These are not the vapid mannequins on "The Hills," who are pretty and self-important but totally nonthreatening. These are the kids who aren't popular in high school. The ones whose parents assure them that while the cool kids will never amount to anything, it's them, the bottom rung of the high school caste system, who will be the cool kids when they grow up. And the thing is, they're right. These kids know it and act accordingly. These aren't the gorgeous people who will be pumping your gas in 20 years. They are the nerds who will be shredding your résumé.
— Newsweek
The Paper is a Reality TV show on MTV that aired in the spring of 2008. The show took place at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, home of the award-winning Circuit student newspaper. Over the course of eight episodes, newly appointed editor-in-chief Amanda tries to maintain the Circuit's high standards while dealing with Teen Drama among the newspaper staff, most notably from her best friend and chief rival, Alex.
The cast includes:
"Journalists are the most important part of the world. They really are."
- Amanda Lorber: Editor-in-Chief (formerly Copy Editor)
- Alex Angert: Managing Editor (formerly Sports Editor)
- Adam Brock: Advertising Manager (formerly Business Manager)
- Giana Pacinelli: News Editor (formerly Clubs Editor)
- Cassia Laham: Entertainment Editor (no change in position)
- Trevor Ballard: Layout Editor (formerly Assistant Business Manager)
- Dan Surgan: Staff Writer (no change in position)
- Charesse James: Copy Editor (formerly Staff Writer)
- Alix Cohen: Clubs Editor (formerly Staff Writer)
- Rhonda Weiss: Journalism Instructor/Faculty Advisor to the Circuit
A second season of the show was planned to take place at Burleson High School in Burleson, Texas. This would later become a separate series, My Life as Liz.
Tropes:
- Adults Are Useless: Mrs. Weiss bears witness to much of the tension among the staff, but we don't see her put her foot down and demand that everyone grow up. She even stands by silently while Adam yells his grievances at the top of his lungs.
- Ambiguously Bi: Dan loves to make jokes about engaging in "girly" activities (wearing a tiara at his birthday party, getting a pre-Homecoming Cucumber Facial, etc.) or appreciating other men's genitals. But he does show up at the dance with a girl.
- Ambitious, but Lazy: Amanda remarks that Giana "usually doesn't do anything" while everyone else is hard at work on the paper. Indeed, she waits until the last possible minute to write her editor-in-chief application essay.
- Bad Boss: Many newspaper staff members view Amanda this way, predicting that she'll be dictatorial and dismissive. She does show some signs of poor leadership during her first few weeks on the job, but it's quite the opposite of what everyone feared: She fails to make necessary executive decisions and spends most of her time focused on her own byline. But she works hard to improve and ends up saving the entire next issue from a critical vice-principal.
- Brutal Honesty: Giana is renowned for this. When Trevor asks her if she thinks they'll still be together at the end of senior year, she simply shrugs.
- Camp Gay: Adam. You need only see his squeeing at the High School Musical ice show for proof.
- Change the Uncomfortable Subject: Cassia asks if she can write an opinion piece for an upcoming issue. Alex immediately declares that Amanda should give up her scheduled column to make space for Cassia. Recognizing what's about to happen, Cassia quickly insists she doesn't care that much, but Alex ignores her and continues harping on Amanda.
- Class Clown: Dan. Despite being the only member of the main cast not to hold an editor title, he tries to launch his own humor column.
- Conflicting Loyalty:
- Although he professes to still be friends with Amanda and promises not to let newspaper drama come between them, Alex sides with Giana, Trevor, Adam, and Dan against her more often than not.
- Adam is the likeliest of this group to be openly friendly to Amanda and criticize his own faction when they deserve it.
- Costume-Test Montage: Amanda spends a scene planning her outfits for the first week of school, stating which message each outfit sends to the newspaper staff that's now hers.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Amanda worries that her commitment to the newspaper throughout her high school years will be a disadvantage when applying to colleges, especially compared with resumes like that of Master of All Michael Jan.
- Deadpan Snarker: Charesse is often seen snarking on the inter-staff drama without getting too deeply involved in it.
- Driven by Envy: Giana vows "not to listen" to Amanda after the latter wins the position of editor-in-chief over the former.
- Dumb Jock: Scott, school quarterback and Adam's rival for homecoming king. He strolls into the newspaper room to talk trash, but Adam proves the better wit of the two and later the winner.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The series ends with Amanda getting into NYU like she dreamed.
- Family Portrait of Characterization: Amanda tries to wrangle the staff into a group photo at Homecoming. She, Cassia, Adam, Charesse, and Alix all get into the wacky spirit of the photo, but Alex crosses his arms and refuses to smile, and Trevor, Giana, and Dan simply refuse to participate.
- Finale Credits: The series ends with the school's color guard performing a routine to "All You Need Is Love."
- First Kiss: Alex and Alix share theirs after Alex sends Alix a misspelled text asking if she'll be his girlfriend.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: We can't confirm exactly what the kids were drinking out of Solo cups at a house party in the first episode. But based on Dan puckering his mouth at the taste from one of them, we can guess it wasn't Sunny Delight.
- Fury-Fueled Foolishness: Amanda and her girlfriends come to watch Alex and Dan at their Gonzo Journalism football practice. Alex overhears them laughing loudly over an unrelated joke and assumes they've come to make fun of him. He unleashes his anger over this the next day, accusing Amanda of lying when she protests that the girls were laughing at each other.
- Go-Getter Girl: Amanda. She puts her all into getting the editor-in-chief position, even staying home on a Friday night to finish her application essay while everyone else is out partying.
- High-School Dance: One episode of the show follows the cast at their Homecoming dance, including Dan making a promposal and Amanda getting one.
- Hospital Hottie: Dan is very happy to meet the attractive female doctor who gives him a physical in advance of his mock football practice.
- Hot-Blooded: Adam takes his role as advertising manager extremely seriously, frequently demanding to know the status of an ad at the top of his lungs. He does have his Brilliant, but Lazy moments, though, like sending out junior staffers to sell ad space to local businesses while he kicks back with a frosty beverage.
- Hypocrite Has a Point: Trevor correctly points out that while everyone else is tearing their hair out over a last-minute layout dispute, Amanda doesn't bother stepping in to make an executive decision, even though she has the authority to do so. That said, Trevor himself doesn't contribute much either, despite being the layout editor.
- I'm Standing Right Here: The show features several instances of cast members openly criticizing or mocking Amanda when she can hear them. Among these:
- Alex calls a strep-throat-stricken Amanda from a restaurant where he and some of the others are dining. She hears Trevor loudly remarking how much better a time they're having without her.
- In the same episode, Trevor gives a talking head interview in which he vows not to "have anything to do with" Amanda while she's sitting two desks away.
- After Amanda calls Alex into the hallway for a tense private conference, he returns to the classroom to brag to his friends about how he nodded along with her without taking her seriously.
- Insignificant Anniversary: Giana and Trevor go out for fondue to celebrate the eleventh month of their relationship.
- Lady Macbeth: Giana encourages both Alex and Dan at different moments to take actions that would undermine Amanda.
- Make-Out Kids: Trevor and Giana have a habit of displaying their affection in the classroom.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!":
- The staff works into the evening to complete the first issue of the year. They're just about done when they realize that none of them know how to prepare the final PDF for printing. Alex ends up phoning last year's editor in chief to get instructions.
- One of the school's vice-principals has the job of reviewing all current issues of the paper just before they go to print. She disputes some conclusions presented in a lead story, which everyone immediately realizes could upend all the work they've done on the entire issue. Amanda and Alix, who wrote the story, defend its integrity and end up saving the day.
- Master of All: Michael Jan, who gets excellent grades while performing multiple extracurriculars and generally being a well-liked guy. Giana devotes an entire article to his accomplishments, much to the delight of Loony Fan Alex, who horns in on her interview and interjects some gushing commentary.
- Ms. Fanservice: Giana favors low-cut and cropped tops, short shorts, and low-slung jeans.
- Official Couple: Trevor and Giana, and Alex and Alix.
- One of the Boys: Although her sartorial tastes are girly enough, Giana spends most of the show in an otherwise all-male clique.
- Party Scattering: Mrs. Weiss revises the classroom seating chart in order to break up the two cliques that have taken shape. Amanda can no longer sit with Cassia or Charesse, Alex can no longer sit with Trevor or Dan, and Giana is banished to the corner of the room by herself.
- Plastic Bitch: Some of the other editors view Amanda this way after she shows up to the first newspaper meeting of the year with a new nose.
- Precious Puppy: Gabby, Amanda's West Highland terrier.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Giana delivers one to Amanda the day staff positions are announced, trying to explain to her why other editors don't trust her to manage the paper well.
- Reconcile the Bitter Foes: Mrs. Weiss attempts to clear the air between Amanda and the other editors at a staff meeting. Unfortunately, Adam is the only one to admit to the lingering bitterness over Amanda becoming editor-in-chief, while Alex remains silent, Giana denies everything, and Trevor walks away ranting about Amanda.
- The Resenter: Trevor has the most open and potent dislike for Amanda, although it's never explained why. In the finale, though, even he has to admit that Amanda handles the near-spiking of a lead story very well.
- The Rival: Alex, Adam, and Giana all apply for the editor-in-chief position, but Alex, who becomes managing editor (essentially second in command), is the most bitter about losing out and quickest to take charge when Amanda doesn't.
- Running Away to Cry:
- Cassia is so distressed by the other editors' animosity toward Amanda that she has to cry in the bathroom over it.
- In the same episode, Adam does this after his epic rant about the staff drama, only much more loudly and in the stairwell.
- School Clubs Are Serious Business: The School Newspaper News Hound variant: The kids are fanatically devoted to their work on the Circuit, and Amanda even says that getting the editor-in-chief position would be "the highlight of [her] life."
- School of No Studying: We almost never see the kids do anything at school other than working on the newspaper or eating lunch.
- Senior Year Struggles: A common element throughout the show, including academic rankings and college applications.
- Shipper on Deck: Trevor and Dan encourage Alex to ask Alix out when they all go to the Dave Matthews Band concert. Trevor dubs them "Aleix Squared."
- Shouting Free-for-All: The day before deadline for the first issue of the year lapses into this, particularly when everyone is arguing over the final page count.
- Shout-Out: Amanda and Cassia sing the "Happy Happy Birthday" song from The Emperor's New Groove to Dan.
- Silly Song: Amanda likes breaking into song at random moments.
- Skewed Priorities: Amanda struggles with her first editorial of the year, spending so much time working on rewrites that she ends up neglecting the issue at large, making way for Alex to step up.
- Stood Up: Joey, Amanda's homecoming date, is forced to cancel on her after being grounded.
- Sucks at Dancing: Alex brings Alix to a South Seas-themed restaurant where customers are encouraged to join the staff dance troupe onstage. Both participate, but neither proves especially talented.
- Teacher's Pet:
- Amanda, to Mrs. Weiss. Trevor loudly snaps at Amanda to "quit sucking up."
- Seemingly the entire student body, to the school principal. We see five students celebrating "Mr. Neely Week" by painting the letters of his name across their torsos.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The theme of the show, basically. The cast still has to work together to keep the newspaper running, even if they often get distracted by their personal hangups.
- Trust-Building Blunder:
- Amanda hosts an ice cream social at her house for the entire staff. While Adam, Alex, and Dan do show up, they spend most of the afternoon sitting in a separate room and making fun of the whole concept.
- Mrs. Weiss brings the staff to a ropes course for a team-building exercise, which nearly falls apart when Alex and Trevor get into a screaming match. They do patch things up and complete the course—although its overall success is questionable, given that neither Amanda nor Giana was present.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Both Amanda and Alex admit to having once had crushes on each other.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating:
- Amanda lets out a happy scream when she sees her new title posted to the doorway of the newspaper room. Nobody else present seems all that pleased to hear it.
- Alex gets a lot of praise for his first-issue front cover, which prompts him to boast "I'm good at newspaper" and "Don't you wish you could be like me?"
- The Usurper: Alex relishes the idea of other newspaper staff turning to him for guidance instead of Amanda. He even talks her into letting him edit the front page of the year's first issue, normally the editor-in-chief's responsibility.
- We Used to Be Friends: At the end of the series, Amanda declares that she and Alex must "separate personal from professional" if they're going to last the year. The next day, she deletes all pictures of the two of them together from her phone.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: An online-only exclusive reveals where all the main cast plan to go to college:
- Amanda: New York University
- Alex: Penn State University
- Adam: University of Central Florida
- Trevor, Giana, and Cassia: University of Florida
- Dan: University of South Florida
- With Us or Against Us: Giana tells Alex to "just pick a side": Either he really is friends with Amanda and supports her as editor-in-chief, or he opposes her leadership and is prepared to jettison their friendship on those grounds. He chooses the latter.
