Initially it would be easy to dismiss PLL (look acronyms are cool OK) as just another teen drama but to do so would be to ignore an extremely enjoyable show which despite being aimed at the teenage demographic has enough going for it to appeal to a wider audience. Admittedly the plot can be a little convoluted and nonsensical at times which is the biggest flaw but the strong cast bring a lot to the table and it's obviously been successful enough for ABC to renew for a second season despite some fairly mixed initial reviews and a lot of critics are now realising the shows appeal even if it's just as a guilty pleasure.
It's also gone on to win several Teen Choice Awards and been nominated for the People's Choice Award and a GLAAD award so it's definitely been a mild hit among it's target audience.
In a nutshell the plot of the show is that the girls are trying to figure out who the mysterious presence known only as "A" is while at the same time dealing with their regular lives. Every episode ends with a cliff hanger and a mysterious figure identified only by a gloved hand.
The show centers around the four main characters Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily and the faceless protagonist known only as "A".
Where the show truly shines is in making the four girls likeable despite their many flaws.
Aria despite having a good heart finds it extremely hard to trust others and finds it hard to let go of grudges.
Spencer is loyal to a fault at times is fairly promiscuous and a massive over achiever.
Emily...actually I find it hard to see where her faults lie apart from expecting others to hold up to her own values and standards and can be a bit of a bitch when people fail to live up to her expectations.
Hanna is extremely likeable but because of her past and family issues acts out in sometimes oddly defiant ways. There's also the underlying but never stated fact that she may have an eating disorder but this is debatable since it's never actively talked about in the show.
The show is driven along in two ways. The first by flashbacks to the night of the groups former leader Alison went missing which reveal the back story of the group and how they all came to be friends.
The second by notes, texts and email from the mysterious "A" who is initially taken to be the missing Alison.
The supporting cast are fairly strong as well particularly Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz the English teacher torn between his job and the woman he loves. The show handles his relationship with Aria extremely well considering that it is quite a touchy subject and is usually portrayed as either the older man/woman seducing the impressionable young pupil or the emotional youngster who falls head over heels for the unobtainable older mentor.
Special mention has to go out to Holly Marie Combs of Charmed fame who plays Aria's mother and Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh. The latter is definitely one of the more interesting characters in the show and looking at the actors IMDB page he's not been in a lot of shows but after his performance in this I hope he starts getting more work because he's a talented young actor. Actually that comment could go for most of the main cast none of who are extremely well known but all give solid performances here.
Pretty Little Liars isn't breaking boundaries or reinventing genres but like most of ABC's summer lineup it's a light entertaining show that fills the gap as the big names go on hiatus for another season and with season two just started it's a good time to go back and check out the first season.
No comments:
Post a Comment