User login
we're doing something different
an insult to gymnasts!
Posted Mon, 07/27/2009 - 18:38 — desrtrseThis show is the worst I have seen yet! Gymnasts do not have the bodies that you expect us to look at in this gym. They don't know how to walk like a gymnast or even do the post. You expect us to believe that they are athletes with saddle bags, out of proportioned bodies and the big boobs! The posture of emily is that of the worst waif model all hunched over and bowlegged. This show is so bad in so many ways and is so not worth watching. You took off a great show Kyle XY with a beautiful and interesting cast to replace it with this piece of garbage? Really really bad abc family, really bad, the person who came up with this needs to be fired asap. This show is an insult to athletes everywhere and and embarrassment to you company. 
That's just your oppion but a lot of people love this show.
♥Rachel♥
Adrian and Ricky Together Forever!!!
ive said it before and ll say it again GET A LIFE
LIVE<3LAUGH<3LOVE<3
Dancers are real and true athletes all others just play games
i'd just like to say something- people, its a tv show. its not real life gymnastics, for god sake. they're actresses, not gymnast. what do you want the creators of the show to do? go out and get nastia l. & teach her how to act? & from personal experience, girls in the gym can & will get nasty. keep in mind, we're all reaching for the same goal, & only one out of a million will make it on top of the rest. also, all gymnast bodies are different, they're girl with breast in my gym, & girls without. they're fat girls, & skinny girls. & theres certainly a few bulimic girls. its really anoyying when people come on & complain about a show, if you dont like it. dont watch it. this is a great show, & if you can manage to look past the inaccuries of the show, & sure we can all agree that is a very good show & it does portray, somewhat a gymnast's struggles with being a regular girl & and being a elite gymnast.
so i wake up at 2 am on a sunday night & have to go to the bathroom, my mom comes in baning on the door saying "FUCKING KAYLIE GO TO BED." ' mom, im going pee" "GO TO BED!" ook mom, next time i'll just peed the bed.
i'd just like to say something- people, its a tv show. its not real life gymnastics, for god sake. they're actresses, not gymnast. what do you want the creators of the show to do? go out and get nastia l. & teach her how to act? & from personal experience, girls in the gym can & will get nasty. keep in mind, we're all reaching for the same goal, & only one out of a million will make it on top of the rest. also, all gymnast bodies are different, they're girl with breast in my gym, & girls without. they're fat girls, & skinny girls. & theres certainly a few bulimic girls. its really anoyying when people come on & complain about a show, if you dont like it. dont watch it. this is a great show, & if you can manage to look past the inaccuries of the show, & sure we can all agree that is a very good show & it does portray, somewhat a gymnast's struggles with being a regular girl & and being a elite gymnast.
so i wake up at 2 am on a sunday night & have to go to the bathroom, my mom comes in baning on the door saying "FUCKING KAYLIE GO TO BED." ' mom, im going pee" "GO TO BED!" ook mom, next time i'll just peed the bed.
i agree allorazile. for reals it a tv show. assuming your a gymnast here and i understand where your coming from cause i'm a cheerleader & the way people say cheerleaders are is way off. but you have to remember its a TV SHOW!! IT IS NOT REAL
kelso <333
JEd ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
MIOBI ♥♥♥♥♥
10 THINGS ♥♥♥♥
thank you and i do see where they are coming from im an athlete too and they way we are on shows is not real but they really do need to get a life lol
LIVE<3LAUGH<3LOVE<3
Dancers are real and true athletes all others just play games
OMG who ever posted this needs to get a life i mean its a show its not to be real or else it would be a reality show BUT GEUSS WHAT ITS NOT...GET A LIFE
LIVE<3LAUGH<3LOVE<3
Dancers are real and true athletes all others just play games
like many said, its not all about gymnastics its about the drama! So, if u like this show, but the unrealistic gymnastic aspect bothers you, try not to focus on the gymnastics vocabulary, tricks, and whatever. Think about it like a high school. Most shows take place at a school of some sort but the show revolves around the characters and their isues. I can think of many times when i've watched those shows and movies and thought to myself how inaccuretly they portrayed the high school life. So, think of the gym as a school, they r all differnt, and frankly its not the point of the show : )
~ AnYtHiNg Is PoSsIbLe just BELIEVE
The problem is not with the gymnastics vocabulary, or the tricks. Actually, the vocabulary and the names of the skills are one of the things that they do get right.
Elite gymnastics is nothing whatsoever at all like a high school. I think you've hit upon one of the main inaccuracies. "Think of it like a high school." No, no, no. These are world-class professionals with high-stakes careers on the line, and their world are very far removed from the lives of your typical high school kid. I think that one of the problems all season long with the show is that it's been like "Lookit! They're just like normal teens too!" No, no they aren't. But because the lives of elite gymnasts are so far removed from a typical teenager's experience, I can understand why a typical teenager would not be able to relate to a more accurate portrayal of elite gymnastics. This is fictionalized show meant to appeal to your average teenage girl, but please please please don't believe that you're getting any sort of insight into the world of high-level gymnastics.
In my opinion, the "gymnasts" that are offended by this show are probably the ones who aren't very good anyway. The good ones are too focused on training to care about some tv show! I used to be a gymnast and the only time I was allowed to watch tv was maybe on Sundays. I like the show and look forward to season 2!!!
make it or break it isn't even really about the gymnastics but more about the girls' lives'. its a drama. so who cares if it's not accurate gymnastics? its a tv show for heaven's sake.
I don't see why people continually keep replying to this thread and dredging it up again.
If you all hate threads like this so much, why don't you just let it die?
That's far to sensible
Why, again, are you complaining? Oh yeah, because something is unrealistic and somehow offensive to you. It's television. Even most reality shows are somewhat scripted and unrealistic. I assume, because you're so angry about it, that you yourself are a gymnast. If that's the case, and this is so unrealistic to a standard that you would know, how do you have the time or even the want to watch the show then later get online and complain about it?
I don’t c what u want the creators of this show 2 do? Go find Olympic winning gymnasts & teach them 2 act? These girls are actresses, and u need 2 understand that. They don’t know how 2 do the tricks the Olympic gymnasts can, and they don’t want 2 know how 2 do them. If they wanted 2 b gymnasts, they would have chosen those paths years ago. If u really think about it, the show is not really all about gymnastics. The pieces of the show that r about gymnastics r great. The other parts r about the girls lives, and has nothing 2 do with gymnastics. I don’t know what kinds of gyms u go 2, but at my gym, we have lives out side of the gym. We love 2 hate each other. We have secret boyfriends, and we go 2 kick [filtered word] parties. Maybe instead of complaining about this show that u can just change the channel on, u should b practicing gymnastics so u can b as good as the Olympic gymnast. I love this show, if u don’t, just don’t watch it, duhhhhhh!
you call kaylie, laurens & emilys boob big? LOL. they're like a cups, & they are REALLY Skinny; like most gymnast. keep in mind these girls are actresses, not gymnasts. yes, some parts of the show are unrealistic. but this is a show; it wont measure up to the 'exact measurement' or to your expection. i think its a great show either way!& i hope it comes back for another great season (:
so i wake up at 2 am on a sunday night & have to go to the bathroom, my mom comes in baning on the door saying "FUCKING KAYLIE GO TO BED." ' mom, im going pee" "GO TO BED!" ook mom, next time i'll just peed the bed.
True! And look at Alicia Sacramone and Kayla Williams! I don't see how anyone can say "They have boobs! Inaccurate!" when so many real gymnasts have even bigger boobs than the girls in the show. I think Cassie Scerbo has the most convincing body of the four of them, and she also has the biggest boobs.
I agree.
I think one of the big reasons why gymnasts keep complaining about this show is because they're not used to having shows about their sport. I am a musician. Do you have any clue how annoyed I get at the shows that poorly represent music? Believe me, there is a lot more out there that do that than shows that poorly represent gymnastics. Differences is I don't go onto their message boards and whine about it. If you have a problem with it, how about actually sending a letter to the produces as opposed to looking on the boards where lets face it, the only abc execs that read it are a few moderators. Get over it because when you look passed the inaccuricies it's not a bad show.
Secret Life shows inaccurate portrayals of music, but do I complain? No.
People don't come to these boards to see whining. They come here to discuss shows that they enjoy. How about forming a Make It or Break It hate site instead? Then you could whine all you want, and I'm sure you could even send a link to an ABC Family exec. That would probably get you more attention then whining on here would anyways.
No, we're not un-used to it. Shows about gymnastics do crop up from time to time. There was a TV series similar to "Make It Or Break It" called "Push" and there was a movie called "Stick It." There have also been many TV movies about poor anorexic gymnasts, such as "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes" and "Perfect Body." There was also a film in the eighties called Gymkata, plus, we get the Olympics every four years. There really aren't a lot of TV shows about any sports at all, if you've noticed. Can you think of many TV series that have been about any sport? As sports go, gymnastics is actually one of the more popular ones in film and TV. So, we are more used to it than a lot of athletes in other sports. My boyfriend is a fencer -- I imagine he's less used to seeing his sport on TV than I am.
I imagine, the only people who are really "used to" seeing their thing on TV would be doctors, lawyers, and cops.
True, when you look past the inaccuracies, it's not a bad show. But remember, you and I are coming from two very different places in life. It's much easier for you to overlook the inaccuracies than it is for someone who's spent her life in gymnastics. There are many, many, many large inaccuracies that you wouldn't even be aware of, because you don't have enough knowledge of the sport to know that they are inaccuracies. (I'm sure that's true of a LOT of shows) It's hard to explain things to people who've never really set foot in a gym, because they're coming from such a different perspective. I've tried explaining my reasons for whining again and again, and those of you who have never been gymnasts just don't get it, at all. I've come to the conclusion that it's just not possible for you to understand why gymnasts whine about the show if you haven't been a gymnast yourself. I've seen a lot of non-gymnasts post their theories on why we whine, but all of those theories have been wrong, and have only demonstrated the lack of understanding.
So, don't worry about why people whine. I don't even know why people care so much to theorize on why people whine and to write long posts telling us to stop whining. Here's a simple solution: Don't read whining posts! Where is it written in the forum rules that people aren't allowed to express any negative opinions about any shows ever? How boring would this forum be if it were all just "Omigawd!!!! Damon is like so hawttt!!!" I don't like the fact that so many people feel a need to post incessantly about cuttteeee booooyyyssss, but do you know what I do? I skip those threads! I don't read the posts that I don't want to read. Perhaps you should do the same.
People are free to express their opinions, even if you don't like them.
Instead of saying, "Only people with opinions agreeable to my own should be allowed to post here," I think it makes much more sense to simply skip over the posts that you don't want to read.
And look at how many replies the negative threads get compared to the postive threads! I've posted positive threads where I've said, "I liked this plot element. Well done!" And it'll get, like, 2 replies. If I post a thread where I criticize something, it gets like 40 replies and maybe a nice debate. You know complaining is interesting.
Yes, there are many shows that poorly represent music! I'm not a musician, but I'm a huge fan. Yes, that's very annoying too. Does Secret Life really discuss music in any way, apart from Amy being in the band? We've never really seen a lot of the band life in that show, it would be interesting if they showed us more of that. But I know what you mean about music being portrayed poorly. There are many, many, many poor portrayals of the music world.
There are so many bad, bad, bad, bad films about rockstars that I dislike even more than I dislike "Make It Or Break It." I am a huge Priest fan, and I can't say I enjoyed the film "Rock Star" with Mark Whalberg. The members of that band moaned and whined incessantly about that movie for ages, and I can't say I disagree with them. There were certain plot elements in that movie that were, actually, really insulting.
I hate bad science fiction! I whine and fuss about bad sci-fi! With science fiction, you really have to either do your research and know what you're talking about where science is concerned, and make sure to keep your science plausible. Or, you have to go the Star Wars route and not mention science at all. I've sat through so many cheesy crappy sci-fi films that make no sense because the writers couldn't be arsed to learn their basic high school science lessons. You can't just make up whatever science you want because it's "fiction!!"
I think, I generally do not like it when a film or a TV show makes me sit there and say, "WTF??????"
This doesn't just apply to gymnastics. This applies across the board to all film and TV. I don't like it when I have to sit there and scratch my head and say, "WTF were they thinking????"
But as a former gymnast, I think I probably have a lot more "WTF?" moments with "Make It Or Break It" than most people would. I realize that a lot of what jumps out at me and makes me say "WTF?" wouldn't necessarily jump out at someone who'd never been a gymnast.
Fencing is common in many animes and it has also been featured on Gilmore Girls in an episode.
Sports like ice skating, football, baseball, basketball, and cheerleading are constantly showing up on tv or in movies.
Musical inaccuricies in Secret Life include the fact that Amy supposedly wants to go to Julliard for music yet they have only ever shown her practice her french horn once. Also the fact that Amy is even playing the french horn in marching band. Generally, french horn players are given mellophones to play instead. If Amy's band was so serious about music that they win state competitions like they claim then there is no chance that Ben would have been a cymbal player as he would have had to have had basically sheet music knowledge.
Basically what I'm getting at is don't watch the show for the gymnastics. The show is about the drama.
I just think it's foolish that half the threads on the board are all about make it or break it being an insult to gymnastics.
Yes, although fencing has been on TV before, my point still stands that gymnastics is not as uncommon on TV or in the movies as you thought, and it's more common to see gymnastics than it is to see fencing or many other sports. I can think of 1 previous TV series about gymnastics, but I can't think of any TV series that's ever been about fencing, or most sports. There are so many sports that are hardly ever seen on tv...swimming, track...Even popular sports like golf and soccer aren't portrayed very often in fiction.
And surely there are better examples than Secret Life, aren't there? It might be a good comparison if Secret Life revolved around the Marching Band, and if each episode of Secret Life were a full hour of inaccuracies about the marching band. But Amy's involvement in band is a minor part of the show?
And say what you want, but there's been a lot of unintentionally hilarious moments in "Make It Or Break It," and it can be hard to get really into the drama when there's so much unintentional hilarity. But it has been getting better.
No (omg, paragraph #4!!!!) , half the posts on this board aren't about how the show is an insult to gymnastics. Just this thread, really, which was revived for some unknown reason. The majority of posts on this forum are more like "Damon is hottttttt! Cute boys!" Those posts are much more foolish and much, much, much, much more annoying than any other type of post, so why don't you all whinge about those posts instead? If you all really found this thread so annoying, it wouldn't have been revived, and people wouldn't keep posting in it!
By the way neither one of my posts were much longer than a single paragraph.
What's wrong with long posts? Nobody is forcing you to read my long posts.
"I don't even know why people care so much to theorize on why people whine and to write long posts telling us to stop whining."
I was merely commenting that I did not write a long post telling you to stop whining. If anything I think it is silly that you keep writing such long ones defending your right to whine.
Oh well, I don't know how to help you with that. I guess, if you think my posts are silly, then I think your best option is to not read them.
well of course they cant have real gymnast bodies!
and fyi if u dont like the show then dont be coming on their boards!!!!!!
this is a new perspective on gymnastics and i love it. its a great show. and ur not insulting gymnasts, ur insulting the people who worked their [filtered word] off to even get the show this far. the actresses put aside their school work for this and if u dont respect them or appreciate it then dont watch.
And just to add, I was NOT saying anything negative about Payson's body. I think she is very beautiful and there is nothing wrong with her.
I don't really know why it would be an offense to gymnasts. Everyone knows that their bodies do not fit the normal gymnast body....but we don't watch the show for their bodies, their bodies are trivial to the story really. The acting is what is important. I would say that Payson has the least likely body of a gymnast out of all of them, but the performance she performed on the Episode 10 in the hospital bed when she found out the bad news was EXCELLENT! Probably one of the most believable crying scenes I have ever seen. I think when it came to casting for this show, their acting skills were more important then their body. The entire world has seen enough of the Olympics to know what a real gymnast body looks like; I think your taking it too personal.
yea kyle xy is the stupidet hsow EVER make it or brake it rocks!!!
♥♥krazzii♥♥
Kyle XY was the stupidest show ever!!!! Make It Or Break It and The Secret Life are soo goood!!!!
♥Rachel♥
Adrian and Ricky Together Forever!!!
it is refreshing to hear both sides of opinions about this show. i must say i am a faithful watcher of make it or break it and it does not do the best it could when it comes to portraying gymnasts lives, bodies, . ill give you that. its a show though its not like its an informaitonal documentary on gymnastics. Its a show meant for entertainment. you have to remember that when forming an opinion about the show. i like the show but they do need to make some improvements.
I hope Damon and Emily end up together!!!!!
Ricky and Amy should end up together!!!!!
Brit
are you crazy the show is great if you dont like dont watch it and dont comment and their is real gymnast doing the gymnastics and kyle xy is not near as good as make it or break it
Look...for the people who only have negative things to say, take your attitude and insults elsewhere because this isn't really the place to post negative things about the show.
[Cappie/Casey <3]
[Ricky/Amy <3]
[Damon/Emily <3]
Why?
If there's something that could be improved, ABCfamily's official forums seem like just the place to post it.
I actually see most of the attitude coming from the people who like make it or break it. Whenever someone comes here and expresses an opinon that's different from yours, no matter how respectfully they do it, they're met with a barrage of "Look, shut up, and don't insult the show. We don't want you here if you're going to think that way."
I don't really think that "I don't like the show because of XYZ" means that you're "having an attitude."
But "Shut up, your opinion [filtered word]. If you're going to express that opinion, then you're not wanted here. " is, definately, "having an attitude."
I think that some of you should stop complaining, open your mind, and try to understand why so many gymnasts feel this way about the show.
The bottom line is, it *is* a rather poor portrayal of gymnastics, no matter what you think. It seems that the majority of you who say "Shut up and don't complain" are people who don't know enough about gymnastics to understand why it's such a bad portrayal of gymnastics. And when people try to explain why they feel as they do, none of you actually make any attempt to understand what they're trying to say. You just attack them with more "Shut up! Don't complain! If you don't like it, don't watch it!" You'll notice that 99% of the gymnasts who've posted here have found the show rather demeaning --- ask yourself why that is.
Maybe instead of just saying "Shut up! Don't complain!" you could learn something by understanding our reasons for complaining.
Okay I've read pretty much all of your posts throughout all threads and figured I might as well answer now, because what can I say? I like debating a bit too and I can't pass it by.
I think from a certain degree I can kind of understand you. Kind of, as in to borrow someone else's example about the music movies, classic underdog with a great voice gets discovered suddenly is widely popular and gets signed to go to the life of a superstar. Well I'm a musician/singer and it in no way works like that. It takes hard hard work not the right person over-hearing you while you walk through the bathroom singing. So in the frustration with how things are portrayed in the entertainment world I totally get you.
However, this is the entertainment world we're talking about... they hardly ever get stories right and even the ones they get close on are ones like documentaries. They change the realities to make it different from real life, to make it something exciting for fans to watch, for them to escape to this alternate universe where superstars do get discovered in the unpopular highschooler and made famous, where unexperienced not very talented little kids sports teams can totally beat the top team in the state, where crime solvers can get the answers to all their questions at precisely the right timing and the bad guy is caught even thought the conclusions to reach that arrest don't always make sense, and where elite gymnasts can have drama filled lives outside of gymnastics.
Its just all part of the escape factor, when people turn on television to watch a show or movie that is not a documentary or based on a real life event, they don't want to see real life showed to them, they don't want to see the band that works hard but never makes it far, or the kid's sport team that gets killed in the final game, or the story of the crime scene people getting completely confused and the bad guy getting off scott free, or the world where elite gymnasts focus and are driven for one goal, with a hard life of pain from the sport balancing school and the sport and always always putting their energy and focus and time straight into the sport.
See those shows like that wouldn't get much viewers, because they're to close to reality, they aren't exciting and way for us to sit down and just let go of what's really happening. It's drama, unnecessary drama, but people don't care about that, they want the entertainment. So the elite gymnast having time and effort and interest in a boyfriend a job and all that drama and the disliked unpopular (though always good looking) kid in school becoming liked and popular because of their music talent, is something fun and exciting that draws crowds.
So I wouldn't say that the writers don't care about gymnastics, I'd say that they know who they're trying to capture audience wise. They know most people know nothing about gymnastics so a basically documentary of an elite-gymnast's life wouldn't be very popular. Though I'm sure it would be much more entertaining and fundamentally right for the people who do know about gymnastics.
Of course I won't say just don't bother watching it, because hey I watch the silly from nothing to stardom movies still, I still critique them though, just like you are with this, makes me feel better sometimes, like I'm getting my opinion about how this isn't true out there.
I do very much enjoy this show, as I can see from your past posts that you enjoy portions of it too, hopefully the second season will have more of the aspects you're looking for in it.
And that's a longer reply than I thought it'd be... my bad...
I appreciate your opinion however I am curious of your credentials to make such claims...what level of gymnast are you now? Or should I say were you? How far did you make it in gymnastics to have such strong opinions on this subject matter? Were you an elite gymnast? Did you rank at Nationals, or Worlds?Also addressing the breast issue...have you seen Amanda Bordon recently? I see her at least 4 times a week as I have two daughters that train in her gym as competitive gymnasts, and she has no issues performing, and she has breasts!
Also, have you seen Shawn Johnson's body compared to Nastia Luikins, they are very different. It just goes to show you that you can have all sorts of varying body types. I am often amazed at how very different the body types are of the elite gymnasts.
While I agree that there are some concerns with accuracy on some of the gymnastics, the point here to remember is that this shw really gets people to recognize this sport, it gets people to think man they really work hard and give up a lot. It gets people to ask more questions about gymnastics, to become more interested and to appreciate gymnastics where they never would have been before this show aroused their curiosity. Be thankful that someone has made a show that casts a light onto this sport and invites so many people to learn and want to know more about it. Most people are not stupid enough to think that any teenage show on ABC Family is a complete accurate portrayal of the sport. The idea is to show how hard the gymnasts work and that they really do dedicate most of their lives to this sport, most gymnasts at an elite level do not even attend a public school they are homeschooled because of their dedication to the sport but there are a few that remain in public schools. They also do very well in school, and even have very social lives outside of the gym. As the show illistrates it is often that those outside social events are with other gymnasts since those are the people that they spend the majority of thier lives with inside and outside of the gym, and they can understand the hardships that they face due to their commitment to the gym. Take Shawn Johnson for example...she has been to the Olympics and in every interview with her, whn asked about her life she says I am just an ordinary teenager! Most elite gymnasts don't really see themselves any different then other kids, except that instead of countless hours on the phone, playing video gmes, sleeping, or participating in any recreational sport they are just spending their freetime in the gym preparing to do amazingthings with their special hard earned talent.
I would also venture a guess that ABC Family was not expecting this show to do nearly as well as it did (hence only filming half a season to start off with) so they didn't go all out from the gate and spend the gross amount of money that they could have in order to make it perfect. Especially considering that elite gymnastis are not their target market, the eveyday teenager is and those teenagers are here for the plot and drama and are just entertained by the gymnastics that seems so amazing to them because it is likely something that they can't even imagine doing. I would be willing to bet that as time goes by and if this show remains to pull in high ratings they will increase the budget and the actresses (who do train wth a gymnastics coach in a real gymfor several hours a week) will only improve their bodies as they continue to train for these roles and learn more and more gymnastics themselves and the reality will only continue to improve. Think of pretty much any show when they first start out how terrible they are compared to a few years later once they have brought in the big dollars and the production company can justify spending more to make it better and more realistic, as I am sure will happen here.
Look at Season 1 of The Simpson's as compared to now in Seeason 21 it is a world of difference. I know it's a cartoon but just looking at the illustrations and the way that they are drawn and the level of detail now as compared to then is amazing. Or how about Friends, that show was so LAME and really cheesy in the beginning but as they gained popularity it improved, the show started looking better, the acting improved, and everything just seemed to flow better as time passed. This is in part because of the additional funds, but also the amount of time of the actors getting t know one another and they start to get a feel for each other and theycan act better together, plus they gain knowledge and experience and they get to know more and as they do including learning more about the worldof gmnastics they will become more and more believable. As you stated they don;t have a clue but tey are learning and workin with professionals to grow and to improve and the more they do the better it will become and the less unrealistic for those of you out there that have been a competitive gymnast! Give it time and give them a chance to improve I bet you will be pleasantly surprisedat how far along they come.
Also, can you please provide more specific details that you have an issue with, and why? Most of your posts are very general and don't state specifics. If you would like to see them make improvements to the show and hope that Network executives are reaing this as you have previously stated you need to provide them with more specific descrepancies so that they can atually research and address them. Seriously think about what you have previously stated they are very limited in their ideas of what this is all about just short of what they see in the Olympics. Well then if they have no knowledge or background then you can't expect them to make any changes based on generalites. I am sure if you were to post some detailed constructive critisim they would take your coments more seriously and possibly even make adjustments. As you have previously stated it is unlikely that they even know they are making the mistakes, or that they are just too ignorant to the way of the life of the elite gymnast to know or recognize these gross injustices. Or better yet write them a letter and mail it to them you are more likely to be taken seriously if you send them some legitimate correspondence and if you are to provide them with your background to justify your expertise.
At any rate I have enjoyed the debate you have started and I appreciate your feedback, and hope you continue to voice your opinion!
I liked this post! Very well thought out!
I think you're so right about the escape thing. I watch a lot of fantasy, and a lot of sci-fi, so I let go of reality and escape as well as anyone else, but idk, somehow it gets under my skin when I watch realistic shows and I *know* they're botching reality. I can't get past that with fiction. I hate it when sci-fi shows get their science wrong, it drives me insane when shows about realistic topics get blatant facts wrong! I also hate movie adapations of books where they totally massacre the book. And when people say "Who cares? It was a good story!", it makes me want to strangle them! Fine, it might've been a good story, but why did they have to bill it as an adaptation of a book??? This may just be a personal idiosyncratic thing about me.
The show *is* getting better. When i read over this post, I said the show had no accuracy whatsoever. But now, I think differently. Their plots are getting a lot better, and I found nothing in the season finale to complain about. I don't really like it when they devote entire episodes to mother-daughter fashion shows, but I do like a lot of the plot threads that've recently been introduced, and it really is getting a lot better.
Oh I definitely critique movies and shows a lot and have very few that I like straight out. As I'm not a gymnast this is one of those shows, but I'm sure if I came from your perspective it would not be. Oh gosh it bugs me so much with books to movies thing. I do not like watching movies made from books I've read very often, and if a movie based on a book I haven't read looks interesting, I'll watch the movie first then read the book. One of the biggest examples I can think of for that is the Eragon book and movie *shudder*
I think that for people who aren't into sci-fi or fantasy, like my sister, they look for their alternate realities in movies that are based in 'reality' though they really aren't. But for the viewer they can sit down and say okay for the next 2 hours all of these non-believable things can totally happen because it makes it interesting and fun. Whereas people who know intimate things about the subject of the movie are inclined to think otherwise, they dislike the portrayal going on in the movie, and while I do it to I can't quite decide why. My theory is that, for examples, because you are so attached to gymnastics and I'm so attached to music, we won't be able to watch anything about those subjects while viewing them in the typical unrealistic way a normal person would watch them. We can't let go of reality for that movie because its subject is about something we're so attached too. I don't know, just a theory.
I do agree with your episodes comment, I'm not a big fan of the ones that don't have much gymnastics or the interesting plot and drama parts. The fashion show, not so much, didn't mind the parts of that episode that weren't devoted to the fashion show, but those parts were few and far between. Personally I like when there's a lot of gymnastics, a little Emily/Damon drama, scenes showing bonding between Sasha and the girls, and a decent amount of the girls all learning how much they need each other and becoming friends. I really liked the finale too, it was nicely balanced out with all the parts I like watching.
I've never read Eragon! I wasn't too terribly impressed with the movie, but I'll need to check out the book.
Like, idk, I don't mind it when they change a few details from the book. Sometimes, I understand why they need to change things and leave certain bits out. Like, "War of the Worlds" is one of my fav books ever, and I really enjoyed the 2005 "war of the worlds" movie, even though the movie changed the setting from England to New York, and it changed all the principal characters. But I feel like, for a story like that, it doesn't really matter which city it's happening in, or who the main characters are, and I really liked the movie because it captured the essence of the book so well.
But other movies, like....have you ever seen the "Scarlet Letter" movie with Demi Moore? Oh, my godddd! The only thing it has in common with the book by Nathaniel Hawthorne was that it had a character named Hester Prynne who was pregnant. Like, why did they even bother calling it the "Scarlet Letter" and pretending it was an adaptation of the book? Why not just make an original movie?
Personally I like when there's a lot of gymnastics, a little Emily/Damon drama, scenes showing bonding between Sasha and the girls, and a decent amount of the girls all learning how much they need each other and becoming friends. I really liked the finale too, it was nicely balanced out with all the parts I like watching.
Yes!!
Yes yes you definitely need to check out the book, the whole series too. It's such a good fantasy series, very long books. But yeah after you read Eragon the movie will become like 10 times worse in your eyes.
Yeah I agree, minimum changes are okay with me, so long as the retain how great the book actually is. When they start changing to much like introducing their own characters or plot lines, or killing off someone who shouldn't die or changing a character so much they shouldn't even have the same name, then it totally bugs me. I actually just saw War of the Worlds for the first time a few weeks ago, very good movie, never read the book but I might have to now.
Oh gosh yes I totally saw that movie after reading the book. One of the biggest disappointments, they really should have just changed the character's name and the title and there you go, no one would know its relation to the book... I just can't even imagine being a writer for a movie based on a book and be able to make myself veer off that far from the book. I couldn't do it.
FOr the next season I'm hoping to see basically all of the parts I like of these episodes, I would like to see it just be Emily/Damon and them dancing around the issue of dating being forbidden, I don't want to see Razor or Leo tossed in because then it'll feel to like Secret Life to me. The relationships should take a side story to the gymnastics and coaching and friends stuff, which means less drama in the relationships, which would be okay with me.
Since I don't know much about gymnastics I have a question for you about Payson and the National team. Is this National team going to be permanent until the Olympics not changing any gymnasts? Because if she finds a way to continue gymnastics couldn't she compete at the next Nationals and still have a shot?
oh my gosh read "War of the Worlds." Even if you don't like science fiction, that's still a great book! It's one of the scariest books I've ever read. I thought the movie did a good job, but I don't even think the movie fully captured the scariness of the book. That's the ultimate alien-invasion story. All other alien-invasion movies I've ever seen have been less awesome wannabe versions of "War of the Worlds"
Now I have to read the Eragon books! I can't imagine it being 10x worse! I thought the film was cliche, like, it was in the same vein as Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter, but, there was nothing new, or interesting, or creative about it. But I'm sure the books are a lot better, because I've heard them being talked up.
Yes, I think Damon is potentially a source of a lot of good drama and angst for Emily, but like you, I don't want the show to be all about relationships because we already have a million soap operas and Secret Life for that.
In real life, at least, there's a new national team every year after Nationals. If they chose the national team for the Olympics 3 years ahead of time, it would be pretty bad, because gymnasts rarely stay on top for longer than a year! A lot of the top girls in 2005 had burnt out or injured themselves by 2008, and some 2008 Olympians weren't even senior elites in 2005. That's why I think Payson was so crazy to be pushing herself so hard for nationals!
And in real life, if she was really one of the top 2 gymnasts in the country, she could've had Sasha petition her onto the national team this year, even with her broken spine. Like this year, a lot of our top gymnasts went to nationals in just did one event, or didn't bother showing up at all. And a lot of them were still named to the national team anyway. I don't think the national team is as big of a deal in real life as it is in the show, and they always bend rules and make exceptions to make sure the top gymnasts get to compete.
That would be an interesting area for the show to explore, actually! Something awful that happens a lot in gymnastics is how often they rewrite the rules at the last minute to make sure Champion Gymnast X gets to compete in a certain meet. I'd love to see a plotline where, like, Emily makes the World team and is booted off to make room for Kelly Parker due to a "last minute rule change."
or, I'd love to see a plot thread there Emily and Kelly Parker are both competing in the World Championships, and Emily makes the individual all-around final and Kelly Parker doesn't. And, then, Marty happens to the be TeamUSA's head coach, so Marty invents a "sprained ankle" for Emily and puts Kelly in the all-around final instead. And then afterwards, Sasha has a huge blowup with Marty in the parking lot, or something. There's so much unfairness and so much sketchy stuff that happens in gymnastics that would be good drama.
I'll have to read it as soon as I can then. And yeah I definitely like sci-fi, that and fantasy are my favorite genre's of movies and books.
Yeah I never saw the Eragon movie from the perspective of not reading the book so I imagine it'd be an okay movie outside of that. They just took so many liberties in the script. The books are all awesome, but if you aren't wanting to be sitting around waiting for the last book like I am, you might want to wait on starting the books. Depends on if you like all the books in the series to be out before you start the series.
Yeah exactly, Damon will add enough of the relationship drama especially with all the Carter stuff, so instead of making it like every other teenage and soap opera they can be different and not have relationship drama as the focal point.
Hmm that really doesn't make since for Payson's constant efforts then. If the Olympics were her ultimate goal then she should have rested her back through this Nationals and as you said just had Sasha petition her to be on it. And if she has 3 more Nationals until the Olympic team is picked then she can take a lot of time to get her back figured out.
That would be a very interesting plot line, and I can totally see it as something Kelly Parker would do, try to twist things to get herself in place of Emily, and she'd probably love to try to keep the Rock girls from competing. They should explore that. And it would be interesting to see Sasha and Marty interact about it, because I have a feeling that even though Sasha referred to Marty as his old friend and they act like friends, Sasha is the one who won gold over Marty, so there could be some bitterness on Marty's side, you never know.
I just had a thought, if Payson had not injured herself and medaled, then Emily probably wouldn't have made the team, because add one more person at the top and everyone slides down.
I bet I would like the Eragon books, because I love those types of stories. Then I'll have to re-watch the movies to see how crappy they were!
No, it doesn't make sense! It would make sense if it were right before the Olympics, because gymnasts do all kinds of crazy things to their bodies in the final push for the Olympics. But if the episodes now are set in 2009, you'd think Payson would want to save her body and pace herself a bit. I seem to remember the girls saying in the pilot episode that this would be their "last nationals" But then, they keep saying the Olympics are in 2012, which makes no sense to pick the only 10 girls in contention for the Olympics so far ahead of time. I wish they'd fudge the dates, and just make the Olympics be in 2010, or I wish this show were taking place in 2011 or 2012! In real life, they always hold a Nationals a month before the Olympics, and they pick the new national team a month before the Olympics.
But, idk, I think her character might've deliberately been written like that. In a lot of ways, Payson is reckless and too obsessively driven for her own good. I know she's hardworking, and that's good, but she's hardworking in a reckless way. She's the type of gymnast who's set herself up for early burnout. If she were a real gymnast, I guarantee she wouldn't make the 2012 Olympics. So although it's sad that she hurt herself, I think she was meant to be the one who got injured.
Since Lauren is everyone's friend now, I'd also like to see them explore more Kelly Parker drama. She seems like the most likely villain to replace Lauren, because Lauren's becoming too much of a sympathetic character, and every show needs a villain. I would like to know the backstory of Payson and Kelly Parker, and why Payson is so hell-bent on beating her that she'd risk her own health.
And like you said, Emily wouldn't have made the national team if Payson hadn't been injured! since Emily is the main character and the newcomer, I think it's more important for Emily to make the National team.
Haha yeah you should, you'll be surprised at how much was changed.
Yeah that's just seriously weird, why is she so bent on being perfect at the 2009 (as the Nationals jackets said) Nationals when she has many more to go through before being picked for the Olympics. She should be taking it easy right now and waiting it out. Doesn't necessarily help her to be the big name now. Yeah I'm thinking they should've changed the years to, made the show take place in like 2011. I don't know, hope they have a plan for this.
Payson is definitely driven to beyond the point of safe. Maybe that's the whole point of this injury though, she'll obviously have time to recover and maybe learn to take it easy as she starts getting back into gymnastics, cause I don't see her becoming a coach, I think that would kill her to much.
Agreed, I don't want them to take Lauren and make her do something else to make us hate her again after we've started liking her. Too many shows do that, they have the villain show moments of kindness and start to grow in that then turn them back into a villain. I've been impressed with Lauren the last 2 episodes, especially when she was cheering Emily on. Kelly Parker should be the next villain, that would be a good twist, and I'd think they'd be training as a National team now together, so they should be seeing a lot of each other.
Yeah Emily needed to make the team, being the focus of the show. And I wasn't surprised she made it, but I was happy. Although with the whole there is like 3 more Nationals until the Olympics, its not like not making this year's team would ruin her dream. I'd like to see Sasha and Emily have more time bonding next season personally, just as like a coach/father thing. Because of him being the only one she can trust, I think that's a big story they need to take advantage of. And I'd really like them to discuss this whole 'the Olympics are still 3 years away so why are we trying so freaking hard right now' situation...
Now, I really have to read the books so I can snark at the film!
It is weird! I wish they'd just fudge up the dates. They *have* to show the Olympics on this show, because what's the fun of a show about a bunch of bitchy, hypercompetitive Olympic-level gymnasts if they aren't going to show the drama in the final push for the Olympics? They **have** to do the Olympics in this show. But, it being a teenage drama on ABCfamily, I wonder if the show will last another 3 entire years????
It's going to be so anticlimactic if they spend all of next season training for nationals yet again. I think it will bore people to death. I hope next season will focus more on international competition, and maybe the big meet for next season can be Worlds instead of nationals. I, too, wonder what their plan is to keep the audience interested and to keep on building up the drama and raising the stakes.
Yes! I'm looking forward to more Sasha bonding, and I'm interested to see how being on the national team will change Emily. Everything that happened at nationals is going to change the dynamic. Besides the fact that Emily is no longer "the outsider," Kaylie probably has a lot more confidence and a lot more faith in her ability to win and be a champion, and will we see her become more driven like Payson next season? It will be interesting next season if Lauren isn't a villain, if Payson is injured, if Kaylie is the super-driven champion, and if Emily's not an outsider anymore. It was a good, good cliffhanger of an episode, because it changed everything.
Well I guess its to late to fudge the dates up now. Maybe they'll have a lot of time pass before next season of something, but that'd be pretty weird. Yeah I'm not counting on it lasting that long, it might I guess, but so many shows just come and go now.
No kidding, to show them going through all the same stress and drama would be really boring, they should focus on international competition, and maybe have a lot of drama around the National team doing their training together. Being around all those other girls especially Kelly Parker will cause the 3 Rock girls to kind of huddle together a lot I'd imagine.
That is true, now Emily kind of officially belongs, that should help her feel more comfortable about being open about herself. I can see her being more open about herself to Sasha first, then slowly trusting the other girls. I'd really like to see Kaylie stay this focused, now that she's won a gold I hope that fire in her stays strong. I'd like to see her not get involved with to much boy drama, hold to her stance about being over with Carter. Yeah everything changed, gives them a lot of new ground to explore drama wise. Should be good if they do it right!
Funny thing, I was watching the final episode again last night and noticed Emily calling Damon on a cell phone. And hasn't she mentioned in a past episode about not having a cell phone? and she certainly didn't volunteer having a cell phone in the Where's Kaylie episode.
Yes! I'd say it would cause them to huddle together a lot. It's going to be hard for Lauren to still be the mean girl if they bring in outsiders who are worse, but I'm not sure I want to see her go back to being a mean girl after they've made her a sympathetic character -- I hate it when they do that!
I understand that they probably wanted to avoid bringing in too many characters, which is why they built up drama amongst the Rock Girls. But, I think it might be time for them too add in a few more characters, because how long can you go on building drama within the same group of core characters? Idk.
Idk, maybe she borrowed a teammate's cell?
Exactly, I'd love to see Kellie Parker become the new mean girl, we all know she has it in her. And yeah so agree, I hate when they make a former mean character show some kindness and softer side to where you actually like her, then they have her switch to being the mean person again, like all that changing she did and the steps taken to make us like her were pointless.
Yeah now that they've had a whole season of exploring the drama that's between the Rock girls they should include new character, because they don't want to run the risk of replaying through the same drama situations we've already seen. I can actually see Emily and Lauren becoming good friends if Lauren stays on this nice path. Because unlike Kaylie she isn't a pushover and she's not afraid to tell Lauren what she thinks, but she also cares enough about things besides gymnastics to be a good friend. I think it'll take Kaylie awhile to become friends with Lauren again so I can also see her becoming pretty close with Emily, though I imagine that if they're training with the whole Nationals team that'd make Kaylie end up forgiving Lauren a lot faster.
I like that idea! Lauren has such potential to develop, and even if she always has that bitchy side, I do love a complex villain -- think of Gollum in Lord of the Rings, or Darth Vader or Tony Soprano! I love, love, love those sorts of complex villains who are sympathetic characters, I love it when you can relate to a villain, I love it when villains aren't just portrayed as one dimensional evilleeeee. But if they do that with Lauren, the writers would really need to do it right and not make Lauren inconsistent. I'd love to see a friendship between Lauren and emily. I'd love to see all the girls start including Emily more, which they will, since she's proven she's one of them.
I think Emily is one of the characters I'm most interested in next season, because she *is* going to be a different girl next season, and all of her interactions with the other girls in the gym are going to be different. All season long, she's been "that outsider girl" and that's been like the defining thing that makes Emily Emily, and it'll be interesting to see where her character goes now.
I'd love to see the whole national team. I suppose they don't want to bring in a whole herd of extra characters, but they could do 1 or 2 episodes with the whole national team, because there's such potential to bring in so many, many newer and meaner characters with a show like this.