Jonas

The much ballyhooed Jonas show starring the Jonas Brothers finally made its debut on the Disney Channel last night. One hopes that when the brothers have had their run as teen idols they'll have invested their money wisely because it will take some considerable doing for them to have careers as musicians and/or actors when the vogue for them has passed.

As kids they're cute, pleasant and easy to take even for people over the age of 15. Their music isn't too bad either. What the Disney Studio did was reach back into rock and roll history and modeled this show on that first show about a rock band, The Monkees. The Jonas Brothers even have a fourth brother, little Frankie who can make it a quartet to have adventures just like the Monkees.

Don't look for much plot, the show is just another venue for their music which is in fact their bread and butter. Every show will have some kind of story to play between music videos. It worked fine for the Monkees, it should work for Joe, Kevin, Nick, and sometimes Frankie Jonas.

When I first heard that there was going to be a TV show starring the Jonas Brothers, I had to roll my eyes. Yeah, it's just another attempt for the JoBros' to milk their fame for all it was worth. But when I finally saw the show, I found it to be surprisingly entertaining.

Now, I'm not a teenage girl, so you can be sure I didn't watch the show to see the Jonas Brothers. Although, Chelsea Kane and Nicole Anderson were kinda cute. But no, the real reason I loved this show was the humor. It's a rare kind of humor we don't see much of anymore. It's a kind of humor based on antics as opposed to witty dialog. It was almost a throwback to the kind of antics we saw on Saved By the Bell. The show also didn't have a laugh track, so we didn't have to be told when to laugh.

The characters were great as well. The boys almost remind me of Alvin and the Chipmunks; Kevin, the lovable dumb one (Theodore), Nick, the smart one (Simon), and Joe, the egotistic one (Alvin). My favorite character had to be Macy, Jonas' "#1 Superfan." She's so sweet and lovable, and she so funny to watch.

Having said all that, I thought Season 1 was better than Season 2. Season 2 had less focus on humor and was trying more to be a teen drama. And there, I think it lost a lot of its appeal. But it was still a good show.

The show has been canceled, unfortunately, but if you can find it on DVD, I say check it out. I would mostly recommend it for teens and fans of the Jonas Brothers, but if you like comedies, this one doesn't disappoint.

Now honestly I've watched this show with my little sister because like most girls from the ages of 9-15 she's a huge Jonas brother fan. Now unlike the previous comment, that person has the stupidest idea of what is good on TV. Jonas isn't the best show on Disney channel, there's no avoiding it. It's more of Disney keeping trying to cash in on what's popular. Hannah Montana is a very lousy singer and an even worse actress. It's funny how her co-starts Mitchell Musso and emily osement sing better and act better then her. The Joans brothers are decent singers and especially for the pop rock genre there's no denying it. Their acting isn't TERRIBLE but it's not worth a gold star. Kevin's acting is funny because he's aware of how terrible he is but just rolls with it. Nick always has that same look on his face like he's in pain to be on camera. But you think he'd be use to it being a major music star for the past 4 years. All in all, you might not enjoy it the way you'd enjoy other shows such as phineas and pherb. But it's Disney channel, you really can't expect anything more then unpromising shows. Jonas isn't the worst, but it's certainly far from the best.

what were you expecting? the jonas brothers are not actors they have said it like 1000 times. the plot is not great but is not the worst thing ever either. the show has its funny moments and it's very kid friendly (ages 6 -12 ) for a Disney channel TV show is not that bad .. its not like it will air on fox,abc and those channels where the adult TV shows air ;) just give them a break and if you don't like it don't watch it like with any other TV show. besides it will probably be only 1 season, because that's what the contract said ;). I personally thought it was OK (and I'm 18) it just really depends on what you like :) I like those kinds of TV shows because they remind me of when I was younger and I didn't have to worry about anything but having fun.

Disney channel shows have really never been very good. They suffer from horrible jokes that only little kids with yet to be developed brains will find amusing, such as Hannah Montana's " (Insert name here) say what?!" Surprisingly, this show doesn't have too many moments with bad jokes. The show is fast paced, and though it is really stupid, the jokes aren't particularly corny, or bad for that matter. They're just extremely stupid.

The Lucas brothers (Played by the Jonas brothers) are fictional characters in a band called Jonas (named after their street). All three brothers go to a private school, and get into wacky mischief. Kevin Jonas is the oldest, and definitely the dumbest on the show. Usually he is the comic relief type. Joe Jonas is generally the center of attention on the program, but he's also an idiot. Nick Jonas is the straight man, who's role seems to be getting angry at the other two. It's kind of a dumbed down three stooges act.

The brothers give surprisingly good performances, with Kevin and Joe showing off their comedic acting skills with fairly good timing. Nick is the straight man, and possibly too reserved for his own good. But the three of them give decent enough performances. The other main characters are the guys' schoolyard chum and costume designer Stella (Chelsea Staub), who is an alright character, and then we have Macy (Nicole Gale Anderson), who is a creepy and annoying fan girl. Don't much care for the character, as she's on the borderline between okay, and Hannah Montana humor.

The jokes on the show are better than typical Disney. They are somewhat remnant of the type of joke on Even Stevens. It's goofy, but somewhat entertaining, perhaps because of the performances. It's really hard to describe why this is alright, and what every other current Disney show isn't. The lack of laugh track is a plus. The performances are better. The timing is more on. The show is clearly not meant to be realistic at all, but it has a small bit of realism to it. It's clear no one is taking anything seriously, and it's played off as a sort of alternate jokey reality. It's difficult to explain...

The show is just a breath of fresh air, considering how bad every other Disney channel show is. Even this one isn't very good, and it's still the channel's best. It's one that possibly parents won't cringe at, and one that has some small bit of value, that makes it at least watchable and maybe even somewhat entertaining.

My rating: ** 1/2 out of ****. 30 mins. TVY7 My rating: