When MTV first set up their summer beach house in Seaside Heights, New Jersey in 1997 it proved the perfect spot for their trashy programming. So good was the locale that MTV returned in 2002 to do it all over again. It comes as no surprise then that their latest Seaside jaunt, Jersey Shore is another bona fide phenomenon. With it’s Real World-esque set-up and emphasis on guidos, getting drunk, and getting action Jersey Shore proved the inevitable evolution and zenith of the area’s natural ability to lure New York’s trashiest tourists to come down and act like juvenile fools. After all, locals have been calling it "Sleazeside" for decades.

So what does MTV do with their New Jersey juggernaut? Do they make Jersey Shore 2? Do they set up a permanent new studio on the boardwalk? Not exactly. Instead, they sadly mistake the jabronies on the show as the real stars rather than Seaside Heights, itself. Check the Internet and you’ll see rumours swirling that the cast is coming back but the location is changing. Duh!

Here’s the obvious truth: Snookie, The Situation, Paulie D, Jwowww, etc. lucked out. They just happened to be the lucky Bennies (Jersey speak for goofy tourists mostly from New York that patronize the Jersey beaches in the summer) that made it through the auditions. In fact, tourists like these guys are all over the Shore in the summer locking down the Garden State Parkway and making fools of themselves on a daily basis. MTV hardly needed to arrange for these blockheads to stay in a house and have their lives taped; they could have just moseyed the boardwalk with a camcorder and got footage just as good.

That the Jersey Shore cast isn’t even from New Jersey is ironic; that many people seem to believe they are the reason the show was an enormous hit is just plain ridiculous. Personally, I enjoyed the show but I have a sneaking suspicion using locals would have made the show better and less one-dimensional.

Bottom line: the cast of Jersey Shore’s fifteen minutes of fame are about to expire. And when their time as C-list celebrities is up the pot of gold that is Seaside Heights, NJ will still be there ready for another exploitative run. Like a Phoenix rising from the flames, I look forward to its trashy re-emergence.