Disney Channel's 3rd live action newbie for 2010, Shake It Up, is getting to be great after 3 episodes (the 4th will be this Sunday) and it's no so bad at all. Combines elements from Lizzie McGuire (everyday life situations) and Hannah Montana (fame in a specific field) with a dash of Sonny with a Chance in the in-series show section, this series is off to a great start. so what do I think of it currently?
Like I mentioned awhile ago, the Series combines elements from both Lizzie and Hannah. in fact, both the Jones and Blue siblings are somewhat patterned after their respective sibling models. Cecilia "CeCe" Jones and Flynn Jones represent Lizzie and Matt McGuire, the latter being an exact lookalike of Matt as an 8 year old. Raquel "Rocky" Blue and Ty Blue represent Miley and Jackson Stewart, the latter being not that much of a jerk like Jackson was.
Since the girls do not have a "Sidekick" on the series, CeCe somewhat feels like Lilly Truscott while Rocky is a bit more like Miranda Sanchez. for the rivals of twin sibs Gunther and Tinka, which according to the creator is based off the Evans sibs from High School Musical, are more in the frenemies type. But they sometimes, when in enemy mode, They likely remind you of both Kate and Claire (if you're on Lizzie) or Amber and Ashley (if you're on Hannah). curiously, Gunther is a male Sharpay and Tinka the female Ryan. (Gender swapped, maybe?)
For the show itself, Most of the time it feels like Lizzie McGuire when the two are in everyday normal lives, but when they're on the in-series show (which is also the title of the main show as well), it's a bit Hannah in plot, despite that they don't have a secret identity and don't act like being over-the-top in their selves. the only exception being the episode where they treat Ty and Deuce to an expensive restaurant and then... their debit cards are dead. That plot was used in Hannah twice and this is a shout out to those episodes.
Since there's no girl sidekick, Deuce represents both Gordo and Oliver, and fortunately, no parings! probably because they have to stop doing the love angle for this show to avoid a mistake from Hannah- the "got together w/o development" thing the Hannah staffers did.
episodes wise, the show is awesome that you'll enjoy this show so much. both the show-made songs and the dance moves will have you loving it as well as the plots for the day. every episode title is formatted as "(plot point) It Up."
Finally, The OP of the show, while not sang by either Bella Thorne or Zendaya, is still catchy, and is even more great if you heard the full version on Radio Disney. did we mention it's sang by Selena Gomez? this makes Shake It Up the current Disney live-action show that the OP is not sang by the main character, following the lines of Lizzie McGuire, Phil of the Future and the Suite Life duology.
All in all the show maybe young, but the series is off to a great start. in fact, due to greater reception for the show, for New Year's Eve, the show's cast host it's year ender party celebration this year.
Here's hoping Shake It Up will do even better towards a great show everyone will love. Hannah Montana, you just found your Spiritual Successor!
