Disney/Buena Vista | 2009 | 516 mins. | Not Rated
From Brenda Hampton, the creator of 7th Heaven, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, revolves around teen pregnancy; a topic that would have been taboo little more than a decade ago. Things begin with sixteen year-old Band geek Amy Juergens (Shailene Woodley) discovering that she’s pregnant after a one-night stand with Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff), the school’s resident ‘bad boy.’ Meanwhile, devout Christian cheerleader Grace Bowman (Megan Park) promises abstinence to her parents. These two opposites help to set up the dynamics of the student body.
The first season explored how Amy’s pregnancy affected her, the baby’s father, her friends, and her family. The pregnancy puts a strain on the already rocky marriage of her parents Anne (Molly Ringwald) and George (Mark Derwin), but brings her closer to her 15-year-old sister, Ashley (India Eisley), who is the first person in the family she tells about the pregnancy. She also has better relationships with her new boyfriend Ben (Kenny Baumann), Ricky and friends at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, California.
The Volume Four set contains the eleven episodes that comprise the second half of the second season (I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of how the powers that be have chosen to break up these sets). As to the first part of the season, the show may have gotten a bit too melodramatic for its own good, when Amy’s mother had her own pregnancy announcement, on the heels of her grandsons birth. It felt like there was a bit of the ‘pile on’ factor in effect, but that’s just one person’s opinion.
In the first part of season two a lot happened for Amy; she had to cope with the ups and downs of her relationship with Ben and her difficulties balancing school, work and motherhood. At the same time, Ashley starts high school, Ricky and Adrian reevaluate their relationship, and George reunites with Anne. However, it is Grace who goes through life altering changes, when she loses her virginity and tragically loses her father in an accident. This all happens in a short period of time, and Grace blames herself, and the fact that she broke her vow of chastity for her father’s death.
Volume Four opens with everyone taking a break from tough day-to-day issues. Anne and Amy go on vacation with their babies to forget their lives at home, while several students decide to skip school. For Amy’s parents, serious issues are still festering; namely, George has serious doubts as to whether he is the father of the new baby. Meanwhile, Ricky has his own issues to deal with. He and Amy get involved in a rather nasty custody dispute, when they argue over their rights to baby John.
By the end of the season, new relationships are forming and old relationships are hanging by a thread. The custody battle between Amy and continues, while Ben and Amy struggle to figure out whether they should stay together. As an adult, watching The Secret Life of an American Teenager is an interesting experience. I find myself repeatedly forgetting that these are just kids; they live such adult lives. I mean, Amy’s life is hectic, but Ricky’s is no bed of roses either. The son of a drug addicted mother who still lives on the streets, he spent a lot of time in foster homes. He is currently involved with Adrian Lee (Francia Raisa), with whom he decides he wants to have a more serious relationship. For him, that means he doesn’t want her sleeping with other guys, but he wants the option of sleeping with other girls. This isn’t Leave It to Beaver.
While a couple of episodes feel like filler, The Secret Life of the American Teenager continues to provide a surprisingly realistic view of the consequences of teen pregnancy. The characters seem fairly realistic, and the writing is sharp. Shailene Woodley and the rest of the cast bring a respect and maturity to material that is still very controversial in many quarters.
Disney presents the fourth volume of Secret Life in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Image quality remained consistently good, with sharpness and detail throughout much of the running time. While a few minor instances of pixelation were spotted, no edge enhancement or other digital anomalies were found. The show’s color palette looked very good, with no smearing or other issues.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack offers crisp dialogue and rich, clear music. However, the show’s sound design doesn’t go beyond the basics (nor does it need to, given the material) and surrounds are rarely heard. Audio quality is fine, with natural, well-recorded dialogue.
Though this set doesn’t offer much in the way of special features, there are a couple of goodies. “Behind the Secret Scenes” – this featurette is broken down into five separate “behind the scenes” sections: “With Mikaela Pt. 1”, “With Mikaela Pt. 2”, “Shooting Hoops”, “Megan Talks to Canada”, and “Music Scoring”. In the “With Mikaela” segments, Amy Rider and Allen Evangelista are briefly interviewed. “Shooting Hoops” is a quick glimpse at Daren Kagasoff, his brother Justin, and Greg Finley playing basketball. In “Megan Talks to Canada”, Megan Park talks to Canadians about being from Canada and what it’s like working in Hollywood. “Music Scoring” is a brief look at recording the music for the series. The five “behind the scenes” can be viewed all at once or separately.
“Cast on Family” – The cast talk about the series, the characters, and the concept of family on the show.
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