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Joramun
Dec 1, 2011

No man has need of candles when the Sun awaits him.


We've all had that lesbian phase in high school, right? Starting this Tuesday, MTV is doubling down on its risqué high school comedies/dramedies. Following in the footsteps of its smash hit and pop culture phenomenon Awkward is Faking It, the premise of which is described as follows:

quote:

How far will high school friends go to fit in and become popular? When best friends Karma and Amy are mistakenly outed as lesbians, they continue the charade when their popularity soars.



So fake it 'til you make it, basically. The ancient philosophers already knew that, and modern science has proven it works! The trailer is as promising as it is romantic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mwIOd6SLW0

The official website is here. Faking It premieres April 22nd at 10:30pm/9:30c. If this show is half as clever, raunchy and respectful of its audience as Awkward, we are in for a treat.

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XboxPants
Jan 30, 2006

Steven doesn't want me watching him sleep anymore.
Huh. Haven't watched any MTV dramas for a long time (Undressed in the late 90's, maybe?). Anyway, gave this a try too. I thought it was fun, anyway. Laughed at how the conservative republican foil's anti-gay propoganda was actually completely justified. I also completely expected the peanut allergy thing to be a plot point when Karma ate peanut butter and then made out with the other girl, but nothing happened there.

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...
Pilot was decent enough to get me to watch more. It feels like it really wants to be Awkward. but with lesbian(s), which is fine by me.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.
Not bad, I'd watch more. I'm not really sure I buy the main characters as lifelong friends, though. Something feels off, though I'll be damned if I can put my finger on it.

But the novelty of the premise should carry me through a few more episodes; maybe they'll settle into a good rhythm by then.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.
Ten minutes into episode two. The chemistry I was complaining about last week is MUCH better this week. It's like the leads spent a whole bunch of time together off-set between filming the pilot and filming the series proper. And I'm digging the complicated morality at play here, too. Obviously this isn't Breaking Bad, but it's also miles away from Ryan Murphy-esque black-and-white soapboxing.

Gladi
Oct 23, 2008
Rita Volk and Katie Stevens seem to have become genuinely good friends. Thankfully no creepy RPS yet.

Some people seemed to really like the presentation of Amy's mom and stepdad. Most of the homophobic comments I personally heard were similar dismissals and being talked down to so I agree there.

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...
I definitely liked last night's episode more than the pilot. Karma and Amy are gelling better as 'best friends', I'm actually interested to see what Shane's reaction will be when he finds out Liam is/was actively trying to hook up with Karma, and shots across the bow at Glee are always entertaining.

And I was pleased to see they pulled Amy's 'coming out' to her parents already, so we don't have the show bogged down on her keeping that a secret on top of the main 'faking it (but obviously not actually)' secret.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

Gladi posted:

Some people seemed to really like the presentation of Amy's mom and stepdad. Most of the homophobic comments I personally heard were similar dismissals and being talked down to so I agree there.

Yeah, it was a human reaction: Amy's mom isn't an outwardly hateful bigot, she just holds some outmoded beliefs about sexuality. Seeing her daughter come out completely challenged everything she knew in a very public, embarrassing way. That's part of the reason Amy did it, of course: between the poo poo Mom was talking about Karma's parents and Amy's own burgeoning feelings for Karma, everything just swirled together into this perfect "gently caress you" moment.

I wouldn't be surprised if Amy's parents, in the process of wrestling with their feelings, turned into militant yet hilariously misguided LGBT supporters. (Carter Covington is obviously a huge 10 Things I Hate About You fan -- hell, he adapted it into a series -- but something tells me that Heathers was his poo poo too.)

xeria posted:

Karma and Amy are gelling better as 'best friends', I'm actually interested to see what Shane's reaction will be when he finds out Liam is/was actively trying to hook up with Karma...

When that happens, Shane's going to become their worst nightmare. One of the things I liked about this episode is that it constantly reinforced how hosed up Karma and Amy's scheme is (Shane's speech about how he hated himself for living a lie), while also showing how their environment actively encourages their behavior (Homecoming Dance free for gay couples, $50 for everyone else). It's a very interesting hole to find Karma and Amy stuck in, and that's before we throw in Amy's attraction to Karma, and Karma's very teenaged scheme to "make" Liam fall in love with her.

quote:

...and shots across the bow at Glee are always entertaining.

That was awesome, if a little ballsy since I'm not seeing much more depth to Shane just yet. (Granted, it's only two episodes deep.)

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...

DivisionPost posted:

When that happens, Shane's going to become their worst nightmare. One of the things I liked about this episode is that it constantly reinforced how hosed up Karma and Amy's scheme is (Shane's speech about how he hated himself for living a lie), while also showing how their environment actively encourages their behavior (Homecoming Dance free for gay couples, $50 for everyone else). It's a very interesting hole to find Karma and Amy stuck in, and that's before we throw in Amy's attraction to Karma, and Karma's very teenaged scheme to "make" Liam fall in love with her.

I think Shane's general reaction is probably going to depend on whether or not the 'faking it' reveal coincides (or comes out as a result of) Amy actually acknowledging that she's not so straight after all. He's probably just as likely to take offense to the stunt they've pulled as he is to fully embrace Amy.

(I'm expecting he'll end up heavily anti-Karma at some point, since it's really Karma who's egging on this whole scheme.)

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

xeria posted:

I think Shane's general reaction is probably going to depend on whether or not the 'faking it' reveal coincides (or comes out as a result of) Amy actually acknowledging that she's not so straight after all. He's probably just as likely to take offense to the stunt they've pulled as he is to fully embrace Amy.

(I'm expecting he'll end up heavily anti-Karma at some point, since it's really Karma who's egging on this whole scheme.)

Well holy poo poo, we're about to find out! And it looks like you nailed it; time will tell how he feels about Karma, but Shane definitely isn't holding this against Amy. Especially since it brought the latent homosexuality he detected to the surface.

That's some great loving hustle, though. I'm really glad they didn't wait until the end of the season for somebody to find out.

Also, that song was brutal.

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...
Yeah, I didn't watch the next episode preview but I have to imagine he's going to be pretty staunchly pro-Amy/anti-Karma coming out of that reveal.

Rocksicles
Oct 19, 2012

by Nyc_Tattoo
Why the gently caress am i watching this.






Right, hot lesbians.

Chris Knight
Jun 5, 2002

me @ ur posts


Fun Shoe

DivisionPost posted:

I wouldn't be surprised if Amy's parents, in the process of wrestling with their feelings, turned into militant yet hilariously misguided LGBT supporters. (Carter Covington is obviously a huge 10 Things I Hate About You fan -- hell, he adapted it into a series -- but something tells me that Heathers was his poo poo too.)

Heathers was a Daniel Waters joint. Carter would have been like 16 when it came out (1989).

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...

Chris Knight posted:

Heathers was a Daniel Waters joint. Carter would have been like 16 when it came out (1989).

I think he meant that he's a fan of Heathers, not that he actually made Heathers.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

xeria posted:

I think he meant that he's a fan of Heathers, not that he actually made Heathers.

Yes, thank you, that's exactly what I meant. He would've been at a perfect age to appreciate it, too.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.
"So, what's your favorite movie?"
"My favorite films explore the emotional destruction caused by 9/11."
"...You know what, I just realized that my parents are getting divorced and I no longer believe in love. Please excuse me."

Fantastic.

EDIT: HOLY SWEET LORD INCEST TWINS :laffo:

DivisionPost fucked around with this message at 04:51 on May 21, 2014

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


Gave this show a shot tonight. It's enjoyable and I laughed several times, but goddamn the bleeps are irritating. Just don't have them swear at all rather than that poo poo.

Senerio
Oct 19, 2009

Ooh! Are we messing with Adora?



Chasiubao posted:

Gave this show a shot tonight. It's enjoyable and I laughed several times, but goddamn the bleeps are irritating. Just don't have them swear at all rather than that poo poo.

Episode 2 kinda sold me on the bleeps. I think bleeping out curses makes them funnier than just leaving it in.

Gladi
Oct 23, 2008

Chasiubao posted:

Gave this show a shot tonight. It's enjoyable and I laughed several times, but goddamn the bleeps are irritating. Just don't have them swear at all rather than that poo poo.

I prefer people who say gently caress even when it is bleeped out to people saying fudge all the time. Both are stupid though.

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


Gladi posted:

I prefer people who say gently caress even when it is bleeped out to people saying fudge all the time. Both are stupid though.

Okay it grew on me after the 20 Questions scene.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.
Finale tonight. I don't know what the prospects are for renewal, but I just dug up some ratings information that shows that the audience has been consistent and it's only a shade off of Awkward's 18-49 numbers (literally, one-tenth of a point). So we may yet see this return, but I'm hoping this doesn't leave us hanging.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

DivisionPost posted:

Finale tonight. I don't know what the prospects are for renewal, but I just dug up some ratings information that shows that the audience has been consistent and it's only a shade off of Awkward's 18-49 numbers (literally, one-tenth of a point). So we may yet see this return, but I'm hoping this doesn't leave us hanging.

I thought it had already been renewed?

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

Open Source Idiom posted:

I thought it had already been renewed?

See, I don't watch a hell of a lot of MTV, so when I see commercials pushing the crap out of Awkward, "TUESDAYS AT 10-9 CENTRALfollowedbyFakingIt!" I kind of run short on confidence. But yes, a Google search confirms!

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


DivisionPost posted:

See, I don't watch a hell of a lot of MTV, so when I see commercials pushing the crap out of Awkward, "TUESDAYS AT 10-9 CENTRALfollowedbyFakingIt!" I kind of run short on confidence. But yes, a Google search confirms!

:neckbeard:

This show is the very definition of a guilty pleasure for me.

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
"Yay there's a Faking It thread!"

"Oh, it's less than a page long"

:(

CharlieFoxtrot
Mar 27, 2007

organize digital employees



Amy is really carrying this show; the character is interesting and well-written, and for an MTV sitcom actress Rita Volk is capable of a lot of subtlety in her performance. I thought her stepsister would be a drag on the show but they've managed to give her quite a bit of narrative nuance; unfortunately it also reminds me of how Bunheads was cut down in its prime.

The Karma-Liam push-pull is boring as poo poo but if that's the engine they're using to pull Amy's story forward, so be it, I guess.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

CharlieFoxtrot posted:

The Karma-Liam push-pull is boring as poo poo but if that's the engine they're using to pull Amy's story forward, so be it, I guess.

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm worried about. I'm more interested in seeing Karma and Amy put their bullshit aside and try to hash out how they feel about each other. But then what's the show? Because they clearly wouldn't be "Faking It" anymore, they'd be "Feeling It Out." Keeping Liam in the mix is a safe and easy answer, but if they're really going to involve Liam in a long-game triangle, I'd like to see Karma show that she's legitimately attracted to him too. As it stands it plays like she's deluding herself into thinking that she's attracted to him, and I don't see how they milk another ten episodes out of that.

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


DivisionPost posted:

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm worried about. I'm more interested in seeing Karma and Amy put their bullshit aside and try to hash out how they feel about each other. But then what's the show? Because they clearly wouldn't be "Faking It" anymore, they'd be "Feeling It Out."

They could fake being straights who are faking being lesbians :tinfoil:

Rarity posted:

"Yay there's a Faking It thread!"

"Oh, it's less than a page long"

:(

Not all high-school shows can be Glee :v:

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.
Okay, if I didn't already know that season 2 was a go, I'd be pissed, but that's a LEGIT cliffhanger. Well played.

I mean, it felt like everybody was off key acting wise, but gently caress it, that's why they call it a guilty pleasure.

EDIT: To be clear, I would have been pissed, but not because I thought the ending was bullshit. Once Karma and Amy started blurring the lines of their relationship, there was no way it could end with anything remaining whole. I'm just glad there's a chance to see them rebuild; and a drunken, grief-fueled hookup between Amy and Liam is a slick way to keep that lovable lunkhead in the loop without totally compromising his character.

DivisionPost fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Jun 11, 2014

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


DivisionPost posted:

Okay, if I didn't already know that season 2 was a go, I'd be pissed, but that's a LEGIT cliffhanger. Well played.

I mean, it felt like everybody was off key acting wise, but gently caress it, that's why they call it a guilty pleasure.

I hate cliffhangers, so thanks for the warning! Will wait till S2 premières to watch it I guess.

XboxPants
Jan 30, 2006

Steven doesn't want me watching him sleep anymore.
Lauren is great, that character is the break-out of this show. So, so much better than the mess that was Quinn Fabray.

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
Did they really just do the 'lesbian sleeps with a man' thing? Ugh.

Rocksicles
Oct 19, 2012

by Nyc_Tattoo
All every woman really wants, be it a mother, senator, nun, is some serious deep dicking.


Enough of your lesbian agenda

Fellwenner
Oct 21, 2005
Don't make me kill you.

So, with the ending we got I imagine this next season they have a real break and hate each other? I mean, they can't get together because then the show would be over.

Rocksicles
Oct 19, 2012

by Nyc_Tattoo
they can get to together, cheat, break up, gently caress other girls, get back together, cheat, break up.... buy beanies, get tattoos, buy doc martins... go to college.

like real lesbians.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

Rarity posted:

Did they really just do the 'lesbian sleeps with a man' thing? Ugh.

Mmm, yeah, that's an issue. I'm looking at it through character: she was drunk, heartbroken, and -- I'm arguing from a place of natural ignorance, so I realize I could be WAY off base here -- she just doesn't know enough about herself to say "Nope, this won't work at all." Yeah, she kissed that guy a few episodes back and decided that guys really weren't her thing. However, she hasn't been with any girls either: she tried going on a date with one and realized that she's too hung up on Karma to really SEE anyone else. Meanwhile, at this point there are only ten functioning brain cells between Liam and Amy, and they all want to focus on something other than "Karma's a bitch."

If Amy started the show knowing that she was gay, I'd be more inclined to call bullshit. But she's inexperienced and vulnerable enough that I wouldn't automatically see this as a betrayal of principle and character.

Again though, I do see the problem now that it's pointed out, and it'd be nice to see this addressed next year.

Gladi
Oct 23, 2008

DivisionPost posted:


Again though, I do see the problem now that it's pointed out, and it'd be nice to see this addressed next year.

It is going to be adressed by Amy dating boys.

xeria
Jul 26, 2004

Ruh roh...
There was an interview or quote or something from Amy's actress where she said, full-stop, that Amy's a lesbian (not "bisexual" or even just "confused"), so yeah, I'd imagine they'll address all of that next season. She's still undergoing her own coming-out process, after all.

DivisionPost
Jun 28, 2006

Nobody likes you.
Everybody hates you.
You're gonna lose.

Smile, you fuck.

xeria posted:

There was an interview or quote or something from Amy's actress where she said, full-stop, that Amy's a lesbian (not "bisexual" or even just "confused"), so yeah, I'd imagine they'll address all of that next season. She's still undergoing her own coming-out process, after all.

Yeah, I hope I didn't imply that she was "confused," just that she was still figuring herself out and that this is a painful part of her process.

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Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~

DivisionPost posted:

Mmm, yeah, that's an issue. I'm looking at it through character: she was drunk, heartbroken, and -- I'm arguing from a place of natural ignorance, so I realize I could be WAY off base here -- she just doesn't know enough about herself to say "Nope, this won't work at all." Yeah, she kissed that guy a few episodes back and decided that guys really weren't her thing. However, she hasn't been with any girls either: she tried going on a date with one and realized that she's too hung up on Karma to really SEE anyone else. Meanwhile, at this point there are only ten functioning brain cells between Liam and Amy, and they all want to focus on something other than "Karma's a bitch."

If Amy started the show knowing that she was gay, I'd be more inclined to call bullshit. But she's inexperienced and vulnerable enough that I wouldn't automatically see this as a betrayal of principle and character.

Again though, I do see the problem now that it's pointed out, and it'd be nice to see this addressed next year.

I agree that when compared to every other 'lesbian screws a guy' storyline out there this one comes out looking pretty logical and it's something I can relate to real life. But it's just... did they really have to go there? It would be really nice if just once if television could show a lesbian who didn't. It's this kind of thing that makes people latch onto Cosima/Delphine from Orphan Black as a positive girl/girl relationship.

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