Austin & Ally

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.

Austin and Ally is not that great when it comes to humor some of the jokes connect while most of it don't. Some episodes are fun while others aren't. But overall Austin and Ally is not that bad of a show.

Austin & Ally is a great show for children and teens alike, combining the fun and silliness of the characters kids like, the romantic relationships teens like and music - something everyone can enjoy.

While Austin is an outgoing, fun and insanely talented guy and Ally is this quiet, smart and also insanely talented girl, the unlikely - though extremely Hollywood - pair make it work.

As I am a big fan of the series, my rating may be biased. However, I don't think I'm wrong.

It's somewhat educational as it teaches kids life lessons about relationships, lying, stealing, etc. It also faces the reality that there will be people who will try to hurt you in life, but it writes a way to help deal with it.

Also, very recently, it literally saved a young girl's life because of some information it gave about bears and how to stay safe in case you come face to face with one.

I think that between the realism, quirkiness, hilarity, music and encouragement to be yourself as the characters do, the show is great for kids to watch. Even adults can appreciate it.

I hope to see Austin & Ally get a few more seasons after season 3.

I remember watching this show when it came out 10 years ago.

Being in my late teens, I can see why I used to love this show so much. Almost every episode has an interesting story line- with most ending in a catchy song.

There was always the thought of will-they/won't-they when it came to the 2 main characters Austin and Ally, but you always kinda knew that they would end up together in the end.

On a side note- the character "Dez" has to be my favourite character because he is played so well by the actor: Calum Worthy.

Every song in the show is catchy... and sometimes I even find myself listening to the music on spotify!

My rating stays 8/10.

I think Austin & Ally is super amazing for a Disney show. Its dialogues are hilarious. Each character is an individual. Austin is a performer and you can see that Ross Lynch feels good on the stage. He doesn't need to act, he feels the moves. A lot of people are pointing out, that he is playing hot guy that is not hot. His cheeky smile is adorable, I don't think he is meant to be hot. He is meant to be cute. Ally is adorable and dorky character that reminds me of Zooey Deschanel's character Jess from FOX's New Girl. Very adorkable. Austin and Ally's chemistry is beyond amazing. They remind me of Brennan and Booth on Bones or Castle and Beckett on Castle as teenagers. Trish and Dez are the funny duo, reminding me of Scooby Doo characters. Dez would pull a pretty good Shaggy. I find it much more enjoyable show then was Hannah Montana or Wizards of Waverly Place. Those ones were just boring, comparing to Austin & Ally.