I saw nearly all of them; That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Cory in the house, Phil of the future and many others. Yes, its very odd that a 25 year old guy is watching Disney shows aimed towards pop culture fueled children, but I can be weird like that
.As I was watching I realized something; these shows are overly silly, EXTREMELY fluffy in substance and more than likely to be forgotten in 20 years. Yet...I find myself enjoying them. Hooked even!
I consider myself a guy that is very critical of everything that he sees so you would think these shows would activate the Jay Sherman in me and proclaim "IT STINKS!". But while the senses tingle on occasion I just sit back and enjoy.
Thinking about it further I think the reason as to why I enjoy these shows is because they are far better products that anything that is featured on Teen Nick.
What annoys me so much about the Teen Nick shows is that they are extremely shallow, superficial and its characters are sending the wrong message. For example, I DESPISE "Drake and Josh" because of the characters. Drake is an arrogant, selfish, pretty a-hole that treats girls as if they were a pair of underwear and gets away with such behavior. His brother, Josh, is a great exception, but the writers mistreat him in favor of fueling the fangirl's dreams of Drake. And don't get me started on Megan, their younger sister! She is a B*TCH! She emotionally manipulates her parents and her siblings and truly gets away with some acts that I know would've gotten me punished as a kid. What are they saying? That the cool kids are really bad people but that's OK because they are still loved anyway?
"Zoey 101" I can't even look at it because I see its main start (Jamie Lynn Spears) and see Britney Spears Part 2. The stories seem to focus on rather beautiful and trendy girls trying to find love amongst similarly beautiful and trendy young men. Even the "dorky" character is decked out in the latest fashions! Not to mention the girls are very self aware of their looks and how it affects their chances of getting lai...I mean finding love.
"Unfabulous" follows a more outcast character but she too falls for the "pretty is everything" stigma.
The only show that I kind of approve on Teen Nick is "Ned's declassified school survival guide". The show is extremely cheesy, goofy and too stupid. Yet its character are closer to realistic and the show actually offers some good stories and advice on school life!
But outside that exception the Teen Nick shows would fuel my anger towards the media and its profit fueled message towards our generation.
So when I started seeing the Disney Channel original series I was expecting the exact, same thing. I mean, Hannah Montana is pretty popular right now, right? And most of the shots they show of her have her in heavy makeup, a blond wig and churning out bubblegum pop like there is no tomorrow. Even if this is still present in the series imagine my surprise when the shows are more than what they appear.
Yes, what I am about to say might defy all sense and logic. The Disney Channel shows are WAY better than the Teen Nick affair.
The shows are very wacky, with extremely stereotyped and tired character archetypes adorning every unimaginable storyline. Yet not only are the shows fun to watch on a boring afternoon they provide something the Teen Nick shows fail to do; a far more positive and realistic portrayal of life.
What I am saying is that unlike "Drake and Josh" the characters are well aware of their wrong doings and are punished for it, making them grow and realize the errors of their ways. For example, in "Suite Life" the twins are constantly creating mayhem at the hotel they live in. Yet they never get away with ill behavior, even if at times its short lived. But still, I applaud the fact that the writers of these shows punish the characters. As a kid I would learn from shows that unacceptable behavior would lessen your person and that the punishment was always sour.
One other thing I like is that the "cool" characters aren't always the center of attention and at times are mocked and ridiculed. For example, London Tipton in "Suite Life" is a very beautiful young girl. But she is dumb, spoiled and frowned upon. She still gets her way, yes, but the negative impression she leaves on people is at times far stronger that the fact that she is the ideal role model.
One other thing about "Drake and Josh" is that Drake is very selfish and the writers barely do anything to make him realize the errors of his ways. Cory Baxter (from "That's so Raven" and "Cory in the house") has similar attitudes, especially when it comes to money. But in expected Disney fashion this chubby character learns that life doesn't revolve around money. My favorite example is the "That's so Raven" in which he is so impressed by the money gifts he sees at a bar mitzvah that he throws his own in hopes of getting a lot of money. At the very end he learns that this type of ideas is something that you would expect in a kid, not a man. Even if Cory doesn't carry this belief often at least the writers showed the character realizing what was going on and doing something about it. Its far MORE than anything the Teen Nick shows have done in the last few years.
Don't get me wrong, though. I still believe there are far better stuff out there for kids to watch and enjoy, like books, really good movies and educational shows. In fact, if I had a child that loved Hannah Montana I wouldn't prohibit it, but I would balance it with something that has far more substance. But still Disney provides the lesser of two evils and frankly I don't mind that the kids enjoy these shows.
These characters may be overly goofy and confront "Full House" style moments and some stories are too far fetched to be believed (like the Ultimate Disney reviews have pointed out, there's NO WAY that Miley Stuart would get away with being a normal girl and Hannah Montana), but at least they provide a much better lesson. Its just wrapped in a very light and breezy cloak.
