MovieChat Forums > Hellcats (2010) Discussion > Cliche killed the show

Cliche killed the show

posted 13 years ago by jeccamay-1
8 replies | jump to latest

Whether you blame it on the writing, the singing, the lack of actually cheerleading or even the acting for me the cliche's killed the show. I know you have to take shows with a pinch of salt cause it wouldnt be entertaining to watch a show thats real to life cause rarely does someone have that much excited drama to fill an entire season of a show BUT it still has to be some what realistic..

Cliche of the top of my head that made me cringe (suprisingly alot about Marti):
1: the girl that needs a scholarship just happens to be a gymnist (okay could happen.. getting into the cheerleading squad when you desperately needed that scholarship? little less likely)
2: Marti who has only had her mom that shes had to look after finds out her dads still alive and BAM new sister that shes already met (that happens to be the leads real life sister!)
3: Not only does this prelaw student cheerlead but she also does the job of private investigator and cracks a case that happens to lead to the boyfriend of another cheerleader then after that her professor stops being her professor and they get it on.. very convinient.
4: the only young character not at lancer and BAM AGAIN dan's applying to the university and heck it looks like he got in (and rumor has it he was going to become a cheerleader? deary me)

I could go on but its like they filled a season with a normal shows 5 seasons worth of storyline drama.

What you guys think killed the show?

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] plazbo 13 years ago

I dunno if the cliches hurt so much as the show taking itself seriously did. The whole promoting of the show started with "Inspired by Cheer!/Bring It On" and in the first episode you could kind of see that....then it all went to drama land and taking itself seriously in the span on an episode, not the sort of thing that's likely to generate good word of mouth buzz, it's more "wtf?"

In the general area of cliches though, given how they had the lewis character shirtless almost every other scene I'm surprised they didn't do the same with the Dan character since that actor is super buff too.

[–] ducdebrabant 13 years ago

I don't agree. I think there was plenty of gravity in the initial setup: working class girl who wants passionately to be a lawyer struggles to put herself through school and deal with an immature, loose-cannon, hard-drinking mother. That hard kernel of reality should have been respected and seen to, no matter how many cheerleading routines we watched. It wasn't.

The Republican Plan: repeal all reform; collect payoffs; go yachting (but not in the Gulf).

[–] canavanibus 13 years ago

I think you're mistaking coincidence for cliche. Regardless you're right to point out the weak writing, its far from spectacular.

[–] starbright22891 13 years ago

please learn to spell before you comment on a professional writer's writing. thank you

[–] plazbo 13 years ago

since when is poor spelling comparable to a lack of genuine creativity? Apples and oranges there.

[–] edchupak 13 years ago

What killed the show is simply that the window of opportunity for this type of show has more or less closed. If you're going to do any of these teen comedy/dramas or straight dramas anymore, you better have an AMAZING cast, and a hook that hasn't been seen already. And even then, it's an uphill battle. One Tree Hill is barely even able to hang on anymore, and the only reason OTH keeps getting picked up is the producers/writers are buying more and more time until they can get Chad Michael Murray to come back. If the OTH we've seen for 2 seasons now was like this back then, it would have never made it past 22 episodes either.

There is nothing on Hellcats or Life Unexpected, etc., that hasn't already been done on Dawson's Creek, The O.C., and OTH. And what those shows had that the rest don't is unbelievably strong LEAD actors. Robbie Jones and Aly Michalka are good actors, but they aren't strong leads; and the rest of the cast is forgettable.

I feel bad for those who really like the show (I don't) because it just sucks to have it taken away. But it's certainly no surprise that it's gone.

[–] imdbuser1111 9 years ago

I completely agree! Most of the storylines were ridiculously predictable and full of cliches, especially the Dan/Marti/Savannah love triangle. One Tree Hill did the exact same thing and even the characters look the same - Short brunette (Savannah/Brooke) dates tall blonde guy (Dan/Lucas) and her curly haired blonde friend (Marti/Peyton) has feelings for him and the guy cheats on his brunette girlfriend with her blonde friend. Apparently in season 2 they were planning on going back to that love triangle. I think if the show lasted longer and had a proper series finale Dan and Marti would have ended up together just like Lucas and Peyton in One Tree Hill (although I think Dan/Savannah made a better couple but I hated Brooke and Lucas).
Other predictable storyline were AJ Michalka's character turning out to be Marti's half sister and Marti sleeping with her law professor. These have been done way too many times. The only storyline I found interesting was Savannah's religious family and her sister getting pregnant and her dad getting arrested and abandoning the family at the end of the season.
I also think Marti and her sister singing was really unnecessary. Just because they can sing in real life it doesn't mean they have to sing in the show they're in. It makes me wonder if the writers made Marti sing just because the Aly Michalka can sing or if they would have made Marti sing regardless of who played her and whether or not she can sing