Local Claim: 'Real Housewives' Neither Real, Housewives Nor of Beverly Hills

Did you know that there was a Beverly Hills Weekly? Well, there is. And in issue #603, they are really, really ticked off about “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” Apparently the outgoing mayor gave a proclamation to one of those housewives at a recent legal meeting of the Beverly Hills City Council.

The City of Beverly Hills is officially validating this insipid and, yes, insulting characterization of our community, not only by proclamation but by legitimizing the act and agreeing to appear on an episode of the show.

“I don’t care what you write, just spell my name correctly,” may not be the best mantra for our city, still hoping to project an image of sophistication, social responsibility and intellectuality, and then giving any kind of credibility to the latest incarnation of this Housewives series.

First, the obvious: The stars of the program neither live in our city or are involved in any of the more traditional civic and charitable endeavors that help identify us. So, why give them a proclamation?

The equally off-the-mark and far more successful television show, Beverly Hills 90210 never had a proclamation, to steal a line from the “Never had a dinner routine” of Red Buttons, and not just because the high school used in the exterior shots was in Torrance. The show may have had some dramatic moments, and it certainly ran forever, but it too had little to do with real students of Beverly High. It made the zip code more famous, and so the branding value helped offset the lack of realism of the show itself….

We will survive this struggling series just as we have outlived Beverly Hillbillies and Beverly Hills Ninja.

Youch!