Hellcats: Needs A Little Practice

I’m all about the cheese and I’m not talking about Brie. I am a huge fan of what I like to call the teeny bop shows. They’re my bread and butter. So a show like Hellcats, right up my alley. I must make a confession first. I saw the promos running on The CW and thought this was some after school-like, Lifetime-ish movie The CW was running in a bad timeslot. I had no idea it was an actual series for the fall until I paid closer attention. The production value of the promo seemed cheap and never did I think this was a series coming to The CW. Some may knock this network, but it has given me some of my most beloved and cherished series to date.

Of course, the first comparison everyone makes is to the movie Bring It On starring Kirsten Dunst and the show itself pokes its own fun at that by having the lead character Marti (Alyson Michalka of Aly & AJ fame) watch Bring It On in preparation for her Hellcats tryouts. What has her trying out for something she is so obviously not a fan of? Her mother lost her scholarship and didn’t bother to tell her, so now Marti is on her own and needs to fund her education or risk getting kicked out of school. A run in with Hellcat Captain Savannah (Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical) clues Marti in on the scholarships given to every member of the Hellcats squad.

Much like the movie it’s compared to, Marti, a one-time gymnast, makes the Hellcats squad despite Alice (Heather Hemmens) voting against her and Savannah’s dislike of her. When Coach Vanessa (Sharon Leal, Guiding Light) points out that with Marti the Hellcats have a real shot at winning qualifiers, Savannah is easily swayed.

Hellcats has all the necessary ingredients for a true cheesy dramedy. We have Alice’s former beau and spotter, Lewis (Robbie Jones, One Tree Hill) who now has eyes for Marti. Then there is Dan (Matt Barr, One Tree Hill), Marti’s “pal” who obviously thinks more of her than just a friend. The requisite adult drama between Coach Vanessa, her current boyfriend and team Doctor, Derrick (D.B. Woodside, 24) and her former flame Red Raymond (Jeff Hephner) who has been brought back to coach the football team.

Like its promo, I found the production value of Hellcats a tad behind the times. The basics of what they need to develop a good series is there, the characters have layers to work with, now they just need to fit all the pieces together to make it a cohesive product. In cheerleading terms, they still need practice.