10 Things I Hate About You – Episode 1001: Pilot – ABC Family – Extend this post out a little farther to see what happens
I missed this on Tuesday July 7th when it was actually shown on television so I decided to track down the online version while I sit at the computer. 10 Things I Hate About You is based on the movie of the same name, which is itself loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Now while I have not read the Shakespeare play, or seen the original movie I was still interested in catching this show.
The Stratford sisters are new to Padua High, but they already know one thing: Strategy is everything. Bianca (Meaghan Martin) is a beautiful social-butterfly determined to climb the heights of popularity, at any cost. Kat (Lindsey Shaw) is a strong-willed, in-your-face feminist who is looking to save the world and get out of high school as fast as she can. But the sisters soon realize it’s never smooth sailing when you’re navigating through a world filled with duplicitous head cheerleaders like Chastity (Dana Dave), love-struck nerds like Cameron (Nicholas Braun) and an over-protective dad (Larry Miller). Things only get more interesting as interactions with the school’s mysterious bad boy Patrick (Ethan Peck) start to shake things up.
Based on the hit movie starring Health Ledger and Julia Stiles.
Lindsey Shaw, from Aliens in America (a good show that was canceled), does a good job as Kat in the pilot as she can really pull off that girl with an attitude. Even though she is playing the exact opposite as her character in Aliens in America, she brings the same attitude just focused a bit differently. Meaghan Martin as Bianca was just blah. Nothing about her really stood out for me. Yes, I know she is just supposed to be a shallow girl, but make me feel the character. Dana Davis, who I remember from The Nine, played the part of Chastity perfectly. She is the head cheerleader and has all of the perks to go along with it. When she is in the process of dumping her boyfriend because he is not the starting quarterback, even though he is doing well as a male model, you know just how vain and trifling this girl can be. Larry Miller plays Kat and Bianca’s father which is reprising his role from the original movie back in 1999. A neat idea actually.
My wife said that the movie 10 Things I Hate About You was one of her favorites, I just do not see the series being something I am looking forward to each week. Nothing to really grab me and say, “Remember to watch me.”, or this show should be taking up valuable space on the DVR. See, for me, over the top stuff works better in a movie because you are not visiting the characters every week. When Kat hits Chasity’s car in the parking lot and admits it, the police are not involved at all? Her dad is not mad that her insurance is going to go through the roof? He doesn’t take away her license? Chasity’s father is on the board of directors so all the staff at the school fawns over her? Sure in a movie we are only asked to suspend belief for the duration of the movie, week after week it might be tough. See 10 Things I Hate About You is a comedy, but one that is trying to be grounded in reality.
They one thing that the show does well is the teenage drama portion of the show. From what I remember of high school they have it pegged pretty darn good. While I was probably more of a Cameron than the other characters, I do remember trying to talk to girls in High School and how difficult it could be. Also with Kat and Bianca as the new girls in school you realize all the little things on your first day that will follow you through your school career. I hated all those guys like Patrick, the bad boy, while I was in high school, and you know the writers are doing a good job, because I hate the character in the show as well.
One would think with the good acting and the decent writing I would like 10 Things I Hate About You, but I just feel indifferent about it at this point. I will probably try and watch another episode or two, but if I don’t, I will not be all that upset either. It might have a lot to do with the fact that the story of the pilot is just way played out. They need to inject some sort of twist or something. Too much of the same thing is what makes me a bit bored I think. Or maybe the whole series will feel that way, I am kind of leaning that way, but who knows maybe I will be surprised.
