Awkward.-Season One (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Featurette-Behind The Scenes-(16.11) Biographies-Character-(9.31) Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Around the Show (2.24) Bonus Episode-Webisodes (29.37)
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	256:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	David Katzenberg Lauren Iungerich Ryan Shiraki Patrick R. Norris
Studio Distributor	Paramount Home Entertainment	Starring	Ashley Rickards Beau Mirchoff Desi Lydic Molly Tarlov Brett Davern
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Brad Joseph Breeck

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Dutch	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Awkward. is a TV series from MTV which describes the ups and downs of a 15-year-old high school girl negotiating the challenges of relationships. It is also the feeling you get when, as a DVD reviewer, you realise that just because a show features a 15-year-old character doesn't mean that it is suitable for your 15-year-old daughter! This comedy series is everything representative of MTV, a little brash, a little rude and yet inherently conservative. Underneath the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle lies the age-old mantra that relationships built on caring and understanding last longer than those based on pure attraction.

     Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) is having the day from hell. She has handed her virginity to the school hunk Matty (Beau Mirchoff) who promptly thanks her but tells her that they can't be seen together. She receives a mysterious letter pointing out all her deficiencies and slips over in the bathroom whilst grabbing some painkillers. Her fall results in a broken arm but something much worse-this wallflower has suddenly become centre of attention, as everyone at school believes she has attempted suicide. She is assigned a school counsellor Valerie (Desi Lydic) who has vastly more problems than her and has to cope with the stigma of being the "suicide girl", a task not made easier by the efforts of Sadie Saxton (Molly Tarlov) the Queen Bee at the school who will stop at nothing to see Jenna destroyed.

     As the series progresses it settles down into a couple of plot arcs. One is her journey to find out who wrote the soul destroying letter and the second is to get Matty to profess his undying love for her. This is complicated by a couple of problems. Firstly, Matty is generally as dumb as a box of hammers and finds it difficult to commit to anything. Secondly, Jenna's dedication is stymied by the attentions of Jake (Brett Davern) who would love to have Jenna as his girlfriend.

     It's no surprise that given the high school milieu that the final episodes in season one (season two has already aired and another is on the way) are devoted to the high school formal where relationships, dramas and comedic complications come to a head.

     Although I was ready to dislike Awkward. for its vulgarity and trashiness this series is actually pretty well written and is eminently watchable from beginning to end. Sure, we the audience know that Matty is hopeless and Jenna belongs with Jake and we knew that from the first couple of episodes. That doesn't stop their accidental courting from being entertaining.

     The performances are generally just okay, think The Wizards of Waverly Place with condoms. Desi Lydic has fun with the role as the inappropriate guidance counsellor and there is no denying that Ashley Rickards is likeable throughout as Jenna. Movie lovers will probably associate her character with Juno, another self-aware character who is often too smart for her own good. She anchors the show and hopefully will have a future in post-teen television.

     The DVD of Awkward. series 1 comprises two DVDs with the first eight episodes on one and the final four on the other. The second DVD contains the extensive special features.

Video

     Awkward. was filmed on digital video and appears on DVD in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the original series. It is 16×9 enhanced.

     The series is good but nothing earth shattering on DVD. The image quality is a little soft at times.

     The colours are bright and vibrant.

    The flesh tones are accurate.

    There are no technical problems with the transfer.

    There are subtitles in Dutch.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Awkward. comes to DVD with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack running at 192 Kb/s. German and Spanish 2.0 tracks are also included.

     The sound is generally good throughout.

     Truth be told the absence of surround sound does not do a great deal of damage to the show. Most of the audio comes from the centre channels.

     The dialogue is clear and easy to understand.

     There is also one weird thing about the DVD sound which has nothing to do with its technical quality. The occasional swear words in the show are bleeped out. They were originally bleeped on TV so this DVD and the Region 1 DVD are no different. It is a little disconcerting when the bleeps occur.

    The music comes thick and fast and is a good accompaniment to the show.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     The Awkward. DVD includes a number of extras. They are pretty much in the style of the program which means that they will be entertaining for fans of the show, giving them greater access to the actors and characters.

Webisodes

     there are three sets of Webisodes included as extras. They are:

• V-time (15.29)
• Sadie's anger management (7.09)
• Morning Announcements (7.03)

     Each of the segments is actually divided it into a number of short Webisodes. As you might imagine, V-time gives us a chance to get some hints and tips from our "Gal Pal Val", Sadie provides lessons on keeping that temper in check and the boys provide some updates on the school. All good fun.

Behind the Scenes (16.11)

     This is actually a series of nine short sequences including a set tour from the boys, discussion of some pranks and awkward moments experienced by the cast and a little bit about parenting from Jenna's mother. Again, it is all a bit random and lightweight to be taken seriously and is just a bit of fun.

Character Intros (9.31)

     In this feature seven of the cast members get to discuss their characters in brief fashion. These are Jenna, Jake, Matty, Sadie, Tamara, Lacey and Valerie.

About the Show (2.24)

     Show creator Lauren Iungerich talks about the background to the show and the cast members discuss what attracted them to their roles.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

      The Region 1 DVD is identical to our Region. Buy local.

     Awkward. should perhaps be a cult show for the high school set. As much as it occasionally delved into some hair raising issues on balance I would still prefer that kids watch the show than the casual sadism of Game of Thrones or the blood and lust of True Blood.

     The DVD quality is fine both in sound and vision terms. The extras didn't do a lot for me but I suspect that the target audience would get a lot more fun out of them.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall