Ever since the original Survivor first became extremely successful, it seemed like every network was trying to get a piece of their own reality television fame. We had FOX give us The Chamber and MTV throw us the Jackass series. One had success while one crashed and burned very quickly. This proved that not every idea would make a successful reality show. Naturally FOX is not one to give up and knew what to do next. Coming off her, probably, un-welcomed fame, Paris Hilton was approached by FOX to…star in a reality series called The Simple Life. The show would team Hilton and her childhood friend Nicole Ritchie together while they live with one family in the middle of nowhere.
After two successful seasons of The Simple Life where Paris and Nicole stayed with just one family, the creators of the show thought it would be interesting to see how Paris and Nicole would react to staying with multiple different families dealing with multiple jobs.
Having never seen the first two seasons of The Simple Life, I didn’t know what to expect going into the show. I know of some of the antics that Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie have done. This made me think the show would be downright horrendous. Well, the end result is the show is actually not as bad as I had once imagined. The girls attempt to be intelligent and attempt to show like they care about what they’re doing, but always end up remarking “That’s Hot” or “That’s Sexy.” It makes me wonder if the girls are purposely trying to be stupid.
There are many numerous scenes where the girls are acting so stupid that I would love to see how on earth they would survive in the real world without all the luxuries they have. There was not one job they took in these 16 episode were they didn’t diverge from what they were told to do to do something more entertaining and fun. Boy, wouldn’t it be nice if we could do that at are jobs? I’m still amazed that FOX declares this show to be unscripted, but after seeing all these 16 episodes I guess FOX was trying to show us that these two girls really do stupid things like this everyday.
The third season of The Simple Life contains 16 episodes which are listed below.
- Mechanics: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to New Jersey and become mechanics in an auto body shop.
- Secretaries: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Manhattan and intern in a mailroom for a marketing company.
- Airline: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to and work for an airline company helping with luggage and directing planes.
- Mortuary: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to New Jersey where they take a job at a funeral home. Mayhem ensues!
- Plastic Surgery: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Philadelphia. They take a job as plastic surgeons assisting with lip augmentation and liposuction.
- Broadcasting: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Baltimore. Once there they find themselves working for a local news station working with weather reports and writing scripts.
- Daycare: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Wilmington. Once there they take a job at a local Daycare. They get attached to the host family and build a new room.
- Zoo: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Maryland. Once there they take a job at a local Zoo. Feeding animals, speaking to crowds and telling jokes seem to be in order for these girls.
- Bakery: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Maryland. Once there they take a job at a local Bakery. The girls are at their best again, messing up every type of baking product.
- Psychics: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Washington D.C. where they become psychics. Lord, imagine Paris and Nicole trying to read your palm. Expect a high level of seriousness in this episode.
- Nursing Home: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Pennsylvania where they take a job at a Nursing Home. I must admit in this episode, in the exercise scene, I found myself finding the show funny for the first time.
- Ad Agency: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Miami where they take a job at an advertising agency. Here they create an ad for Burger King.
- Firefighters: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Atlantic City where they become firefighters. Just the thought of a building being on fire and these two coming to the scene just terrifies me.
- Manufacturing: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to where they take a job at a circuit board factory. A lesson in dating occurs which is interesting considering the teachers have so much knowledge in the field.
- Wedding Planner: In this episode, Paris and Nicole head to Nashville where they become wedding planners. Naturally our two girls are very punctual for the job.
- Dentistry: In this episode, Paris and Nicole stay in Tennessee where they become dentists. Paris also enters a beauty pageant.
The Simple Life is the type of show you watch when you want to see how vapid television can be. FOX declares The Simple Life to be unscripted yet I highly doubt a majority of the accidents and mishaps that occurred in this season were unscripted. A majority of the actions these two girls did border on complete stupidity. Maybe that is why I didn’t find the show to be as bad as I thought it would be. The way the two girls act, I suppose, can symbolize that everyone, no matter how wealthy you are, has a stupid, childish side to them. After all, what is the point of being mature if you can’t act like a child?
Video
The Simple Life is presented in its’ original 1:33:1 FullScreen Aspect Ratio. Colors seem fine while flesh tones are great. A majority of the towns they travel to all come off pretty bright and clear. I did notice a slight bit of edge enhancement when they visited Miami. Otherwise from that, the image quality is nothing groundbreaking. FOX has produced greater image quality (24 comes to mind).
Audio
We’re given a Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio Track that seems to be up to network standards. Dialogue is fairly clear and easy to understand. One pet peeve though is the use of literally 2 different sound effects when they need to either edit out a profanity or make something seem funny. How hard would it have been to use more than two sounds?
Special Features
Absolutely no special features on this set.
Closing Thoughts
The Simple Life is not necessarily a horrendous show, but it isn’t a very good show in any aspect. While the girls try to do nice things, their completely stupid behavior makes the show pass quickly, which is a good thing. The DVD has standard TV video and audio that is nothing amazing. I just can’t recommend the series to anyone unless you’re a socialite like the two girls featured in this show.
