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I guess “The Hills” Finale was good for something, as in its once occupied time slot, we scored an extra episode of “The Paper” this week. Clearly, the greatness of last week’s Homecoming episode could only be rivaled by this double shot of “The Paper,” both of which were quite solid episodes.

In the first episode, we saw Amanda set her sights on applying to NYU while the rest of the staff set their sights on “superteen” Michael Jan. Not only does Michael Jan play tennis, run track, do orchestra, and have perfect grades, but he also has a social life. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about this kid. No one, guys included (Adam obviously), did not have a crush on this kid. Oh, wait, except Amanda.

During Giana’s interview with Michael Jan, Amanda made a point of talking to Mrs. Weiss about how according to her research, colleges are more interested in “well-rounded” students. Apparently, it’s not just about being in the top 5% of your class, or being involved a a wide range of activities, but they prefer students who do well in school while focusing on particular activities. Obviously, this roughly translates into, “Hey Mrs. Weiss, let me be a snooty little bitch and point out reasons why I am a better person than Michael Jan…while he’s sitting right here.” No one was deceived though, and Michael Jan maintained his heroic “superteen” status.

Other than that, Mrs. Weiss scheduled a team building exercise for the staff…on a Sunday! Supergay! Despite a great deal of backlash, the majority of the class showed up and did a fine job of working together on a challenging ropes course and developing close-knit relationships amongst each other. Adam and Giana didn’t show up for undisclosed reasons (probably had something to do with the fact that it was a SUNDAY!) while Amanda, little miss well-rounded Editor-in-Chief, decided that spending the entire day working on her NYU application was more important. Amanda is apparently so well-rounded and organized, that she could not make time to go to the ropes course with the entire staff. I bet she failed to write on her application about how to work on her application, she blew off a major commitment. College apps ain’t that hard, sunshine. Again, Amanda proves that she is the world’s biggest twit.

As a result of Amanda’s failure to show up to the ropes course, everyone seems to be getting along well. Amanda later tells Cassia, “I find it ironic that I tried so hard like, all year, to unite us all and the one time I’m not there, everyone unites…” Yeah, Amanda, that’s really not irony. Irony implies something that is unexpected, but yeah, I’d say everyone getting along and having a good time without you there is, well, pretty damn expected.

Anyway, the episode finished with some of the staff members challenging Michael Jan to a few events to see if he was, in fact, beatable. He lost in the rubix cube challenge and one on one basketball, but he won a race against Adam (psssh, like anyone doubted that).

As for the apparent finale episode, basically we got to see Amanda finally take some initiative. One such instance involved cutting the paper back 4 pages as it didn’t look like they had enough material for 36 pages. Another instance involved the vice-principal disapproving of a front page article the day before deadline, a decision that Amanda countered and came out victorious. As a result, she seemed to finally gain a little respect from the staff.

In closure, Alex and Amanda discussed their issues with each other, stating that they cannot be friends anymore (apparently the Editor-in-Chief position has torn them apart, gimme a $%&*ing break) but will still have to maintain a professional relationship. What I didn’t find out until midway through writing this post though, is that this was the finale. This is how we’re leaving the staff of “The Paper.” Lost friendships and ambiguous endings. Is this the final message that the staff is trying to send us? Is this the end of the story? According to MTV, I guess it is.

I’d like to close by thanking Amanda. She gave the world a colorful new reality TV personality, and contrary to my consistently mocking commentary on her, I found her to be quite entertaining. And so ends another series.

I guess the theme of this week’s episode of “The Paper” was unity. After the chaos and conflict of last week’s episode, some remained bitter while others attempted to reconcile. Mrs. Weiss tried to smooth things over by changing the seats, which nobody liked and Adam even said, “Nobody puts Adam Brock in $%&*ing corner!,” obviously referencing Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing,” and obviously referencing his gayness by not choosing a more masculine Patrick Swayze movie to quote (”Road House,” “Point Break”).

More importantly, this episode was about Homecoming, and most importantly, Adam was running for Homecoming King. Wow. He would. More crucial plot points involved Amanda finding an old picture of the newspaper crew and hanging it up in the classroom as a means of bringing everyone together, but only Adam was fooled into nostalgia by the charade. So much so that he spent the entire week trying to convince everyone to take a picture together at homecoming because it would be so “cute.”

Regarding the Homecoming Dance, in a wild turn of events, Amanda was actually asked out by the President of the Latin Club. He left her a note in Latin that she had to translate, saying to meet him in the courtyard, she met him there, he asked her to go with him, and oh, wait…he wound up not going because “he got grounded.” I can’t imagine what the President of the Latin Club could’ve done to get grounded but I have two basic theories:

A.) His parents found out that he asked Amanda to Homecoming and they grounded him so they could beat some common sense into him or

B.) He came down with a case of common sense and realized he asked Amanda to Homecoming and lied.

So, in the end up, Amanda went by herself, and busted out some terrible dance moves (frankly, it was difficult to watch, and I’m no Patrick Swayze (I’m sorry, I had to go there and make the “Dirty Dancing” reference contrary to what I’ve said about Adam)). She harassed Alex about saving her a dance, which he totally dodged, but he was not so lucky when it came to taking that damn picture. He was forced into it, and bitched the entire time. Lastly, following up on the most important part of this episode, Adam actually won Homecoming King, so his life is complete. And so is everyone else’s, because had he lost, then damn, he would’ve raised hell. And so ended the episode. Despite the best efforts of some, this newspaper team seems no closer to uniting than they were last week.

The most recent episode of “The Paper” defined drama as there was a great deal of conflict and struggle amidst the editors. Before getting into the heart of the story, it’s important to point out some fun character developments regarding Adam. It’s Senior Superlative time and like every senior class in history, everyone was busily requesting the ones they wanted as if they themselves choose what superlatives they will be nominated for. Amanda promoted herself for Best Personality (yuck!), while Adam found that he was up for Most Talkative and Most Dramatic (aka Most Annoying). Big Surprise.

Now, apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back in this episode was the fact that Dan really wanted to write the humor column and have it be, you know, “his thing.” Amanda decided a really funny idea for a humor column would be to write about how Halloween is not just for little kids and older kids can trick or treat as well. Granted, this would only work for the October issue because it’s a seasonal column, so she asked Dan if it was alright that she wrote the column that month because of this absolutely brilliant piece just waiting to be written. Dan allowed it, but later realized he wanted it back, and everyone went into an uproar over the situation. Amidst the chaos, no one seemed to realize that Amanda’s idea was not funny, and therefore not worthy of being in the humor column. Her idea certainly fits into the editorial section, but the humor column? IT’S NOT FUNNY!

In any case, there was a great divide in the staff and a meeting had to be called regarding respect among the editors. Amanda was practically asking for rolling eyes and laughter when her opening statement was, “When I accepted the position as your editor…” Adam got into an argument with one of Amanda’s nameless lackeys and the meeting basically did not end well. Things actually seemed worse.

To cap off this episode, a vote was made on the fate of the humor column. Adam said some things, loudly, to which Amanda’s lackey said some things, that went generally unheard, which led directly into an infamous moment from previews where Adam runs out of the room crying. Everyone laughed at him for being ridiculous, because he was being ridiculous. Anyway, Amanda got to write the humor column, even though her topic was not funny. Seeing as how Amanda got her way, against the wishes of virtually everyone else, it was only appropriate that the episode end with her giving an evil laugh…which was hysterical and weird. And so ended another awesome episode of “The Paper.”

Now, the moment viewers of “The Paper” have been avidly waiting for since its epic MTV premiere…first deadline. Does Amanda crack under the pressure? Does Alex prove to be a worthier editor? Is Adam gay? Sort of, yes, and ummm…all signs point to yes.

Things kicked off with Adam freaking out and attempting to beat his record for advertising space, and he succeeded brilliantly. He did nothing but delegate, but I guess that’s what you do when you have managerial status. It wasn’t long before he was freaking out as they attempted to assemble the paper, showing his true flamboyant colors.

Paper problems…Amanda’s editorial basically sucked and Ms. Weiss told her to correct it for being crappy. This really should have been a low priority, but more than that, by deadline day I would assume all articles are ready for print and then layout is the only concern. Seemed as if everything was a bit disorganized, and because Amanda was finalizing her editorial, she really did not step up and make those major Editor-in-Chief decisions. Fortunately, because Alex is smarter and more qualified, he took the reigns with a level head and made sure things went smoothly for the most part.

I must point out something about Adam…he went to see “High School Musical On Ice”…and he was overly excited about this. I’ve seen the movies and alright, they’re fairly good. But seeing it…on ice…and dancing in the hallways and the seats…Adam’s a questionable kid. Screeching…all the time this kid is screeching. At least Amanda seems to know that people don’t like her much, just a little bit, but Adam has to be that kid that they hang around with that nobody really likes because no one is more annoying than this kid. He has to be. Horrible kid.

Tune in next week…mostly because Adam runs out of the room crying…should be amusing.

While most of this episode focused on Alex, there’s always room to continue making Amanda look weird and obnoxious. The episode revolved primarily around Alex and Dan writing an article for the paper about practicing with the football team for a day. Dumbest idea ever. They’re writing for a high school paper, why search for such a difficult article idea when you can get away with writing a movie review? Then again, I guess that’s why these go-getters are going to be snagging up jobs from bums like me one day. I admire their dedication.

Anyway, they went ahead with it. They were made fun of by the players, the coach, and even the nurse who made them turn their heads and cough. Regardless, in the end everyone gave them credit for giving it their all, and Amanda even showed up and laughed at them during the practice because she’s obnoxious. Then, when Alex confronted her about it, she went on to bitch and moan about how the sun exhausts her and she can’t sit in it for long, as if it’s relevant to the situation. Eighty guys are running around a football field in heavy padding, and this girl is bitching about how the sun exhausts her. She is a class act.

After all was said and done, Alex and some of his broskis went to a Dave Matthews concert, and Alex even brought along a lady friend he had grown smitten with. There was some flirting and then, now this is so incredibly middle school, he asked her out via text message…while sitting next to her. Pathetic.

The episode closed with Amanda continuing to call Alex and make amends, and she left us with the closing line, “I need to call a meeting.” Well, that meeting probably won’t go well because I have a feeling she’s going to be a tad jealous about Alex’s new fling, and I’m hoping she is…mostly because it makes excellent television.

Episode 2 of “The Paper” did not disappoint. We saw many of the same things from last week, such as Amanda being weird and being on a power trip with her new Editor-in-Chief status. The other kids resent her, but the beauty of the situation is that Amanda has nothing else going for her. The other kids party and drink and revel in their youth, whereas Amanda sticks post-its on the wall full of “neat” ideas.

In any case, we got to see these kids on the first day of their senior year, and as would be expected, they all acted like they were incredibly cool and knew everything, and basically showed off in front of the underclassmen. We’ve all seen this. I’m sure I had my cocky moments throughout my senior year, but honestly, I was always mildly lost on first days of high school. Seniors always act like they run the school, and the staff of “The Paper” were no different, but honestly, senior classes come and go. It’s kind of humbling when you stop and consider that your senior class is among, I don’t know, between 40 and 50 senior classes that have come to pass, so basically these kids were being jokebags.

Anyway, Amanda was busily brainstorming via post-it notes on how to unite the newspaper staff, new and old, while her friends were out partying with each other because they have lives…and friends…and aren’t weird…like Amanda. She came up with the most obvious option:

Ice Cream Social!

Because sweets bring people together, she went ahead with this ridiculous plan and hosted it at her house. It didn’t work. She weirded out the newbies and the rest of the seniors hung out with each other, because they were in agreement that Amanda is an idiot. The party ended and it was just Amanda and Alex, Managing Editor, chilling on the couch and from what I could tell, Amanda was coming on to Alex. Not in a straightforward direct way, but she was talking as if she was drunk and sort of coaxing him to make his move, but all that happened was that they agreed to be professional in working on the newspaper.

The episode ended with all the cool kids playing laser tag, even Closeted-Gay-Adam (I failed to mention his role in the episode which consisted of him being obnoxious and screeching as if people actually like him), but it appeared that Amanda was not invited. Big surprise. She knew they were going to play laser tag, but she acted is if she was above them, as per usual. I’ll tell you one thing: this girl makes for great TV.

Without a second episode of “The Hills,” I wasn’t quite sure how I would fill the void in the 10:30-11:00 PM timeslot. “The Paper” answered that dilemma.

This new MTV series couldn’t have looked dumber. Amidst all the fake reality shows MTV has shit out within the last couple of years, I actually thought this looked the dumbest. I was right. But I was also wrong.

Not only is this show awesome for starring a group of mostly nerds desperate to become Editor-in-Chief, but these kids are so damn mean to each other. Should I be enjoying this? No. Because MTV has shit this out for viewers to watch, will I? Of course. This show breaks away from focusing on California’s beautiful youth, and takes a look at American…the best words I can use are “indoor kids.”

These kids aren’t total nerds, well, except for Amanda and Adam, they are the cream of the crop as far as nerds go. The rest of the group are fairly normal, but damn are they catty. Not one of them failed to talk shit about the rest of the paper’s staff, especially when it came to Amanda.

Amanda is the reason I decided a post was absolutely necessary for this show. Amanda is not only the overachieving uber-nerd, she’s also that girl in high school that people don’t like, but she doesn’t know this. I mean, now that the show has aired, oh…now she’s got to know. Not only was she busily writing an essay on a Friday night while her peers championed each other on the beer pong table, but I believe they used the word “bitch” to describe her several times. More than that, they called her while they were out for dinner and basically made fun of her. And damn, when her name was next to the title Editor-in-Chief…shit hit the fan pretty damn fast.

Best moment of the show, and possibly ever was when Trevor is commenting to the camera about how he feels about Amanda being in charge, the classic reality TV confessional position. Barely three feet behind him, Amanda is staring right into the camera, hearing every damn word of it. Greatest. Moment. Ever.

This hot new high school series thrills me right now. I’m ecstatic about it. It captures a dark, edgy version of high school. The type of dark, edgy version of high school I really never experienced because I’ve never wanted that much responsibility with clubs. Honestly, I thought showing up to club meetings was asking a lot of me.

Things to watch out for: Adam, the obnoxious gay kid who cried after losing out to Amanda, planning a coupe de’tat against Amanda, because he’s that bitter. Clips of the season looked promising, both tragic and funny. Keep an eye on this one.