Flora-Bama is this really cool beachfront bar on the Florida and Alabama state line. If you are ever in the Pensacola area, I would highly recommend checking it out. They serve fresh oysters there and frequently have live music. I have been there a couple of times and had fun each time.

When I heard that MTV was going to have a show named Florabama Shore, I decided I would give it a try. I watched a few episodes of Jersey Shore, but I never could get into that show. The Jersey shore is really only for people who cannot make it to Florida to see what a nice shore looks like. The characters from Jersey were also not very compelling or intelligent. I actually just wish that MTV would go back to showing music videos, but I don’t think I will live to see that day unless someone invents a time machine.

The first episode of Florabama Shore introduced us to all eight of the young adults who will be staying in the beach house and will be filmed day and night. We learned this beach house, that none of these people could ever actually afford to stay in, is in Panama City Beach, about a two-hour drive from the area most would call Florabama. I guess the producers of this show decided that Panamacitybeach Shore was just too hard to say.

On the first night in the house, there was quite a bit of drinking going on. One character named Kortni drinks too much and is unable to join her housemates when they go to a bar. To make matters worse, she drinks so much that she urinates on her roommate’s bed. She did not do it to be mean. She was just that drunk. She would have failed a multiple-choice test that asked what planet she was on. This poor girl will have to live with this bad decision for the rest of her life. She will always be known as the girl who urinated on someone else’s bed.

Not everything that happened in the first episode was negative. On the second day, all of the housemates prayed together before eating lunch. Viewers also got to see the cast members working at their job for the summer. They are tasked with setting up umbrellas and beach chairs and keeping the beach clean. The program shows the cast members taking a cab to and from the various bars where they drink too much. It is good to know they were not drinking and driving.

One of the bars the cast went to more than once this first episode is Club La Vela. La Vela calls itself the largest nightclub in the USA. Having been to many nightclubs, it certainly has to be one of the biggest. It is without a doubt the best nightclub in Panama City Beach. The cool thing about it is that it houses several different types of clubs under one roof. There is more than one dance area, a rock and roll bar, VIP areas, and even a pool where you can cool off. I don’t see how this show will keep the audience captivated if every episode will be featuring trips to La Vela.

If Florabama Shore manages to bring more tourists to Florida, that would make the show worthwhile. I actually hope that the young adults and teens watching this show will decide that getting really drunk and acting foolishly is not such a good idea. I wish the student from Florida State who died from drinking too much last month would have learned that lesson.

Eric lives in Suwannee County and is a public school educator. He is an independent contractor. You can reach him at miamistyle8@gmail.com.