THE CARRIE DIARIES "Runs" Out of Time

Article first published as THE CARRIE DIARIES "Runs" Out of Time on TheTVKing.

The CW's The Carrie Diaries, a prequel of sorts to Sex and the City, but taking its cue from the novels, rather than the HBO show, draws its second season to a close this week in "Run to You." As they graduate, Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) and her friends are at a crossroads. Their decisions will take them in different directions, and none has a harder choice to make than Carrie herself.

"Run to You" is a disappointing hour because of the lack of female empowerment. Here's Carrie, eighteen years old and barely out of high school, and she's ready to move across the country with no prospects of her own for a guy, Sebastian (Austin Butler). Granted, Carrie may be trying to escape her problems, having lost her job, too late to try to go to college in the fall, and estranged from her father, Tom (Matt Letscher). But still...

Even worse is Maggie's (Katie Findlay) story. She is a strong girl who is just finding out how she can stand on her own, but rather than decide that she wants to pursue her own goals, she's happy to accept Pete's (Claybourne Elder) marriage proposal. Will she even still go to college now? Who knows? Her fate is in the hands of a guy she only recently met.

Samantha (Lindsey Gort), the epitome of a woman who can use a man for her own selfish needs, though she isn't cruel, is watered done and overly sentimental in The Carrie Diaries. Perhaps she hasn't grown into who she will be yet, but this version of Samantha contains only occasional hints of the beloved icon fans adore.

This isn't a great example to have on TV for impressionable teens to watch. The characters of Sex and the City wanted to find love, sure, but that was far from the only thing going on with them, and they weren't going to compromise themselves or settle. The Carrie Diaries is teaching a new generation that its OK to just find a guy and do what he wants. Carrie herself breaks away from this at the end of "Run to You," but it's too little, too late, the message already hammered home.

 This show is set in the 1980s, so it's not like women were only destined to be housewives at the time. The 1980s was a period where females did want careers and were proving they were as good as men, continuing to break into fields that were long male-dominated. Where is that spirit in this finale? If anyone would subscribe to it, it would be Carrie Bradshaw, who has shown her mettle in previous installments.

Even Larissa (Freema Agyeman), the symbol of the free-spirited, independent woman, ties the knot in this season finale, marrying Harlan (Scott Cohen) in an airport. Granted, she has negotiated the arrangement she wants with him, but she's also using him as a crutch to escape her unemployment issue, bumping up the marriage so she can concentrate on fun in his arms, rather than trying to rebuild her career yet. It's not inspiring.

I do give The Carrie Diaries credit for not doing a traditional graduation episode. Since there have only been two short seasons, it would be weird to have big, tearful goodbyes for several of the players, but a lot of shows would have done so anyway. In "Run to You," the ceremony is brushed over in favor of getting to more character development, even if it's not good development.

I also liked the ending between Mouse (Ellen Wong) and West (RJ Brown). They are forced back into one another's orbits and do sleep together, but then Mouse tells him it was a good way to leave things, both heading on to very different futures.

The Carrie Diaries has done some things right. The portrayal of homosexuals in the 1980s is eye-opening. The main gay character, Walt (Brendan Dooling), is a fully fleshed out individual who defies stereotypes and forces his parents to confront who he is in a very moving scene. Donna (Chloe Bridges) ends up being a really interesting person, the pretty bully who is secretly a genius. The father-daughter relationship between Tom and Carrie and Tom and Dorrit (Stefania Owen) is great, and the sister bond between Carrie and Dorrit is sweet. The period references are only occasionally forced. The acting is decent.

But it also gets a lot wrong, as I've argued in many of the above paragraphs. It's a fluff teen drama that doesn't live up to its potential or legacy, and with the chance of a third season so low, it's not unlikely to be long-remembered. I did find it entertaining enough to sit through all twenty-six installments, and I'll admit I'd like to see it go on, albeit with a few things corrected, and likely without most of the cast just because that's what makes sense for the story.

I guess the thing that bothers me most about The Carrie Diaries, though, and this is a huge obstacle going in, is that none of these people are still in Carrie's life when she's an adult, except Samantha, of course. That means with every squabble she has with them, I'm waiting to see this being the last straw for their relationship. Yet, the tone of the show does not allow anything but hugs and reconciliation. This robs the chance of it being any kind of true prequel to the original show, lessening my enjoyment considerably. It needs more pathos.

The Carrie Diaries has not been picked up, and the odds are not in its favor.

THE CARRIES DIARIES "Win Some, Lose Some"

Article first published as THE CARRIES DIARIES "Win Some, Lose Some" on TheTVKing.

The CW's The Carrie Diaries, a prequel to Sex and the City sort of based on the book of the same name, returns for a second season tonight with "Win Some, Lose Some." It's summer, and Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) is ensconced in a fabulous New York City apartment. Too bad her ex-boyfriend, Sebastian (Austin Butler), shows up and ruins her good times. Luckily, a true, life-long friend is just around the corner for Carrie.

In the first season, the connections drawn between this new show and SATC are few and far between, which could have made it harder to gain viewers. Though most SATC fans aren't watching the CW, anyway, with the network's main demographic having been born too late to enjoy the SATC craze. Either way, season two immediately sets about to make the parallels a little more obvious, tying the two together.

For one thing, Carrie's hair is now looking more familiar. And I'm burying the lead, because Samantha Jones (Lindsey Gort, 2 Guns) is on the scene! It takes awhile in "Win Some, Lose Some" for Samantha to show up, but once she does, she clocks plenty of screen time, with the promise of more in the near future. The official website does not currently list Samantha as a main character, but Wikipedia does, so I'm not sure how much she'll be included in The Carrie Diaries from now, but probably quite a bit.

It's very hard to make a prequel series (whether or not they call it that, it is considered such) because the performances of certain characters will inevitably be compared to those that came before them. Robb is not a lot like Sarah Jessica Parker, even though her locks now match somewhat, but I think Gort hews a little closer to Kim Cattrall. The mannerisms and the voice are a little off, but with her mouth closed, Gort looks a lot like her predecessor. Now, whether matching the look is a good thing, further inviting comparisons, when the personality is off, is debatable. I'm just reporting the facts.

"Win Some, Lose Some" does not really establish the needed chemistry between Carrie and Samantha. Their bonding feels a little false, and it's puzzling why Sam, as she's presented, would tag along with the kid. Her dialogue indicates Carrie is annoying her. Samantha actually seems kind of bored and lonely, which is the only explanation that makes sense for Samantha to follow Carrie around. Not the best start to an extremely important relationship.

That aside, though, "Win Some, Lose Some" is not a bad episode. It splits off the characters in pleasing pairings, and moves the story along. Plus, it's set during the summer, which is rare for a TV show to do. I wonder if The Carrie Diaries will stay in the warmer months for awhile, given that the sequel to the book is set in the summer? Let's hope so, because it feels novel and interesting.

Maggie (Katie Findlay) and Mouse (Ellen Wong) are at odds over Maggie sleeping with Sebastian last season, and apart from Carrie, we see how these two girls work out the tension between them. With Carrie destined to move on without her high school gal pals, one hopes that they can rely on each other, long after Carrie exits the picture. The season premiere finds a lot of strife in their friendship, but perhaps they can come to some sort of understanding eventually.

Elsewhere, there's a nice little story between Dorrit (Stefania Owen) and her father (Matt Letscher). Again, Carrie clearly is not involved in their lives down the road, based on SATC, so viewers will want to know these two have each other, even when Carrie moves on in the Big Apple.

It's kind of hard to appreciate some aspects of The Carrie Diaries, knowing so many of the characters must either die or having a falling out with the main girl before the end of the show's run. Perhaps it will seek to chart a new path, one in which Carrie's friends and family from her hometown keep in touch, but if this show sticks to the established plot, Carrie will move on without them. Thus, I appreciate that Carrie is on her own in this episode, even as I hope for happy-ish tie-ups of the supporting players, sans Carrie, at the end. Or in the middle, judging by the pacing thus far.

Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) is the one person I wish for most to somehow forge something lasting with Carrie. However, after she does something nice for Walt (Brendan Dooling), The Carrie Diaries can't resist souring our image of her once more.  I love this character as much as I hate her, and it will be interesting to see how Donna turns out as an adult... if we get that far.

The Carrie Diaries is somewhat stuck in honoring what came before it, but for the parts of the episode that a viewer can forget SATC and just take this show on its own, it's enjoyable. Maybe waiting a few more years before making this production would have helped with that somewhat, but since the CW did not, I do appreciate what's being done, even if it's not quite rising up to the shadow it's living in.

The Carrie Diaries premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

Open up and read The Carrie Diaries

Grade: 81%

Everyone is at least a little bit familiar with the HBO hit Sex and the City. When the author of the book that series is based on, Candace Bushnell, decided to write a prequel, it is little surprise that the CW, known for their teen-centric dramas, would latch on. THE CARRIE DIARIES, premiering Monday, January 14th at 8 p.m. ET. The show has a built in audience, and will surely deliver big ratings, at least initially, from Sex and the City fans who want to see how it all began.

What’s disappointing is that there is not more connection between THE CARRIE DIARIES and the original series. Yes, they are made by different people, but given the popularity of Sex and the City, and that is what the CW will be banking on to build an audience, besides their typical demographic, a cameo by Sarah Jessica Parker, or a glimpse of a familiar setting, would go a long ways. While Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte won’t show up for awhile, some thread to their world would be nice. The only touch I noticed in “The Pilot” that speaks to this is the final shot of Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) writing as she looks out the window.

That being said, the bones of the new show are firmly in place as THE CARRIE DIARIES begins. Robb may not look all that much like Parker, but she has the narration, fashion sense, and free spiritedness down. Carrie is still in high school and has a long way to go, but she’s starting off on the right foot.

Also, leaving the series set in the 1980s is a good decision. It allows it to be a period piece, setting it apart from the rest of the CW’s lineup. In retrospect, the production team can hand pick the best trends and music from that era, knowing what will stand the test of time. In this arena, they do well.

The key to the story of THE CARRIE DIARIES has to be that Carrie will grow into the character fans the world over love. That’s why the scenes set inNew York Citywork far better than the ones that take place inConnecticut. In the Big Apple, Carrie visits Century 21 department store and is introduced to the cultural scene by the style editor of her favorite magazine, Larissa (Freema Agyeman, Doctor Who, Law & Order: UK), which sets her off towards her life goals.

Back at the high school, Carrie hangs out with Mouse (Ellen Wong, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Maggie (Katie Findlay, The Killing), and Walt (Brendan Dooling), while drooling over Sebastian (Austin Butler, Life Unexpected). None of these people speak to who Carrie will become as an adult, which is probably why they will, or should, all drift away sooner, rather than later, during the run of the show. Obviously, in high school, Carrie is just beginning her real life, but knowing that none of these people play important roles later, the investment to be made in them is minimal.

The balance will have to be found in making Carrie’s high school days matter. Because they don’t, viewers will want her to hurry up and get out of her small town. But she can’t too quickly, because she has years left there. This could potentially stifle the plot, and perhaps the gun was jumped by bringing in Larissa and Carrie’s downtown job so soon.

Carrie’s home life is a different side of her entirely. Dealing with her mother’s recent passing, Carrie acts as a sort of mother figure to her younger sister, rebellious Dorrit (Stefania Owen, Running Wilde), while trying not to be too much trouble for her father, Tom (Matt Letscher, Scandal, Eli Stone). Dorrit and Tom are not in Carrie’s adult stories, so do they drift apart, do they have a major falling out, or will tragedy strike?

The home stuff is actually pretty interesting, because unlike the high school scenes, it contributes to Carrie’s maturation. But, again, because we all know what is to come, it feels a little painted into a corner. Sure, Carrie might maintain healthy relationships with her family, even though they aren’t mentioned for six seasons and two films, but it seems unlikely.

THE CARRIE DIARIES struggles with delivering the CW’s normal fare, teen angst, while building towards something much more. The “Pilot” is intriguing, but not overly special. The cast seems capable enough; will the writing find a balance that succeeds in moving things appropriately forwards? Having not read the novel yet, I do not know if the source material has a good answer for any of this, but the television show has to if it wants to stay on the air.

Want to read some of my fiction? It's on my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Also, for the latest updates and article links, as well as commentary on episodes I don't fully review, please follow me on Twitter!

Article first posted on Seat42F