Summerland

Summerland is another one of the best teen dramas on The WB! Ava Gregory (Lori Loughlin) is living the perfect life. She is single, has a nice beach front home along the Southern California coast, and works as a fashion designer But that all changes when her sister and brother in law die in an accident. Ava is left with the responsibility to raise her niece Nikki (Kay Panabaker), and two nephews, Bradin (Jesse McCartney) and Derrick (Nick Benson). Ava gets help from her close friends Johnny, whom she used to date. Johnny (Shawn Christian) takes on the father figure role, but is a man who is unsure of the direction in his own life. Jay (Ryan Kwanten) is single, and lives to surf. He guides Bradin into his exciting hobby. Susanna (Merrin Dungey) is Ava's business partner, and the two have complete trust in each other. Bradin is the oldest child at 16, and has his own angst to deal with. He has a crush on his surfing instructor, Erica Spalding (Taylor Cole). Nikki is 13. She is often very difficult about the fact that Ava is filling in for her mother. Derrick is 8. He has the most difficulty adjusting to the fact his parents are no longer alive, which results to many troubles. I like the acting, story plots and I think Taylor Cole is a hottie! Summerland premiered on The WB back in June 2004.

User Rating: 10/10

BOTTOM LINE: GREAT!

I really enjoy Summerland. It is feel good family program that still has drama and both adult and teen angst, but not overkill on the sex department. Sexual theme programing is a legit genre, but it is always good to have a little break once in a while. I Don't think it is fair to compare Summerland to past WB hits such as Buffy and Angel because those two shows fall in quite different genres. If anything compare this show to a little 7th Heaven, and little Dawson Creek, and even a little One Tree Hill. These three shows are not very similar, but I believe Summerland takes themes from all three, a feel good family drama, that still has some adult and teen, even younger appeal, where fans of all three, or pick or choose of the three can perhaps enjoy something together.

Rating 7 1/2...8 out of 10

I love this show, it is a very family oriented show. It reminds me of 7th Heaven a little with how many people live in one house. I like all the characters in there own way. But I think I like Bradin the best, because Jesse Mccartney portrays him very well. I like this show a lot because Lori Laughlin plays in it, and I loved Full House which she also played in. Another reason I like this show is because of Ryan Kwanten who is very hot, but also portrays his character very well to. This show is a great show of faith, as 7th Heaven is one of the only true family oriented show left and it's going to be over soon, because of the fact that not a lot of shows last more than 7 seasons and 7th heaven is going to be starting it's 8th. So with this show being as family oriented as it is I sincerely hope it lasts a while.

The only reason Summerland didn't make it was due to the network moving it all over the place. It's hard to watch a series that every week is on at different days and times! No one could figure out where to find it! It's an excellent series with great characters. Very wholesome, family oriented show that was warm, funny, real, and made you smile. The actors were all great. The subjects it dealt with were real problems we can all relate to. I'd compare it to "7th Heaven" and "Gilmore Girls". When it comes to premise and likability. it's a solid 10! I've waited and waited for it to come off hiatus...please, Bring it back!

I started watching this series simply because it replaces Smallville for the summer. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. I really liked it because I liked to imagine myself in the characters shoes. They live RIGHT on the beach in a beautiful house with all their friends. They characters all have something about them that makes you like them and want to know more about them. Each episode usually focuses on one or two of the stories in the series. So sometimes there is a little bit of discontinuity. The only disappointing thing about the series was that it leaves you hanging. After all 13 or 14 episodes you want to know what happens next.