» What's the cast up to now?

'Real World: Austin" ends its long, drunken run tonight.

MTV's never-ending reality series took over Sixth Street for nearly four months, with seven housemates shacked up in a lavishly overhauled warehouse downtown at Third and San Jacinto streets. The show has run for five months.

It was exciting when they started filming the 16th season here Jan. 28. But by the time the production wrapped in May, the cast had worn out its welcome. A now defunct Web site was filled with chatter about how obnoxious the group had become, taking up valuable floor space in crowded Sixth Street bars and getting smashed every night.

In fact, they rarely left Sixth Street and only briefly visited landmarks such as the Capitol and Mount Bonnell.

Three of the housemates had brushes with the law, all alcohol related. Danny, who was not charged with anything, had his face bashed in by a local guy who was charged — with aggravated assault — and makes his first court appearance today. Johanna swiped a flower from a homeless vendor and was carted off to jail, and Nehemiah was busted for punching out a guy at a hot-dog stand.

You'd think with all that, "Real World: Austin" would have been thrilling, but the general consensus among fans and episode recappers is that it has been a colossal bore.

"By now I'm convinced that it's not just me," Entertainment Weekly's "Real World" commentator Annie Barrett wrote after a recent episode. "The vast majority of 'Real World Austin' viewers have basically given up, and the show's editors and producers seem to have finally thrown in the last booze-soaked towel and followed suit."

Fan comments on EW and Television Without Pity sites range from "worst season ever" to "boring beyond belief." Both phrases are oft-repeated.

"The Real World," which arrived on MTV in '92, became the highest-rated cable series among viewers ages 12 to 34 by corralling attractive young people in a cool house in a cool city and filming them 24/7. The Austin-filmed incarnation still rules that age demo, averaging 3.41 million viewers a week. That's more than the previous season, which was set in Philadelphia — but less than earlier seasons set in San Diego, Las Vegas and Chicago.

Austin film and city promoters were positively glowing last December when MTV announced it was bringing "Real World" here. The media value — free publicity that would benefit film production and tourism — was estimated at $20 million.

Austin Film Office director Gary Bond says the "Real World" experience has been good for the city. The production, which showcased the beauty of the city when cameras weren't tucked inside bars and bedrooms, was uncomplicated and resulted in several other film and TV projects planning to coming here.

"I think it reflects well on the city but maybe rather poorly on the state of youth in America," Bond says. "It definitely has contributed to the overall buzz about Austin, especially since their job involved filming during South by Southwest."

Ah, yes. The "job." During the South by Southwest Music Festival, the housemates were charged with filming a mini-documentary about a couple of bands (Halifax and Hellogoodbye). This proved so taxing the cast was sent to Costa Rica on "vacation" when they were halfway through. There's a link to the finished video, "The Real SXSW," online at www.mtv.com/overdrive.

The housemates' "boss" on the project was award-winning documentarian Paul Stekler ("Last Man Standing"), who teaches film production at the University of Texas. He agreed to take on the "Real World" in the hope of attracting good publicity for UT and for grad students P.J. Raval, Jenn Garrison and David Hartstein, who taught the kids.

Was "The Real World" really good for UT?

"It didn't hurt," Stekler says. "I'm famous among 19-year-olds now. There was more drinking and carousing than I expected. I thought there'd be more of the filmmaking, but they simplified a very long process and concentrated more on personal dynamics. It was sort of a surreal experience."

The real "Real World" publicity went to the Sixth Street bars favored by the cast, especially the Dizzy Rooster, where hunky bartender Leo became Johanna's local boy-toy. Neither the bar's management nor Leo would talk with us about the experience, but tourists probably seek out both.

The fabulously decorated downtown warehouse the cast called home is now boarded up and rumored to be awaiting transformation into a Mexican food restaurant. The "Austin" sign that once adorned the red-brick building is now on top of Vivid, a clothing boutique on South Congress Avenue.

Austin designer Joel Mozersky, who also designed the ultra-cool nightclub Oslo, had splashed the warehouse with bright colors and shaggy rugs. There was an indoor pool, hanging plastic "bubble" chairs and a gold communal bathroom. The 18-foot tall neon Big Tex that greeted visitors at the door has gone home to Neon Jungle, other art has been returned to artists and furniture has been claimed by the production company that paid for it. The building is now a dark shadow of its former glory.

After tonight's finale, "Real World: Austin" will be little more than a boozy memory. The show's next season takes place in Key West, where another gang of seven will engage in youthful debauchery. It will be a hip, gorgeous setting, but the cast, not the locale, will determine whether the show is boring or fun.

As the 'Real World' turns

MTV declined to tell us what the housemates have been doing since they left Austin. As usual, everything's a big secret.

Did the college kids go back to school? Are Danny and Mel still together? Has Nehemiah stopped moping? We'll find out when MTV airs a (not-yet announced) where-are-they-now special.

After watching this weird adventure for 23 of the 24 weeks, this is what we know:

Danny (construction worker from Boston 'burbs): Head over heels in lust with Melinda from Day One. Prone to jealous rages and other infantile behavior, but his mother died during filming, so we tried to cut him some slack.

Melinda (waitress/wannabe dentist from Wisconsin): Gorgeous, sexy flirt riddled with insecurities and desperate to be loved by Danny. An emotional basket case when Danny doesn't pay attention to her.

Wes (Kansas-born frat boy at Arizona State University): The biggest, baddest drunk of all. Convinced he's a babe magnet, but babes like Johanna and local gal Wren weren't convinced.

Johanna (Peruvian-born California college grad): A mean drunk who hates commitment but loves flirting with Wes. She also toyed with Dizzy Rooster bartender Leo.

Nehemiah (tough-ropes college guy from California): A loner who didn't like Austin at all and blew his chance to impress with his alleged filmmaking skills.

Rachel (Iraq war veteran from California): Treated visiting boyfriend like dirt and is prone to emotional outbursts — possibly caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. Seriously.

Lacey (hairdresser from Florida): Initially the sweet virgin but turned out to be the meanest, nastiest gossip on the planet. Succumbed to the bad-house vibe.

dholloway@statesman.com; 445-3608