1x01 Second Step: Homeroom

I had high hopes for this after reading the summary. However, I wanted to drop this before I was even halfway through the episode. I stuck it out, though. There are two things that kill this show for me--the sad attempts at humor and the generic, predictable cheesiness. It also doesn't help that we're supposed to feel some bond between Noah and Dude, yet it isn't earned. We never saw Dude being introduced to Noah. We never see them playing together or relaxing at home together. Dude is Noah's emotional support dog. And that's it. He's not a pet, a friend, or a family member. He is only there for that job, making the relationship between him and Noah seem practically nonexistent. Yet the show had the nerve to pull an "emotional" scene of "I needed you, Dude" followed by Dude being there for Noah? How unoriginal and forced can you be?

As for the characters... The girl in the wheelchair is a b*tch from the moment we see her. She is the rudest, most entitled person on the show. Yet once she learns about Noah's anxiety disorder, we're expected to believe she's his friend? The other kid is annoying but harmless. Nothing special about him. The little sister written to be a typical annoying little sister who makes fun of her brother. But honestly, besides Noah, she has the most character development. Even though she teases her brother, she still shows she cares about him and is understanding of his condition. The parents are the generic parents you'd find in any movie under the genres of "family" and "comedy". The parents don't actually feel like a couple though. I feel chemistry from the dad but not an ounce from the mother. It would have been a nice change of pace if the parents were peacefully separated or divorced. Which brings me to my next point...

I'm tired of shows making families happy, well-off, and are-free just for convenience's sake. The kid has a drumset, the daughter has a fashion line, they can get an emotional support dog in a day without worry, the parents can take a week off work just to stalk their kids, etc, etc. This show features a talking dog, anxiety-fueled fantasies (with not the greatest CGI), and unrealistic campiness. It isn't down-to-earth enough (and it isn't funny enough to be an outlandish comedy [I never even smiled]). What would have helped ground this show is some sort of family situation that most viewers can relate to. Most kids with mental health issues aren't loaded. Most don't have homeschool as a readily available option. Most can't suddenly get an emotional support animal. This series has everything perfect going on except for Noah's condition. That's not realistic, and it puts distance between the show and the audience. There was nothing for me, the average working-class individual with an anxiety disorder, to grasp onto. Even the dog wasn't accessible to me because of the constant, unfunny comments and the lack of a real bond between Dude and Noah.

I always root for programs addressing mental health because there aren't enough that do so respectfully. And while this show is respectful of Social Anxiety Disorder, there wasn't anything in it to catch my interest. The characters are generic at best and annoying at worst. The setting is also generic. The plot, generic and predictable. The humor, generic and predictable and unfunny. I guess the child actors are god. And Dude's acting is commendable, seeing as how training dogs for the camera is not an easy task. Overall, not a show for me. I imagine primarily people who have anxiety or have close ones who do will enjoy this show the most. There's not really anything solid for anyone else to grasp onto in this...

Signed:
~SophieFilo16~