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.

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!

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.

This is my six-year-old daughter's favorite show ever. My son who is thirteen admits to really liking it too, so the three of us have a good time watching it together. Of all the shows of the Disney Channel, this is the best by far. It's smart, cheeky, and funny enough for parent who might be watching the show with their kids. It also gives its characters enough credit to allow them to be serious and to grow and change. This is a big step for Disney because so many of the characters in their TV programs are rather one-dimensional.

The plot set-up of rich kids being cared-for by the nanny ( Jessie ) and the butler ( Burtrum ) rather than their rarely-there parents is old. There really aren't too many exciting things to be done with it. It works here because you like the characters and their relationships. The kids all need fleshed-out a bit, particularly the teenage daughter Emma. All the characters need to take a few risks, and I hope they do.

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.