The Hills: Season Five, Part Two (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

More drama, cattiness and misunderstandings plus everything you come to love about MTV ‘s hit reality TV series “The Hills”.  And for “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” fans… prepare yourself for the return of Kristin Cavallari and a guaranteed “bitchy” season five, part two of “The Hills”!

Images courtesy of © 2010 MTV Networks. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Hills: Season Five, Part Two

DURATION: (10 Episodes) 220 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital

RATED: NOT RATED

COMPANY: MTV/Paramount

Released on April 27, 2010

Directed by Hisham Abed

Executive Producer: Sean Travis

Co-Executive Producer: Sara Mast

Supervising Producer: Kristofer Lindquist, Bill Langworthy

Music by Jon Ernst

Cinematography by Rachel Morrison

Edited by Michael Friedman, Kristofer Lindquist

Starring:

Kristin Cavallari

Audrina Patridge

Heidi Montag

Stephanie Pratt

Spencer Pratt

Lauren Bosworth

Justin Brescia

Holly Montag

Frankie Delgado

Brody Jenner

Jayde Nicole

Heidi and Spencer’s wedding brought everyone together – and now that Kristin Cavallari is back on the scene, she’s not going anywhere. She has L.A. nearly conquered, but she has to yet find the one person to share it with. When she crosses paths with Justin-Bobby, sparks fly. Audrina has a new man in her life and seems to have moved on from Justin, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to see him with another girl, especially not Lauren’s old rival Kristin. Meanwhile Brody is still with his Playmate girlfriend Jayde, but with his ex-girlfriend Kristin back on the scene, how long can that last? Heidi and Spencer are moving to suburbia and a life of wedded bliss, but they’ll quickly discover that married life isn’t as perfect as their storybook wedding.

Since 2006, “The Hills” (a spin-off of MTV’s popular teen series “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County”) has detailed the lives of Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag and Audrina Patridge.   And in 2009, the first part of the fifth season was the final episodes for Lauren Conrad and a bridge to the second part of the fifth season, bringing back “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” diva Kristin Cavallari with a lot of hype going into the show as fans were ecstatic that “The Bitch is Back”.

What may seem as a knock against Cavallari may be a bit overblown as the former series featured the drama between Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari for the attention of Stephen but for this second part of “The Hills”, this time the rivalry pits Cavallari with ex-boyfriend Brody Jenner’s girlfriend/Playboy playmate Jayde Nicole and also against Lauren’s former roommate Audrina Patridge when Kristin starts hooking up with Audrina’s bad boy, Justin Brescia.

So, the big question is can “The Hills” survive without Lauren Conrad?  And the question is yes.  Will the friendship dynamic that we saw with Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port still be a big part with the current ladies of the show?  Not too much.

In fact, aside from Kristin Cavallari’s return, America has been tuning into the Pratts as newly married couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt who have been gaining a lot of attention in the media before the series aired on television have definitely entranced America.  From the couple’s appearance on the reality TV show “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here”, the couple’s diss on Today Show’s Al Roker, Montag’s music career and even today, the two have managed to stay in the media showing no signs that their 15 minutes of fame are up.

In this second part of the fifth season,Kristin Cavallari makes her debut on the show and not long after the show has started, do we see the drama begin.  Kristin starts talking to Justin (the former boyfriend of Audrina Patridge) and immediately, Stephanie tries to intervene for her friend Audrina and an argument ensues.  Needless to say, Audrina and Kristin do not get along at all.  But also not taking a liking towards Kristin is Brody Jenner’s Playmate girlfriend Jayde who starts becoming very jealous that Brody’s ex-girlfriend is now becoming part of their lives and that Brody is showing attention to her.

As for Heidi and Spencer, the Pratts are looking for a new home but the biggest part is Heidi wanting to have a baby and Spencer not wanting one.   Spencer talks about having a vasectomy, while Heidi talks about tricking Spencer by not taking her birth control pills and getting pregnant.  But Heidi has a new friend in the neighbor’s young boy named Enzo.  With Heidi inviting little Enzo to the home, Spencer who could care less for children (let alone wanting to have one) is getting a bit ticked at his wife.  Meanwhile, Heidi wants her husband to know that she wants them to start a family.

Needless to say, who knows how much of “The Hills” is scripted and how much is real but for for this second half of the fifth season, viewers were treated with episodes featuring more cattiness between the ladies, a lot of misunderstandings and plenty of drama.  The recipe for what has made “The Hills” so popular and addicting for its viewers.

“The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” features the following ten episodes on two DVD’s.  Here is a brief spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 81 – It’s On Bitch - Kristin Cavallari shows up to a party and immediately clashes with Stephanie Pratt and Audrina Patridge.
• EPISODE 82 – Mess With Me, I Mess With You – Heidi tries to give more hints to Spencer that she wants the two of them to start their own family.
• EPISODE 83 – Strike One – It’s Brody’s birthday but he is having to deal with drama when his girlfriend Jayde is not thrilled to see his ex-girlfriend Kristin at the party.
• EPISODE 84 – Old Habits Die Hard – Justin tries to be cool with Audrina and Kristin. Meanwhile, Heidi, Spencer and Stephanie are concerned about Holly’s drinking.
• EPISODE 85 – Sorry Boo, Strike Two – Holly’s drinking is getting out of hand and Heidi and Stephanie stage an intervention.
• EPISODE 86 – I’m Done With You – Kristin talks to Audrina to make things right.
• EPISODE 87 – On to the Next – Audrina and Justin have a talk about where their friendship will go.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 88 – Can’t I Always Get What You Want – As Kristin thinks about getting back with Brody, Jayde wants to patch things up with Brody as well.
• EPISODE 89 – Mr. Right Now – Justin shows his love for Kristin by joining her in Vegas.
• EPISODE 90 – The Boys of Summer – The Season finale.  What will happened to Kristin and Justin?  Will Heidi get her way with Spencer and start a family?

VIDEO:

“The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” has always had this cool Los Angeles and Malibu look when it comes to cinematography in capturing the locations where the show was filmed.  But in terms of the DVD, the DVD is featured in standard definition and as far as picture quality goes, there are signs of compression.

I tested the series on a bigger 51″, 24″ and a 17″ and even with a smaller screen, compression can be seen.  It’s not too distracting and I doubt most consumers will be fussing over it, unless they are videophiles.  But for the most part, the series features a good blend of outdoor scenes and cool & stylish interior scenes in different parts of Los Angeles(and Vegas).

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” is presented in Dolby Digital English Stereo.  The dialogue and the music are clear and understandable as they are front channel driven.  I preferred to listen to the soundtrack with my receiver set for stereo on all channels.  But for the most part, the audio is good for this type of series, especially since music is a big part of “The Hills”.

There are no subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” comes with the following special features on disc 2:

• The Bitch is Back Special – (21:09) The special before the premiere episode of Season Five, Part Two on “The Hills” aftershow featuring hosts Jessi and Dan and guests Lauren Bosworth, Frankie Delgado and Kristin Cavallari.
• Deleted Scenes – (15:09) Deleted scenes featuring a perverted scene with Brody and Jayde, Spencer and his cowboy hat, Kristin visiting Stephanie in her apartment, Brody and Jayde at his mother’s house, Kristin and Lo having lunch and more.
• After Show Remixes – (7:05) For those who have watched “The Hills” aftershow, you were treated with video remixes.  Included is a Stephanie remix, Spencer Priceless Commercial, Heidi “It’s My Party” Remix, Baby Drama Rap, Who is Charlie?, Brody Mock Gun to Head Remix, Jayde Gone Wild.

As a long time viewer since the debut of “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County”, I have to admit that “The Hills” without Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port (who went on to have her own MTV spin-off series “The City”), I felt that the dynamic between friends Lauren Bosworth and Audrina Patridge was going to suffer.  I suppose one of the biggest attractions in previous seasons was seeing these young women grow especially in their careers but somehow Season Five really ramped up the drama, especially if you were wondering who would get the best out of each other- Lauren vs. Spencer Pratt and all these misunderstandings that have taken place.

Fortunately, Lauren and Whitney have moved on to focus on their own personal careers and a new stage in their personal lives and the producers managed to score with bringing Kristin Cavallari.  As much as people want to believe “The Bitch is Back”, this Kristin is much more mature than her teenage years on “Laguna Beach”.  This time, we a see her upfront nature and for the most part, her intentions are good.  The person who comes out more on the negative light is Jayde Nicole, who’s jealousy of Brody’s ex-girlfriend back in town is raising her emotions to its highest peak, while Holly Montag seems to have taken a 180 degree spin and went from this mature young sister of Heidi Montag to become a sister who has spun out of control with alcohol.  It was like Jan Brady “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” syndrome (for “The Brady Bunch” aficionados”) and the alcohol just made her look out of it and a sign that she needs some help.  I can only wonder how Mother Montag felt when she saw those scenes.

I have to admit that the more interesting and sometimes dumbfounding moments are with Spencer and Heidi dealing with Heidi wanting to start a family and Spencer not ready.  Are these scenes scripted?   Heidi and Spencer with their neighbor’s little boy Enzo hanging around.  If anything, the show’s bad boy Spencer Pratt has simmered down and it seems that the married life has indeed calmed him down.  But interesting enough, the two have become the needed comedy for “The Hills”, since this fifth season, part two features too much drama.

But what about Audrina and Lo?  Without Lauren, Lo Bosworth is seen a few times in the second part of the fifth season as the friend everyone goes to talk about their problems while Audrina is featured a bit less and is pulled into this drama between her, Kristin and Audrina’s ex-bad boy Justin.   If anything, it appears Lo, Audrina and Stephanie have become the main friends of this series although their presence in the show are not as upfront as before but at least they are still in the show.

As for Justin, typically he was the guy I was expecting to see less of, but he becomes a significant person in this second half of the season.  Also, the second part of the fifth season tend to focus on the main talent with their other friends.  Spencer and Charlie, Brody and the boys, Kristin and her friend and Heidi, Spencer and the little boy Enzo.

So, “The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” is a bit of a mixed bag as we have more people to watch but some fan favorites do not have as much television time as before.   But for those who have been a loyal viewer for all these years, can feel confident that “The Hills” will continue to have a good amount of drama and still be quite entertaining to watch.

The DVD has a few special features (I still wished that MTV would include more of the after show episodes) and for the most part, “The Hills” fans will be entertained by this DVD release.  Personally, it’s a different show for me without Lauren Conrad, Whitney and seeing the two along with Audrina and Lo together but I did enjoy Kristin on “Laguna Beach” and although not as devlish as how she was portrayed in the past, she’s not as bad on “The Hills” but yet, her presence has created some drama between her and the other ladies.  And Heidi and Spencer have suddenly become one of the more interesting people to watch on the show and much more tolerable and dare I say, more entertaining as they provide the break from all the drama that is happening on the show.

Overall, if you are a fan of the series and enjoy the drama of “The Hills”, definitely give “The Hills: Season Five, Part Two” a chance!

THE END BEGINS ON APRIL 27TH “THE HILLS: FINAL SEASON”

Over the past 4 years “The Hills” revolutionized reality television and became a pop culture phenomenon. MTV will now redefine how the reality drama all ends in Season 6. The last 12 episodes EVER of “The Hills” will conclude like no other show before. How will it end? What will be revealed? Who will return? How will they say goodbye? The drama begins on Tuesday, April 27th as “The Hills: Final Season” premieres at 10pm ET/PT followed by “The City” at 10:30pm ET/PT on MTV.

“We are lucky and honored to have worked with this cast and tell their stories for this long, and we are grateful to the many dedicated fans who have stuck with us over the years. We owe it to those fans, the cast and the show to go out on a high note. And this season will deliver on that goal in terms of drama, story, real emotion and an organic culmination of this saga,” said Tony DiSanto, President of Programming, MTV.

Fans can relive Kristin’s highly anticipated return to television when The Hills: Season Five, Part Two comes to DVD on April 27th, the same day as the Season 6 premiere. From MTV Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, this 2-disc DVD set has a suggested retail price of $26.99 and features every headline-making scene from all 10 dramatic episodes and is filled with deleted scenes, remixed versions of the after shows and much more.

Viewers wanting more can head over to http://TheHills.MTV.com to watch full episodes, browse through exclusive cast photo flipbooks and get the latest gossip on the Remote Control blog.

Since its premiere in 2006, “The Hills” has been a phenomenal performer on MTV. The previous season ranked as the #3 original cable series of 4Q09 and was a top 10 original series for 2009 among F12-34. The Hills dominated its Tuesday time period, ranking #1 versus all television competition among both P12-34 and F12-34. The series is MTV’s most DVR’d series, averaging a 52% bump when Live+7 ratings are factored in.

“The Hills” is created by Adam DiVello. Adam DiVello, Liz Gateley and Sara Mast serve as executive producers. Catherine K. Whyte is MTV’s executive-in-charge of production.

It’s confirmed. This season will be the last for “The Hills”!

It’s been a rollercoaster for the past few years of MTV’s reality show “The Hills” but Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that this season is the end. Show creator Adam DiVello tells EW, “I think we’ve told the story of struggle and of finding yourself in L.A. A lot of these kids have found themselves and have certainly embarked on different careers and different paths.”

As for MTV, the following statement was released by Tony DiSando, President of Programming of MTV.:

“We are lucky and honored to have worked with this cast and tell their stories for this long, and we are grateful to the many dedicated fans who have stuck with us over the years. We owe it to those fans, the cast and the show to go out on a high note. And this season will deliver on that goal in terms of drama, story, real emotion and an organic culmination of this saga.”

It will be interesting if we see Lauren Conrad and Whitney make one last return.

Read more of what DiVello has to say about the final season of “The Hills”.

CATCH ALL THE DRAMA WHEN KRISTIN CAVALLARI RETURNS… THE HILLS: SEASON FIVE – PART TWO AVAILABLE ON DVD APRIL 27, 2010

NEW YORK – Fans can relive Kristin Cavallari’s (Laguna Beach) highly anticipated return to television when MTV’s pop culture mainstay reality series The Hills: Season Five, Part Two comes to DVD on April 27th. From MTV Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, this 2-disc DVD set features every catfight and headline-making scene from all 10 dramatic episodes. Filled with special features such as deleted scenes, remixed versions of the after shows and much more, this DVD is sure to satisfy every Hills fan. The excitement continues when The Hills Season: Season Six premieres on MTV Spring 2010.

Synopsis:
Heidi and Spencer’s wedding brought everyone together – and now that Kristin Cavallari is back on the scene, she’s not going anywhere. She has L.A. nearly conquered, and thought she had yet to find the one person to share it with, but when she crosses paths with Justin-Bobby, sparks fly. Audrina seems to have moved on from Justin, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to see him with another girl, especially Lauren’s old rival Kristin!  Meanwhile, Brody is still with his Playmate girlfriend, Jayde, but with his ex-girlfriend Kristin back on the scene, how long can that last? Heidi and Spencer are moving to suburbia and a life of wedded bliss, but they’ll quickly discover that married life isn’t as perfect as their storybook wedding.

THE HILLS: SEASON FIVE – PART TWO has a suggested retail price of $26.99.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:
·           “The Bitch is Back Special”
·           Deleted Scenes
·           After Show Remixes

DVD Release Date: 4/27/10

Rated: US N/A / CAN PG
Running Time: 210 min
Format: Widescreen
Catalog: 895624
Price: $26.99 US / $29.99 CAN

About Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.  PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands.  PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

About MTV Network
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 28 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries — giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com <http://MTV.com>  averaged 24.6 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2010 — up +9% from Q4/2009 and up +13% year-over-year. Average video streams for the first quarter of 2010 increased +19% from the Q4/2009 and is up +18% over the same time period last year. And MTV’s successful sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving young males, music fans, and college students like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in… www.mtvpress.com <http://www.mtvpress.com>

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Ali Landry and Kristin Cavallari at the Hollywood Christmas Celebration

PicApp: Los Angeles, California – Ali Landry and Kristin Cavallari. Hollywood Christmas Celebration at The Grove Tree Lighting and Concert held at The Grove at Farmers Market. Photo Credit: Charles Harris/AdMedia Photo via Newscom Photo via Newscom. Content © 2008 Newscom . All rights reserved.