Quarterlife

Made to contrast the average, glossy style of young American television, Quarterlife stands alone. The show is brilliant; using unknown actors, subtle, seemingly improvised dialogue, and characters that are familiar to all of us, this show gives feels like a reality show that is actually good, actually real. The subtle, yet dynamically layered performances by the amazing cast gives hope for the next generation of young actors. I find myself feeling like I'm sitting right in the living room with these kids as they ponder their futures, careers, romance, principles, and everything we think (or thought) about at 25. If you're a fan of "My So-Called Life", "Once and Again", or any other show that chooses realism over slick production, or just seems to have the right amount of heart and soul, you've come to the right place.

I find this show personally offensive. Everything about this show is so wrong about people in their mid-twenties. What I mean when I say this is that it makes everyone in their twenties look like overgrown babies. No one that I hang with that's in their twenties like me lives such a self-pitying existence. Just because there is an extremely large group of immature twenty-year olds in this country does not mean that everyone in my demographic eats ramen noodles in their underwear when they aren't moping around a disparaging office job. Why can't there ever be a show about young people that highlights another aspect of our lives besides unrequited love and trite dialogue drowning in pop culture references?

While the show surely isn't about everyone, as a glimpse into what the post college graduation period is like for a large group it is very genuine. Working with thousands of such students from the start of college through graduation, I am confident that most will identify with the characters, and in fact many have already emailed me saying just that.

More importantly, the show itself is entertaining and the characters likable and engaging. Far better than most of the network fair and by far one of the sleekest productions online, the show is well worth checking out, especially if you like the dramedy category of programming.

This show got a lot of bad press, which seemed to be from people who either watched a few minutes of one segment, or didn't watch it at all but got their information from other reviewers.

I was ready to hate this show as being inauthentic and dull, but...well, a funny thing happened on the way to my bad review. I sort of forgot my preconceptions and got to know the characters. And I liked it.

There's quality writing here, and the show is nicely filmed and presented. It's a bit provincial, perhaps, and the angst of twentysomethings might be niche, but there's a lot here for everyone. And twists and turns and humor too. A fine way to spend your time...deserves a second season and a second look.

Firstly, the scripting is terrible - very clichéd, very old-fashioned, not what people are looking for in their TV anymore.

Secondly, the guy from Greek (Scott something) was OK, some of the others seemed to have just phoned it in.

Thirdly, if there hadn't been a writers strike I doubt this would have made it to air at all.

Want to watch something that is about college students figuring their lives out in their early 20's? Watch Greek on ABC Family - it is back on air on March 24 2008 at 8 pm, and it's really entertaining!!! This show, on the other hand, was just unbearably painful!