front of [Jessica]." In season 3, Rocky and Alex talked about the status of their relationship and later broke up, and Alex went on to ask Lexie for her phone number.

Each season ended with some major event taking place, other than graduation. In seasons 1 and 2, Trey organized fashion shows to help fundraise money for Active Young Americans (season 1) and landslide victims (season 2) with much of the cast either as models or entertainment. In season 3, Chase's band, Open Air Stereo, had its first live show in Los Angeles with much of the cast in attendance. Filming locations include: Yorkton, Saskatchewan as well as Lac la Biche, Alberta.

Ratings

Seasons 1 and 2 of Laguna Beach showed positive ratings. After the third season showed a decline in ratings and lacked a fourth-season story arc, producers considered cancellation. Instead of pulling the popular program, producers moved "The Real Orange County" up the coast to Newport Harbor with a completely new cast.This cast failed to entertain viewers and the show was then cancelled.

Spin-offs

• Cast member Lauren Conrad had her road to independence documented in a spin-off entitled The Hills after season 2. She was shown driving out of Laguna Beach to an apartment in Los Angeles where she met her good friend, Heidi Montag, whom she originally met while at an art school in San Francisco. There she spends her days attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and interning for various fashion companies such as Teen Vogue and People's Revolution. Along with her car and her clothes, Jason came with Lauren to Los Angeles and cameras documented their rocky relationship and eventual breakup. At the end of the third season, Laguna cast member Lo would join Lauren as her new roommate. In early May 2009, MTV announced that Laguna cast member Kristin Cavallari would join the cast of The Hills for the second half of season 5.^[3] The show, originally following Lauren's life, premiered on MTV on May 31, 2006, and ended her storyline on the May 31, 2009 episode. The series continued to air with Cavallari as the main character until July 13, 2010.
• The Real Orange County series moved to Newport Beach, California for a similar, albeit unrelated "fourth season" with a completely new cast from Newport Harbor High School. Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County premiered August 15, 2007 and lasted only one season.

Cast

Main article: List of Laguna Beach cast members

Episode guide

Main article: List of Laguna Beach episodes

Season One

• Premiere: September 28, 2004
• Narration: Lauren Conrad

Stephen Colletti has fallen for long-time girlfriend, Kristin Cavallari, much to the dislike of Lauren Conrad (LC), Stephen's close childhood friend. During the times when Stephen and Kristin were at low points in their relationship, Stephen would turn to LC while Kristin went on to hook up with other boys, including Talan Torriero. Though these three make a big splash when it comes to romance, much of the trio's close friends had their minds set on other things, including Trey Phillips spending time promoting his non-profit organization, Active Young America, Christina Schuller trying to make singing a professional career, and all their senior friends preparing for college.

Season Two

• Premiere: July 25, 2005
• Narration: Kristin Cavallari

Kristin has emerged as a leader among her clique, which includes Jessica Smith and Alex Hooser, rivaling the ways of Alex Murrel and Taylor Cole. Both cliques, however, shared one thing in common: Jason Wahler, Laguna's biggest heart breaker, who goes on to date both Jessica and Alex. Meanwhile, Stephen comes back to woo ex-girlfriend, Kristin, but also remains loyal to his best girl, Lauren, who moved back home during her second semester. The girls eventually grow out of their rivalry and befriend each other, leading to tearful good-byes when leaving for college.

Season Three

• Premiere: August 16, 2006
• Narration: Tessa Keller

Tessa's life changed dramatically after sophomore year, leaving her with only Rocky (Raquel Donatelli) by her side. The two have a rivalry Kyndra Mayo with her cohorts Cami Edwards and Nikki Dowers. These girls spend their days rekindling romances, shopping around town, and partying with their close friends, including Cameron and girlfriend Jessica (from season 2). When she is having guy problems with Derrick, Tessa can always turn to her best guy-friend, Chase, only when he's not spending time rehearsing with Open Air Stereo who eventually signs a contract with Epic Records. Toward the end of the season, Tessa and Rocky grow apart once Rocky reconciles with former best friend, Breanna Conrad (LC's sister), who Tessa doesn't get along with.

DVD releases

Season	Release date	# of episodes	# of discs	Special features
The Complete 1st Season	July 19, 2005	11	3	Deleted Scenes, Cast Interviews, LC's House Tour, Casting Tapes, Lo's Guide to Laguna Beach, Behind-the-Season One Finale, Laguna Beach Highlights: The Laguna Triangle, Laguna Looks, Music Videos
The Complete 2nd Season	August 8, 2006	17	3	Deleted Scenes, Cast Interviews, Laguna Memories, Laguna Beach Highlights, Laguna Guide to Love, Fight the Slide 2005, Behind the Season 2 Finale with Cast, Seventeen Magazine Cosmo Shoot, Cosmo Girl Magazine Photo Shoot, Casting Tapes
The Complete 3rd Season	August 4, 2008	15	3	Deleted Scenes, Cast Interviews, Cast Photo Album, Laguna Beach: The Aftershow

Criticisms

• There has been much debate throughout the series over how "real" and "true" the show actually is due to the quality and quantity of the camera angles and the alleged public discovery that many of the show's scenes are manipulated by the show's producers. Cite "production manipulation" in episode 208 ("What Goes Around") in which production allegedly staged a bonfire before inviting cast members to interact with one another and had also instructed Jason with his entrance and dialogue.
• The Parents Television Council (PTC) argued that the sexually explicit and profane content in the series makes the show inappropriate for its intended audience. It included the series in its 2004 study on profanity, violence, and sexual content on cable television.^[4] Although much of the profane language throughout the series is censored, the PTC pointed out that the context in which the censored words were used made them discernible, which in their view rendered the censorship useless. The PTC also criticized MTV for not including content indicators such as "L" (language) or "S" (sexual content) in addition to its television ratings for the show, a move that prevents viewers from being able to effectively use the V-chip feature found on some televisions to control the broadcast of the show into their homes. MTV airs the show several times during daytime hours in addition to its regular timeslots around 10:00 PM (ET), and the PTC claimed that the adolescents whom MTV is targeting are being exposed to "excessive sexual and profane content through inaccurately rated programs." ^[5]
• A recent study^[6] in the journal Economics Letters demonstrated that Laguna Beach caused an increase in crime in the Laguna Beach area.

See also

• Baldwin Hills (TV series)
• Freshwater Blue
• Harlem Heights (TV series)
• Living on the Edge (TV series)
• Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County
• The Audrina Show
• The City (MTV series)
• The Hills

References

1. ^ "Lauren Conrad on MTV Cribs". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlDpOr0ryLo. 
2. ^ The Hills » MTV Remote Control Blog
3. ^ RemoteControl.MTV.com
4. ^ Cable TV Study - Violence, sex and profanity on cable - Basic Cable Awash in Raunch, ParentsTV.org
5. ^ ParentsTV.org^{[dead link]}
6. ^ [1]

External links

• Official website
• Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County at the Internet Movie Database
• Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County at TV.com