Customer Reviews

Sweet Valley High - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 22 episode first season was a miracle for myself and many others who grew up reading the series. I honestly was shocked when this series hit the air just because the idea of a TV series was long overdue.

It obviously had a higher production budget than 'Saved By the Bell' but for some reason, this series never attained 90210/OC type ratings.

Sweet Valley High revolves around the adventures identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield (played by real-life twins Cynthia and Brittany Daniels) have while growing up in southern California. To the first season's credit, several of the episodes were loosely based on the series.

Not to be missed episodes include "Dangerous love" which (in trying to incorporate some book elements) introduces us to the TV Sweet Valley gang for the very first time. Bridget Flanery plays a perfect Lila Fowler because she is so scheming and ruthless.

"Almost married" has Elizabeth invite Todd (Ryan James Bittle) over for the weekend after his parents' house is being painted and her parents are going away. Jessica blackmails Elizabeth into then having a party, but is in trouble when she cannot return the emergency credit card purchased outfit which was worn at the forbidden party. Because Elizabeth traditionally has the 'square' reputation, the idea of her and Todd living together for the weekend was a really neat plot development.

When Enid's (Amy Danles) new boyfriend becomes the spokesperson for an anti-drug campaign in "Secrets", she is worried. Before meeting Ronnie (Drew Bell II), she used to have a drug problem. Jessica (ever the schemer) tries to use this overheard information to snag the publicity opportunity for herself. The absurdity of Steven Tyler (even in name) doing an anti-drug campaign with such an uptight and narrow-minded teen is second to how Ronnie treats Enid. He breaks up with her, but Enid is now free to find somebody who is not judgmental.

Finally, at the season finale "Say goodbye" Todd has an opportunity to attend an exclusive basketball camp in Vermont, but this alternately means leaving Sweet Valley-and Elizabeth. Because a long distance relationship is a very realistic scenario for many teens and the young at heart, it made a wonderful close. We knew Elizabeth and Todd would somehow stay together, but had to watch the next season of this series in order to find out.

Although several episodes in this season are loosely based on the series, there are some errors. In addition to Elizabeth and Jessica, the Wakefields are also supposed to have an eldest son named Steven, but he receives no mention. Plus, Alice and Ned Wakefield are (oddly considering their very active book presence) never actually seen in the series, the most presence they have is an off-camera voice.

As a young adult I loved these books, and I vaguely remebered watching a few of these episodes when it first aired, but by then I was too old to be watching this series, and embarassed in front of my friends. That doesn't mean I didn't sneak home after school and watch when no one was looking...

Seeing all the characters come alive in this very hokey teenage melodrama filled with bad jokes and comedy still makes me laugh. The twins do a great job of reprising the roles of Elizabeth and Jessica, but how people could get them mixed up is beyond me! In the first minute of the show, we see Elizabeth dressed very preppy and cute, while her slutty sister dresses like an MTV model. It cracks me up seeing the terrible actors approach the girls pretending to get them mixed up. Its obvious: Jessica is the wanna-be prostitue, while Elizabeth is a prude.

Not that this show doesn't have other good qualitites, such as bad 90's music and bad haircuts for the boys. Elizabeth's boyfriend is a stick who is dumb as a brick, but kinda cute in the 90's preppy boy way...

Seriously, this show makes me laugh, and I really enjoy the campy drama and overacting, especially on the part of Lila and Winston, who follow exactly Franscine Pascal's book characters.

If you expect a better 90210, look elsewhere, but if you want 90's teenage drama, go for this series and read the books!

I loved watching this show on Saturday mornings, i couldn't wait to get up and watch it. Alot of you may have noticed that there is no SVH season 2 anywhere in site, and that's because of lack luster sales, which isn't to hard to believe, BV is charging $45 dollars and up for a 3 disc set of 20 minute shows with no extras! that's a bit ridiculous, you would think that a bell would go off for them but i guess it hasn't, anyway SVH fans it's time to band together the rest of the SVH series is rumored to be in jeporady of not getting released so write to Buena Vista and tell them you want it: Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc./Dept. CS,/Burbank, CA 91521: you can also check out their website about contacting them through email:http://video.movies.go.com/

I am one of those adults who occasionally sneaks peaks at SVH novels from my teen years (although I wouldn't admit it out loud). I didn't watch much of the show when it was airing new episodes on the TV channels but I got ahold of the DVDs for season 1 and just loved it. Totally, campy escapist fun. No life lessons to be learned; no realistic charatcers; no apologizing for the high camp factor. It is such a soap opera and that's why I love it. I hope they put the other seasons on DVD.

As for the acting the only truly bad actors were the guy that pays Todd (he is so bad he gives me the heebie-jeebies) and the guy that plays Bruce. I notice they didn't have too many hot guys on the show. But I digress ...

I really liked the actresses that played the twins. They were a little too old to play high school teens but they did an admirable job. Which ever twin played Elizabeth (was it Cynthia or Brittany???) did the impossible and made me sympathize with Liz which I would have never thought possible because she always struck me as a self-righteous, hypocritical bore.

I hated the TV series version of Todd. I don't remember him being so agressive and jealous. Every guy who even looked at Liz cross-eyed he wanted to wrestle to the ground. And Jessica sure is a ho-bag.

The best episodes are the dancing one and the three-part arc about the creepy hospital orderly, Peter (who's name was Carl in the book series, I believe) who kidnapped Liz. The guy who played him ... he makes Hannibal Lecter a little less scary. He was awesome!

If you are looking for cheeseball fun, then buy this DVD!

I grew up with the whole SVH series.. including the books for the elementary kids.. I loved every series of SVH.. especially the SVU and Elizabeth.. Senior year was great too. I really liked how FP pushed them into a more realistic world. And I thought it was great how the new kids from the rival HS mixed in with the SVH studendts. I was so so so sad to see that she ended the series...especically when it just got to be so great! And growing up I had everything that they offered with SVH on it. Even the board game which was kinda cheesy.. but still fun.
So when I heard there was going to be a TV show about SVH I was estatic. And I just loved the twins they chose to play J+E. but i have to say that after seeing the first season.. i am really dissapointed. I know it's only a 30min show. but the acting was horrible for the most part.i actually cringed and was embarrassed for some of the actors...and wondering just what they really thought of the show they were putting on... i dont know who wrote the scripts and what direction they were sent in.. it seems to me that maybe they tried to cover too many books in one episode. the episode that i was really annoyed with was COMA. E is in a coma.. and then.. right after a commercial she's shocked and then wakes up.. i mean come on!!! a lot of the shows were like that. i think the best thing about this show was the fashion! and thats mainly J. i dunno..im sure i will get a lot of slack for saying this review because so many ppl wrote in and liked it. i realize this show was for fun etc.. but for me it was still just to darn goofy and predictable. i won't be buying the DVDS. which i think is sad because for almost 30years i have been collecting EVERY BOOK. all editions too. i loved watching the books being rereleased with new cover art etc.. and anything else SVH. it's too bad this was not taken more seriously but the writers and everyone involved with the TV show. especially FP. so unless you are a die hard fan and like the show, or have money to burn, or just HAVE to have everything and anything SVH.. i would suggest renting the dvds maybe.. but i wouldn't pay the amount they are asking for.. thats for sure.

i too grew up highly addicted to the sweet valley series...sweet valley twins more than sweet valley high. but, me and my older sister were ecstatic when, in 94, we heard about the show. but yeah, the networks were very confusing about when it aired and this and that, so we only caught SOME episodes of seasons 1 and 2, and nothing more. i almost fell off of my computer chair when i saw that the dvd was coming!!! luckily, i had only found out just days before its release, so i didn't have to wait THAT long.

now i am almost through the second disk...ahhh i don't want it to end...haha.

the show is, as everyone says, not very much based on the books at all...the prince arthur episode wasn't even based on sweet valley high. (it was actually in sweet valley twins.) but still...anyone who grew up reading about the wakefield twins and wishing they lived in sweet valley as well...will adore this show.

actually, i think the show is corny, the characters all look too old to be in high school, and the situations presented only barely touch on what high school life is really like today...(or even in 1994). but, still, you gotta love sweet valley. i have to bust out laughing at every episode for how corny some of the things are, but it is an upbeat and fun show...a show that you can sit down and watch when you just really need to take a break, laugh, relax, and get caught up in the scandals and drama of someone ELSE'S life! even if you have no clue what sweet valley even is, it's a fun show all the same. i would have watched it regardless b/c i love twins...and brittany and cynthia were very good as jessica and elizabeth...very beautiful...only downside is, of course, they were very mature looking, nothing like 16...made things kind of un-realistic sometimes.

and as someone else said, it is VERY 90's...it's so hilarious to have such a blast from the past with the clothes and all...and jessica and lila, the "fashionable" characters, oh man...at times they looked brilliant, but some of the clothes were so funny! but i love it :)

it makes me feel like i'm 12 years old all over again when i see this. i remembered more about the show than i thought i did. and i definitely missed more episodes than i saw, so it's really great finally getting to catch up on the others.

bottom line...if you have no clue what sweet valley is, then i'll tell you straight up, it is nothing like the OC. the OC has very realistic portrayals of high schoolers today. but sweet valley high has pretty people, funny people, and entertaining situations. and of course, the show centers around the sisterly twin bond love of jessica and elizabeth. you can't really go wrong with this show...i've laughed...i've cried...seriously.

and i can't wait for other seasons!!!

I remember reading reading my frist sweet valley twins and friends book.My school libaryian showed them to me in 3rd grade! ever since then i've been on the edge of my seat in suspense reading every sweet valley book. i remember reading the covers one time...and seeing that IT'S A SERIES!I was so excited. I looked on the last page and found the listings.Unfortunally my home town wasn't on the listings..I was so sad..But i remember catching some episodes out of the blue. One day i was surfing the internet for Sweet valley related thing.And i saw this DVD. I was so excited and itmeditly i asked my mom if she would order it.I waited a little while for it to come. I am proud to say it was worth the wait...Any way i poped it in and was a little disappointed. I thought it would be like the EXCAT book.But then as i saw more i related how they are alike to the books.I couldn't watch them for awhile beacaues of other things.Lately i've been watching a TON. And as i watch i see how they are alike to the books even more.Even though Todd and Bruce look PRETTY weird and the fact that there's no ADULT parents...But ADULT teachers was a tunoff but the greatness of the DVD replaced that minor complaint. I hope This DVD makes a sucess beacause then they'll make the 2nd...3rd...and 4th seasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been a fan of the sweet valley book series ever since I was a little girl, and grew up reading all of the books. And now, even though I'm 19, I still enjoy reading the books frequently, going back in time to the magical world of sweet valley.
I also watched the show when it was on TV, but only saw a few episodes here and there, so I was ecstatic when I saw it on DVD.

The show is definitely completely different than the books, having only a few of the same storylines in the episodes. But nevertheless, the show is fun to watch, from the hilariously corny storylines, to the bad fashion choices. So keep in mind, if you are looking for a more serious, realistic high school show (the oc or 90210) then this isn't the show for you.

The most ridiculous part of the show is during the first episode, at the the dance part where hilariously bad actors are trying to figure which twin is which, when its clear which one is jessica, and which one is elizabeth, just from looking at the outfits they are wearing.
Cynthia and brittany daniel make THE perfect Jessica and Elizabeth wakefield, despite the fact that they look way too old to be portraying 16 year old high school students.
The actor who plays Winston Egbert also his role down perfectly. He both looks, and acts, just as you would imagine him in the book series.
Two characters that I'm a little bit disappointed with are Todd Wilkins and Lila Fowler. Todd is completely different than the Todd you read about in the book. The amount of jealousy he has everytime another guy even looks at elizabeth is completely ridiculous, and I've lost count of how many times he has said "I'm gonna kill that guy!" I've gotta say, he's probably the worst actor on the show.
And Lila isn't a whole lot better. First of all, she looks nothing like she is described in the book. And she acts nothing like she does in the book either. I can see why she was replaced later on in the show with a different actress (I think her name is Shirlee something?) who is a much better Lila.

All in all, if your looking for a fun, goofy version of the book series, then I would recommend that you watch this show.

I was disappointed to hear that the other seasons wouldn't be put on DVD, because of poor sales. But I'm really hoping that they eventually do because I'd love to see the rest of the episodes!

I saw this in the store and picked it up on a whim. I read Sweet Valley High from years and started when I was nine years old. I wanted something light and entertaining and I had only seen the show a couple of times before.

I really thought that the girls cast as the twins would be the biggest disappointment. Since I had read so many of their books, I had a pretty solid idea of what Elizabeth and Jessica should sound like. It is only a tribute to the amazing talent of Brittany and Cynthia Daniels that I wasn't, and moreover, I was impressed with their flair for delivering even the corniest lines and giving merit to the more ridiculous plotlines.

The supporting cast was where I had the most problems. Bridget Flannery did not do a terrible job playing the role of Lila, but I also thought that her portrayal was not up to par with the Lila from the books. I always saw Lila as cooler, disdainful, never rattled. In the show, she came across as loud and abrasive, and overly gossipy (More like Caroline Spears). She didn't look like any sort of competition for Brittany. Jessica totally upstaged her in every single scene.

For the guy cast as Todd, it was fifty fifty. Sometimes, he delivered his lines very woodenly, with no feeling whatsoever. Others, he was more charismatic, but still not spectacular. Although he is handsome, he didn't act like someone who could have gotten Elizabeth Wakefield.

Bruce was a very vague echo of how I pictured him. He always hangs around with this short, skinny hispanic guy that didn't exist in the books. (I guess to make the series more diverse). Once again, he was nowhere near as interesting or complex as he was in the books.

Enid and Winston for the most part, filled their roles very well. I also liked Amarylis, (I think that's her name) but she wasn't in the books either.

One last absurd sidenote I'm going to add, is in this alternate TV universe, Steven doesn't exist and the Wakefield parents are faceless entities and barely mentioned.

The first season borrowed from the books quite a bit, and I had fun seeing some of the novels brought to life.

The episodes are:
-Dangerous Love (It has some scenes from Double Love, Jessica gets thrown in the pool. It's also a good introduction of the twins.)

-Oracle On The Air (As far as I can tell, this doesn't mirror a novel at all)

-Skin and Bones

-Critical Mess

-What, me, Study? (Parts of it are taken from book three)

-Almost married (Book 102)

-Curse of Lawrence Manson

DISC 2

-Prince of Santa Dora

-Coma (Book 7, Dear Sister)

-Uh Oh Seven

-Secrets (Book 2)

-Photographic Evidence (One of the books, I don't remember which one)

-Club X (Jessica against Bruce)

-Poetic Injustice

-Stolen Diary

DISC 3

-Love on the Line
-Working Girls
-Dancin' Fools
-Kidnapped Part 1, 2, and 3 (#13, Kidnapped. I thought they did great with this one)
-Say Goodbye

This show does have some good features, and I really enjoyed watching it. I think the main reason it flopped was because the Daniels twins couldn't carry the entire script by themselves.

This is a childhood favorite of mine and I didn't think I would ever get a chance to see it again. Thank goodness EVERYTHING is going to DVD these days!!!!