Fresh and funny, unique and universal. Quite a pleasant surprise!
9.0
"Superb"
I am a 45 year old man. As such I'm just about as far away from this show (and in fact this network's) target audience. And yet I've been pleasantly surprised by a couple of MTV shows. Most unexpected was the first season of Awkward. I knew nothing about the show when I started to watch episode one. I simply found the title intriguing. But I was hooked almost immediately. This show is funny without being too silly, the cast is real and likeable, and the writers have found a way to address some fairly serious issues, like teen suicide, bullying, and sex, without being preachy.For me, high school is nothing but a hazy memory, and like many, my high school years certainly weren't the easiest. And I'm also male, so much of the content is far from my experience. Yet I was able to relate to Jenna and her friends, and also to Jake and Mattie.The High School of 2011 couldn't be more different from the High School of 1984. Kids today have to deal with pressures far worse than any we were facing when I was 16. We didn't have the internet, facebook, cell phones, meth, etc. Nobody in my high school was pregnant. We had bullys, but they couldn't hide behind anonymous web-pages. But we did have dating, and dances, all the joys of first loves, and the confusion of first heartbreak. So even so far removed from those days, I could completely relate to these kids. That was a real surprise to me.What was even more surprising is how smart this show is. I admit, I don't understand much of the lingo of today's teens. I suppose that's the point right? Nevertheless the dialog is real and natural. It never feels forced or inappropriate. Also a surprise was how funny this show is! From the guidance counsellor who really has no clue - but tries her darnedest to connect with her students, to the machinations of the mean girl, who it's obvious is mean because she's insecure about her weight, and takes it out on everybody else. To the main character, Jenna Hamilton, (spoiler) who has an accident in the bathroom, that everyone assumes is an attempted suicide. Obviously suicide isn't funny, but the circumstances really are. (end of spoiler)In fact Jenna, the focus of the show, is also the best part of the show. Perfectly cast, Ashley Rickards is terrific. Of course in real life she's probably too beautiful to be the school punching bag, she still manages to pull off that girl who's too afraid to be the person she is, but to inept to be the person she really thinks she wants to be. The show is mostly about her journey to find the person who she should be - somewhere in between.(Spoiler) In the first episode, Jenna receives a letter basically calling her out. It both challenges her and scares her. She doesn't know who sent the note, but confronted with it's contents, she can either hide, or she can come out swinging. What she actually does is a combination of the two. She narrates her own story (via her blog - that nobody in her world seems to read) and that gives us our best opportunity to really live not just in her world, but also in her head. And while she see's the note as cruel and confrontational, she also knows that most of the anonymous letter-writers criticisms hit pretty close to the mark. So she sets out to remake herself. This is aided to some extent because the boy she likes also seems to like her. Unfortunately her lack of self esteem causes her to constantly question his motives, and his actions. Sometimes unfairly.As I say, I watched the first episode really almost as a mistake. By the end of episode one I found myself wishing this was not just a half-hour show. I wanted to see more of these people and their world. And now with the season wrapped up, I really do hope there is more. As I say, I'm almost as far away from the target audience of this show as is possible, somehow it still reached me. And nobody is more surprised by that than I am.moreless