Fashion Forward and the CW's Answer to Glee

To tell you I actually tuned in to the premiere of America’s Next Top Model: Cycle 15 would be a lie. Instead I watched as the last of my Big Brother favourites was evicted from the house, preparing me for yet another finale disappointment. Oh well. Luckily any such pain was numbed by the bottle of Jackson Triggs I had delved into in preparation for the WORLD PREMIERE of Hellcats!
Now, this may be the cabernet talking but it was actually better then I expected. There were a couple of promising storylines hidden beneath the cheesy dialogue, Gail O’Grady’s attempt at a Memphis accent and the fact that Lancer University has some seriously questionable co-ed bathing standards. As a whole the series was reminiscent of the early days of One Tree Hill, Peyton look-a-like and all. The cheerleading sequences were good, but not spectacular. Certainly not up to par with anything Rachel Berry could belt out. The beginnings of a tangled love triangle between Vanessa, Red Raymond and President Wayne Palmer are obviously foreshadowed for those of us with a more mature taste. However the twentysomething cast were nothing to brag about especially our uninteresting heroine, Marti Perkins who failed to sizzle as the hot pre-law student turned cheerleader in order to get a scholarship and stay in school in an attempt to beat fate and escape a life plagued with dead fathers and an alcoholic mother who works on campus. Ashley Tisdale’s Savannah was the only character to show any promise with her quick wittiness and questionable motives, she proved to be a clear frontrunner to be the next Summer Roberts or Blair Waldorf.
Yes, at times the show seemed a little too Glee familiar, especially with the “if you don’t place at regional’s, your program is cancelled” speech delivered by Canadian import Aaron Douglas (Yay Canada!) but there are a couple of area‘s the producers deserve a job well done. I am so glad they set the show in college and not some strange seven year high school where teens are played by 27-year-old actors who never age. That will allow for some interesting, more mature storylines that the writers will hopefully not shy away from. The CW has put some serious cash into marketing this show and scheduling it after America’s Next Top Model is a sure sign the network has high hopes for Hellcats. As for me, I’m gonna go finish this bottle of wine and watch Bring It On.