taylormctague
This show was really fun and refreshing, a great teen sitcom in a sea of sh*tty teen melodramas. After they brought Collin and Eva into the show though, it took a turn for the melodramatic. The Jenna getting drugs storyline felt like they were pandering to what they thought teens wanted to see. The season 3 finale was way too Pretty Little Liars, and having Eva turn out to be stalking all of them was the peak of it. They tried to fix it by writing those storylines out at the beginning of season 4, but the show could never really find the same place it that began. The attempt to wrap everything up felt forced and predictable at every turn. Overall a good show, but the last 2 seasons aren't up to the bar that it set.
samba53211
As a woman of grandmother age, I wasn't expecting to like this show, because it succumbs to sex-obsessed stereotypes of teens. That's not to say teens aren't obsessed with sex, just that they have more depth than that. In any case, I found myself adoring the character of Jenna and wanting her to succeed and know herself better. Add to that the smart writing, and it's got plenty of appeal.What I didn't like is how many of the supporting characters, especially the females, are caricatures: the ditzy mom, the shallow best friend, the incompetent-bordering-on-criminal guidance counselor, the mean girl, the mean girl's minion (who seems to be channeling Alicia Silverstone in Clueless). I was so hoping that at least one of them would grow.The only thing I found really odd was Jenna's parents. They're in their 30s but act like teens. They've been raising a child for 15 yrs. but act like they're still new to parenting.I'll certainly keep watching the show, if only to see what the actors and writers can do with these characters.
shagrog
Before you start reading, if you came here to see if this is safe for kids, let me save you a couple of minutes. It's not. This show is for people over 18. No explicit scenes are shown, but they're implicit. Don't let your kids watch this. It's not going to be good for them in any way.Now, the review...If you're into teen drama, perfect. This is 10/10. If you like to watch good shows independently of genre, try again. This is something like a 5/10.If you're into teen drama, the actor are the best and, OMG, the plot is so awesome and, like, cool and, like, interesting. If you like good shows, the actors are OK. They have their moments of inspiration as well as moments when you notice they just forgot the line. The main character often narrates and, while she does it, her face just goes weird. Take out the sound in these moments and tell me you make those faces when you think. It's weird. It's over-expression. Regarding the plot, it's a perfect teen drama, not so perfect if you want it to make sense. Sweet baby Jesus, this girl doesn't know what she wants. OK, you're right, who does? But she's just so impulsive. Too impulsive, she makes decisions, acts on them, then changes her mind and acts again. She does this every episode, if not twice per episode.So, most of the characters are about 15 years old (at least when it starts) and the show/network censors most obscenities (hand gestures and certain words), but then... they act like they're much older, having sexual intercourse and make out sessions like they're rabbits in heat. It's insane. If one character had an STD, by the end of season 2, it would have spread to every single other character. Again, it's insane.Also, I find it funny (not a bad thing, really) how they always manage to include 90% of the cast no matter what's happening or where. Church camp? Boom, there's the principal, for some reason. The main character took a trip to Canada (I'm making stuff up), everyone has to go along.The other thing that "grinds my gears" is how a show that targets teenagers can teach absolutely nothing about consequences. In fact, it seems to incentive having as many lovers as possible in a short period of time. Whatever happens, whatever the main girl does, everything is fine by the end. And it's not like the old shows when the main character would be in trouble for stealing candy from the candy jar. These kids are having sex (or making out) like there's no tomorrow and nothing bad ever happens. This show targets kids, but is definitely not safe for kids. At some point, they treat STD's like trophies (just so you know).The first episodes were great, this girl liked the popular guy. Regular story. But then you learn that she knows absolutely nothing about him. How is this possible? What does this teach? She gets everything she wants from the first episodes, not tension, no work, no strategy, yet she's never happy.
Hailey Park
Although I find this show refreshing, three girls who are trying to make it through high school together. Often girls are against each other in film and TV, but this show does show female relationships. It also shows a lot of different sides to different characters, it doesn't mind if we hate the good characters or love that bad characters. This show does skate around major issues, and always everything goes back to normal. If they truly wanted to make this show amazing, they wouldn't have been so quick to make sure everything works out. That being said, this is one of the few shows that I think somewhat properly shows teenagers, fully using social media, and not shying away of how jaded we are. I think this show has a lot of laughs, and mixes both light and dark humor flawlessly.
