NO SIMPLE QUESTION RICHIE REMARK TO 11-YEAR-OLD HAS HIS FATHER HOPPING MAD.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

CASTAIC - The raunchy antics of reality TV have hit far too close to home for a Castaic family, who complained that their son was targeted by a foul-mouthed Nicole Richie in her role as a suburban housewife in ``The Simple Life.''

The 11-year-old was playing basketball Wednesday in the driveway of the family home, his father in the garage nearby. Richie, taping an episode of the resurrected series, approached and asked the boy whether she looked like a ``MILF'' - a vulgar, urban slang acronym for, let's say, the mom who's caught the eye of her son's hormone-wracked teenage friends.

``I don't know what that means,'' the youngster said, according to his father. At first, in fact, the boy though she'd said ``elf.''

``It means a 'mother I'd like to (expletive),''' the celebutante said to the tow-headed kid.

This occurred with two camera operators and other crew taping the exchange.

``This happened on my driveway, on my street, to my 11-year-old son,'' said the angry father, who asked that his family not be identified by name.

The man said the crew asked him to sign a release so the clip could be included in the show, which he refused. Instead, he said, he lodged a complaint with the production company, Bunim-Murray Productions. By Friday, his call hadn't been returned.

``Simple Life,'' also starring Paris Hilton, was dropped by Fox, but picked up this season by E! and retitled ``Simple Life 4: Till Death Do Us Part.'' The episode shot in Castaic is scheduled to run in the spring, show publicist Chris Delhomme said.

E! is rerunning the first three seasons until then, should anyone have missed the two young women with the rich daddies, playing wife and mom in the 'burbs.

``The girls are taking turns on their own as wife and mother in their own house,'' Delhomme said. ``We send the real wife away - she gets a day at the spa - and the girls separately each day take over. The premise is, fish out of water - these rich celebutantes in the environment they know little about. That's the comedy.''

About the off-color comment to an unsuspecting kid?

``Obviously, there's not going to be profanity on the show,'' he said, but acknowledged that any four-letter words likely would be bleeped rather than edited out.

George Cabico, spokesman for Bunim-Murray, said the show is intended to draw laughs, not cause hurt feelings.

``From our standpoint, 'Simple Life' is more of a comedy show, it's not a serious show,'' Cabico said. ``It's neither the producer's intent nor Nicole Richie's intent to offend anyone. Something like that would never air.''

As for Richie?

``She's her own person. I can't speak on her behalf.''

Richie's publicist did not return calls seeking comment.

Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, said he's a fan of some reality TV, but only when the participation is voluntary.

``When you make a reality show like ``Survivor,'' you're putting people voluntarily in the middle of nowhere where they compete in a controlled environment,'' he said. ``It's one thing if you want to be on it, you stand in line and audition. It's another thing if you get hijacked onto these shows that are taking place in towns.''

But a lot of people who don't want to be in reality shows still find themselves in front of the cameras.

``That's a problem,'' Thompson said. ``I'm certainly sympathetic to people like this because they move into these neighborhoods, they don't move onto reality TV sets. I wouldn't be surprised if that dad tried to sue the living daylights out of them.

``That is not something a neighborhood has to tolerate.''

Meanwhile, there's a set of Castaic parents who found themselves with a whole lot to explain to their 11-year-old son.

``I'm 90 percent mad but a little part of me says, Stop being a prude,'' the mother said. ``I guess I just don't want my son to grow up that fast.''

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com

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(color -- ran in AV edition only) The parents of an 11-year-old boy were shocked when reality TV's Nicole Richie stopped in his driveway and, while being taped by crew members, asked a very adult, and foul-mouthed, question.

Chris Polk/Associated Press