Life Unexpected, "Home Inspected": You can pick your friends, but…

A quick review of “Life Unexpected” episode two coming up just as soon as I turn a bong into a lamp… There are some very good things in “Home Unexpected,” particularly the continuing performances by the three leads, and the expansion of Lux’s world (along with an explanation of what she was planning to do if/when she got emancipated). But there are also some very frustrating things, too, as the show falls victim to the “Repeat the pilot a half dozen times” pattern that so many new series feel compelled to follow. In the pilot, and this episode, and next week’s, and (based on some comments Liz Tigelaar made at press tour), we’re going to get a lot of stories in which things seem to be going hunky-dory between Lux, Cate and Baze, then Lux has some reason to back away, then realizes in the end that they care about her (and vice versa) and everyone tries to make a fresh start. And I get why networks push for that approach - not everyone sees the pilot of a new show, particularly on a less-viewed network like the CW, and one without big stars, and so you want to give any potential newbies something to grab onto - as well as why Tigelaar might think it makes sense for the characters. (Not that this is a very realistic show, but on whatever level of realism we think it takes place on, it would

be weird if there weren’t some early bumps in the road for the trio.) But for those of us watching every episode, it can get a little wearying. Also, the story about Cate’s radio job bugged me. Yes, they established in the pilot that she and Ryan have to keep their relationship a secret for the sake of the show, and so it might follow that she has to do the same with her kid. But there comes a point where all the secret-keeping can be more detrimental to the show’s success - sooner or later, won’t they be spotted around town as the minor local celebrities the show wants us to view them as? - and Cate’s on-air confession at the end seems particularly damaging. First she says on-air (in the pilot) that she has a kid, then doubles back and lies about it early in this one, then goes back to the truth again at the end. If the whole point of these shows is that listeners begin to feel like they know the hosts and have a kind of one-sided friendship with them, how are they going to react when it starts to become obvious how fake the host’s on-air personalities really are? What did everybody else think? Here is the original post:  Life Unexpected, "Home Inspected": You can pick your friends, but…

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Life Unexpected, "Home Inspected": You can pick your friends, but…