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I feel like we should start off the new year with a clean slate with no TV secrets between us. And if you are new to my column, I think you should hear this straight from the TiVo's mouth so to speak.
I cannot stop watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show returns for a second season Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC Family and you don't even want to know the alacrity with which I opened the second season premiere DVD and promptly placed it in my DVD player.
For those new to the show, the series is from Brenda Hampton, the creator of 7th Heaven. It follows teenager Amy Juergens (Shailene Woodley) who gets pregnant after a one night stand at band camp with bad boy Ricky (Daren Kagasoff). (No I'm not kidding, that's actually what happened). Amy has a sarcastic sister Ashley (India Eisley) who delivers all her lines as if she just woke up and an earnest boyfriend Ben (Ken Baumann) who clearly is destined to play a young Bob Saget when they make a move about Saget's life (or, following that logic, he could play a young Ted on How I Met Your Mother).
In a nice bit of teen drama coming full circle, Molly Ringwald, who immortalized teen angst in classic movies including Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, plays Amy's mom. The shows best scenes are between Woodley and Ringwald.
I can't exactly recommend watching the series but I can tell you that I am transfixed by it. And I think if you start watching, I think you will find yourself transfixed too.
Among the things I find fascinating:
1. Amy is enrolled at a high school that only allows stereotypes in. There's good Christian girl Grace (Megan Park), not-so-good girl Adrian (Francia Raisa), football jock Jack (Greg Finley) and a super smart Alice (Amy Rider) who has a penchant for spewing sex statistics into every conversation. It's so bad that I keep watching to see what absurdly insulting thing the show will throw at viewers next.
2. The number of good adult actors who are forced to behave like idiots. Mark Derwin plays Amy's father. I've liked him ever since he played Bonnie Hunt's husband on Life With Bonnie and he pops up in the new season of 24 as one of the President's cabinet members. He's a fine actor who is acting like the most idiotic father ever to hit prime time. But he's not the only one -- Ernie Hudson breaks doctor/patient confidentiality as Ricky's therapist, Steve Schirripa leaves his Sopranos' days behind him as Ben's dad who thinks it's great that his teenage son is in love and wants to get married, and John Schneider and Josie Bissett make less sense every week as Grace's parents. I'm not kidding Melrose Place was more rooted in reality than Secret Life.
3. The acting of the teen characters in general. Woodley is actually quite good and believable. So good it's almost like she's acting on a different show. Because the series employs that same kind of acting on a curve that 7th Heaven perfected. You know when the guest kid actors are so bad that they make the series regulars look better.
2. The plotlines: In Monday's premiere, Amy and Ben decide to elope and all of the sudden everyone is getting a fake ID and going to the wedding. Honestly, you have to see it to believe it.
If you have never watched the show, you are going to have a hard time understanding why, based on what I've said, the series is so compulsively watchable. And I can't explain it. It's that Brenda Hampton magic.
But I think now is definitely time to form a support group. Those who were part of the Good Morning Miami and The Class support group will be automatically grandfathered in. Perhaps together we can try to understand why we are compelled to watch the show each week. Is it because it doesn't require us to think too much? Is it because we want to see what ridiculous thing will happen next? Is it because we want to see more bad dialogue delivered with wooden timing? I have no idea. But together maybe we can figure it out. Or is there another support group you would like to form? Talk about it below. We need to help eachother during these difficult times.
Thanks all for today. I'm back next week with a look at the new seasons of Scrubs, Damages, and to talk about the return of 90210, Grey's Anatomy (will I be able to keep my resolution) and much more. Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week or a topic for discussion? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com. Have a great weekend.
Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal ®
Zap2it Twitter Talk 
I too cannot stop watching Secret Life. It's so bad, it's actually kinda good (if that makes sense). You know it's bad when you set your Tivo to record it and it comes back saying "are you REALLY sure you want to record the whole season of this ridiculous show? Don't you know better?"
It boggles the mind that this remains on TV when they cancel Eli Stone. I'm still shaking my head. Oh wait! Maybe Eli Stone will be picked up by another network a la Scrubs??? That would be really cool. Who do I write to about that? I've already started sending George Michael CDs to ABC in hopes to convince them to keep Eli...
I have to do it, First comment!!!!!
Amy, Comparing The Cl*** to TSLAT is insult to the Cl***, and comparing TSLAT to Good Morning Miami is insulting to TSLAT.
If the TSLAT is that bad as you say just stop watching. I know it's hard but I have managed to stop watching Prison Break and I feel 27% smarter.
The only reason I watch this show and why I watched 7th Heaven was just to see what kind of snark was written in various forums the next day. Reading what is written by everyone is twice as entertaining as the shows themselves.
Seriously, Brenda must have some spell over TV. The show is ridiculous but I love it and I am actually quite angry that they moved it to opposite Gossip Girl so that I have to timeshift Secret Life.
The Season 1 DVDs (disks 1 and 2) are currently occupying the top two spots of my Netflix queue- and there's a wait for the first disk.
It is the perfect 7th Heaven replacement. There must be some sort of void in our culture for shows with a possibly interesting plot done so horribly you can't not watch.
Amy, Amy, Amy, with all of the good stuff that is coming back (Lost, Life, Bones, Burn Notice, etc.) and hopefully good stuff (Dollhouse, etc.), SLAT is what you're excited about? I've tried watching it to see what all the fuss is about and could not get in to it at all.
I know I've emailed you about this before, but I keep hoping for a more definite (and positive!) answer - have you heard anything about a) a second season for The Middleman or b) it coming out on dvd?
I am still in shock ABC Family gave Secret Life a second season and MiddleMan not only wasn't given a second season but they shortcharged season 1 by an episode and haven't even bothered to make season 1 available on DVD.
It's simply the "car-wreck" syndrome; people will watch something that is terrible just because they can and it's there in front of them. It's like that line from the Howard Stern movie: "If people don't like him, why do people listen to him?" "Well, of all the people who don't like him that we polled, 90% said they just wan't to see what he says next." That's paraphrasing, I haven't seen the movie for awhile.
And it's not really to say "Why does a good show like Eli Stone get cancelled and this one gets another season?" It's the difference between a broadcast network and a cable channel; cable has fewer shows per network and more lax standards, so they can get away with it.
I know a lot of people thought 7th Heaven was so bad it's good, but really it was just bad. This sounds like the same thing. I cannot possibly understand the appeal of Brenda Hampton's shows or why she continues to work. Ugh.
I hope Eli Stone still has some episodes left, otherwise we have a major cliffhanger that will never be resolved.
That's how I felt about some other show...I can't remember which one. I watched it, fascinated by the fact that I was watching it. Yeah, this is a moronic comment because I can't remember what show it was, but I'm just saying that I understand the idea of the train-wreck tv show.