Television series: Make It or Break It. Produced by ABC Family. 2009-present. http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/make-it-break-it
A guilty-pleasure TV show on a book blog?
I’m reviewing this show because tweens and teens enjoy it. It’s less raunchy and pandering than a lot of shows for this age group, and while far from perfect, does a good job of reaching this demographic. It’s even a little addicting. . . J
What’s it about?
Make it or Break it follows a group of young gymnasts, all Olympic hopefuls, as they struggle with new competition, coaching changes, injury, illness, and relationship problems.
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Make it or Break it, which has been renewed for its third season, is about four teenage gymnasts, all Olympic hopefuls. In the pilot, we meet three girls, Kaylie, Lauren and Payson, who are the top three at their prestigious gym at the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Training Center (The Rock) in Colorado. When the series opens, they are preparing for the Nationals. The arrival of a raw talent, Emily Kmetcko, who shows up with no formal experience (she’d been training at the YMCA), threatens the girls, particularly Lauren, who fears that Emily will knock her out of the top three, jeopardizing her chance at her Olympic dream. In the next few episodes, there is a new shocker—the coach, Marty, has left. There is a juicy back-story behind his departure, but more importantly, the gym must now scramble to find a replacement—enter the controversial (but effective) coach Sasha Beloff.
Some of the characters in this series start out as caricatures, and a few remain that way. The show’s writers, however, do a good job of creating conflict that allows different sides of characters to show, which is necessary because some characters are too one-dimensional to be believable. Lauren, for instance, is vicious, manipulative, and perhaps a sociopath. In later episodes, however, it becomes clear that she was traumatized by her addict mother’s abandonment. This doesn’t excuse her actions, and she continues to do many morally bankrupt things. It’s good, however, to see a glimmer of insight into why the character acts the way she does. The rest of the characters are fairly archetypal as well. The character Emily Kmetcko is the classic rebellious underdog, with a frustrating knack for sabotaging herself. Kaylie is a spoiled-rotten rich princess whose perfect existence is shattered by a recent betrayal by her best friend and boyfriend, who were caught cheating, and her father, also caught cheating. Payson is the best gymnast at The Rock, and has a shot at Olympic gold. She is a stable girl, who is 100% dedicated to the sport, and a mentor to her other, less focused teammates.
This drama series is older tween and teen friendly, although some of the subjects are a little iffy for younger tweens (for a show that brands itself as a “family” show, it does seem unnecessary to have promiscuity and unfaithfulness so prominently featured). To be fair, the sex is alluded to and never shown. There is also an episode where the girls go to a “kegger,” which may, unfortunately, be realistic, but doesn’t seem like a great idea for a “family” show. This show is tamer than other shows geared toward teens, and I don't think it glamorizes the bad decisions the girls make.
I don’t see many (if any) boys tuning into this show unless forced by their sister, girlfriend or mother. At times it is so overwrought, it is more soap opera than straight drama. Most of the acting is pretty poor, although it’s hard to tell if the poor dialog is to blame. Some of the adult characters are decent, and the performances of Alya Kell who plays Payson, the most relatable character, Lauren’s oft moral- challenged father, and Steve Tanner, played by Anthony Starke are very believable. Sometimes this show is so bad it’s good, making viewers laugh when they aren’t supposed to. Despite this, the show does a great job of creating cliff-hangers and getting the audience interested (if not exactly invested) in what will happen next. This show is the definition of a “guilty pleasure” show, and probably a large portion of the audience tunes in because of their interest in gymnastics, either as a fan or an athlete. The show does a decent job of shooting the gymnastics skills and throwing in the sport’s terminology, but the show focuses on the athletes more than the sport.
Genre: Drama
Interest level: Grades 6-12
Subjects: Gymnastics, Friendship, Athletes, Coaches, Family, Betrayal
Awards:
Nominated several times at the Teen Choice Awards
Similar shows/movies:
Stick it (2006)
Degrassi Junior High
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