Advertisement

The Wonder Shows : Panel of teens rate the shows the networks make for them

Share
TIMES STAFF WRITER

They drop out of school. They walk naked through the cafeteria on a dare. They throw libidinous makeout parties the instant their parents leave town. They drink. They get in car wrecks. They have unprotected sex. They lie to their parents and then feel guilty about it. They confess.

After a couple of evenings prying into the lives of television’s current crop of teen-age characters, and a viewer is liable to yearn for TV days of yore, when Gidget and the Nelsons agonized over the prom and Laurie Partridge picked up radio signals on her braces. So much for quaint memories. Today’s teens shows, aiming to tell it like it is, are not just about teens, but for them as well.

But let’s face it: Series may be rife with youthful Angst , but they’re created and written by people who probably haven’t been on the receiving end of the words “you’re grounded” for years. So to get the scoop on shows about teens, we went to the experts. TV Times formed a panel of local junior high- and high-school students, armed them with reporters’ notebooks and screened sample episodes from this season’s series set in high school or revolving around teens.

Our question: What do you like and dislike about teen TV? Our caveat: Be honest. Our recommendation to television producers and executives: Read over this material and be ready for a quiz tomorrow.

Advertisement

The Panel

Karen Boehnk, 13, Bell Junior High School, Garden Grove

T.C. Hill, 16, Washington Preparatory High School, Los Angeles

Alex Karasik, 18, Beverly Hills High School

Mark Moniz, 16, Mission Viejo High School

Leilani Palacios, 15, Santa Monica High School

Travis Smith, 18, University of Southern California

Elizabeth Watts, 16, L.A. County High School of the Arts, Los Angeles

Desiree Wong, 18, Hollywood High Magnet School

The Shows

“Beverly Hills, 90210” (Fox)

“Blossom” (NBC)

“Degrassi High” (PBS)

“Doogie Howser, M.D.” (ABC)

“Fresh Prince of Bel Air” (NBC)

“Parker Lewis Can’t Lose!” (Fox)

“21 Jump Street” (Syndicated)

“The Wonder Years” (ABC)

“Yearbook” (Fox)

Top of the Class

For every panelist who loved a show, there was another who hated it. “Beverly Hills 90210,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Blossom” were mentioned in both “best” and “worst” categories. One panelist chose “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” as one of her three favorite shows, while others frowned upon it for being too shallow. “Shows like ‘The Fresh Prince’ don’t give serious topics enough emphasis and tend to forget about whatever issue they addressed as soon as a new week starts,” Mark wrote.

“Degrassi High” was praised as “a great drama involved in every major problem” and criticized as being “totally fake”: “I don’t think a guy would seriously walk naked across the hall (on) a bet,” Elizabeth said.

Noticeably lacking criticism was “The Wonder Years,” which was mentioned five out of eight times in the “favorite” category. “The show is just so sweet and heartwarming,” Elizabeth wrote. Other panelists liked the nostalgia factor, agreeing that things seemed so much simpler back in junior high.

The most-mentioned element of a good show? Well-developed characters. Accuracy and entertainment value were also deemed important, although sometimes, the panelists conceded, the two might be mutually exclusive. Case in point: The pure-fantasy “Parker Lewis,” which got two “favorite” votes (“Who wouldn’t want a remote-control locker?” wrote Desiree). Then again, another panelist called the show “more boring than a math class.”

So, What Shows Do They Watch?

Most often mentioned: “In Living Color,” “The Wonder Years,” “A Different World,” “L.A. Law” and “The Simpsons.”

Also: “The Cosby Show,” “Yo! MTV Raps,” assorted cartoons, “21 Jump Street,” “Fresh Prince,” “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose!,” “Twin Peaks,” “Knots Landing,” “Married . . . With Children,” “Empty Nest,” “Santa Barbara,” “Late Night With David Letterman,” “Cheers” and reruns of “Remington Steele.” And the TV topic of the day? The fate of Nancy Weston on “thirtysomething.”

Advertisement

The Boy Most Likely Not to Succeed?

Doogie Howser might rack up the Neilsen ratings, but he probably wouldn’t be invited to many high-school parties. A dubious Leilani put it this way: “If this could really happen, I think he wouldn’t be cool. He’d be a real dork.” Doogie’s sidekick, Vinnie, however, “makes the show,” Alex said.

Two panelists mentioned that they didn’t like the character Brenda on “Beverly Hills.” “She has no substance, no depth,” Travis said. For best-friend material, Parker Lewis and Kevin Arnold (“The Wonder Years”) were chosen most often.

Details, Details

Yes, they do notice. Our panelists questioned the following: What’s with the very prominently displayed box of brand-name granola bars in “Degrassi High”? (Product placement, a spokesperson for the show confirmed.)

Also: Why does “Blossom” feature a famous guest star almost every week? Why were the “Beverly Hills, 90210” kids so dressed up (“In real life,” Alex said, “wealthier people always dress more conservatively. It’s not cool to show off your money”)? How come practically every show has a ‘locker bully’? Why does Fresh Prince get to wear a different jacket than everybody else at his private school?

Real-Life Facts Producers Ought to Know (According to the Panel)

1. After lying to your parents, you almost never come clean because you feel guilty--only because you’re afraid you might get caught.

2. Alcohol flows at parties, but peer pressure doesn’t--nobody makes a big deal if you don’t drink.

Advertisement

3. After your parents find out you lied or used their house for a party, they do not talk calmly and rationally. They yell. Loudly.

Free Advice for Programming Execs and Producers

“Observe life as it is, don’t stereotype, be more open”--T.C.

“There are few kids who have never smoked, gotten drunk and deceived their parents. The problems are there and it’s ridiculous to develop teen-age characters that are ‘pure’ “--Leilani

“Don’t present The Answer, just give a possible scenario”--Travis

“Shows, especially sitcoms, should focus on entertaining rather than teaching”--Mark

“Choose a topic that affects most teen-agers and carry it out until the end. Show how everyone is affected--the big picture!”--Alex

“Take more risks. The truth hurts, but it’s reality and life . Americans need to get with it.”--Desiree

“You shouldn’t try to get cutesy, perfect actors for the parts.”--Karen

Issues They’d Like to See Addressed on Television

Young teen pregnancy, drunk driving, racial tension, abortion, getting into college, financial hardship, the war. Mark thought that “TV has just about done everything to death.” T.C. wrote that he’d like to see more “teen opinions on life in general,” adding, “Teens have no voice in America if you think about it.”

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice . . .

The panelists weren’t completely critical of television. Elizabeth wrote that the shows all did a good job of portraying various kinds of students: “There were different characters in every show. A variety of people, which is good.”

The shows screened “show a good cross-section,” Travis agreed. And a magnanimous T.C. said: “The media does the best it can ... You can’t always go for realism, you can’t always go for fantasy. You can’t please everyone all the time.”

Advertisement

The Great Debate: Escapism vs. Realism

Pity the poor producer who must walk the fine line between totally unreal and too personal. On one hand, our panelists took issue with the lack of believeable characters and situations in most of the shows:

“(The series) portray the problems facing students, but most don’t get the people right. Things are sometimes glamorized and blown out of proportion, while at other times the problems get glossed over because they (producers) fit issues into a half-hour format”--Travis.

“ ‘Beverly Hills’ had the character get drunk and then right away realize what he did was wrong. All in one show. These shows should try to deal with the issues slowly, building up to the problem. It would be more entertaining and realistic”--Karen.

On the other hand, if you want to see a roomful of high-schoolers squirm, make them watch their peers facing genuine situations. Such was often the case with “Yearbook,” Fox’s new documentary-style series set in a real high school with real students (see accompanying story), and the only show which none of the panelists previously had seen:

“The people who were profiled were not superhuman, but rather typical American teen-agers that have to cope with typical problems that the viewers can relate to”--Alex

“I wouldn’t want my life story aired on TV to be seen by hundreds of people!”--Elizabeth

The bottom line: They want realism . . . sort of.

“We need more mindless entertainment, like the Simpsons”--Mark

A Last Word, or, What They Learned

“It was interesting today. You never really analyze what you watch, and this helped me to become more aware of all the falsities. It’s a shame that we don’t always agree with what we see, but we accept it”--Desiree.

Advertisement
Advertisement