Head of the Class

The biggest loss of this show, it's presentation is that it isn't set in NYC any longer. It's moved to the Bay Area, so it might as well be Saved by the Bell: The HBO Years. Actually, I'll take it back, Saved by the Bell reboot is lightyears ahead of this.

The kid characters are just bland, they are all interchangeable with one another.

As for Isabella Gomez, as great as she was on the reboot of One Day At A Time, she is so much bleh here. And the go to woman when you need mean on a sitcom Christa Miller, she just falls flat. And bringing in Robin Givens for a single episode and her character is sooooooo far away from Darlene in the original series, it just hurts, yes, people change over the years, but not to the point they would be totally unrecognizable as the same character 30 years later.

At the end of the day, whoever at Warner approved this, needs to be taken out back and shot. Either that, or you pull the series for a year, rework it. Put it back in NYC, besides the fact the city lends itself more to diversity than the Bay Area, used correctly, NYC in and of itself is a character. Plus it makes it easier to have various character call backs even if they don't appear on the show.

Seth Cohen, Michael Elias. And Rich Eustis dropped the ball on this reboot. They don't get the good of the series, and have written episodes that aren't even memorable in any way, shape or form.

I actually enjoyed the original series. I was a bit younger than the characters on screen but at least related to the characters. This seems like a generic show so far with no real connection to the original.

They couldn't have gotten Hesseman to play the now antagonistic Principal? Granted I love Krista Miller. But even her role this far just screams please please laugh.. And here's some canned laughter to make sure you're supposed to think this is funny.

The same thing applies to the new batch of gifted kids. No one feels different. All just kind of bland sameness. Granted the old series were very neutral stereotyped chargers but at least they felt different. I can still tell you there was Dennis, Darlene, Arvid, Janice, Simone, Jawarhalol, Eric.. still after all these years those characters stand out. I can't even tell you the name of any of these new characters in the middle of the first episode.

This head of the class isn't even middle of the pack.. More bottom of the barrel.

If you're expecting a show that looks or feels like the original 80s-90s sitcom, which is pretty good btw (classic 80s sitcom theme song too) and you should try to watch at least some of if you can, this isn't it. The only common factor between both is that they're a class of intellectually gifted high school students. Also, both have diverse casts but the original has a wider range of characters who also seem more distinctive.

The style of the original is more like a real classroom and school, though not 100% realistic, and it is repeatedly made clear the students are above average in various ways academically. The teacher is a role model character and helping these students through their own personal issues as well, sometimes fairly serious. The style of this Head of the Class is more like Saved By the Bell (after the early years) where they hang out and chat in random scenes, rarely seen in a normal class setting, and some little story or two is playing out throughout the episode. The teacher character seems more like an older student buddy who is almost equal level as them but sometimes gives them helpful tips and encouragement.

As for the rating, add maybe 2-3 points for people under 18 as it's fairly in line with the style of comedy found on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, it's just those shows are hard to watch as an adult beyond nostalgia. The original aired during prime time hours on a major network and before cable was widespread so it's not quite as narrowly fine tuned to younger people and is still enjoyable as an adult I think.

This show is amazingly terrible. The cast is remarkable when it comes to lacking talent. The writing is worthwhile and funny if you're being held at gunpoint for comment. They should've called it something completely different to preserve the originals legacy. I personally would've called it "Thud".

Alicia Gomez is the new young teacher of a honors class at Meadows Creek High School. It's a group of young smart students struggling to find their place in the world.

The original 80's show was one of my favorites for a short time. I love Simone and just about everyone in the class. I love Howard Hesseman from WKRP and his teacher-knows-best character. I love them so much that the show started losing me when they slowly lost some of the kids. Quite frankly, these new kids are all various shades of annoying. They are all cut from the same Disney-Nickelodeon teen character mold. It takes a few episodes to get used to their friendships. Robin Givens has a cameo in this one as a mom. At the end of the day, these are not appealing characters and therefore non of this is compelling. Even the teacher is almost as childish as the kids. Then there is the pilot trying to tackle cancel culture. I don't think anybody wants that... on both sides. The show keeps trying to annoy me more than entertain me. Its only hope is the tween audience of its target. I don't think that they would like this either and I don't think HBO is the place for them. Some exec must have the idea of scattershot programming.