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LOGAN NEILLEight residents get an advance screening of the first two episodes. Their grade: funny, yet out of touch. Not terrible publicity, either.
BROOKSVILLE - Tonight, America gets to tune in to see what the local hubbub was all about when the Fox television series The Simple Life 2 was filming in Hernando County in March.
The season premiere, which airs at 8 p.m. on WTVT-Ch.13, chronicles the adventures of pampered urbanites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as they traverse the country, from South Beach to Hollywood, Calif., in a pink pickup truck travel trailer, using a few of their wits and lots of their attractive looks to get by.
For those out of the reality TV loop, the series kicks off with the pair stopping in Hernando County, where they set up shop for a few days at J.O. "Jimmy" Batten's Bull-It ranch, east of Brooksville.
They also spent time at a Brooksville trailer park and "worked" at Weeki Wachee Springs. And of course, a camera crew captured the two as they interacted with residents.
Tuesday morning, the Times convened a diverse panel of eight Hernando residents for an advance viewing of the first two episodes of The Simple Life 2 to gauge their reaction to how the area was portrayed in the show. Only two panel members, whose ages ranged from 17 to 75, had seen the popular show during its first season.
Much of the first episode's focus on the congenial Batten and his family ranch drew plenty of laughs, particularly the portion that featured the 57-year-old rancher "modeling" in nothing but a pair of leather chaps.
"I grew up in a big city, we didn't have ranches with a rodeo in the back yard. It's one of the endearing parts of Hernando County," said Matthew Gardner, 25, who grew up in Atlanta and moved to Hernando last year.
Two members of the panel, 59-year-old dairy rancher Thurman Hatten and 72-year-old Al Sevier, who owns a ranch and sits on the county's planning and zoning board, said they felt Batten, a candidate for county commissioner, was an entertaining addition to the show.
"Anybody that knows Jimmy Batten knows he's kind of out there," said Hatten, laughing. "But that thing with the chaps was pretty funny."
The humor aside, several panelists were dismayed that the show seemed to poke fun at rural folks.
"It made it seem like this is hicksville," complained recent Hernando High graduate Rebecca Torres, 17, who was the youngest member of the panel. "It was kind of unfair."
Brooksville City Hall Art Gallery director Mary Alice Queiros (who watched every episode of the show's first season) agreed.
"People who don't know Hernando County don't know that there's a lot more here than what is on that show," she said. "But it was good publicity."
Although The Simple Life 2 is steeped in hayseed references, the majority of the scenes tend to focus on just how out of touch the stars are with real life. Some panel members thought the blond twosome's sassy demeanor was snobbish and annoying.
"The people they meet are solid people," Queiros said. "But they remained in their own little world."
In the second episode, which airs next Wednesday, attention turns to the girls' attempt to try out as mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs, only to be told by park manager Robyn Anderson they don't quite make the grade.
"The show supposedly deals with them trying to find work to get money, but they never seem very humbled by anything," said Carol Ballard, 38, who teaches special education at Chocachatti Elementary School.
Whether the show proves to be a slight or a compliment to the community is the question. Howard Brown, who moved here several years ago from New York and is past president of the African-American Club of Hernando County, didn't think the show would be much of either.
"I don't think anyone is really going to judge whether this is a good place or bad place based on that show," Howard said.
In fact, Maria Kretschmar, whose job as Chamber of Commerce president is to find ways to attract visitors, thinks the show may hold a valuable future hook for the area.
"I can almost imagine it," said Kretschmar, tongue in cheek. "We might become a landmark for people that want to follow Paris Hilton's travels some day." But as teacher Ballard asked, "Are you going to put this on the Chamber Web site?"
- Logan Neill can be reached at 352 848-1435 or lneill@sptimes.com