Greenhouse Academy

I started watching this series on Netflix out of boredom-it looked cheesy, light, and probably excellent material for a hate-watch to take my mind off of school stress and anxiety. I considered my initial judgement to be accurate until about...half way through the first episode.

It is cheesy, and filled with clichés, but the the writing isn't bad, and the characters are so sweet and lovable, despite being flawed. The way the friendships were written and acted was really heartwarming, and the drama felt real. I hope to see a second season!

Eight stars instead of ten because the acting could be a little sub-par at times (although ultimately it draws you in), the antagonists could have been less stereotypical, and there wasn't any LGBT representation.

This show is horrible, I love it. The acting is horrible.

The story line is cheesy. The acting and writing is iffy. But the lighting, set design all make for a light airy feel that works.

I wrote a scathing review recently about how Hollywood makes anyone who is white or male or worst yet, a white male be the butt of jokes, the bad guy, and so on.

The producers in this film got it diversity right. Good guys, bad guys come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Never mind the recasting. Yes, the choices seem a little odd considering the characterisations of Brooke and Emma from seasons 1 and 2, but they're actors; it's literally their job to portray different characters under direction and have it be believable. I'm a Doctor Who fan, so I'm well used to having different faces come in to reprise old characters.

It's the writing and direction that really sunk the show with season 3. Before this, there might've been a scene or two that required a little more suspension of disbelief, but the writing was usually very good and the direction gave us some very sympathetic, relatable characters, despite their extraordinary circumstances. Not so in season 3. I don't know what the hell this new "creative vision" is but I feel like there isn't one. The writing is ridiculous bordering on satire, and it feels like the actors are reading the lines cold with their least believable inflections possible. The shots feel stale and lack focus.

Wouldn't you know it? After I griped about all these things, I went to see who had been doing the direction, writing, and cinematography, and all three had been replaced for season 3. I feel ashamed on their behalf that they had a transition be THIS obvious and bad to even a non-industry viewer.

Alright listen. This will sound like I'm being facetious, but I promise that this is fully true, cross my heart, swear to die. This is the most amazing show I've ever seen. I didn't expect it to be so incredible - I got bored of Portlandia, House is no longer on Netflix, and I figured it was time to stop rewatching The Office and try something new. Then, lo and behold, this is on the front page of Netflix, and I watch a trailer, and I'm like, "This looks like a very nothing show." But I'm not one to knock it before I try it, so I put on the pilot. Six episodes later, I call it a night. It's been two days, and I'm I think ten days into it. You do not want to miss this show.

So you might be asking, "Sam, is it really that good?" Good? Noooo no. No. Nope, no, no. No. It's not good. This is the most hilariously bad show I've ever seen. The writing is so predictable that I've made a game of pausing the show right before a character is about to say something important. I'm currently batting better than anyone on the Mets has in decades (no offense Mo Vaughn). The only time this show isn't predictable is when it introduces a twist that's so absolutely insane that it makes no sense, and you just can't help but laugh, even alone in your bedroom at 1 AM, that human beings actually wrote that into some show about tweens going to a new high school. Oh, the high school. The Greenhouse (Academy). It looks like dump. This isn't like Zoey 101 where you'll want to go to the school - there are only like five rooms this show is set in, and they are all trying so terribly hard to seem like rooms at a hip boarding school that you just want to pat the set designers on the head. That just makes it all funnier. The actors and actresses are fine (in general), but the writing is so unnatural, cliché, and out of date that they don't shine - don't you worry, this show stays hilariously ridiculous the whole time, whether the plot has just dropped off a cliff or there's a heart to heart going on between the two leads. OH another fun thing. Listen for all the default sound effects, you know, the type that you might find in Windows Movie Maker 2003. Those really serve to help take the show beyond a 10. A la another terrifically bad movie, Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

I could go on and on, but wow, you really just should watch this show. It is the worst and best thing to happen to me in a long time. I pray daily that there will be a second season.

Okay, love you, drive safe. Sam