It’s show time in Newport

On “Beverly Hills, 90210,” the characters attended West Beverly High

School. The school, of course, didn’t exist, since producers didn’t

want to take the risk of offending the people at an actual school.

The exteriors were filmed at Torrance High School.

So now it’s time for “The O.C.,” the new Fox show that’s supposed

to take place in Newport Beach, to send its teens to another

fictional school. Exteriors can be filmed at Newport Harbor or Corona

del Mar highs, but the name will have to be different.

How about West Newport High? Dennis Rodman can teach physical

education and some sports. Hmmm, should he go with boating or should

he stick to the obvious?

It has to be somewhat difficult for the writers to come up with

realistic plots for such a show, especially when it’s filmed and most

likely written in L.A. County.

The writers could tap into a cheerleading controversy. All they

have do is kick one of the main female characters off the team and

have her attorney parents speak up. From there, drama ensues.

Or maybe have a baseball player’s father sue the baseball coach

because his son doesn’t play enough.

And throw in some Ritalin abuse for good measure, too. It’d be a

lot more creative than cocaine, the drug of choice that viewers have

seen in the first two episodes.

There’s plenty of dramatic fodder if the show’s creators would

only jump on a couple of freeways and head south -- and of course,

read the local paper.