For the past two years, fans have watched the love triangle between L.C., Stephen and Kristin heat up and then subside as the rest of the drama on MTV’s reality show”Laguna Beach” continued through their graduations. Now, with a new cast and new drama, “Laguna Beach” is back for its third season.
This new season is pretty much the same as the others – petty fights between the girls about who’s dating what guy, who they’re inviting to their parties and, yes, Jessica is still around. There is one big difference, though. Fans can now sign up at MTV.com to view their own virtual “Laguna Beach” and make their own character, among other luxuries.
Ashley O’Neill, senior, admits to watching the show regularly when it was the original crew, but thinks the idea of people signing up and creating their own “Laguna Beach” is kind of “weird.”
“I’d never get into it that much,” O’Neill said. “I’m kind of creeped out about the fact that they’re in high school and there are seniors in college obsessing about it that much.”
The virtual world of Laguna Beach allows fans to partake in the Winter Formal dance episode that aired last Wednesday night.
“By premiering Laguna Beach in the virtual world, we are rewarding true fans, giving them a chance to interact with our content in new, exciting and personal ways,” Brian Graden, president of entertainment for MTV, said in a press release.
But are fans really going to participate in this sort of thing? A quick view to check out the Web site equaled to be quite amusing. A member can sign in and create his or her own character by shopping for clothes and accessories.
Members can also make friends with other “Laguna” fans and go places like the beach.
Even with all these things people can do online, Liz Knapp, senior, agreed with O’Neill and said that the virtual world of “Laguna Beach” did not sound like something she would ever get into because of how much the show has changed.
“I do not like the show that much,” Knapp said. “I really liked the first two seasons, and I watched almost every episode, but I’m not that interested in this season because the people on the show are all different.”
O’Neill said that the main reason she does not really watch it anymore is because of the cast change as well. Although, she likes and watches L.C.’s spin off show “The Hills” she doesn’t think she’ll watch the newest “Laguna Beach” season.
“I don’t like when they change characters on shows, like on ‘Fresh Prince’ they changed the mom and on ‘Roseanne,’ they changed Becky, and I stopped watching them,’ O’Neill said. “I’d rather have them follow the people [original cast] and their lives now, like ‘The Hills.'”
Even though the original crew of “‘Laguna’ Beach is missed” and seems to be preferred, it cannot be denied the drama that everyone loves still rules this show. The virtual world of “Laguna Beach” may seem weird to some people, but it does allow true fans to be a part of the action.
More information can be found at www.mtv.com.
