Betty

Incoherent drivel. No cohesive storyline, terrible acting (an ensemble that never really gels) and just plain boring. For those who wonder why it only has a 6.5 rating - well, it would actually be lower were it not for the single-review users who give it a 10.

I'm seeing a lot of very negative reviews here. I can kind of understand where people are coming from. The show has a really loose structure, and the acting sometimes falters a bit. I was pretty skeptical at first myself.

Still, I'm shocked, because overall I really enjoy this show. The thing about it is it's really trying to show us how things are. Sometimes people talk about "representation" like it means sticking non-white, non-straight, non-male characters in where they weren't needed. But in a case like this, representation is clearly just representation, i.e. realism, i.e. trying to portray how things really are.

So unlike a lot of other shows or movies set in NY, this show gives me a clear sense of what it would actually be like to live there. The characters fit into the setting like a hand in a glove. You can understand each character as a part of the overall world. These aren't just disembodied bits of biography.

And I feel like people in general don't get just how hard it is to portray a social milieu. It's a sense of what everyone around you is thinking, how they'll react to things, stuff like that. It's much easier, but less satisfying, to have the characters exist in their own closed-off bubble. This show is so good at represented the overall society the characters live in.

It also conveys the sense of being a freewheeling young person really well. The characters move around the world eager to find something new. They bump into people randomly -- and it doesn't feel like the screenwriters are just pulling strings willy nilly. It's such a fun, breezy feeling, leaving me feeling good after watching the show. And it only works because the world they move through feels so real.

Finally, the skating aspect is cool. I don't know anything about skating, but for this show skating is clearly not just a prop. They want you to like skating as much as the characters do.

I loved the original film and thought the first season of Betty really did a good job of re-telling the same story, exploiting the extra time well to fill out the characters and detail the tale better.

So I was really looking forward to Season2.

Sorry, I know the general ratings seem to be a little higher but IMV it just didn't gel like the first one. As a skater, who lives in a big city I can say with confidence that S01 exuded the vibe of skaters in a big city, hangin, chillin and most importantly, skating! The pace, the rhythm, the flow, all felt so authentic. S02 though was more about what they were wearing or who they were making out with - even the Mrs, who is not a skater, complained "enough with the snogging, let's have more skating".

In all, the girls in S02 weren't represented as skaters so much as 'chicks who (mostly/maybe) still own skate boards'. The underlying tragedy is that the derogatory connotation of the term 'Betty' which was so neatly and artfully dispelled in S01, was actually affirmed by S02. The irony of using 'Betty' to describe a sick little crew of skater girls is now lost, and in S02 they have become, in the most part, girls who hang around skate spots but don't really skate anywhere much - Betty!

I love that the actors are skaters plucked from the streets, so zero 'trained' acting ability but a naturalness that transcends it. I love the fashion, almost like '80's UK rave (yeah, I'm that old). I love the feminine love angle and the guys that get it, and pity the those that don't. I'm surprised that male skaters are so bigoted, it's the preserve of free thinkers like surfing, or so I thought. But it turns out it's just another bastion of Alpha A-Holes, with a capital A&H. Bummer. Skating is about freedom of expression, not conforming, doing your own thing. The assumption that women can't know their own minds is absurd, they're often the ones that keep men in check and encourage them to be better. Show me a single man that made it on his own? You can't. Apart from Steve Jobs, maybe? And he excelled at getting others to do the work, His right hand man was a woman. So go figure. The soundtrack is also pretty good, a few have made it onto my Spotify. I've only seen two ep's at the mo', but I'm liking it, a lot, memories of gravel rashes, lumps on my head and moments of unconsciousness are coming back, and they make me laugh in a nostalgic, old fart way. More power to you, chaps, I'll keep watching. This is skating.

I was so excited to see something like this was coming out and I'm always floored at how real Crystal Moselle's work with these girls feel. So good and so needed. Really wish you could review a review. It's all a matter of opinion I guess but the people here rating this show a 1, well, this kind of show isn't for you. It was not created for you. Periodt. I never do reviews of anything but these uglies kinda set me off.