The Not-So-Secret Life of the American Teenager

I have of late been watching ABC Family's new ratings-grabber The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I didn't originally set out to see this show. A show about a pregnant teenager is about as far away from my radar as... well pregnant teenagers.

No, this show and I actually got started off on bad terms. My first experience with ABC Family was with the show Kyle XY, a show about a genetically engineered teenager who was trying to make it through life. To get the right feel for this show, consider the main ideas and themes behind Smallville (originally) including the superhero and coming-of-age themes, actors portraying the most amazingly awesome parents known to man, a little romance, and the idea of destiny and you kind of get the picture. The point is, this show had sci-fi, romance, and heart all wrapped into one. While I can't say that I agreed with every theme, this show was overwhelmingly family-oriented, which I found refreshing, and had just enough action to keep the viewer interested.

Enter Secret Life, ABC Family's new original hit series. Despite just ok critical reviews, this show met with great success among audiences. Because of this show's success and Kyle XY's declining ratings (at least partially due to an extremely competetive time-slot), the show was cancelled and unceremoniously replaced. I'm still a bit bitter.

And so, months after the fact, I decided to determine exactly what made this show a worthy successor. 26 episodes later, I've come away with a few observations.

The Secret Life is based on a premise that has and hasn't been explored in depth in pop culture. Reportedly, the show's creator originally wanted to call the show The Sex Life of the American Teenager, but she hated the idea that if searched on google, the show would undoubtedly be lost amid a sea of pornographic websites. As described, the show focuses a great deal on the sex lives--or lack thereof-- of the 6 main cast members. While most all of the themes are undoubtedly adult, they are in fact handled in a novel way. The teenagers generally talk to their parents about sex, and they sometimes get good advice.

This creates an interesting dynamic in the show. Unlike many TV shows, Smallville included, the cast members of this show tend to actually look young enough to be in high school! Rather than obviously being mid-20-somethings, generally the teenagers portrayed actually seem to be teenaged. This doesn't make it seem so awkward for them to have sex-talks with their parents because it actually seems like they're young enough to still be on the receiving end of said advice. While most shows in high school star casts made up of people who have obviously arrived at sexy, this show's cast is made up of individuals who still seem young, awkward, or both, and in a word, real.

In Juno-like fashion, Secret Life's first season mainly concerns a teenage mother-to-be named Amy as she struggles through issues related to her pregnancy. In my opinion, the portrayal far out-shines Juno in terms of authenticity, and sometimes even suffers for it. Real life is not always pretty.

The characters represent a variety of those people you might know from real life. Again, some of them are awkward, but at least lively in a novel way. Interestingly, two of the six main characters are Christians, even using the phrase "relationship with Jesus Christ" more than once within the show. I was pleased, but somewhat shocked to hear Jesus mentioned with connection to Christianity on TV, particularly when it is made very clear that the characters are discussing Him in the context that He matters to their everyday lives. Kudos for that, though as the season progresses, the characters don't exactly hold the moral line. Aside from them, we find the outcast, the normal band-geek girl, and interestingly, the slut. Both the slut and the outcast are shown to be damaged characters in one way or another, and are actually humanized by their problems. This makes them some of the more dynamic characters in the show. Also, we have the rich, geeky kid who looks alarmingly like a young Bob Sagat. See for yourself:

My nod for the best characters though, mostly do not concern the main cast. The wise-cracking father and the sister to the pregnant Amy Jurgens are by far my favorite. The father George Jurgens, played by Mark Derwin, is the right mix of one-liners, fun, energy, and genuine caring rolled into one character. The sister Ashley Jurgens is an odd character to be sure, but the deadpan delivery of sarcastic lines and common sense observation makes her a favorite in my book. John Schneider, playing a down-to-earth parental figure very similar to his character from Smallville is not treading new ground, but is perfect for in the role as the Christian father of the Bowman family.

The show is not perfect, however. Having watched the show in sequential order, I definitely noticed an improvement in the quality of acting as time passes. 'Wooden' is a word aptly describing the character interactions in the first few episodes. The show also seems to suffer from mixed messages. Each episode is ended with a message by a cast member stating that teenage pregancy can be prevented, encouraging teens and parents to talk about sex, leading one to infer the message that in the very least, pre-marital sex is not something to be taken lightly. However, adding it all up, 5 of the 6 main characters (including both Christians) are involved in some kind of sexual activity, and 3 of the 6 more than once. The same 3 have had different partners. So, while the consequences of sex before marriage are explored, few of the characters seem particularly inclined not to have sex, and treat it very casually. So, while this show promotes the healthy discussion of sex, it also ends up raising the bar for how casually the act can be taken... between teens and between their parents with other adults.

Casual sex and casual relationships sort of go hand-in-hand. The theme song of the show goes like this: "Falling in love/is such an easy thing to do/birds can do it, we can do it/let's stop talking, let's get to it/ Let's fall in love." While love doesn't precisely describe the tenor of the show, the song captures the general theme of it. These characters do in fact talk about love often and fast and sex just as often and fast, leaving the viewer to wonder if this is supposed to be considered irony or if quick love, quick sex, quick marriage, and quick divorce is really being promoted as ABC Family's "new kind of family."

And that brings me to my biggest qualm with the show. It seems that each and every character that is supposed to be a role model gets to be a role model works really hard not to be one, with some exceptions. Generally, the parents are the worst of the bunch, though some of the parents end up being the most likable characters. The Christians who make a point that they have a relationship with Jesus Christ don't seem to be particularly worried about what He says about sex, and the pastor even manages to blur the line with pre-marital sex. I found myself identifying more with the consistently snarky characters or with the "bad" characters who don't try to rationalize away the decisions they make. Some of this is perhaps due to the fact that teenagers are teenagers and they really do say one thing and do the opposite from moment to moment. I understand this. But that's really not giving teenagers much credit, and the parents don't show much more maturity. They tend to be just as whiny and good at rationalizing as their kids. Apparently there's not much hope for improvement.

That said, there are reasons that this show consistently draws me back in. First off, though there is the dumb drama, there are actually some storylines that are touching, heartwarming, meaningful, and even funny along the way. I think of the moment when a pregnant girl is escorted down the hall of the school surrounded by a crowd of girls, complete with marching band playing. I think of the episode where one character has to confront his sexually abusive father who has been in prison. I think of the montage of when the baby is finally born. And I think of characters such as the father, sister, and the guidance counselor who add enough sarcastic humor and good sense to the show to keep it from getting either too dumb or entirely too dramatic. And then there is the main thing: there is always the hope that these characters will learn and grow and become better. Every so often a character does the right thing; the unequivocal selfless, good, and right thing. These moments along with some of the humor are crafted to shine. I just wish it happened more often. Yet I think this is what keeps me returning to the show: the hope of growth and transformation.

So what is the conclusion then? Well, the show has it's problems, which I have covered in some detail. I am very concerned with the messages being presented and the modes of presenting them. However, even when the characters are whiny and selfish, the show offers enough moments of clarity-- of real depth-- to give the viewer hope that these people are redeemable characters and not always self-obsessed (and therefore, humanity is redeemable and not entirely, hopelessly self-obsessed) and it offers quirkiness and it's own brand of quirky humor in abundance, thanks mainly to a good supporting cast. I will keep watching and I will continue to enjoy it (I think).

Is it the best show out there? Not a chance. Would I watch it over Kyle XY if that show was still running? Again, that's a big nope. I will, however, watch the episodes when they're uploaded to abcfamily.com. On a scale of a big no to a resounding yes, the show gets the nod for a moderate yes. Come to it looking for the plentiful-enough good moments, but don't expect a home-run every episode.