Reality Check.

• Author: Lewis, Andrea
• Position: 'Point of View: 5 Girls'

Forget Survivor 3, Lost, and The Amazing Race. The place to go for the real reality shows this fall is public television. October will bring the premiere of two documentaries that look at the lives of young people without the hype.

Produced for PBS'S POV (Point of View) series, "5 Girls" examines the lives of five Chicago-area teenagers from diverse backgrounds. (The show airs October 2 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern time.)

Haibinh, fifteen, emigrated to the United States from Vietnam when she was ten. Now, as an academically advanced high school sophomore, she tries to balance her desire to fit into American society with her need to remain connected to her native traditions.

"Sometimes I think I have dual personalities," she says. "I like being both ways, though. I don't want to give up one or the other."

Aisha, sixteen, is dealing with her parents' acrimonious divorce, as well as the demands of her hypercritical and protective father. "It's hard when your parents don't really even want to talk to each other," she says tearfully.

Toby, who at thirteen is the youngest of the five, tries to distinguish herself from the weighty personalities of her parents, both of whom are doctors.

Amber, fifteen, deals with an anger-filled relationship with her mother and a childhood scarred by violence. "People just don't care about you at all," she says emphatically. "I had to find out the hard way. Nobody cares about you but yourself."

Corrie, seventeen, from Chicago's affluent North Shore, is alienated from her father and many of her classmates because of her bisexuality and her political views. "My peers are like, `Oh, she's so weird. She thinks about politics. That's so strange,'" Corrie says with a wry smile. "I find that life gets meaningless if you're just concerned about what your hair looks like and if you're going to the right party Saturday night."

The young women of "5 Girls" don't seem that different from those of earlier generations. We see the seemingly age-old practice of fussing over hair, clothes, and makeup before homecoming and other high school dances. There is concern about dating, body image, and school achievement. At times, only the piercing, hairstyles, and shoes remind us that these are women growing up in the "post-feminist" millennium.

Have things changed that little for teenage girls? What woman wouldn't connect with Aisha's feelings of trying to respect her father's wishes while also attempting to assert her own personality? Who...