Jessie

Fish-out-of-the-water sitcom about rural Texas teen Jessie (Debby Ryan) who moves to Manhattan to take a job as an au pair.

Another one from It's a Laugh Prodcutions, which also supplied The Disney Channel with both Zack and Cody shows. Now, "The Suite Life on Deck" was not was exactly appointment television, but it looks like an Alan Ayckbourn comedy compared to "Jessie." Ryan was perfectly fine as backup to the Sprouse twins, but lacks the charisma necessary to carry a show. The direction lacks sharpness, the writing is rote and the cast shows little comic timing. With a few episodes under its belt, "Jessie" will find its sea legs, but no matter how you slice it, this show doesn't have a lot going for it. I doubt this is ever going to be more than a mildly pleasant time waster.

I'm not doing myself any favors by admitting I'm a Disney fanatic, am I? I wouldn't think so. But suffice it to say I'm a real Disney fanatic. I'll watch anything they put on the Disney Channel here in America, no matter what it is. I've sat through fun shows like "Shake it Up!" and real junk like "Pair of Kings" and I really do appreciate the programming they've been enlisting since "Hannah Montana" mercifully bowed out of the channel.

We're seeing a lot less shows about kids trying to become fame freaks and much more family oriented shows. Which I'm all for. "Good Luck Charlie" gets heavy play on the channel and that's a family show if I've ever seen one.

"Jessie" is a new addiction because, simply put, I loved "Charles in Charge." They're basically the same premise when you think about it. A college student comes to live with an upper class family filled with mischievous children and takes care of them, handling their nonsense with patience and good humor. "Jessie" has a more varied cast this time as title character Jessie takes care of a family filled with adopted children. This is a good excuse to feature a very diverse cast of characters so all the bases are covered.

"Jessie" two episodes in is fairly addictive mainly because the show is so darn cute it's hard to find flaws with it. As with most Disney shows the mom and dad are basically MIA, appearing every so often while the young cast basically comes and goes as they please. Jessie follows after making sure they don't inflict any harm on themselves and that's the basic premise.

Okay, and there's Debby Ryan who went from gawky cute in "The Suite Life on Deck," to damn good looking on "Jessie." The rest of the characters are all pretty basic archetypes. My favorite so far is Skai Jackson who plays the baby of the family Zuri. While she's there to mainly spout one liners and look adorable, she pulls it off very well quite often.

Ryan as Jessie is likable. She's basically a branch off of Bailey Picket from her previous show as a small town Southern gal who is mysteriously very street wise. I like to think of "Jessie" as a modern "Charles in Charge" with a twist of "Mary Poppins" and I appreciate the simple stories and limitless character arcs it gives the audience. There's no end to the possibilities of sub-plots with the kids.

One is an adopted Indian boy, one is an adopted African girl, one is an adopted Brooklyn kid, and the oldest is the biological daughter of the celebrity couple featured. There has yet to be a lot of talk about the adoption process and whatnot, and I hope it stays that way. Last thing we need is a PSA about the benefits of adoption on a family show.

Nevertheless I remain a tried and true Disney fanatic and I'll be watching "Jessie" with most interest. Mainly for Debby Ryan.

This TV show is Fantastic!

Story JESSIE centers on a small-town girl (Debby Ryan) who follows her dreams all the way to the Big Apple, where she accepts an impromptu job offer as a nanny to four kids: Emma (Peyton List), Luke (Cameron Boyce), Ravi (Karan Brar), and Zuri (Skai Jackson). What seems like a simple task results in far more complications than she anticipated as Jessie learns to balance the kids' sibling rivalry, their individual needs, and the fallout from their jet-setting parents. As if this isn't chaos enough, she's also learning the ropes of her newfound independence and attempting to carve out a career in the competitive New York atmosphere. But at the end of the day, it's the relationships with her new "family" that smooth out the rough edges of her transition.

I watch this show with my kids (2 and 11) and they love it! The music is catchy and the characters are pretty funny. They are always in some kind of crazy mess only rich people can get into and their means of cleaning it up are entertaining as well. The only objection I have to this show is I don't like how Zuri is portrayed as being so ghetto. Wasn't she raised by her adoptive parents? Wouldn't she sound like the rest of the family? All that neck action and "mmmm-hmmmms" upset me. My kids are biracial and I don't need any help exposing them to these stereotypes. Most African Americans don't speak and behave in such a manner and I'm sure this particular young girl wouldn't being that she isn't around anyone who speaks or acts in that fashion. Otherwise the show is cute. Just thought I would throw that out there. Disney, if you see this review, please consider revising Zuri's attitude to reflect the life she lives on the show. I mean, China doesn't even act like that on Ant Farm so I really can't see where you are going with that character... Thanks.

This show made my teenage years a little less stressful. It was the first show on Disney Channel I enjoyed watching since The Suite Life on Deck, and I stopped enjoying watching that in February or March of 2010. Until about eight months ago, Jessie has never been my #1 show, though I didn't hate it like I did most other Disney shows back in the year it aired (with the only exception being Austin & Ally). Even though I'm a boy, since Emma and I are in the same grade, I can understand the problems she goes through in life. The acting from the kids is really good, and I like that they have Debby Ryan as practically a mentor for this show. I'm 17 now and the show recently started its last season, so thank you Jessie for helping me through my teenage years!