The City - TV Fanatic

The City Season Finale Review: "Lost in Translation"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:30:53 EST

Last night's season finale of The City was called "Lost in Translation." More accurately, it was lost in the shuffle, given the series finale of The Hills happening right beforehand.

After the way The Hills ended, one has to wonder if The City finale was not a bit over-dramatized as well. Would Whitney Port really sell out Kelly in that fashion? Did she?

Whitney tells Kelly that she has been approached by a PR woman, and even after Kelly thinks it might be a bit early to be doing press for her line, Whitney thinks about it.

Meanwhile, Olivia arrives at Elle offices in Tokyo and impresses there. In New York, Joe is starting to lean towards Olivia over Louise ... we're sure MTV plays no role in that.

Whitney Port faces a difficult decision regarding her future in fashion.

Roxy tells Zach she is feeling angry about Whitney. He reminds her that Whitney helped her when she arrived in the city, and Roxy says that feels indebted to her old friend.

Erin later asks Joe if he has decided who will be the new face of Elle's website ... and despite Erin's passive hints that he might lose Louise, Joe remains committed to Olivia.

Olivia returns from Japan for a meeting at Elle, where he officially announces that Olivia will be the new face of the Elle website and says he is sorry for Louise to be leaving.

Joe then tells Olivia she needs to work closely with Erin ... at which point the former delivers the line of the season: "Are you OK with that?" asks Olivia with a wry smile.

Terrible. Roxy later tells Whitney her loyalty is to Kelly because she has invested in her. Whitney understands but doesn't know what to do ... as she ponders her future.

Not a bad episode and not a bad season. It's an interesting look behind the scenes of two major aspects of the fashion industry, and some of their very real components.

If Stephanie Pratt really takes Roxy Olin's place, that would diminish its luster, however. It's hard to take a show seriously when inept people get jobs because of fame.

What did you think of The City season finale? What decision will Whitney make, and is Olivia really cut out to be the face of Elle.com? Discuss!

The City Review: "Roommate Wanted"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:50:38 EST

Breaking up is never easy. Especially when it's with your best friend.

Whitney Port and Roxy Olin have been on the outs ever since the former blamed the latter for ruining a recent fashion opportunity. Now the separation has commenced.

That's essentially what happened last night on The City, when Roxy's father, actor Ken Olin of Thirtysomething and Brothers & Sisters fame, refused to lend her some money.

After a huge backstage fight that Kelly Cutrone had to break up, Whitney was surprised to come home and see her old friend packed and ready to leave her apartment.

New York rent is, like, really expensive.

Incredibly, MTV cameras were there to capture this pensive moment.

“I had no idea you were leaving so soon,” Whit says, and it's hard to tell if she's sad, relieved or a little of each (follow this link for a comprehensive recap of The City).

“I just thought, ‘Why not like rip it off like a Band-Aid and just get it over with?’” Roxy says. “I can’t really take the tension here. I’m going to stay with a friend for now.”

Packing her bags in haste, Roxy says she thought Whitney would be happy she’s leaving, but Whitney tells her they still have unresolved issues. That's putting it mildly.

“I feel like we’re leaving things on such a weird note, so I’m taken a little bit off guard but no hard feelings, I guess,” says the fashionista as her BFF prepares to leave.

Whitney then offers to help Roxy with her luggage but she declines the offer. Does this mean she's leaving the show for good? That we'll probably find out on the finale.

Next week, same time, same place.

Meanwhile, Whitney Eve received a boost from Eclipse star Ashley Greene, who wore a jacket designed by our girl in Elle magazine. Erin Kaplan matched the two together.

No thanks to Olivia Palermo, of course. That snot tried to undermine Whitney's line, then sidestepped questions about the jacket when interviewing Ash. What a waste.

The City Review: "Stage Fight"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:34:27 EST

Last night on The City, Whitney Port received a fright courtesy of the stage, as the title implies, only she was not on it. Rather, Canadian musician Lights that delivered the horror.

Roxy Olin was tasked with getting lights to don some Whitney Eve clothes on stage, but only succeeded in getting her into a jacket, which she dropped to the floor within seconds.

This resulted in a huge fight between the co-workers and friends, who have been at odds for weeks as it is, with Whitney suggesting that Roxy just can't handle it professionally.

A realization you just had, Whitney? We've been saying this for weeks! It's almost as if friends of yours cast on reality shows can't be trusted with serious fashion responsibilities.

Whitney and Roxy's slowly-building conflict boiled over last night.

Watching Whitney's joy at seeing her line on a celebrity turn to horror when Lights walked on stage wearing the jacket, only to drop it on the floor, was unexpected and sad.

But was this really Roxy's fault?

Yes and no. Of course Roxy can't control what Lights does, as she maintains. However, this was the culmination of so many things and Whitney doesn't make terrible points.

Our City recap notes that Roxy has dropped the ball so many times, it was hard not to see this coming in a sense. It was just a matter of what sent Whitney over the edge.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fashion kitchen. Results are all that matters sometimes. Roxy consistently fails to deliver, and blaming others means only so much.

Meanwhile, at Elle, Olivia was tasked with an interview of Prabul Gurung for the Martha Stewart segment they're doing, and ended up donning one of their dresses on the carpet.

This marked the second straight episode in which Joe has openly gushed over the much-maligned Palermo, much to the discontent of Erin Kaplan, who also earned the boss' praise.

As usual, passive-aggressive tension lingers between those two staffers.

The City Review: "One Girl's Trash"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:40:01 EST

Sometimes we struggle to care about The City, because unless you're interested in working in fashion, it can be a touch dull, but you have to give the show its due.

Unlike The Hills, which features a lame crew of catty brats starting arguments about who knows what at clubs, The City girls are at least ostensibly career-focused.

Whether those careers are in reality TV or fashion remains to be seen, but the interactions seem real and the professional struggles compelling, if a bit redundant.

In Tuesday's episode, Olivia Palermo battled Erin Kaplan at Elle, again, while pulling together a photo shoot for singer Ke$ha (see The City recap here for more).

Whitney Port's fashion line had its ups and downs last night.

Erin thought Olivia was taking undue credit for pulling off the shoot surprisingly well, while Olivia accused her supervisor of trying to replace her with Louise Roe.

Office politics and personal rivalries? Check and check!

Meanwhile, Whitney Port was preparing to showcase her Whitney Eve collection at a big-time buyers' event, and had a huge order lined up until Roxy Olin blew it.

Kelly Cutrone told her to let the loss sting for awhile, and Whitney blamed Roxy and took the letdown hard. Fortunately, her sidekick ended up redeeming herself.

At Elle, Olivia said flat out that she does not care if Erin approved the accessories she picked for Ke$ha, then accused Erin of trying to replace her at the magazine.

Louise Roe says she doesn't want Olivia to think she is taking her position, and Olivia says she doesn't think that. Both could be lying to the other's faces right here.

Regardless of who takes credit for the ideas, Ke$ha arrives and was impressed by the shoes and purse Olivia suggests, so she lives to fight another day ... for now.

Elsewhere, Roxy pursues and makes a sale to a chic boutique, WiNK, which wants Whitney's pieces by this weekend. She delivers! Friends forever ... and partners?

The City Review: "Work Horses and Show Ponies"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:57:37 EST

If last week's episode of The City was a reality check for our career girls, this week's marked a redemption of sorts ... even for the much-maligned Olivia Palermo.

The City recap has all the details, but here's a brief review ...

Astonishingly, Olivia was able to stomach doing some actual work and scored an interview with Zac Posen for Elle, which she boasted that she'd be able to do.

Of course, she has set the bar so low that doing what she is paid to do - the definition of a job - has become an anomaly, something worthy of great praise.

To say nothing of the fact that she already knew Zac Posen. Because Olivia Palermo is not a real career-climbing young woman, you see. She is a socialite.

Whitney Port reacts in typical Whitney Port fashion.

This is where the show drives us nuts. As cool as so many elements of it are, it's basically a promotional piece for Elle. Her ineptness is just part of this package deal.

Impressed, Joe says this is "the reason he hired" Olivia. Really? It wasn't to give your magazine non-stop exposure on MTV every Tuesday night? Could've fooled us.

Try as Erin Kaplan might - she wanted to compare Olivia's work to Louise Roe's recent interview - she simply can't get Olivia fired. Planting drugs on her might do it.

Meanwhile, Whitney fears that she'll be in over her head in Miami, doing her first show without Kelly. She may be right, but Roxy Olin actually stepped it up a bit.

Helping her out at a Miami boutique, Roxy decides it would be a good fit and invites the buyer to check out the Whitney Eve show later. The cameras didn't hurt ...

At the event, Roxy appears to be quite frustrated about the apparent disorganization at the show, but the people in charge tell her not to worry, it will be alright.

Right they are. Despite setbacks, the show is a success, and Whitney Port takes a well-deserved curtain call as Shari and Pamela decide to carry Whitney Eve!

It's hard not to like Whitney and wish her the best in her career ambitions, no matter how unfairly boosted they might be by the fact that she stars on The City.

She clearly works hard and wants to be in fashion, rather than going the Speidi route and making reality TV her life. We realize she's on a reality show, but still.

Not a bad week for The City overall. We always enjoy the insight into the fashion world that it provides. We just find some of the girls' roles on it a little forced.

The City Review: Fashion Week Flubs

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:08:55 EST

Fashion Week. It comes just once in a blue moon, or once every couple of weeks if you're on The City. Last night's episode provided some good drama during it, at least.

For Whitney Port, career opportunities just seem to fall in her lap. After suffering some setbacks in recent weeks, she scored a huge meeting with Maybelline cosmetics.

As our celebrity gossip site points out in its recap of The City, there are few hurdles an aspiring fashionista can't overcome with the weight of a TV network behind her.

Sure, she's good, and sure, she's as appealing personally as she is on the eyes. But are we expected to believe things come this easy in the world of fashion? We don't.

Shockingly (and by shockingly, we mean not at all shockingly), Whit scores an invitation to Miami's Fashion Week next! Naturally, sidekick Roxy Olin will accompany her.

The world of high fashion is just so glamorous and attainable!

Despite frequent flubs, Whitney Port can do no wrong.

To be fair, Whitney at least acts like she cares about her job, unlike Roxy ... or more appropriately, Olivia Palermo. That girl is nothing short of a complete disaster.

Will it finally come back to bite her, though? MTV has seemingly given her a Get Out of Jail Free Card to play at Elle on any occasion she pleases this whole season.

Her luck seemingly never runs out ... or does it? Last night, Louise Roe, a seemingly perfect British transplant, stepped in and usurped some of her responsibilities.

Naturally, this being Olivia, the bar was set so low, Louise had no choice but to amaze Joe and Erin, possibly leading toward the long-awaited dismissal of Olivia.

We know Erin has wanted her gone from day one, but will the higher-ups at Elle finally pull the plug on all their free press from MTV and get rid of this total hack?

If there were a shred of realism in the show, they would, but that's a big if, so we're guessing it's not gonna happen. If it did, though, that would be a good twist.

For all its good qualities, The City needs to prove it's about women trying to make it in fashion, not just advertising for fashion. Sometimes it's just a giant shill.

Olivia can't possibly be employed at a magazine of that stature. It just wouldn't happen. Whitney has made great strides, but her success is debatable at best.

Oh, and in a hilarious, Hills-esque twist, Louise dated Freddie Fackelmayer, a.k.a. Whitney's orange-tanned fake boyfriend from last season. What a small world.

The City Review: Whitney is Not a Real Designer

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:37:46 EST

As reality shows go, The City was actually fairly realistic last night, as three of our heroines were openly chastised for being inept at their jobs, or at least not meeting expectations.

In this regard, it can be a compelling program in ways The Hills couldn't imagine. Sure, certain situations are highly edited and unrealistic. But there are layers of cold, hard truth.

Is Whitney Port a fashion designer with a reality TV show on the side, or a no-talent reality star trying to make it in high fashion? The line is frequently blurred, the question loaded.

Last night, she sure looked to be the latter, as Anne Slowey slapped her around (figuratively) at Elle. Basically, Whit was told her fashion collection had all been done before.

For a designer, that's as big a put-down as they come.

Roxy Olin wears her typically confused expression.

Last night, the career trajectories of three of the show's four stars were downward:

Whitney's fashion line continues to draw more criticism the more people look at it. Will she suck it up and make better clothes, or settle for life as a D-list reality star?
Olivia Palermo shouldn't even have a job, something more and more colleagues seem to be growing aware of. After botching a Guess event, Joe lets her hear about it.
Roxy Olin (pictured) is taken off Whitney's line, then is instructed not to mention Whitney's line to other designers, and can't even manage to abide by that simple task.

Talk about a rough week for the girls (our City recap has more).

If nothing else, having actual fashion designers inform Whitney that she is not one of them gives the show some credibility. As for why Olivia still works at Elle? Another story.

We're not quite sure how she could be this bad at her job - and how she and Erin Kaplan, the only sane and capable one of the bunch are always working together and feuding.

We're similarly unclear on how Roxy Olin (and to a degree, Whitney) is tolerated by Kelly Cutrone, who seemingly has no patience for inept whiners. Seriously, girls. Suck it up.

Still, an entertaining episode, and refreshing to see that the ladies' career aspirations are, at least to a degree, not coming as easily as you'd expect them to on a reality show.

The City Review: Belle of Elle ... or Hell?

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:43:38 EST

MTV's The City is become notable for three things:

Being the more "realistic" spinoff of The Hills
Being basically a 20-minute weekly ad for Elle
Olivia Palermo being hilariously bad at her job

All three elements of the show were on display last night in "The Belle of Elle" as Whitney Port pursued a full-page magazine spread for her fashion line and Olivia pursued media attention, increased fame and overt love of all things as they pertain to Olivia.

It's because of this that The City is more entertaining than The Hills of late. Olivia is an absurd, narcissistic, clueless caricature of a socialite - but they definitely exist.

If any of them had jobs, this is how they'd act, too.

Whitney Port's latest fashion foray? A spread in Glamour.

At a party for Gossip Girl fashion stylist Eric Daman, Olivia was so unimpressed with a colleague chatting up stars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester that she said this:

"I can talk to a park bench."

What that means, we have no idea, other than her being displeased with anyone getting attention but her. She so wanted to be the girl mentioned in Page Six, too.

Alas, it was not to be.

Meanwhile, Whitney met with Glamour about a full-page spread they wanted to do on her line. Fortunately, Roxy Olin didn't blow up the whole thing - not for lack of trying.

Kelly warned Whitney not to involve Roxy. Whitney did anyway. How many times does this have to happen before she gets it? And why is Roxy even on the show anyway?

Seriously, the girl is beyond useless. Say what you will for Olivia, she's egocentric and and all that, but the girl holds down her job at Elle. Roxy Olin? What does she do?

Apparently, she gets chastised by Kelly Cutrone. According to Kell on Earth, you're either a follower or a freak. If you want to be a freak, go for it, but you pay the price.

Ouch. And amen, sister. Preach on.

It's an enjoyable show most of the time, for the sole reason that you can relate to the life situations and outsized personalities, even if the specifics are often unrealistic.

Last night was no exception.

The City Review: "Queen of Diamonds"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:47:51 EST

Oft-maligned Elle editorial mainstay Erin Kaplan got the last laugh, and rightfully so, on last night's The City. Meanwhile, Whitney Port blurred the lines of business and pleasure.

In "Queen of Diamonds," Olivia Palermo totally thought she was. Elle boss Joe Zee somehow considered her ability to pick out jewels for Fergie's cover shoot some amazing skill.

It wasn't. Erin made the correct call when she said the cover image should not include any of the diamonds Olivia selected for the pop singer to wear. Joe finally agreed with her.

Amazing that it's taken this long for Erin to win one of her weekly clashes with Olivia, and be praised for it no less. Olivia finally taking some lumps? What is this, like a real job?

Erin Kaplan had reason to smile at the end of last night's episode.

Meanwhile, stylista Whitney Port was readying for her look book presentation and enlisted the help of hot French photographer Jonathan in order to get the pictures just right.

The problem? Jonathan wants her.

Thus, by accepting his free offers of help, Whitney put them both in an awkward position when he wanted to pursue things further, and she had to let him down. It was rough.

The "I'm too busy for a social life right now" bit is such garbage. If that were true, no one would have a social life ... you make it work if you want to. Lame breakup line #92.

Naturally, Roxy thought everything Whitney did was fine, while Kelly Cutrone called her out on it. You can't go wrong if you follow Kell - you'll always hear about just how it is.

The good news? The shoot went well, so Whit's fashion line seems to be on the up and up. Hey, whatever toes you've got to step on or photographers you have to sleep with.

The City Review: "Professionally Dangerous"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:17:20 EST

Olivia Palermo's position at Elle has always been suspect, but this is ridiculous.

On The City last night, she officially proved that deadlines, meetings, places to go, things to do, people to meet and so forth do not matter at all. Just do what you want!

She's definitely "Professionally Dangerous" and then some. Assigned to interview Whitney Port for Elle.com, she bails and interviews a friend of hers instead. Of course!

Career advancement always stems from flying by the seat of your pants and ditching real responsibility in favor of whatever whim strikes you at any second. Great job.

This is why we hate The City.

At least The Hills, while a vastly inferior show in every traditional sense, is a mere caricature of itself at this point. No one takes it seriously, not even its own "characters."

She's a really nice girl, but sometimes, Whitney needs to lay the smack down.

The City claims to be a show about the fashion industry in New York, but no way - NO WAY - could Olivia pull this BS if she weren't in a fake job Elle gave her for publicity.

We love Whitney Port, and don't dispute that she works hard to boost her fashion credentials in real life, but the show chronicling her suffers from a big credibility problem.

Elsewhere in NYC ...

Roxy goes on a date with Zach, and realizes their relationship may not be strictly professional. Which is great, because it's Roxy. Is anything she does professional?

Kelly tells Whitney to call Olivia out and fight back. This is great advice, and Kelly would clearly follow through with it, but Whitney is too nice and just can't do it.

Olivia pulls her typical maneuver - getting up and leaving when the going gets tough. That's surprisingly effective. And why you need to shove her against a wall.