The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

“The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five” (the first half of season three) features better writing and the much needed addition and utilization of more characters.  Thus breathing new life into the series.   Definitely give this third season of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” a try!

Images courtesy of © ABC Family. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five

DURATION: 602 minutes (14 episodes)

DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, Widescreen (1:78:1), NTSC, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French

RATED: TV 14 DSLV (Parental Discretion Advised)

COMPANY: abc family

RELEASE DATE: December 21, 2010

Created by Brenda Hampton

Directed by Keith Truesdell, Anson Williams and Gail Bradley

Written by Brenda Hampton, Elaie Arata, Jeffrey Rodgers, Jeff Olsen, Chris Olsen

Executive Producer: Brenda Hampton

Producer: Hrag Gaboudian, Lindsley Parsons III

Consulting Producer: Paul Perlove, Chris Olsen, Jeff Olsen, Jeffrey Rodgers

Music by Dan Foliart

Cinematography by Ronald E. high

Edited by Janet Weinberg and Ellen Ring Jacobson

Casting by Peter Pappas, Ken Miller, Nikki Valko

Production Design by Michael DiMeo

Set Decoration by Joanne Baker

Costume Design by Sherry Thompson, Sharon Sampson

Starring:

Shailene Woodley as Amy Juergens

Kenny Baumann as Benjamin “Ben” Boykewich

Francia Raisa as Adrian Lee

Megan Park as Grace Kathleen Bowman

Darren Kagasoff as Rickey Underwood

Greg Finley II as Jack Pappas

Renee Olstead as Madison Cooperstein

Camille Winbush as Lauren Treacy

Steve Schirripa as Leo Boykewich

Mark Derwin as George Juergens

Molly Ringwald as Anne Juergens

India Eisley as Ashley Juergens

Josie Bissett as Kathleen Bowman

Luke Zimmerman as Tom Bowman

Amy Rider as Alice Balko

Allen Evangelista as Henry Miller

Phillip Anthony-Rodriguez as Ruben Enriquez

Paolo Turbay as Cindy Lee

Jennifer coolidge as Betty

Joseph/Matthew Levinson as John

Kathy Kinney as Bunny

Brando Eaton as Griffin

Grant Harvey as Grant

Andrew McFarlane as Jason

Austin Stowell as Jesse

Reid Scott as Dr. Jeff Zegay

Mayim Bialik as Dr. Wilameena Bink

Michele Krusiec as Emily

Back in 2008, the critically acclaimed ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” received a lot of attention during its first season as the series took on the challenges of teenage pregnancy. Showing us the ramifications of being pregnant as a young teen but also the responsibilities and difficult choices one needs to make as a single mother and also showcasing the challenges of teenage sexuality and peer pressure.

By the second season, the series would focus on single mother Juergens (played by Shailene Woodley) having to attend high school but also raise a son.  To make thing difficult, her parents have divorced and her own mother Anne (played by Molly Ringwald) became pregnant (one night stand with her ex-husband) and thus, mom became a mother as well.  Needless to say, the Juergens family have had their ups and downs.

But the series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is about the challenges of being a teenager and thus the series would focus on various teenagers such as Ben Boykewich (played by Kenny Baumann), the son of the sausage king Leo Boykewich (played by Steve Schirripa).  Ben loves Amy Juergens and even though she has a child, he would do anything for her.  The problem is that Amy is busy with her own child and maintaining a peaceful relationship with her son’s father Ricky Underwood (played by Daren Kagasoff).  Meanwhile, she has a younger sister named Ashley (played by India Eisley) who acts very mature for her age but is now at the age where she is becoming more attracted to boys and curious about sex.

Other teenagers include the Christian student and cheerleader Grace Bowman (played by Megan Park) being pressured to have sex by her then boyfriend, jock Jack Pappas (played by Greg Finley).  And as hard as she tried to stay a virgin, her first time was memorable but not in a good way as her father was killed in an airplane crash.  Now, she and her mother Kathleen (played by Josie Bissett) and her mentally disabled brother Tom (played by Luke Zimmerman) try to continue on as a family.

For Adrian Lee (played by Francia Raisa), she has lived life having promiscuous sex.  Primarily with Ricky Underwood, the father of Amy Juergens baby and a young man who has had problems having sex with other girls as a way to relieve his stress (suffered at a young age due to his irresponsible parents).  While both have a strong sexual connection, they are not romantically connected.  Adrian is always on the prowl and as for Ricky, he wants to become a better person but most of all, to take responsibility and share parenting duties for his son John and to be cool with Amy.

The second season began with Amy wanting to raise the child on her own but depending too much on her mother Anne to help her out.  Anne (played by Molly Ringwald) is strict and wants Amy to learn that having a baby has major challenges and to make things complicated, Anne is pregnant herself and not knowing if the father is her ex-husband George (played by Mark Derwin) or her new boyfriend.

In volume four of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”, we have seen Amy Juergens having an on and off relationship with Ben.  Things weren’t going so well with them and with Adrian, she felt more lonely as Ricky was starting to become more of a father and spending more time with his son’s mother Amy.  As Adrian became more jealous of Ricky and Amy spending more time with each other, the same feeling was shared by Ben and sure enough, to spite the people they love, the two had a sexual encounter.  For Adrian, it was a form of revenge.  For Ben, a one night stand that shouldn’t have happened.

But fortunately for Ben, he told the truth to Amy who forgave him for what he did.  And the two looked as if they were on “Cloud 9” again.

As for Grace, her mother has remarried a doctor nine months after the death of her father and she and Tom have resentment towards their mother for remarrying so quickly.  She has had feelings for Ricky and now having some interest in Ben.

For Ricky, we began to see more of him becoming more mature and responsible for his child.  And as for Jack, he started to become closer to Amy’s friend Madison Cooperstein (played by Renee Olstead).

As for Adrian, her father Ruben has remarried her mother Cindy.  But she notices some changes within her and she realizes that she is now pregnant and the last boy she has been with is Ben.

For “The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five” (the first half of season 3), the storyline now focuses on Adrian as she is pregnant but telling everyone around her that she had her period.  Now she struggles to whether or not she will have a baby or have an adoption.

Meanwhile, Ben who has found out that Adrian is pregnant is worried that with his relationship going extremely well with Amy, she will hate him when she finds out that Adrian is pregnant with his baby.  And he finds himself even more confused as he wants to be responsible as a father for Adrian’s baby, showing his love for Amy Juergens but also having this fling with Grace Bowman… Ben is in a weird position and he’s not dealing with it well.  And it makes him even more jumpier and jealous when he sees Ricky becoming more interested towards Amy.

As for Amy, she has been accepted to a trip to New York City for her skill as a musician.  With her dreams of trying to enter Juilliard, none of her family and friends want to tell her the bad news that Ben got Adrian pregnant.  And because of this, can Amy ever become close with Ben again?  But how will she deal with her emotions, especially when her son’s father, Ricky wants to get closer to her?  Who will she choose?

And for Ricky, he has dedicated himself to being there for his son and not be anything like his birth parents.  Because Amy is in New York City, he will be staying with the Juergens family temporarily but with Ashley now grown up and starting to take a liking towards Ricky, will his sexual impulses lead him towards getting close to Ashley, the sister of Amy, the mother of his child?

For Jack, his father is offered a job in Arizona, many hours away and if he takes the job, his father can only take his mother and so, they are hoping Jack can find someone to stay with for a year.  Jack wants to stay back home and with his friends and hopes he can find a place to stay.  But when he chooses to live with Tom Bowman without his family knowing, will it get him in trouble?

The main characters/teenagers of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” are:

Amy Juergens (Shailene Woodley) – A teenager who is a musician but is learning firsthand of the difficulties of being a single mother.  She is trying to keep a parenting relationship with her son’s father Ricky while she has a relationship with Ben.  But as a single mother, she realizes the difficulties of being a mother and how much responsibility that she must deal with.  She hopes to enter Juilliard as a musician.

Ashley Juergens (India Eisley) – The younger sister of Amy who is very mature for her age and is often the person who plays referee to her mother and father when they are bickering.  But as she gets older, she becomes more curious about sex and with Ricky coming over often, she starts to become interested in him.  And also getting closer to a guy named Grant, the cousin of her gay best friend Griffin.

Benjamin “Ben” Boykewich (Kenny Baumann) – A teenager who is Amy’s boyfriend and will do anything for her. His father is “the sausage king” and his mother died several years ago. He loves Amy Juergens and will do all he can for her.  But sometimes he makes irresponsible decisions which are sure to get him in trouble.

Rickey Underwood (Darren Kagasoff) – Rickey is the father of Amy’s baby. He has had a sexual relationship with Adrian but he has no connection with her, as opposed to Adrian who has an emotional connection with him.  He has been seeing counseling for his anger issues (which he uses sex to make him feel better) after it was revealed that he was molested as a child.

Adrian Lee (Francia Raisa) – Very intelligent but somehow strayed in the wrong path and is a flirt who engages in sex with different guys. She is a majorette and always wonders who her real father is. She sleeps with Rickey and believes that a bad girl deserves a bad boy like him. She has slept with Grace Bowman’s boyfriend Jack and had revenge sex with Ben because she was upset at Ricky spending too much time with Amy.

Grace Kathleen Bowman (Megan Park) – A devoted Christian and cheerleader who hit hard times after the death of her father.  She tends to put herself in a position where she wants to help all her friends and get into their business which irritates others.

Jack Pappas (Greg Finley II) – A football player who can’t get his mind off sex, once dated Grace and has had an off and on-relationship with her. He’s a son of the pastor and is now dating Madison Cooperstein.

Madison Cooperstein (Renee Olstead) and Lauren Treacy (Camille Winbush) are Amy’s best friends. They also can’t keep a secret and are often bickering with each other.  Madison is dating Jack and is often jealous when he’s talking to other girls.    Lauren is dating Jack’s friend.

Henry Miller (Allen Evangelista) and Alice Valko (Amy Rider) are a romantic couple and friends of Ben. Alice is very smart and very analytical but she is very good when hearing Ben out and giving intelligent advice to him.

“The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five” DVD comes with a total of 14 episodes on three DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 48 – Do Over – Adrian tells Ben that she isn’t pregnant and Ben is relieved since his relationship with Amy is going perfect.  Meanwhile, Jack’s parents are moving to Arizona only if Jack can find a place to stay.
• EPISODE 49 – Accentuate the Positive – Adrian starts to have morning sickness, meanwhile Amy is offered a once in a lifetime trip to New York City.  Meanwhile, Ashley finds out that Adrian is pregnant.
• EPISODE 50 – Get Out of Town – Ben tells his father that Adrian is pregnant and Amy finds out that the trip to New York actually takes place the following day and that she must decide if she’s going to leave or not.
• EPISODE 51 – Goodbye, Amy Juergens – Adrian’s parents find out that she is pregnant but Adrian’s mother supports abortion while her father doesn’t and puts a strain on her parent’s marriage.  Tom looks for a job and needs to take a drug test but when Jack finds brownies in the fridge, he doesn’t know that the brownies have marijuana in them and Tom is worried that he may fail the drug test.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 52 – Which Way Did She Go? – With Amy in New York, rumors circulate throughout the school that Amy is gone because she’s pregnant again.  Meanwhile, Amy is a bit scared about being in New York and Jack stays with Tom at the guest house without his mother and Grace knowing. (Special guest: Bristol Palin)
• EPISODE 53 – She Went That A’way – Adrian meets Ricky’s mother at the clinic and decides that she will not abort the child.  Meanwhile, Ashley tells Anne and George about Adrian’s pregnancy and the family struggles whether or not to tell Amy.
• EPISODE 54 – New York, New York – Anne and George are worried that Ashley is falling for Ricky.  Meanwhile, Ben and his father fly to New York as Ben knows he needs to tell Amy the truth about Adrian’s pregnancy.  Also, Ricky’s birth mother pays him a visit.
• EPISODE 55 – The Sound of Silence – Ben is becoming moody since Amy doesn’t talk to him.  Meanwhile, Ricky asks Ruben for a favor that deals with his mother and Ruben asks Ricky a favor that involves his daughter Adrian.
• EPISODE 56 – Chicken Little – Grace tries to play matchmaker and set her friend Peter with Griffin and has a date with Griffin’s cousin Grant.  Meanwhile, Ricky and Adrian try to become friends again.  Ashley is becoming heartbroken that Ricky is not noticing her.

DISC 3:

• EPISODE 57 – My Girlfriend’s Back – It’s the last day of school and Ben worries that Amy doesn’t care about him anymore.  Meanwhile, Ricky wants to get closer with Amy and discuss a possibility of becoming a couple.
• EPISODE 58 – Lady Liberty – After Ben finds out from Ashley that Ricky is trying to be together with Amy, an altercation between both Ben and Ricky gets Ben fired from his job.  Anne and George announce big news in regards to their rekindling of their relationship.  Ben and Adrian scheme again to hurt Ricky and Amy.
• EPISODE 59 – Sweet and Sour – Friends and family realize they forgot about Amy’s birthday.  Meanwhile, Ben wants to make things right with Adrian.
• EPISODE 60 – Up All night – Amy questions Ricky about him wanting to have a relationship with her.  Meanwhile, Ben spends a night at Adrian’s home.
• EPISODE 61 – Rules of Engagement – Jealous of her sister, Ashley wants Ricky to have sex with her.  Anne and George’s relationship takes another turn, as with Amy and Ricky’s friendship.

VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume 5” is presented in widescreen (1:78:1) and for the most part, the picture quality is satisfactory for this drama series. Also, it helps that the series features various settings, including multiple outdoor shots which definitely makes the PQ for the DVD much better.

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The series is front and center channel driven, dialogue is clear and understandable and music comes out quite clear from the front channels. The series is not the type of series that utilizes special effects or the use of the surround channels but if you have a modern home theater receiver and a 5.1 or 7.2 setup, definitely worth selecting audio on all channels on the receiver for a more immersive soundscape.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five” comes with a few special features on disc three. Included are:

• On Set with Director Anson Williams – (4:56) Mikaela interviews director Anson Williams.  Discussing working on “Happy Days” and working on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”.
• On Set Fist Bumps with Joey and Matthew – (2:12) Shailene Woodley and Ken Baumann introduce Joseph and Matthew Levinson who play Amy and Ricky’s son John and their mother.
• On Set with Shailene – (3:08) Mikaela interviews Shailene Woodley and how she was doing a dual role of working on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and doing the film “The Descendants” (with George Clooney).  Also, how Shailene worked at retail when she moved to New York City.
• On Set with Luke – (1:17) Mikaela interviewing Luke Zimmerman about being on the show and the various sports he takes part in and working with Megan Park (who plays Grace Bowman).

EXTRAS:

“The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Volume Five” comes with a slip cover case.

I have been a big supporter of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and I have to admit that the latter half of the second season, I felt the writers let people down.

One of the biggest problems the series faced  was that it is becoming to mundane as sex is the storyline that seems to have consumed each episode.  Which was not the problem, the problem was that for the six main characters, each of these characters were focused on so much that because sex is the main storyline, everyone was having or trying to have sex with each other.  Ricky had a one night stand with Amy and because of that, they are parents.  Ricky has had a long sexual relationship with the promiscuous Adrian, then Ricky has went on to target Grace Bowman and now Amy’s sister Ashley wants to have sex with Ricky.

As for Adrian?  She’s had sex with Ricky, she’s had sex with Jack, she’s had sex with Ben.  Although Grace is more of the disciplined Christian girl, she had sex with Jack, she had a fling with Ricky and now she’s interested in Ben.

Part of the problem the series faced was that by focusing too much on the six characters and not bringing in any others, the latter half of the second season became too ridiculous, frustrating and the only way they were gong to get out of it was by utilizing the other characters that have been on the show since day 1 (Amy’s two best friends) and by introducing new characters to the show.

So, the good news was that for season three, the writers did start to incorporate more characters into the show.  First off, there is more utilization of Renee Olstead (Madison Cooperstein) and Camille Winbush (Lauren Treacy).  I have to admit that at first, I felt it was odd that Jack and his jock buddy were dating Madison and Lauren (because these characters were typically used as gossiping best friends of Amy) and also, I felt the chemistry was off between these new couples.  Although, I’m still waiting to see more of Allen Evangelist who plays the character Henry and Amy Rider who plays the character Alice, both are Ben’s friends and were used more in season one, in season three…we see them just a few times and I enjoyed how they were utilized in the first season more.  But I do like how the newer characters Griffin, Grant and Peter are being utilized.  And there are more newer characters that have been featured this season thus far and that is a positive.

It’s interesting to note that Shailene Woodley has less of a role in this first half of season three as she was in New York filming a movie with George Clooney (titled “The Descendants”) but we do see the character of Amy Juergens appear in most of the episodes.  Possibly the most shocking character change was with Ken Baumann’s character of Ben Boykewich.

In the beginning, we rooted for him because he was the sarcastic underdog.  But now, the writers really made him to be confused and almost a jerk.   It’s going to be interesting to see how writers deal with Ben.   Continue the same path or make him even darker or depressed because he’s losing Amy.   Personally, I have no idea where the character of Ben is going but there is potential in his storyline to really make things darker or return to the much happier yet sarcastic character like he was in the first season and part of the second season.

If anything, shows such as “Beverly Hills 90210” had their main core characters but were always good at utilizing other newer characters once or several times and building upon that.  Last season, writers seemed as if they were force to having the main six characters become too close with each other (actually characters having too much fun with each other sexually) that the storyline was beginning to suffer and becoming too kitschy.  I was so close to giving up on the series.  But fortunately, the first half of season three was much more entertaining and changes that the show needed, were done.  More storyline involving the older characters but having them interact with newer characters and characters who have been there since the beginning.

I also enjoyed the series utilizing more of Luke Zimmerman (Tom Bowman) who is actually becoming one of the characters that I look forward to seeing more because he is well-utilized in the series.  Mentally disabled but yet giving the opportunity to act more lines and using the character in a more.   The character of Tom and the exchange between he and Jack are pretty fun and hilarious.  So, it’s great to see the writers utilizing more of Tom and hope they continue with that.

Also, when it comes to the parents of the show, I’m glad the storylines have been interesting and not dull.   I definitely enjoyed the storyline with Anne and George, Ruben and Cindy, Kathleen and Jeff, Leo and Betty.  As well as the other adults they have brought into the series (from Ben and Ricky’s boss to having Ricky’s troublesome mother return).

So far, season 3 is starting off well and its good to see the writers exploring Ricky and Amy, Ben and Adrian but most of all, the unknown right now is the character of Ashley.  We have seen Ashley as mature and good at controlling her emotions but as she starts to have feelings for Ricky, especially becoming more and more jealous, it’s going to be interesting to see how writers take advantage of this.  If there is one thing I do not want to see is any other character getting pregnant.  If anything, these friends should have learned from Amy and now Adrian of the challenges of being a single teen mother, the difficult choices that need to be made, etc.

I also believe in tragedy or something bad coming up.   Right now, the bad tings that are happening is primarily hurt feelings.  Ashley’s character or Adrian and Ben reacting to Ricky and Amy getting closer.  But I do believe that the writers will need to tackle more of the darker aspects of teenage life.   In season 2, it was about Grace Bowman’s father dying in an accident and that was a shock.  But its about time something happens to one of the teens… something is bound to happen, may the writers touch upon bullying, rape, drunk driving, abuse or something not so happy, I do believe that the writers need to touch upon that aspect of the teenage storyline and not focus too much on teenage pregnancy.  It worked for season one and it works for season three (considering how promiscuous Adrian’s character is, it was an easy path for writers to gravitate to).

Overall, the writers of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” were smart and stepped outside of the box by bringing in new characters, utilizing other characters more and showing us the potential of other storylines that can develop with the core six and the friends and family around them.  So, I’m happy to say that after getting frustrated with the latter half of season two, the writers have pulled me in and I am enjoying the third season thus far.  Let’s hope that writers have something surprising or shocking for the second half of the season.

if you enjoyed previous seasons of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”,  volume 5 is recommended!