One of the curious things about my daughter is that she enjoys watching shows that are way above her age range. She enjoys the theme songs, catch phrases and imitating the actors of shows despite the fact she is still learning to speak English. I have to say….it’s awesome.
Especially because some of these shows clearly have a writing staff that is either of my age group, or just happen to have my Wife and I’s sense of humor. For example, in “Barbie: Life in The Dreamhouse” there are multiple references to the Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” and more. I’ll leave that for another post, but yeah, it’s real.
It’s all to real as well in a show she turned on at random one day called “Liv and Maddie”. The adventures of teenage twin sisters, one a jock, the other a Hollywood actress, now reunited back in their hometown of Steven’s Point, Winsconsin. Played by the same actress (Dove Cameron), the sisters deal with everyday teen life as best they can with their different personalities and quirks as well as dealing with their sometimes abnormal family: two brothers and a Mom and Dad.
Without giving anything away, I’ll tell you this: Dove Cameron is amazing. Her ability to split into two very different girls albeit with some of the same underlying traits of a “small town girl” is expertly done. Although it may also be due to the writing crew, which I’m now a huge fan of, she is an absolute star and despite it being a tween show, shows depth. So too does her mother (Kali Rocha) who can show exactly how weird an average Midwestern mom can get.
Above all else, I will say this: This show is a lot of fun for the whole family.
Also: This is one of the best (BEST) representations of a realistic American family in a sitcom style show. Sure some of the situations may be ridiculous (like the youngest brothers’ endless tunnels throughout the house, and Maddie’s boyfriend Diggie living in a place called “Tundrabania”) but there is in each character the feeling that they were based on real people. Using a real person to model a character on can lead to very good connections with the audience, and this production team, actors and all, have nailed it. A must watch.
-Ben
@BKMullen_
@PBDadcast
#NetflixDiaries
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