BLOGS
From the fashion to the lingo to the logo (and, let's face it, the title itself), this show is so hilariously stuck in the '80s that I actually had to look it up to make sure that it wasn't meant to be set thirty years prior. I would have still questioned it, had it not been for the use of smartphones -- well played, Jane By Design. I guess this just leaves one question as far as this inevitably short-lived series goes: Do the writers know less about being a high school student or about working in the fashion industry?
In all seriousness, nothing makes the vaguest amount of sense in Jane By Design, which is so painfully a rip-off of The Devil Wears Prada that I really want to call it The Devil Wears a Prada Backpack. Jane (Erica Dasher) is visually a poor teenager's Anne Hathaway who, after a wacky mix-up, assumes the role of the executive assistant of a high-brow fashion hot shot, Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell -- talk about the '80s, seriously), in order to rake in some much-needed cash. This leads to all kinds of drama and what is essentially the inverse of Drew Barrymore-starring Never Been Kissed, right down to the jobless brother (David Rogers) who was cool in high school and played on the baseball team. Jane gets by with the help of mohawk-donning bestie, Billy (Nick Roux), who is secretly hooking up with the most popular girl in school, Lulu (Meagan Tandy), natch. Jane also has to deal with India Jourdain (India De Beaufort), a sneaky villain who's gunning for Gray's job... but who Gray can't just fire for some unexplained reason. Oh, and yes, Gray does look a whole lot like Jane, who happens to have a long-lost mother. I'm sure that won't come into play by the time the show gets cancelled.
While I kind of loved the Jane By Design pilot in a so-bad-it's-amazing kind of way (let's face it, Hart of Dixie's days are numbered, and I need something ridiculously campy and teenybopper to watch at all times), thanks to actual good teen series like Pretty Little Liars and MTV's Awkward. and all-out batshit insane ones like Secret Life of the American Teenager, the ante has been upped for what young'ins and adults expect to see on ABC Family these days. You've got to go big or go home if you have a series in which the protagonist makes inexplicably horrible decisions like borrowing the boss' car and trying on all of her designer clothes (I mean, you call that a montage?!), so for there to be no consequences whatsoever for Jane's terrible choices may be the show's ultimate flaw (spoiler alert: it only gets worse in the second episode). As it is, viewers have no idea what is a really bad decision that will lead to jail time (like, you know, forging legal documents so that a teen can have a demanding job) and what's just a low-stakes wacky decision. But I'm pretty sure that if Andy was caught wearing Runway editor Miranda Priestly's lipstick and unveiling her hideous bug-brooch fall collection without her permission, she would have gotten her ass handed to her.
Think you've got game? Prove it! Check out Games Without Pity, our new area featuring trivia, puzzle, card, strategy, action and word games -- all free to play and guaranteed to help pass the time until your next show starts.
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Talk Without Pity, the social media site for real TV fans. See Tweets and Facebook comments in real time and add your own -- all without leaving TWoP. Join the conversation now!
MOST RECENT POSTS
Today's TWoP News: Wednesday, February 20, 2013
New Girl: Roomate Do's and Don'ts of the Week
Wednesday, February 20, 2013: American Idol
Today's TWoP News: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Saturday Night Live: The Best Sketches of the Night
TV on DVD: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013: Cult
I Want My DVD: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
BLOG ARCHIVES
The Telefile
February 2013
21 Entries
January 2013
62 Entries
December 2012
44 Entries
November 2012
59 Entries
October 2012
69 Entries
September 2012
66 Entries
August 2012
65 Entries
July 2012
51 Entries
June 2012
58 Entries
May 2012
68 Entries
April 2012
71 Entries
March 2012
68 Entries
February 2012
64 Entries
January 2012
78 Entries
December 2011
49 Entries
November 2011
56 Entries
October 2011
74 Entries
September 2011
77 Entries
August 2011
61 Entries
July 2011
56 Entries
June 2011
57 Entries
May 2011
57 Entries
April 2011
78 Entries
March 2011
73 Entries
February 2011
57 Entries
January 2011
65 Entries
December 2010
39 Entries
November 2010
45 Entries
October 2010
46 Entries
September 2010
62 Entries
August 2010
55 Entries
July 2010
53 Entries
June 2010
65 Entries
May 2010
59 Entries
April 2010
57 Entries
March 2010
67 Entries
February 2010
53 Entries
January 2010
59 Entries
December 2009
32 Entries
November 2009
47 Entries
October 2009
65 Entries
September 2009
66 Entries
August 2009
58 Entries
July 2009
72 Entries
June 2009
71 Entries
May 2009
50 Entries
April 2009
57 Entries
March 2009
66 Entries
February 2009
52 Entries
January 2009
56 Entries
December 2008
51 Entries
November 2008
71 Entries
October 2008
88 Entries
September 2008
86 Entries
August 2008
120 Entries
July 2008
115 Entries
June 2008
90 Entries
May 2008
44 Entries
April 2008
30 Entries
March 2008
26 Entries
February 2008
30 Entries
January 2008
44 Entries
December 2007
31 Entries
November 2007
66 Entries
Comments