The Life And Times Of Spoiled Brats - The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, Gossip Girl, Kings and More

The Secret Life of The American Teenager - One Night at Band Camp - Eps. 122

OMG OMG OMG. The baby is coming the baby is coming! I'm assuming the baby will arrive tonight on the season finale of this surprisingly addictive show. I still can't believe how much I'm LOVING this show (from the creator of 7th Heaven, a show I despise with a passion), which is like the anti-Gossip Girl in terms of production value but in all it's low-rent sets and awkward acting, there's some hilarious dialogue and more soapy twists than Serena and Dan have been through.

And now we get to see it from the start! A last week's flashbacks took us back to BAND CAMP! When Ricky first met Amy and got Amy preggers. You gotta admit, the kid's got swagger and his current emotional state (getting him to ask Ashley to be a friend in true desperation) somehow rings true.

And LOVE that Amy is such a spoiled naive brat and is SOOO uninformed and ill-prepared about the pregnancy. Yes it HURTS. You're squeezing a whole HUMAN through your birth canal. And YES, you have one! (Hysterical!)

I also love that everyone somehow finds an excuse to come to the hospital, including Grace's brother Tom. Though as much as like the new Jack this later half of the season, I think it's wrong that Grace is considering going back to him. I am enjoying her friendship with Adrian though. Man, I can't get enough of this show.


Gossip Girl - The Age of Dissonance, The Grandfather - Eps. 218-219

Oh Gossip Girl, how I've missed you and your sarcastic narrations and twisty twisted soapy plots that change faster than the rules to a stimulus package.

And oh how I missed you Dorota! Who keeps Blair in check! Cause I certainly can't keep up with who she's with, who she's against, who wronged her or who she's siding with anymore. It's all getting too complicatedly delicious!

Last week she was all in a rage against Serena for blasting out to Gossip Girl herself, but it wasn't Serena, it was Dan, no it wasn't Dan, it was Rachel. Ah, her rage against Dan continues and now her rage against Rachel is back after the teach destroyed her Yale prospects.

Meanwhile, points for casting NYTimes resident theatre critic Charles Isherwood as NYTimes resident theatre critic Charles Isherwood in his Upper East Side debut. Especially when he loved the messed up version of The Age of Innocence performed by our resident spoiled brats. Yuki in a fat suit was particularly fabulous! Or Nate breaking the fourth wall. Or Dan making out with the disgraced teach Rachel in the costume closet!

In even bigger points for casting, tonight's episode casts Broadway's Aaron Tveit (Broadway's upcoming Next to Normal AND the upcoming Broadway-bound Catch Me If You Can, last years Saved, Next to Normal, Wicked, Hairspray) as Tripp, Nate's cousin. AND James Naughton (Chicago) as Nate's grandfather.

More on Gossip Girl, Kings, Degrassi: TNG, The Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters:

So Nate gets convinced to attend the big family reunion, the same family that pretty much disowned them when his father disgraced them, and gets slowly suckered back into his rich waspy world. Poor Vanessa, who with Dan, convinced the poor guy to basically walk away from the only healthy relationship he had. Oh well, more shots of Nate! and More shots of Aaron Tveit as Tripp!

Lily and Rufus decide to reveal their "lists" which is a clever way to create LOTS of backstory for young Lily in the spinoff (Britany Snow! hurrah!). Basically, Lily was a slut. And Rufus was not.

Meanwhile, slutty spoiled Chuck is trying to stop slutty spoiled Blair from falling into Carter Baizen's slutty spoiled hands (Sebastian Stan, also playing spoiled on Kings, see below). And instead Chuck loses Blair to someone ELSE? AGAIN? Oh Dorota, shouldn't you clean up this mess?


Kings - Prosperity - Ep. 102

Enjoyed the second episode but does everyone bad have to look so nefarious? It's like only the bad guys have bad skin. Lots of wrinkles? You must have been in the sun a lot and it therefore made you want to scheme and plot.

Well, Sebastian Stan doesn't have bad skin but I'm not sure his Jack is really all that bad (yet) and more just playing the poor spoiled misunderstood and underestimated son of the King. He's essentially Chuck on Gossip Girl, Stan's archenemy on that show.

I think now that I know they've filmed the whole season (thanks to RJ) so I know it will actually be wrapped up, puts me at ease about this show. I'm not sure I could watch this forever but I'm loving the whole production so far. Plus Brian Cox as the secret overthrown king hiding in some lair underneath King Silas' compound? Awesome!

I'm not sure if I'm getting all the symbolism and all the warring sides because it's either too complicated or too simple (and I'm just thinking it's complicated) but it's all kinda fun to watch and it feels all very grande!


Degrassi: The Next Generation - Touch of Grey, Heart of Glass - Eps. 815-816

That whole scene where Kelly gets caught with Emma's pot seemed a bit too coordinated. Of COURSE he gets caught while trying to dump her stash. How convenient.

Meanwhile, cutiepie (and a sort of younger Canadian version of Zac Efron, no?) K.C. (Samuel Earle) is apparently a rageaholic. Seriously? Even for Degrassi, that seemed to come out of nowhere to try to give him an "issue".

Then Alli continues her pursuit of Johnny only to sleep with him, but in a bigger shocker, Johnny was ALSO a virgin AND seems super sweet about it all. (Seriously, if you cut Scott Paterson's blond tresses, he's actually a really handsome fella) It was actually kind of a sweet episode, even though we knew this was coming all along.


The Amazing Race - Alright Guys, We're at War! - Ep. 1406

Camels!

Okay, so last week the flight attendants finally avoided elimination but alas, nothing really changed this week and it was the end for the skyhags (I've been one so I can say that). Not much new except that Mike and Mel continue to surprise. I was just thinking poor Mel seems to get all the hard challenges but Mike seemed to have noticed this week was a bad challenge to give his older father to do (to carry buckets of water back and forth).

I also think if Victor isn't out, he needs to come out now. Seriously, this trip seems to be a whole awakening for him.


Desperate Housewives - A Spark to Pierce the Dark - Ep. 518

The one where Edie gets killed. And where Orson almost gets killed.

I know the big shock was that Dave didn't end up killing Edie Britt and in a twist of fate, her escape lead to her own demise when she crashed into an electric pole and fried herself. How undignified and unsexy? Man, Marc Cherry really had it out for Nicolette didn't he?

Meanwhile, I'm actually liking the idea of Lynette working with Carlos (as it finally mixes in the men with the housewives' lives, though can she even really be called a housewife anymore?) but the storyline seemed more filler. Still, the comeuppance against Carlos' ex-now-VP (the much missed Leslie Boone, though I didn't really buy her sudden turn as a meanie) was fun, especially with Lynette pushing Gabi's girls to be bad.

I didn't care for Orson's continued downfall either except that it brought in more of Andrew to show up in a few scenes (but really, way too few).

I did love Susan with the return of ex-husband Karl. if only so that she could throw a can of paint on him in front of the headmaster.

Still, this was really the episode Dave was supposed to kill Katherine and where Edie catches onto his grand plan. Now what's the next twist?!


Brothers & Sisters - Spring Broken - Eps. 319

The episode where Ryan becomes a dickwad plot device again and turns Justin against Rebecca. And where Holly conveniently becomes nice when Tommy disappears and is let off the hook. Okay. Let's MOVE ON! And make Ryan nice again, cause I like looking at his face!

At least Greg Berlanti moved Matt Letscher over from his other show Eli Stone and brings him on as Kitty's new potential... something. Man, when did Letscher get so sexy? Loved him on The New Adventures of Old Christine but I still remember him as the annoying douchebag on Good Morning, Miami (yes, I don't know why I remember that show, but I do).

And Sarah goes BACK to Ojai. Again. And leaves hippieville. Too bad, I kinda liked the hippieville storyline. Plus it finally gave Eric Christian Olsen a respectable role for once.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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The Secret Life Of The American Teenager - Gossiped Girl

The Secret Life of The American Teenager - Baked Nevada, The Father and the Son, That's Enough Of That, Chocolate Cake, Unforgiven, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Money for Nothing,Chicks For Free, Maybe Baby - Eps. 113-120

How ridiculous and ridiculously awesome has this show been recently? I still can't believe I'm loving a show by the same woman who did the godawful 7th Heaven but here, somehow the bad acting, low budget sets and preposterous storylines somehow make it feel all the more relevant and realistic.

And the STORIES. Where do I even start? The illegitimate wedding between 16 year old's Amy and Ben (Shailene Woodley and Ken Baumann)? The return of Ricky's (Daren Kagasoff) abusive father? The continuing fallout and impending divorce between George and Anne (Mark Derwin and Molly Ringwald)? The reverberations over at the Bowman's (Josie Bissett and John Schneider)? Ashley (India Eisley) getting a job as a cocktail waitress, then finding a new friend? Jack's (Greg Finley) newfound philanthropy and becoming a naive big brother AND who falls for his lil' brother's much older sister (Bianca Lawson).

But nothing tops Adrian (the always awesome Francia Raisa, above, with no pun intended) (sort of) moving on from Ricky, sort of becoming friends with Grace, and starting to date her BROTHER. Okay, really step-brother with no blood relations whom she didn't even know existed until recently, but how soap-opera fantastically weird and strangely compelling is THAT?

And then the ADULTS. From the lovable but firm and strangely moralistic Steve Schirripa (morally making up for The Sopranos) as Ben's father Leo (LOVE that he's forcing Ben AND Ricky to work at the family meat shop), to Mr. Molina (Jorge Pallo) the guidance councilor who can barely keep his own life in check. To Adrian's real father and D.A. who returns to her life.

It was getting hopeful that the gays (Larry Sullivan and Alex Boling) would adopt the baby but I guess that has GOT to be way too convenient. Still, it was nicely written and the fact that Donovan and Leon were gay was never the actual issue, which made it subversively liberal for a show that has quite the Christian overtones. (For the record, it was because they decided to fight for the right to adopt their foster kids instead of fighting for Ricky for Amy's baby).

Still, that's probably what makes this show surprisingly great. Between the difference family beliefs of the Juergens, the Bowmans, and even Leo Boykewich, and how their different beliefs balance each other out on every issue, most prevalently about sex, it makes it quite refreshing and honest. It's not like the Bowman's live in a total bubble, so it was hilarious when Grace finally got the pill. From her super-conservatively Christian parents. Or that Jack's father, the minister at the local church, is actually quite liberal. Or that even Adrian (above with fellow sexpot Ricky), the school's sexpot, is probably also the smartest girl on the show, albeit emotionally screwed up.

Now I'm still not sure I totally buy Ricky's newfound interest in fatherhood or wanting to be with Amy, but then again, I'm sure he himself is sure what he wants.

Meanwhile, I'm loving the turmoil within the Juergens household (and the fact that George lives in the garage now and seems delighted everytime he annoys Anne. I'm also loving that Amy is acting like a total spoiled little teenage girl and expecting her parents to take care of the baby because that's probably what any normal selfish teenager would expect. It's hilarious when Ben and Amy assume they'll be able to take care of the baby but I loved the reality check Leo and Anne each gave them. Good for Anne in taking a new job and forcing Amy to take it with her. Granted, when the architect (SKIPPER! Where have you been Ben Weber?) showed up to offer Anne a job AND fall in love with her, all during the interview, that seemed a BIT too convenient, even by this shows standards.

Seriously, I can't get enough of this show. It's amazingly compelling, often times hilarious (sometimes on purpose, sometimes not), and oddly enough, falls in the right moral balance that I mostly believe in. Well, I'm not exactly Christian or believe you need to save yourself for marriage but it's a realistic look at what's happening across the country, and I like all the various characters and their believes colliding in this generic looking town. It's far more realistic then its timeslot rival Gossip Girl, which if you can believe it, actually deals with kids around the same age. Still, as much as I love Gossip Girl and all the prettiness, it's really a show about rich 20somethings set in high school as opposed to actual 16 year olds, like TSLOTAT. (Maybe that's why the numbers are actually better for The Secret Life... than the much buzzier Gossip Girl. And I also have to say, the plots are probably actually even crazier in The Secret Life... which has far more characters to criss cross into various relationships and crazy plots.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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I'm Moving Into The Greek House or Melrose Place

Aw crap. I was going to totally ignore the new desperate plea Melrose Place remake for The CW, especially after this year's 90210 turned out so blah (then again, the original was too, but it is getting a leeeettle better).

But now they go and cast Michael Rady from Swingtown (with the original MP Jake, Grant Show) and more importantly, Greek!

AND, after JUST watching the promos (below) for the new season of Greek, Michael Rady WILL return as geeky Max, Casey's new boyfriend (still!) which of course puts a damper on things for Cappie! Awesome!

The new season of Greek will start Monday, March 30th at 8pm on abcFamily once The Secret Life of the American Teenager finishes its (AWESOME) season.

Plus, Jesse McCartney will join the cast for 6 episodes! Check out the new promo that uses his video "How Do You Sleep":



Here's another promo trailer for Season 3 (is it? Or is it S2 Part 2? I can never get it straight for this show):



As for the new Melrose Place being directed by Davis Guggenheim, "On the project, penned by "Smallville" exec producers/co-showrunners Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, Rady" (who was also the hot greek guy in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie series) "will play Jonah Miller, a cute and quirky 25-year-old aspiring filmmaker who makes his living as a videographer of weddings and bar mitzvahs for the rich and famous after moving to Los Angeles with his fiancee a year ago. Apparently it's the "Billy" (Andrew Shue) role.

I will say this about the new Melrose Place. I have been saying that there needs to be a show about 20somethings post-university trying to break out into the real world, cause there hasn't been something like that in a while now (the last show that really felt like that, Felicity, wasn't even about post-uni). I know Gossip Girl FEELS like it but if you remember, they're technically only in high school. The Secret Life of the American Teenager has the high school part pegged, Greek has the college part pegged, but now we need a dramatic soapier version of How I Met Your Mother and MP could fill the void.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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The Secret Viewing Patterns of Vance - The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, The Real World and More

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com:

The Secret Life of The American Teenager - The Secret Wedding of The American Teenager - Ep. 112 - Season 1 Part 2 Premiere

The acting is still sh!tty and the pacing is still very odd but lordy lord lord is this show addictive in its combination of outrageous stories within a sanitized morality play that somehow manages to address real issues honestly without any condescension.

But still. A WEDDING???

That was RIDONKULOUS! I can't WAIT for the smackdown after. There will be a smackdown after right? Ben's father is a former Sopranos and as nice as he was in Season 1, I'm waiting for the smackdown. Can't wait.


The Real World: Brooklyn - Ep. 2101 - Season Premiere

Is it just me (actually, not) or is this new group of Real Worlders actually kinda cool and likable? Even Ryan, the smalltown Iraq vet is endearing in an I'm-ignorant-but-I'm-trying-I'm-really-trying-but-just-don't-call-me-gay-but-I-swear-I'm-cool-with-it kinda way. Sarah, the artsy punk girl who is a sweetheart, and J.D., the dolphin-training gay guy with the tough upbrining, seem super awesome (though the clip of JD smashing the table while yelling at who I think is Sarah makes me super curious about the future). Scott is superhot to look at. That's all that is needed. He doesn't have to do anything else except to keep taking his shirt off!

Katelynn, the post-op transgendered roomate, is course a fascinating mix into it all, especially with Ryan, like a little kid, being totally fascinated by her story.

If anybody annoys me at this point, it's probably Chet, and even then, not really (as compared to some former Real Worlders). At this point, the girls (Sarah, Baya and Devyn) have been overshadowed by the boys (mostly the bromance between Chet and Ryan vs. the LGBT bond between JD and Katelynn (um, I kinda teared up when they hugged in the car after outing themselves)) but so far I'm intrigued. Especially since I totally skipped Hollywood and I don't think I've seen a full season since... ... ... Hawaii? (Oh, I think I caught most of Austin)

More on Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Top Chef, Flashpoint


Desperate Housewives - Connect! Connect! - Ep. 512

Gaby dragging her kids around, Bree being told she's overbearing, Susan locked in the basement with Edie. All great though I felt they could have mined the comedy a bit more in each of the stories. Especially while Lynette continues to deal with Parker and grandma and Dave moves in with Mike to get closer to the enemy.

Still, I was hoping for a bigger showdown between Bree and Andrew though I will never complain about the shots on Todd Grinnell's face.


Brothers & Sisters - Sibling Rivalry - Ep. 312

Loved the somewhat simplified if not totally unheard of spiel the architect gave to his underlings when Nora the Commoner ranted against his superfluous design. I think I myself have a similar rant though I also have another rant in my back pocket for architects who don't know how to "connect" and live in their own egotistical dreamworld.

As someone who has spent many of hours building intricate building models, I still had to laugh when Nora smashed her project to bits. As horrifying as it was.

I liked where the Sarah story started off with, having money troubles in the new company and needing an insurgence of cash, but after she rebuffed Kitty's cheque, I lost track of where it all went once she started talking bank loans and this and that.

And while a political campaign could be an interesting way to split up Kevin and Kitty's dividing lines with Robert in the middle, does it have to be with Robert. AGAIN? Didn't we already go there and wasn't it already boring the first time? I kinda tuned out the second half of the episode and completely ignored Holly and Tommy's arguing over business and Sarah again.


Top Chef - Focus Group - Ep. 507

No love lost to Eugene or the blonde girl with the harsh bangs (who for some reason reminds me of Darryl Hannah from the 80's) but that was a great little challenge set up with half the chefs rating the others.

There doesn't seem to be any clear winners does it? Is it me or does Radhika and Jeff do well on the quickfires and Jamie and Ariane doing well on the main challenge with Stefan being arrogant in everything? And Carla seems really all over the place.


Flashpoint - Eagle Two - Ep. 101

I have to watch because it's a Canadian show on an American network. In a second season. Whoa.

For that alone I have to see how the show does, plus bonus points for playing Toronto as Toronto. Yay!

So it's another procedural. It's not great but it's not completely terrible and at least someone is employing Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars). Plus I've always had a thing for smalltime Canadian actor Sergio Di Zio (second from left).

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Before The Summer Heat Goes Away - Gossip Girl, Greek, The Secret Life of The American Teenager, 90210, Privileged, Mad Men, Do Not Disturb

Gossip Girl - The Dark Knight - Ep. 203
Greek - Brothers & Sisters, Crush Landing, Let's Make A Deal, Gays, Ghosts and Gamma Rays - Ep. 201-204
The Secret Life of The American Teenager - Back to School Special, Just Say No - Ep. 110-111
90210 - Lucky Strike, The Bubble - Ep. 103-104
Privileged - All About Honesty - Ep 102
Mad Men - Three Sundays, The New Girl, Maidenform, The Gold Violin, A Night To Remember - Ep. 204-208
Do Not Disturb - Work Sex, Birdcage - Ep. 101-102

Some quick thoughts on everything that's been new on TV this summer before Fall officially begins this week and the onslaught of all the new TV starts and I get lost in it all. (And I'm still behind on Weeds and Burn Notice since we didn't get them this summer in Canada).

How good has the sophomore seasons of both Greek and Gossip Girl have been so far? I'm LOVING them! I can't believe The Secret Life of The American Teenager ended like THAT. I SOOOO want more. And all three of those shows have been FAR more interesting than 90210 which so far has only been interesting in seeing how many plugs for Spring Awakening they can fit in each hour.

Meanwhile, I loved the second episode of Privileged just as much as the first. And I think I almost cried when Joan Holloway was tossed aside for the TV Marketing Research position for a guy who knew nothing on Mad Men.

And serves me right for bothering with Do Not Disturb. I knew I should have listened to the title.

Gossip Girl has been deliciously naughty as usual, with lots of camera time spent on Chace Crawford's Nate's face and that mop of his (which I love), and how deliciously tangled web he's gotten himself into. I mean, gigolo? That's fantastic. Even the blackmail The Duchess (Madchen Amick) pulled on Vanessa to back off was quite brilliant.

As was Chuck's creepy and sneaky way back into Blair's heart, which was SO obvious and still deliciously evil and fantastic!

Also, loving Jenny's career goals and that Evelyn (the great Margaret Colin)

And just how pretty is the whole cast? So pretty... (pet)

Things haven't dumbed down on Greek in its second season either. So much to love.

From the return of Charisma Carpenter as Tegan.

The return of Max Greenfield as Calvin's boyfriend Mike. (And that both Charisma and Max had parts in Veronica Mars is another cool point too). Love that Heath (Zack Lively) is still around the Kappa Tow house and that he was awkwardly in the middle of Mike and Calvin at the gay bar. This usually happens more often in real life but TV shows rarely show it because usually they wouldn't have kept the actor around long enough for this to happen, so it's totally great that they can have Calvin hide his frosh fling while still being forced to see Heath all the time while around Mike.

I just love that the side characters in the background are always there. Love Beaver (Aaron Hill).

Though the addition of Max "The RA" Tyler was a bit obvious, it was nice to have a big version of Rusty, and even better to have Casey fall for the nerd (though somehow it doesn't creep me out even though Max is just like a big Rusty). I JUST realized that Michael Rady who plays Max was also Costas in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. WOW. That makes Max even hotter than before, and I was rooting for him and Casey already!

Plus we get some more brother/sister bonding between Casey and Rusty and that's always nice. Jacob Zachar and Spencer Grammar really have incredibly likable vibes. Kelsey should be proud.

Glad Frannie is being ignored for dating Evan. Meanwhile, I was just getting used to the idea of Cappie and Rebecca. Oh well. Now if only they can find someone for Ashleigh. Once she pays off her charge card (again, I like that they carried a long forgotten little side storyline from way long ago as if it were in real time. It's a nice little bonus).

I'm also enjoying some of the cribbing the writers are doing. Usually it annoys me when shows "borrow" famous stories but the blatant use of 21 and Bring It On! both somehow worked and made sense and was still enjoyable. Though maybe because we got to see Evan, Cappie and Beaver in cheerleader outfits. That's just funny.


I still can't believe how much I loved The Secret Life of The American Teenager. Even worse, I can't believe I actually agreed with a lot of its morals and how the characters are behaving. Even Grace.

I can't believe the parents Anne and George are going to actually split though. That was an ending I wasn't really expecting. It was real and harsh and not sugar coating it (The hooker storyline was particularly funny with another great cameo from veteran character actress Jennifer Coolidge). Then again, a lot of the show doesn't sugar coat life's ups and downs which I did NOT expect from this show. Bravo! The acting can still be wooden as hell but I kind of like the flatness to it all. Can't wait for the next season (coming in 2009)!

90210. I know. The backlash was inevitable and it's been almost too easy (like some of the girls on the show). But I almost feel sorry for Tristan Wilds and I have to keep remembering he can apparently act (in The Wire) especially when all he's given to do is clean up at The Peach Pit.

Shenae Grimes must have made it in Hollywood though now since word on the street is she's a big anorexic diva, but I can't help but feel so proud of the Degrassi alum when she share the Spring Awakening stage with Jessica Walters (who was a hoot singing "Mama Who Bore Me". It was SOOO wrong and about the only bright spot in the episode.

And was Luke being the babydaddy the most anti-climatic duh! ever? Please. Who DIDN'T assume it was Luke's?

Privileged is really a Cinderella story in a way isn't it? with JoAnna Cassidy's Megan as the new Cindy and Anne Archer's Laurel as the sort of evil stepmother but in this case, just a hard driven rich woman who expects perfection. I guess the same thing.

At least Megan has TWO Prince Charming's to choose from. Brian Hallisay's Will (above with Garcia) and Michael Cassidy's Charlie. Will sure is pretty to look at but pick Charlie! Pick Charlie!

There are no prince Charming's right now on Mad Men, unless you count Father Gill who has a strange closeness to Peggy.

But seriously, between Joan being looked over for a job she would be perfect for, from Betty's breakdowns at home AND being used for Don's own career advancement, the new girl secretary being used by the boys to gain access to an office, then being reprimanded by Joan, and Kitty Romano (below with Salvatore and Ken Cosgrove) who lives in a marriage where Salvatore is obviously gay (from out 21st century hindsight), are ANY of the woman happy? I feel sorry for them all.

Stupid men.

Do Not Disturb still sucks. In fact, they re-cast the most likable character (Brando Eaton as) Jason with Dave Franco (yes, James' brother, and yes, he's also one of those side background characters on Greek) as Gus, a surly unlikable character.

They also totally skipped the pilot, which now looking back, wasn't that bad at least compared to subsequent episodes.

Seriously, someone needs to save Niecy Nash from this show. She's so much better than this dreck.

More After the Jump...

The Secret Life of Vance: I Watched The Secret Life of The American Teenager And I Liked It

Is it wrong that I began watching The Secret Life of The American Teenager so that I could criticize it, but then ended up falling in love with the show? I feel dirty. I don't know what to do. I feel like a born again virgin on the bleachers during prom night.

I mean, this is the show Brenda Hampton of 7th Heaven created. 7TH HEAVEN. I HATE that show. I DESPISE IT. I HATE IT'S HOLIER THAN THOU TONE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE PROBABLY THE MOST IMMORAL PEOPLE EVER.

So a show by the 7th Heaven writer and producer making a show about a pregnant teenager in a Christian town sounds icky and preachy but I secretly devoured the episodes to catch up with tonight's new episode (on abcFamily at 8pm before a new episode of Greek which is probably the show that sounds immoral yet is quite sweet).

The Secret Life of An American Teenager may have gotten attention because it stars teenage 80's queen Molly Ringwald as the "an American teenager" Amy's mother, but I think I love the show because it's a cross between MTV's Undressed and 7th Heaven.

In both style and substance. Seriously, I half expected Jessica Biel or Barry Watson to walk in, and I half expect those pop up circles with the next segment of horny white and interchangeable youngsters trying to get it on.

On a really cheap looking and obvious studio set.

With the most wooden acting this side of David Caruso in CSI: Miami.

It's an odd pairing that surprisingly works as an American glossified rip off of Canada's more balanced Degrassi (right down to Amy's Shailene Woodley (below with Baumann) looking an awful lot like Shanae Grimes who moves on to 90210 tonight (on The CW at 8pm) which apparently was original another homage to Degrassi AND the new version poached not only the The Next Generation star, but a couple of former writers as well. Boy, the TV mobius strip just continues doesn't it?). The Degrassi allusion is probably why I like this new version so much.

Somehow, the show comes off incredibly sweet and grounded, despite the heavy overtones of the church and state but instead of turning me off, I actually found it quite compelling and discussion worthy. The kids (and adults) may know it's wrong but some still do it, and there are consequences (but without that bolt of lightening thing) and I like that every character is trying to be a better person even if everyone has a different way to try. I'm not always in agreeance and I'm a bit worried at what direction they are still taking us down, but so far, I don't actually think some of the morals being presented are completely wrong (but I've always been incredibly liberal in most issues but I harbour a tiny bit of old fashion Miss Manners conservatism in me).

There's interesting adult casting choices. Josie Bissett! Is her new religious role somehow payback to clean up for all the sexual dalliances on Melrose Place?, Mark Derwin! (He always gets points for playing Bonnie Hunt's husband), John Schneider! (Smallville was never the same when they killed you off), Ernie Hudson! (They really don't have enough roles for older black men do they?), L. Scott Caldwell! (Hey, how did you get off the island? Aren't you supposed to be Lost?), Steve Schirripa in a much less violent role (The Sopranos) and of course, Molly Ringwald whose acting is either incredibly wooden, or incredible underplayed and realistically monotone. I'm not sure which yet.

The best adult is guidance counselor Mr. Mark Molino played by Jorge-Luis Pallo who is totally great with his sarcastic-seen-it-all but secretly loving tone. I don't know who this actor is but he needs more screen time.

Meanwhile, the teenagers are a hodgepodge with a few standouts.

Kenny Baumann is incredibly winning as Ben, the boy who falls in love with the pregnant Amy and does all he can to continue winning her over despite her situation.

Francia Raisa (above with Kagasoff) is fantastic as the sexually liberal and knowing school flirt Adrian. The floosy who is smarter than everything thinks.

Daren Kagasoff is perfectly cool and aloof with his handsomeness as the school's rebel hottie who impregnated Amy during band camp (no less). It could easily be a one note character but Kagasoff carries the weight of his character (bad parents left him with foster parent Caldwell) without being overdramatic and all stereotypical, and his character is nicely balanced as good guy who just happens to be really sexual. It's all super psychobabble stuff that's a bit cliche but I don't think I've ever seen them play it on a teenage character which makes it an interesting twist.

Megan Park (above with Greg Finley as Jack) is terrific at playing innocent and bitchy all with the glow of Jesus behind her as Grace, the school's resident queen religious bee and despite the fact that I feel sorry for all the delusions spilling out of her mouth, I LOVE the character.

I love the two Asians, Alice (Amy Rider) and Henry (Allen Evangalista) who speak in a Gilmore Girls tone, while it's nice to see Camille Winbush find a spot for her calm monotone delivery (that balanced so well with Bernie Mac on The Bernie Mac Show).

So far, it's been mostly a smooth ride, though the delusions Ben was having of Amy got a bit weird. Love that his father is the "Sausage King". Is that some sort of inside joke on a show that tries to talk about sex?

Love that Grace finds herself on a street corner and danger actually seeks her out. Love a naked Ricky saving her even more, and AFTER she prays and threatens the would-be-rapists with a broken bottle!

I still haven't figured out if India Eisley (as Amy's mentally older but younger sister Ashley) is great and actually acting like that on purpose or is she the worst actress ever? Either way, she intrigues me. Ditto for mom Molly who either comes off truly natural or just a really bad actor that explains her absence since the 80's.

Finally, Shailene Woodley didn't do that much for me at first but she's grown on me and has a nice quieter presence that actually grounds the show and makes me believe all this might be possible. The grandma Mitzy twist was a nice bonus I didn't see coming, and her reaction was spot on. She also has great chemistry with Kenny Baumann AND Daren Kagasoff (below with Woodley) so I'm curious to see where they finally take all this.


Greg Finley (as Jack) and Megan Park:

Shailene Woodley as Amy:

Daren Kagasoff as Ricky:

Francia Raisa as Adrian:

Kenny Baumann as Ben:

Megan Park as Grace:

More After the Jump...