As the new shows roll out, I’ll be doing “first impressions” reviews of some of the debut episodes. First up is “Hellcats,” which airs at 8 p.m. Central Wednesdays on The CW.
1. I liked how Marti (Aly Michalka) and Savannah (Ashley Tisdale) are both good people who become friends rather quickly. We see that Marti, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who needs the cheerleading scholarship, is a good person because she stops making fun of the cheerleaders in the opening segment as soon as one of them gets hurt. As for Savannah, she immediately puts the rivalry aside when she realizes they’re all in this together; she makes the dorm room she’ll share with Marti inviting, even providing both silk and wood hangers so Marti has a choice.
2. I didn’t get a good sense of the Lancer College campus, or of Memphis. This is the only show on TV set in Memphis, so I would like the city to pop off the screen and not just be Anytown, USA.
3. Gail O’Grady is certainly on the short list of best TV actresses. She also played a mom on “American Dreams” and “Hidden Palms,” and these three characters bear no resemblance to each other, except for the physical resemblance in that they’re all played by O’Grady. Marti’s mom is a stereotype (the overly supportive, ultimately embarrassing mom), and an almost identical character is on “Make It or Break It,” but I still am impressed with this chameleon of an actress.
4. Are we seeing a new trend in sports- or group-themed TV series? Glee clubs have “Glee,” football teams have “Friday Night Lights,” gymnasts have “Make It or Break It” and now cheer teams have “Hellcats.” All of the shows are decent and fairly faithful to reality. I can get behind this trend.
5. The centerpiece dance number (which is featured in the clips The CW released several months ago) is maybe a little too good. The coach asks the team to throw out the textbook and mix it up in practice. Marti, who feels the music rather than performing planned moves (remember, she’s the Memphis inner city girl) immediately tears it up, and even stiff, technically trained Savannah gets into it after a quick lesson and a slap on the butt from her coach. Next up is qualifiers, and then presumably more rounds of competition, so the “Hellcats” choreographers have set the bar rather high if we’re supposed to see improvement in each round.
6. Are Hellcats the mascot for all of the Lancer teams, or is it just the name of the cheer team? This episode suggests the latter, which is bizarre.
7. D.B. Woodside alert. The ubiquitous, and always good, actor (best known for playing a president on “24” and a vampire slayer’s son on “Buffy”) pops up here as the team’s trainer. He doesn’t have much of a role so far.
Verdict: “Hellcats” has secured a spot on my viewing schedule. Not a bad way to start the fall TV season at all.
What are your thoughts on the first episode?