drshebloggo:

10 Things: Advice for Bunheads Season 2

10. Fewer town antics.  This isn’t Stars Hollow!  While spreading kookiness over a whole supporting cast worked well for Gilmore Girls, I don’t think Bunheads benefits from the same approach.  If nothing else, it just reminds us of Gilmore, and on top of the snappy dialogue, pop culture references, and Kelly Bishop’s lovely presence, it can be a little much.  Especially when it’s not even necessary!  Bunheads has its own laurels it can rest on.  So while Paradise is certainly allowed to have its quirks (but not its Kirks), there is so much interesting – and undeveloped – material for the actual main characters.  We’ve gotten hints of tragic flaws and fascinating character development for not only Michelle, but also Fanny, Sasha, Truly, and Boo.  Why take time away from actually progressing that by giving it away to passing townspeople we don’t really care about?  (Seriously.  I still don’t understand why Sebastian the Award-Winning Coffee Man was necessary.  Except to make Michelle care about coffee and getting a new grocery store.  And I don’t really understand why that was necessary either.)

Agreed on all points! So glad they toned down Truly’s initial wackiness. She has been great with Michelle, like with the curtain rods and the birthday night. Speaking of which, more Talia, please. And also, more Nanette.

Loving all the song and dance numbers. Paper and Plastic was kind of stunning, in addition to the Sutton Foster and Sasha sequences. I’d actually like to see more of an overall focus on the ballet, not only an increased look at the students and their relationships with each other and their family and Michelle and Fanny. How’d they all get into it, how far do they want to take it, how serious are they about it? They all seem to see it as something worth doing and superior to many other forms of athletics, even Sasha, and it’s not exactly a casual hobby. They’re all ready to put in some serious effort and commitment, both in and out of Fanny’s, but at the same time, none of the main four seem to be extremely serious about it, some resigned to their different body types (Boo and Megan Hilty Jr), Sasha dealing with problems at home and having it too easy at the dance academy, and Melanie…well, I’m not really sure what’s up with Melanie, except for her ridiculously fun relationship with her brother, and a close friendship with MHJ sometimes overshadowed by her support of Boo.

I will confess, though, that as I’d predicted at the beginning, Sasha is my favorite. She is such a LM Montgomery kid. Not one of her main characters, not an Anne Shirley or Emily Murray (actually…Emily was one odd kid. One of the most unusual heroines I’ve ever seen. I almost wish the sequels had never been written, or that she’d grown up to be like Cousin Jimmy or had drifted away in one of her flashes…). Not a main or even a boring “good” character like Paul Irving but one of those awesomely interesting kids with layers like Josie Pye or Jen Pringle that you wished you’d seen more of.