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try this on for size
Mar. 9th, 2011 07:49 pmToday's random recommendation is Hellcats. It doesn't take much digging to find episodes (recent ones are on the CW's site), but if you need a head's up, lemme know.
Now let's move on to the why:
(Wow. That hit a little close to home.)
Hellcats managed to hit my radar for one simple reason: Cheerleaders. Ever since SVH, I've had a soft spot for 'em. It doesn't hurt that I managed to attend one of the few high schools in the known universe where being a cheerleader didn't really increase your popularity, so I managed to mostly avoid the stereotypical cheerleader hate.
That said, I really didn't expect much. It had one half of Aly&AJ (aloha, Mickey Mouse) whom I remember mostly for an interview where they were fantastically paranoid about being kidnapped, and Ashley Tisdale who isn't exactly known for her restrained acting style. Plus, I pegged it for more of one of the unworthy sequels to Bring it On and not so much the original.
I was right. It's not Bring It On. It's something else entirely and while it will never win an Emmy or even be in the running, it's still entertaining as hell. After the first few episodes, the show relies less on Marti and trusts the rest of the cast to pick up the slack and run with it. While Marti continues to march to the beat of her "law student reliant on scholarship to stay in school" storyline, it slowly unravels around the other storylines that most shows would use for, at most, a mini episode arc, and each storyline is richer for the entanglement. Massive bonus points are given for the storyline juggling the show manages to pull off. Some shows can't really handle more than one storyline in any given episode, or over the span of a few consecutive episodes, but Hellcats seems to realize that not every one of their fans is going to give a shit about storyline X. So they mix it up enough to keep you interested.
15 episodes in and I've fallen in love a little bit with most of the characters. Usually by now I've developed a massive loathing for a main character or some beloved sidekick, but my Marti hate has mellowed out quite a bit, and I think as of this moment the only character I haaaaaaate is one I am actually supposed to hate, so there you go.
If you like choreographed dance sequences and spontaneous songs, and 80's dances, or toga parties, or shows that believe in showing how the group managed to come together, or stories that don't necessarily believe that the bad girl is in need of redemption but that she does have her reasons, or something where the cast seems like family? I suggest giving Hellcats a whirl. Odds are good that if it sounds at all like your kind of thing, you'll love it. And if it doesn't, well, I think Savannah is worth at least a couple of episodes.
♥
Now let's move on to the why:
I'm in love with a guy who moved without telling me and I probably won't ever see him again.
(Wow. That hit a little close to home.)
Hellcats managed to hit my radar for one simple reason: Cheerleaders. Ever since SVH, I've had a soft spot for 'em. It doesn't hurt that I managed to attend one of the few high schools in the known universe where being a cheerleader didn't really increase your popularity, so I managed to mostly avoid the stereotypical cheerleader hate.
That said, I really didn't expect much. It had one half of Aly&AJ (aloha, Mickey Mouse) whom I remember mostly for an interview where they were fantastically paranoid about being kidnapped, and Ashley Tisdale who isn't exactly known for her restrained acting style. Plus, I pegged it for more of one of the unworthy sequels to Bring it On and not so much the original.
I was right. It's not Bring It On. It's something else entirely and while it will never win an Emmy or even be in the running, it's still entertaining as hell. After the first few episodes, the show relies less on Marti and trusts the rest of the cast to pick up the slack and run with it. While Marti continues to march to the beat of her "law student reliant on scholarship to stay in school" storyline, it slowly unravels around the other storylines that most shows would use for, at most, a mini episode arc, and each storyline is richer for the entanglement. Massive bonus points are given for the storyline juggling the show manages to pull off. Some shows can't really handle more than one storyline in any given episode, or over the span of a few consecutive episodes, but Hellcats seems to realize that not every one of their fans is going to give a shit about storyline X. So they mix it up enough to keep you interested.
15 episodes in and I've fallen in love a little bit with most of the characters. Usually by now I've developed a massive loathing for a main character or some beloved sidekick, but my Marti hate has mellowed out quite a bit, and I think as of this moment the only character I haaaaaaate is one I am actually supposed to hate, so there you go.
If you like choreographed dance sequences and spontaneous songs, and 80's dances, or toga parties, or shows that believe in showing how the group managed to come together, or stories that don't necessarily believe that the bad girl is in need of redemption but that she does have her reasons, or something where the cast seems like family? I suggest giving Hellcats a whirl. Odds are good that if it sounds at all like your kind of thing, you'll love it. And if it doesn't, well, I think Savannah is worth at least a couple of episodes.
♥