RSS
Home
‘The Best Years’ S1: an undergraduate version of 'The Paper Chase'
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Freshman class of Charles U.
The DVD set, which was released on March 10, of the first season of the college drama “The Best Years” reinforced my belief that Canadian and British television series tend to be better than current American ones, eh. This Canadian show by Aaron Martin of “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” is about the first year of foster child and scholarship student Samantha Best at the fictional Charles University in Boston. Fans of the show can watch it on the N network.
My best guess is that Charles U. is based on Harvard. Regardless, it has some wonderful shots of Boston in the fall that is a very nice contrast to the current weather 40 miles north of there.
Like James Hart of “The Paper Chase,” which I reviewed the first season of recently, Best must contend with the financial and emotional stresses of adapting to a rigorous academic program. In fact, it seems that “Chase” is based on Harvard Law School.
Having gone through both a demanding undergraduate program and the rigors of law school, I can say as well that both shows portray the lives of students very well. I even had the spoiled socialite freshman roommate in the form of an obnoxious frat-boy heir to several Burger King franchises; I did not learn if his statement that he was going to earn $10 million his first year out of college became true.
Although both “Chase” and “Best” are produced very well and the acting is good, “Best” suffers just slightly from having to appeal to its younger audience. The show would benefit from having the drama turned down a notch, but the stories and acting are extraordinarily better than the second season of “Greek.”
As my review of “Greek” stated, most of the characters were incredibly self-absorbed and obsessed with their fraternity or sorority. Greek life is also an element on “Best,” but there is a much better balance. Best and her classmates deal with social and academic pressures as well as fear of losing scholarships. I can relate as well to the rapidly shifting friendships during the first years of college.
Regular readers who know that I like earnest “aw shucks” farmboy Stanley Richmond on “Jericho” and emo geek Zac “Zacaroni” Addy on “Bones” will not be surprised to know that quirky Canadian boy Noah on “Best” is my favorite. He has great enthusiasm and odd humor, shares my love of film, and has a nice sensitive side.
Also, as of the middle of the first season, uncertainty existed regarding Noah’s sexuality. I expect that any story that involves him discovering a homosexual side will be realistic and hopefully supportive. (I apologize that the stack o’ DVDs awaiting my attention prevented me from watching the entire season.)
Your homework assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to add comments as additions to this entry or e-mails to tvdvdguy@gmail.com. Go Riders!
More About:
Drama
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpeG)
…
.jpeG)
The April 7 release of series one, my people call it the first season, of the hilarious britcom “The IT Crowd” provided a chance to speak …
