a) Hooray! b) Groan!

The network that — a) saved b) destroyed — music as we knew it is back in Hawai'i with a pair of new reality shows guaranteed to: a) excite young audiences with a glimpse of the real Hawai'i; b) perpetuate tired stereotypes of Hawai'i as a postcard paradise where people work (at surfing), play (at surfing) and love (while surfing).

MTV, which produced "The Real World: Hawaii" and "Surf Girls" in Hawai'i, is in Hawai'i this month to film "Island Fever" and "Living Lahaina," both scheduled to debut early next year.

If you answered "b" to the above, don't read the following line from the official synopsis of "Island Fever":

"On the spirited island of Maui, there can be a phenomenon known as Island Fever — when the desires of living in paradise take control of your life."

(You can open your eyes now.)

The show follows a group of friends and lovers as they try to hold onto their bonds despite a rush of new Island experiences. MTV veteran Tony DiSanto ("Total Request Live," "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County") is executive producer.

"Living Lahaina" follows another group of friends who give surf lessons by day and pursue their main objective — "their never-ending quest to find perfect waves and share the best of times" — the rest of the time. Jesse Ignjatovic ("Doggy Fizzle Televizzle") serves as executive producer.

SURF AND SUDS

The show that washes your ears out with soap is coming to the Hilton Hawaiian Village this month to tape four new episodes.

"Soap Talk," SOAPnet's Emmy-nominated talk show devoted to soap operas, is offering public tapings at 9 and 11 a.m. on Sept. 28 and 29. Fans who want to watch will be welcome to gather on the beach nearby.

Host Ty Treadway will be joined by guest hosts Rebecca Budig ("All My Children") on Sept. 28 and Laura Wright ("General Hospital") on Sept. 29.

Confirmed guests include Susan Lucci ("All My Children"), Kelly Monaco ("General Hospital" and "Dancing with the Stars"), Ingo Rademacher ("General Hospital"), Jason Thompson ("General Hospital") and Jack Wagner ("The Bold and the Beautiful").

STILL THE HOME(R) TEAM

"Smallville" and "The Gilmore Girls" may be saying aloha to local airwaves, but, hey, we'll always have Homer. And Fez. And all those simple rules.

KFVE switches over to the new My Network TV programming on Tuesday, ending its network affiliation with the WB, which recently merged with UPN to form the CW.

No other local station has yet arranged to pick up the CW affiliation.

My Network TV's telenovella programming kicks off with nightly airings of short-run series "Desire" and "Fashion House" from 7 to 9 p.m., followed by the KFVE News at 9.

The rest of the lineup remains intact, for now at least, with syndicated favorites like "The Simpsons," "That 70s Show," "8 Simple Rules," "My Wife and Kids" and others.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.