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TV

Lincoln Heights Season Premiere

09/15/2009
Lincoln Heights, TV
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What is it with season premieres tonight? I continue to be underwhelmed. This time it’s the Lincoln Heights season premiere. Ok, so I didn’t know it was coming on tonight, so I missed the first showing and decided to stay up a bit later to watch the replay. For some reason, I feel like this show has been off for so long, I forgot what happened last season.

Quick recap (since I’m not sure how many people have seen/watch this show). Last season, the Sutton family, spearheaded by father Eddie, who’s a policeman, and mother Jenn, who works as a nurse, decided to move into the troubled Lincoln Heights neighborhood where Eddie grew up to make changes from the inside out. Lots of drama ensued as the family struggled to become a part of the community and dealt with issues like: interracial dating, marital discord, disconnect between kids and parents, family secrets, tests of faith, teenage relationships, sex, frenemies, death, violence, etc. Oh yes, lots of drama. So at the end of season three, the Sutton house caught fire during the earthquake, throwing the family into turmoil. Here’s the season four premiere preview:

Post-earthquake, the entire family (including Eddie’s newly found son, Nate) is living in a too-small apartment where patience is short and tempers are even shorter. Tay (the youngest son) feels threatened by Nate (the son Eddie didn’t know he fathered in high school). Lizzie (middle daughter) is having some trouble adjusting to her freshman year of high school. Charles (oldest daughter Cassie’s boyfriend) seems to be struggling with some demons secrets from his past, including the money he found in the Sutton’s attic and kept hidden, that threaten to strain his relationship with Cassie.  The family decides, with the (financial) support and encouragement of Jenn’s father to move out of the transitioning Lincoln Heights neighborhood to a much cleaner, quieter, suburban neighborhood. But, by the episode’s end, they realize how much they love their old neighborhood and decide to stay and continue to work in the community. They’re setting up plenty of drama for the upcoming season (as per usual), but we’ll see.

If you haven’t seen it, you might want to check it out. It’s a nice family drama, but not squeaky clean. I kind of like what ABC Family is doing with their shows. When I saw ABC Family, I expected a very unrealistic, safe, sterile view of teen (and family) life. But with this show and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (which deals with teen pregnancy, sex, peer pressure and relationships very heavily but whose season has already ended but that I also am a fan of), ABC Family is tackling some real issues in a way that you can enjoy watching, relate to, and also watch and discuss with your family; like the website says, “It’s a New Kind of Family.” And there’s something (good) to be said for that.

If you do check it out, let me know what you think.

One Tree Hill Season Premiere

09/14/2009
One Tree Hill, TV
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I tried. Really, I did. But this is actually kind of painful to watch. I take that back. Not exactly painful, but…boring, achingly dull. I can’t even focus on the tons of nothingness that’s happening before me and we’re already 40 minutes in. This is tragic. What, pray tell, am I talking about?

Well, the One Tree Hill Season 7 Premiere, of course! Now, granted, I did briefly consider boycotting the CW for unceremoniously canceling The Game (after systematically setting the show up for failure by changing its air times, not promoting the show, etc) but, since I recently fell in love with One Tree Hill, I figured, I’d give them another shot. Well, lesson learned.

Now, I’m the first to admit, I was late to the One Tree Hill Party. I had a close friend who raved about it (“I can’t talk right now because One Tree Hill is on” style) but I had never watched an episode of the show until earlier this summer when I happened to catch a re-run on SoapNet (after Beverly Hills 90210, natch). I was intrigued so I went online to catch up. And I watched every.single.episode.of.every.single.season (ok, full disclosure- I kind of skimmed over some of season 2 and 3 b/c I wasn’t feeling the Lucas with anyone but Peyton plotlines) But I caught up. Completely. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Leyton would not be returning for the seventh season…”I felt impotent and out of control” (any Clueless fans out there?)…seriously, thought, I felt sucker punched. Just when I had grown to know them, love them, enjoyed seeing them get their happily ever after (and got put on to some very dope music)…they bounced, or were bounced.

But, I said that I would give the show a chance and just see if maybe it would still be interesting. I knew better, but I was hoping that the season premiere, “Apparently, They Were Traveling Abroad,” would pull me back in…it hasn’t. I’m typing this as I watch it (and check my email and am doing about four other things online, too) and I’m just not impressed.

Haley’s still singing. Yay! But her label is in danger of being shut down. (uh oh). She has a sister with some secrets who, for some reason, has been written into the show…not Taylor, the one who slept with Nathan, but some other one. Hmm…(Why is her family so random?) Jamie turned another year older. Yay! Is his cute little kid thing wearing off as he gets taller? (and where is Nannie Deb and why, pray tell, is Jerry Rice making a cameo?) Nathan is still playing ball, but doesn’t have a new contract. He seems as clueless (and susceptible) as ever. Really. What professional athlete takes pictures with random chicks at his son’s b-day party? Did we not cover “learn to detect a set-up” during training camp? His manager/agent guy is a newbie. Not sure what his deal is yet or why he (and his phone) are so prominent…oh wait. I know! They have to add some new characters to make up for the ones they’re missing! yeah. right. What else? Brooke’s love life seems a fluid as ever. Julian is in the picture, out of the picture, and back in again. Millicent is like Brooke 2.0. Mouth is still…Mouth and living with Skillz, who is surprisingly still on the show. I thought he got arrested for being an idiot some social security card theft scam? I’m sure he’ll disappear mid-way in, too, going the way of the other cast members…on a trip somewhere. I guess they got rid of the other randoms- Fergie and Junk. Oh, and Dan is (surprise!) still alive and giving motivational speeches?! Who let him around the children of our future? All I can say is that Leyton is missed terribly. I guess we could thank the writers for not killing Leyton (and Peyton) off in a car accident…that would be too, what’s the word? Oh yeah, predictable. Not at all like “they were traveling abroad.” See Karen, Andie, and Lily, who are also, presumably still abroad. What happened to all the sass and witty banter from seasons past? The bonds of friendship, the drama? Maybe they need time to set it up, but let’s get with it already.

Perhaps, I’m expecting too much from a season premiere, since they do have a fairly huge gap (year and missing central characters) to make up for but…I’m not impressed. At all. Did I say that already?

Will I be tuning in next week? I don’t know. Will you?

Oh, and before you ask, I do not stan for Gossip Girl. I have never watched an episode and nothing thus far has compelled me to start. So I have, effectively, changed the channel. If that decision is worth revisiting, let me know. I guess I probably should since it is set in nyc and this blog is about what? nyc chicks, but still…something about it reviles me.

anxiously awaiting Sons of Anarchy tomorrow (now THAT season premiere was hot!!!)