Austin & Ally

The latest D-Com show rolling off the assembly lines at the Magic Kingdom is Austin&Ally in which a would be teen bubble gum idol kind of plagiarizes a song from a girl who writes well, but has incredible stage fright. They seem to be a natural combination, but having seen the first two episodes which reflect real life somewhat in that finding one's muse for creativity will be a major plot component for many episodes. As Richard Rodgers once said, 'melodies don't come to me, I go to them'. I think that Laura Marano's character of Ally would agree with that.

However Austin's character the would be new Justin Bieber has his origins on the internet, probably Youtube. A current young teen idol named Greyson Chance made his breakthrough doing just that. It's the wave of the future and the Disney Studios if nothing else were cognizant of what the future holds. Can you imagine bypassing all the barriers one previously had in trying to get the world to see your gifts? Now young Mr. Chance has promoters coming to him. Hopefully it will last.

And hopefully young Ross Lynch as Austin will get many more songs from Laura Marano. Austin&Ally is a nice teen comedy from Disney which is remarkably on the cutting edge of our technology.

"AUSTIN & ALLY," in my opinion, is an excellent Disney Channel show. I watch it with my 9-year-old nephew from time to time. I always smile and laugh whenever a mishap occurs. It's hard to say what the funniest one is. Another thing that makes this show funny is Trish's (Rani Rodriguez) comic relief. If you ask me, she always know just what to say and do to make the audience laugh. The writing is always strong, the performances are always good, and everything else about the show is good.Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that if you don't have basic cable, you should get it. Now, in conclusion, I hope this will be on Disney for many years yet.

Disney's newest venture into the sitcom/music market is "Austin & Ally", a show about a teen songwriter (with extremely bad stage fright), and an aspiring musician (who needs help writing songs). What a perfect match. Although they don't always get along, Austin and Ally end up working together. Although I do believe the golden age of Disney Channel (High School Musical, Hannah, Jonas, Camp Rock, Wizards) is ending, I believe Austin & Ally gives the new DC some hope. The new DC shows now try to hard, such as shoving China McClain down our throats with her mediocre singles. Shake it Up, although decent, gets tiresome. And Jessie is boring, clearly showing us Disney did not strike lightening with Debby Ryan being the new "It Girl." However, I feel as if Austin & Ally can bring Disney in a new direction, while still staying true to their song and dance formula that has been working (has been, I repeat). Instead of trying so desperately to create the new Miley, DC can put a lot of promotion into Ross Lynch (Austin), much like their attention to the Jonas Brothers a few years ago. Nothing sells better than a heart throb, and Ross Lynch is likable, attractive, and can sell crowds of 6-12 year old girls. The writing is surprisingly good for a DC show, although it is still campy, cheesy, and over the top. The chemistry between Austin and Ally can also be much better, I feel as if the actors are not truly aware of their character yet. But these are early episodes, most kid shows progress over time (A.N.T. Farm, Victorious). Not every DC show is going to compare to HM and their will not be another star like Miley for years to come. Disney has to understand this, and move on to the next thing. Instead of trying to create little pop starlets, they should shift their direction on a guy and hopefully Austin & Ally makes progress in acting and writing.

In my reviews of "Hannah Montana" and "Big Time Rush," I mentioned that notion that the programming executives of both the Disney Channel and their competitors at Nickelodeon were the only reason teen pop musicians still have a market. The rise of Justin Bieber from YouTube should make me eat those words, but I can't because Disney's still relying on this formula.

Austin Moon(Ross Lynch) is an extroverted fun-loving wanna-be teen pop musician, sort of a combination of Bieber and either David or Shawn Cassidy (I'm really showing my age with those references, aren't I?). His favorite hangout is a music store in the "Mall of Miami," called Sonic Boom run by a man named Lester Dawson(Andy Milder) and managed by his daughter Ally(Laura Marano), a brilliant but excessively shy songwriter with a severe case of stage fright. One day, Ally finds that Austin has become an overnight sensation by making a music video of one of the songs she wrote and posting it on the internet, and she wants his head on a platter. He realizes how good she is, and talks her into being his main songwriter, and the series takes off from there. Do they fall in love? Not necessarily, or knowing the track record with Disney shows, at least not yet. Be that as it may a lot of fans want it to happen, and are looking for signs of romance between the two of them everywhere. But the third episode seems to have established that their relationship is completely platonic. There doesn't even seem to be a hint of jealousy when the two of them seek other girlfriends and boyfriends, as you found with Kim Possible & Ron Stoppable.

Ally's best friend is Trish(Raini Rodriguez) a short Latino girl who can't hold down a job and is proud of it, yet somehow becomes Austin's manager. Austin's best friend is Dez(Calum Worthy), an aspiring film maker, who shoots Austin's music videos, including the one that made him famous.

Two songs make this show worthwhile. The first is "A Billion Hits," from the second episode "Kangaroos & Chaos," which has a killer hook and was written in response to some fear that Austin would quickly become a has-been who is mistaken for a kid in a dog food commercial. The other is the ninth episode "Deejays & Demos," where Austin overhears Ally working on a few bars of song called "You Don't See Me," which she writes just for herself, and is just as impressed by it as I was. I don't care if the song was written by some of the staff, or by Marano herself, I want to hear more of it. Plus, I'm convinced that the song made the Disney executives give the green light for a second season, and they're keeping a full-length version from the rest of us which they will release whenever they see fit. There are episodes that make shows more worthwhile, and while for "Less Than Perfect," "Sonny With a Chance," and "Victorious," it was the fourth episodes, in this case it was the ninth.

Something about the two protagonists reminds me of a classic 80's sitcom, albeit without the romance; You know, the one at a bar in Boston where everybody knows your name. Add some romance between the songwriter and the pop-star, and subtract Ally's frequent failed efforts to act cool, and you've got a contemporary teen-aged Diane Chambers right here on this show. And though Austin Moon is hardly the womanizer that Sam Malone was, he still likes having fun, a fact that he repeats often. The network has found it's heir apparent of Hannah Montana, and it's here rather than either "Shake It Up!," or "A.N.T. Farm," not that either of those two shows are necessarily repulsive in any way.

With "Austin & Ally", Disney Channel has made yet another sitcom in line which centers about a teen who becomes a famous musician. Which means that a normal kid can live a normal life, while being a popstar at the same time. Of course, by watching those shows it means that you'll have to let pass some illogical notions. And yes, an immediate comparison is of course the much hyped "Hannah Montana" and though of course "Austin & Ally" isn't a carbon copy, it borrows many components and story lines from "Montana" in a obvious and overt way. In the last years, Disney Channel has been desperate to cash in on their stars and have made most of their shows and TV movies as big, cultural phenomenon's ("High School Musical", "Hannah Montana", "Wizards of Waverly Place and "Camp Rock" come to mind). I'll confess those shows have been a guilty pleasure of mine. But there's no denial they're glossy products, aiming just for kids, which is even more evident on the current DC shows. "Austin & Ally" is still a fine exception. While it doesn't bring back to the glory days of DC sitcoms and it's not absent of flaws, it's still one of the better shows from Disney Channel and is better than shows as "Shake it Up" and "A.N.T. Farm".

"Austin & Ally" may not have the broad appeal as "Good Luck Charlie" or the sheer enjoyment of "Pair of Kings", but it actually have a strength that the current Disney Channel shows lack; The characters. There's a genuine dynamic and chemistry between the characters in it that I haven't seen since the early DC sitcoms. While the acting is far from top notch (especially from male hunk Ross Lynch as Austin), the characters are really likable. Many people detest Dez (Calum Worthy), but I happen to disagree. In my opinion, he's one of the best Disney Channel characters ever made. While I'll admit he can be grating at times, he's still endearing. His frenemy Trish (Raini Rodriguez) is also a feisty character. Laura Marano is a good fit as the insecure and prissy Ally. And while Ross Lynch is the weakest actor, he still brings some genuine energy to his character. The episodes borrows some plot lines from both the aforementioned "Hannah Montana" and "Sonny With a Chance", but works fine nonetheless. And not to forget that the songs (while obviously marketed to a certain audience) are most of the part really catchy.

The problem with "Austin & Ally" lies on a current notion that several Disney Channel shows has; Making a show specifically for children as opposed to a broader audience. Which means that there unfortunately are many childish jokes and dumb comments along. If it wasn't for that, "Austin & Ally" would have been a real throwback to the earlier Disney shows. But for what it is, it's a fine show. Take it for what its; It's just silly, trashy fun and not supposed to be something else either!