TMC
08-17-2014, 02:04 AM
I think a few of these problems (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/233506442?p=1) come from a smaller cast. In the original (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/233212342?p=1) they had parents and a mentor (Feeny) and in this version parent/mentor is one role (Cory). There is also no bigger brother (Eric), which lent itself to a a number of great storylines.
1) Make the set/wardrobes more realistic One thing I really enjoyed about BMW was that Cory's house, the school, their hangout spots (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/233495556?p=1) looked like actual places and not just flash, pretty-fied Disney sets. Similarly, I liked that the characters dressed in a way that didn't seem like their clothes had been picked out by a professional designer. I liked watching characters who actually looked like normal people you could pass everyday on the street. I understand that this doesn't really fit in with the whole Disney Channel aesthetic, but you would think they could make one exception.
2) Stop making this the "Maya Show" Sabrina Carpenter is talented-probably one of the most talented members of the cast. But that doesn't mean every episode has to be about her. Seriously, five out of the first seven episodes have featured some kind of plot that's supposed to make us feel bad for her. Maya, who started out as a promising character, is starting to become something of a buzzkill and now I find myself dreading any kind of situation that could somehow (even vaguely) relate back to Maya's home life.
3) Have the adults act like actual adults (at least sometimes) - Okay, I get it, Cory was always a bit of a goofball growing up, so some of those zany antics are bound to carry over into his adult life. That's fine. But what has Michael Jacobs done with our beloved Cory and Topanga? He took two interesting, nuanced characters and turned them into these weird versions of themselves with only two speeds: embarrassingly goofy or sentimental cheeseballs who need to constantly remind Maya that they are there for her in lieu of her own parents. Give them some personality, their own lives. Even Amy and Alan had plots featured solely on their relationship, at times.
4) Give Cory control of his classroom back - It's during the classroom scenes that I realize how painfully short he falls in comparison to his mentor. I know that Cory is young and inexperienced and it's unfair to compare him to Mr. Feeny, but it would be nice if it seemed Cory actually had any respect in his own classroom. Lessons regularly come to a halt as Maya and Riley loudly discuss their personal problems or Cory takes the time to have a personal conversation with his daughter. It always takes me out of the moment, because I can't help but think to myself during these scenes, "Damn I would have loved to be in Cory's class, I'd never have to do any work."
5) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/235011820?p=1) Write better flowing dialogue - I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but I feel like there are a lot of scenes where the dialogue seems quite random and cuts abruptly to another topic. One example was the table scene in last night's episode, which I just found really out of left field. I totally didn't understand the whole, "hips don't lie," joke and I thought that the writers missed a great opportunity for a touching exchange between Riley and her parents. Another example is all the conversations about Cory "handing the world" to his daughter. Most of the conversations in that episode didn't really flow well, in my opinion.
6) Let Riley develop as a character - This mostly has to do with Lucas who I know a lot of people don't like but I actually don't have a huge problem with. I guess my main issue is that, so far, we've mostly seen Riley's personality develop in the context of her relationships either with Lucas and Maya. It would be nice if we could see some plots that center just on Riley's problems. We had a little of this in the geek party episode, but I'd like to see more of this.
7) Stop rehashing plots from the original series - I understand that a lot of this series' charm has to do with nostalgia, but I think GMW has been relying way too heavily on it. So far, the formula seems to have been, take elements and plots of the original series and then change the outcome to reflect the differences between the Riley and Cory/the time period the show is taking place. It was a cute throwback in the pilot with the homework rebellion, but it's quickly starting to get stale.
8) Give Auggie less screen time - Okay, this is purely my preference, and I know a lot of people love Auggie, but I just don't find the scenes featuring him to be particularly interesting. I've never been a huge fan of the token "cute younger sibling" so obviously that has a lot to do with it. I'd be okay if he had two or three lines an episode, like Morgan in the original series, but I definitely do not want to see another episode featuring a whole plot about his playdate.
1) Make the set/wardrobes more realistic One thing I really enjoyed about BMW was that Cory's house, the school, their hangout spots (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/233495556?p=1) looked like actual places and not just flash, pretty-fied Disney sets. Similarly, I liked that the characters dressed in a way that didn't seem like their clothes had been picked out by a professional designer. I liked watching characters who actually looked like normal people you could pass everyday on the street. I understand that this doesn't really fit in with the whole Disney Channel aesthetic, but you would think they could make one exception.
2) Stop making this the "Maya Show" Sabrina Carpenter is talented-probably one of the most talented members of the cast. But that doesn't mean every episode has to be about her. Seriously, five out of the first seven episodes have featured some kind of plot that's supposed to make us feel bad for her. Maya, who started out as a promising character, is starting to become something of a buzzkill and now I find myself dreading any kind of situation that could somehow (even vaguely) relate back to Maya's home life.
3) Have the adults act like actual adults (at least sometimes) - Okay, I get it, Cory was always a bit of a goofball growing up, so some of those zany antics are bound to carry over into his adult life. That's fine. But what has Michael Jacobs done with our beloved Cory and Topanga? He took two interesting, nuanced characters and turned them into these weird versions of themselves with only two speeds: embarrassingly goofy or sentimental cheeseballs who need to constantly remind Maya that they are there for her in lieu of her own parents. Give them some personality, their own lives. Even Amy and Alan had plots featured solely on their relationship, at times.
4) Give Cory control of his classroom back - It's during the classroom scenes that I realize how painfully short he falls in comparison to his mentor. I know that Cory is young and inexperienced and it's unfair to compare him to Mr. Feeny, but it would be nice if it seemed Cory actually had any respect in his own classroom. Lessons regularly come to a halt as Maya and Riley loudly discuss their personal problems or Cory takes the time to have a personal conversation with his daughter. It always takes me out of the moment, because I can't help but think to myself during these scenes, "Damn I would have loved to be in Cory's class, I'd never have to do any work."
5) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543796/board/flat/235011820?p=1) Write better flowing dialogue - I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but I feel like there are a lot of scenes where the dialogue seems quite random and cuts abruptly to another topic. One example was the table scene in last night's episode, which I just found really out of left field. I totally didn't understand the whole, "hips don't lie," joke and I thought that the writers missed a great opportunity for a touching exchange between Riley and her parents. Another example is all the conversations about Cory "handing the world" to his daughter. Most of the conversations in that episode didn't really flow well, in my opinion.
6) Let Riley develop as a character - This mostly has to do with Lucas who I know a lot of people don't like but I actually don't have a huge problem with. I guess my main issue is that, so far, we've mostly seen Riley's personality develop in the context of her relationships either with Lucas and Maya. It would be nice if we could see some plots that center just on Riley's problems. We had a little of this in the geek party episode, but I'd like to see more of this.
7) Stop rehashing plots from the original series - I understand that a lot of this series' charm has to do with nostalgia, but I think GMW has been relying way too heavily on it. So far, the formula seems to have been, take elements and plots of the original series and then change the outcome to reflect the differences between the Riley and Cory/the time period the show is taking place. It was a cute throwback in the pilot with the homework rebellion, but it's quickly starting to get stale.
8) Give Auggie less screen time - Okay, this is purely my preference, and I know a lot of people love Auggie, but I just don't find the scenes featuring him to be particularly interesting. I've never been a huge fan of the token "cute younger sibling" so obviously that has a lot to do with it. I'd be okay if he had two or three lines an episode, like Morgan in the original series, but I definitely do not want to see another episode featuring a whole plot about his playdate.