10 Things I Hate About You (TV show)

Air Time: Tuesday 8:00pm, ABC Family Channel
View Date: 7/7/09

This show is based on the 1999 movie of the same name starrung Heath Ledger and Julia Styles in the two lead roles. As one of the actors described, this was a reimagining of the story from the movie, with some plot points changed, particularly in the background of the characters. It retained the father from the movie, as well as the location and character names. This show, as was the movie, is an adaptation of the Shakespearean play 'The Taming of the Shrew'.

I was very skeptical going into the viewing of this show, because the movie is one of my favorites. It was better than I had feared, but I still probably won't watch it again. Because I have the movie memorized, hearing the same lines being said by the characters with different lead-up was disconcerting for me. While the acting was OK, the performances were very different with the new actors.

I think people with no prior knowledge of the movie may like this show,

10 words or less: OK, but not the movie.

Make It or Break It

This is a new show on ABC Family about the lives of a series of elite gymnasts. The circumstances in one gym are turned completely upside-down when a new gymnast, who happens to be on scholarship and was discovered at her local YMCA, beats out one of the usual girls for a spot on the Nationals team.

I'm really not sure about this show. I realize I've only watched the first two episodes, but it really isn't drawing me in. Last night, I was more compelled to take a phone call and watch a movie than tune in to this show.

Perhaps I expected more humor from this series. Unfortunately, the only funny parts of the show aren't actually meant to be funny. And the parts that are meant to be dramatic only make me want to smack one of the girls for being so selfish and snotty. In the first episode, this particular character had failed in her own routines and purposely sabotaged the new girl. Now I realize that this is only a TV show and that it is a work of fiction, but these types of things happen in real life and have killed young girls. Not the kind of thing I would think this channel would want to air.

10 words or less: Make It or Break It? Definitely broken.

Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family)

Airing: Mondays 8:00pm, ABC Family

This show is about a teenage girl, Amy, who finds out she's pregnant after the first time she has sex. It focuses on the lives of her friends and family, which include the father of the child and Amy's new boyfriend.

The first two seasons took us through the pregnancy and delivery. The recently started third season is now showing Amy struggling with being a teenage mother and then learning that her mother is now pregnant.

The acting in this show is mediocre at best, and the writing is worse. But I can't seem to stop watching. The adult actors are actually quite well known and have been around for decades. For example, Molly Ringwald, the muse of John Hughes, stars as Amy's now-pregnant mother. The teenage actors are also appearing in other roles, and most show great potential.

I will keep watching this show for the time being, but this season is starting to annoy me. I realize that Amy is struggling with being a teenage mom, but she has become a flaming bitch this season, out of proportion with what she's going through. I'm not sure how much more of it I can take.

10 words or less: Wouldn't recommend picking it up now.