24Seven

I turned on 24Seven expecting a piece of crap, but the minute I saw it I was already hooked. I especially enjoyed the Anya-Chris-Miles love triangle, along with Drew's dyslexia, and it gained enough leverage with me to name it the best British show I've seen since Monty Python's Flying Circus or Waiting for God. Go watch it now on The-N (USA) or CiTV (UK)!!

This show takes place at Oaks boarding school in England, and focuses on nine students who reside in the one of the school's dorms, called Discovery House (which is run by its occupants, all teenagers): Anya, Miles, Chris, Beans, Jax, Bethan, Drew, Stags and Tally. Miles and Chris are brothers, and Miles always looks for ways he can stab his brother in the back; Anya is the gorgeous but delicate girlfriend of Miles (and for whom Chris has a mad crush on, which she seems to reciprocate); Jax is the rebellious one of the bunch, and Beans is her flaky best bud who lives in D.H. attic; Staggsy and Drew are also best buds, and the youngest members of the House; and Bethan is the shy, underconfident overachiever who has a passion for track, and who lives with the self-absorbed American Tally).

The stories aren't particularly heavy, but are quite entertaining nonetheless. It all comes down to the fact that the characters are so likeable (save for Miles), and the actors and actresses portraying them are so winning. Fiona Wade especially sparkles in her role as Anya Vicenze. She lights up the screen in every scene she's in, and her upscale English accent is the best and classiest this side of Daljit Dhaliwal. I'd listen to the show on radio if I had to just to hear her speak.

All in all, worth 30 minutes of your time (commercials included).

This is an awesome show from England about kids at a boarding school called The Oaks. The main family is the Darwin Family of Discovery House. There are extremely funny moments and every episode ends in a cliff-hanger of drama. Anya is house parent who finds out her boyfriend (Miles) is cheating on her. The other house parent is Chris, Mile's brother, who want to be a journalist against his dad's wishes and is also in love with Anya. Then there's Tally, who's mother is a famous actress, and instead of visiting her, sends her an annual check worth a lot of money. Tally's first roommate is Bethan, a girl from Wales who has a deep secret. Their other roommate is Jax, a rebel with a cause, to get expelled. There's also Stagsy and Drew, the jokesters of Darwin Family who put washing powder in people's coffee. Finally there is Beans, musically inclined, but always effected by something. Once he was accused of having an affair with Niamh, Jax's mother and The Oak's music professor. These people have to live together, go to school and cope with life 24/7.

I, being a naive American girl, love just about everything about the British. That's why I watched '24Seven' to begin with. What can I say? It didn't disappoint, and I love it. Love the accents, love the actors (esp. Royce Cronin), love the light, generally inconsequential storylines. The theme song (in the US) is great, too.

Light-hearted, cheesy, colorful, and a lot of fun -- 24Seven may seem like any other teen show, but underneath it's got a lot of freshness and wit. Great cast -- not the best actors but fantastic chemistry. Much better than most "adult" full-hour dramas on TV.