Secret Life

I've recently taken to watching The Secret Life of The American Teenager — though to be honest, I don't really remember why! It might have had something to do with this tepid review in the New York Times a few weeks ago, though as I read it now, I can't imagine what it was that motivated me to have a look.

(I don't know, maybe it was just curiosity at the thought of a 40-year-old Molly Ringwald. She plays the mom.)

My impressions have been similarly mixed. The series is built around a compelling story (the unexpected pregnancy of a 15-year-old girl), and the writing has moments of wit, but to find them you have to sift through so much standard-issue teen drama — or, at least, what I would imagine that to be. I haven't given up, but this hasn't been made easy.

I'm sure I've been spoiled by watching Degrassi — even at its' worst (and my interest in that series has been in a steady decline over the past year, as cast members have departed and those that remain have been mixed and matched with unlikely stories as if to find something, anything to keep them occupied), it's still maintains depth and resonance.

I've come in with the ninth episode. I'll be able to catch up with the rest next week, and then the series is off air until January. (It remains to be seen if I remember to set the DVR in four months' time.)