Pretty Little Liars

[ijustworkhere]

I just found out some kid I knew from high school is on this show. Gonna have to watch now. Although I also went to school with the lead actress on Greek, and no amount of childhood memories could make me like that crapfest.

[twopfan]

I liked the pilot quite a bit.

Pros: Stayed true to the books, which have a good plot. Some of the casting is spot-on. Hannah, Aria and Ali are all like the characters in the books. That Lucy Hale girl is incredibly pretty. Plus, Chad Lowe! I've had a crush on him since Life Goes On. And Holly Marie Combs does not look old enough to have a teen.

Cons: Moved pretty fast, if you haven't read the books it might be hard to follow. Also, did almost everyone have to be a brunette? I kept getting Spencer and Emily mixed up and I read the books.

[ijustworkhere]

Yikes, watched this last night and won't be back. Terrible script, terrible acting, terrible story--sort of like Gossip Girl mixed with I Know What You Did Last Summer, except without any charm, likeable characters, or even mildly acceptable acting. Sorry, childhood friend, not even your grown-up cuteness and hot teacher character could make me stick with this show.

[twopfan]

I think it's better if you read the books first. The characters (some of them, at least) are much deeper and have more nuance than is shown here. I'm thinking of the characters as I know them from the books, not what the show is showing. Really, without the mystery you just have some bitchy rich girls and we've all seen that before. To be honest, though, the books aren't that great, they are YA beach reads. (However, the Danielle Steel book I read after them made them look Shakespearean in comparison.)

Cool, your friend is the teacher? I wish I knew famous people.

[mrsbowling2]

I only made it through half of the first book and was bored. But I do think I knew WAY more about what the hell was happening in the pilot than I would have without the few chapters I did read. I mean, the whole thing with the Spencer character made zero sense unless you'd read the book--the whole guest house thing was out of the blue, as was the boyfriend situation.

[Deleted]

I'm glad we know nothing about the books because we're enjoying the mystery.

I'm always amused with the ads ABC Family runs for shows like PLL with the tagline "a new kind of family." No kidding! None of these girls are role models for kids watching. We were quickly exposed to weed smoking, risky sex, and shoplifting - and that's just the kids! The adults are even worse. I actually had to explain to my daughter how the shoplifting problem was "taken care of" by the mom because she agreed to have sex with the detective handling the case. Yuck! Secret Life has nothing on this bunch of characters.

[mrsbowling2]

I don't know the mystery situation at all--I didn't get as far as the body finding in the first book. So I got the "Babysitters Club" rundown on their characters but did avoid any big reveals. I'd much rather watch 40 minutes a week for my cheesy teen book fix then read entire novels. That leaves me more time to read actual books.

[chiquita]

I'm enjoying the show. I'm glad that, in last night's episode, the cop commented that Hanna made herself over to look like Ali because everytime they flash-back, it takes me a second to figure out which of them is which.

I think they're doing a pretty good job at the pacing, and it makes me happy every time Chad Lowe, Holly Marie Combs, and Laura Leighton are on my tv screen.

[twopfan]

I love Chad Lowe! I told the husband that he's on my five freebies list.

I think the show is still pretty interesting, but I think the whole A thing isn't appearing as menacing on the show as it is in the books.

[glitterbug]

People, I've been binge-watching this all week - there are so many episodes in each season!!! I'm only on S3!
I have no opinion on the acting/storylines/characterisation (I'm sure I'm not their target audience at 38) but it has made me want to buy a ton of new jewellery and also try harder with my hair and make-up. So there's that. I love it, in a weird, brainless way.