06/17/00

Rating : 1 out of 5 stars.

  Usually, I don't give bad reviews. If I don't like something, I just don't write about it.  But, it all stated with and e-mail :

Hey Pete, I watched the premier of MYOB on NBC on June 6.  I am usually too busy to watch prime time TV, but I happened to catch this one.  I have a question for you. Is it possible that this is one of the worst shows to be "premiered" this season? Does NBC think that the American public demands a sitcom about a smart alec, self-absorbed, defiant 16 year old girl with a family identity problem? Just wondering.   Jeff

  I thought that this was a funny e-mail and I decided to watch the show.  I pretty much agree with Jeff's assessment of the show.
  I think the casting is good, providing attractive people, some with interesting personalities.  The thing that I hated was how mean-spirited so many of the characters were. The "popular" crowd was taken right out of every teen movie.  Although, the show is clearly self-aware about such things, that doesn't make it any more entertaining or excusable.

  I still wasn't going to write a review but then NBC started running ads saying how hilarious this show was/is.
  I can't say the show is completely devoid of redeeming qualities because I know people who would probably like the overly sarcastic tone of the characters.

  Katharine Towne plays Riley Veatch "the streetwise teenager whose search for her birth mother brings her to her Aunt Opal in a small Northern California town".  Yeah, that explains her extensive
"rich girl" wardrobe (yeah, I know this is TV).  Katharine plays the character well but seems bitchy with only small glimpses of any kindness.  I personally liked a lot of her character and think she'll eventually be a star, but probably not from this show. 
  Her Aunt Opal played by the improbably attractive Lauren Graham is the only nice character so far.  She's the principal who's in love with a complete a**hole (well, I guess that may be close to real life situation).

  Like I stated before, this show has some clever moments but I just hated some of the characters so much that it was hard to watch. I will try to catch at least one more episode and may adjust my rating but we'll see.