Sort-of-Liveblogging "The Hill," Episode 5

Though it's received a curious lack of buzz in town since its premiere last month, I suspect a fair number of Hillites have been watching Sundance Channel's "The Hill," a 6-part behind-the-scenes reality show filmed in Rep. Robert Wexler's office last year.

Tonight was the second to last episode of the series, and while I'm not technically "liveblogging" since the show was on an hour ago, I can offer a tape-delayed version (BTW, the "stars" of the show, Chief of Staff Eric Johnson and Press Secretary Lale Mamaux, are also blogging infrequently over at the Sundance website).

9:02...Hallie and Jonathan bantering. Man, I forgot how close those House office desks are to one another.

9:04...Wexler turns down a CNBC live interview opp because he is too busy preparing for Hurricane Wilma.

9:06...Halie is moving in with her boyfriend, who's wearing a blindingly bright pink shirt. Why do I get a feeling from the tone of their banter that these two aren't dating any more?

9:08...Eric mocks Lale for spazzing out about Wexler doing a local TV interview during the hurricane. Eric, the voice of reason, points out that no one in Florida has TV service at the moment.

9:12...Eric and Lale fighting again. Those crazy kids! There seems to be an above average amount of voice-raising in this office.

9:15...Lale asks Wexler if the ride on Air Force One "was fun." Obvious reply: "Nothing is fun in a hurricane." Oblivious, Lale continues, "well, you looked very dapper yesterday...they focused in on you, it was very funny." Reminds me of Brownie and his staff emailing about how good he looked on TV during Katrina.

9:18...Where is this office's scheduler? Everybody spends so much time tracking down where the boss is. I can only assume he/she had the common sense not to participate in the show.

9:22...Halie plays buttinsky during Lale's drafting of a Scooter Libby statement. Jonathan tears up Halie's suggested lines.

9:35...Everyone very excited because Wexler is requesting a hearing in Iraq...temporarily forgetting that they're in the minority, and that Henry Hyde will probably tell Wexler to take a long walk off a short pier.