Props to our neighbors for getting on the BET. "Baldwin Hills," which first aired Tuesday and reruns all week, is a reality series documenting the lives of 12 black teens growing up in an upscale L.A. neighborhood.

But the LAist blog is sick and tired of the stereotypes.

"First, the Black Entertainment Television network embarrasses black college students across the country with College Hill, a show that proves a house full of black college co-eds can be as useless as a house full of white ones. Now the MTV-show-dipped-in-chocolate experiment kicks into overdrive with last night's premiere of Baldwin Hills, a new single-camera docudrama that proves that when it comes to effortlessly reinforcing stereotypes, BET still reigns supreme."

It's a long rant.

The Los Angeles Times also has a review, but couldn't bother a staffer to write the two paragraphs before the story moved on to another reality show with black people featured.
But the BET message board lit up and comments were mixed. Some had a bad reaction to the show's tag line: "Your dreams are their reality. Live it!"

"Yea, wat is that supposed to mean...BET needs to get with it cuz alot more of thier viewers are living that "reality" than they think" said Vabeach2atl.

And there were complaints about portraying Baldwin Hills as an ultra rich enclave.

"Their trying to make Baldwin Hills out to be something it isnt.Its middle to upper middle class, not some ultra rich Beverly Hills type stuff. ... I really hate how on all the cut scenes they only show the few really big homes in the area (while most of the houses arent even two stories) ... If you fell down the hill you would land on Crenshaw, or if you walked through Windsor hills Inglewood would be staring ya in the face...no way to become separated from the hood like those fake private school girls because its all around you." - CLS63

Others on the BET message board took issue with the show's title.

"Baldwin Hills or View Park?? is it me or does it look more like they shot more n Vpark than baldwin hills? those girls were strollin up the valleyridge hill with baldwin hills in the background. the bh kids could have explained the main three areas repped as the HILLS... Baldwin, ViewPark/WindsorHills, Ladera height." - VPhillBilli


According to the New York Times (which ran a great, lengthy piece on BET Monday), "Baldwin Hills" is one of five shows beginning on the network this month, as it
introduces 16 shows through 2008, the biggest lineup of debuts in its 27-year history.

The programs "help answer the long criticism that BET fails to mirror the complexity of black life," the story states.

The Wave doesn't publish until Thursday and had nothing on their Website.