Greek (TV Series) (DVD)

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I suppose every generation needs its "Beverly Hills 90210," but as Cool Hand Luke famously said to one prison guard, "That don't make it right, Boss." I've taught college now for 25 years, and the "kids" on "Greek" look and act a lot older than most students I've encountered. They look like movie stars, too. Call it the 90210 factor. It could be realistic, but that would mean students have to act enormously more polished and sophisticated when they're not around faculty, and I doubt that very much. But I do believe the soapy elements of this ABC-Family show that's aimed at (big surprise) college and high school students.

There are sisters and Big Sisters and brothers and gay brothers and more Greek sororities and fraternities to keep straight than you ever had to deal with on "Animal House." If Bluto were here, he'd just take a guitar to all of them. It's easier to keep up with who's sleeping with whom, though in the real college world it's called "hooking up." But any soap opera--even an innocuous one like this--will depend upon an audience getting hooked on the characters. Maybe younger people can, but I found them all pretty bland, and the pacing and plotting just as oatmealy.

Season One introduced Rusty and Casey Cartwright (Jacob Zachar, Spencer Grammer, Kelsey's daughter) as the main focal point. While older sibling Casey was trying to snag the presidency of her sorority, Zeta Beta Zeta, Rusty was trying to go from geek to Greek faster than you could drag race. Complicating his life (and vice versa) was that his sister, Casey, was dating Evan (Jake McDorman) who's the big brother of Calvin (Paul James) who's accidentally outed as a gay by Ashleigh (Amber Stevens) who's Casey's best friend. Then there's Casey's Little Sister, Rebecca (Dilshad Vadsaria) who's a senator's daughter and treats her Big Sister like any authority figure . . . with contempt. Got that? Rusty, meanwhile, has a crush on a girl who's really working undercover for the campus newspaper and using him to get information that will crush the Greek system. Sounds like a perfect time for a road trip or toga party.

This show is kind of like Fantasy Baseball. As people date or act/act up in public, their popularity index rises or falls. It's tough to keep up with who's doing what to whom, and I'll be the first to admit it.

This Chapter Two DVD picks up with the 11th episode from Season One, which finds Rusty and Casey returning to school and discovering a lot more oversight in the aftermath of that newspaper exposé. But that doesn't put too much of a damper on anyone's social life. There's still a Kappa Tau Prohibition Party with The Great Gatsby theme, along with more KT shenanigans that keep up until (of course) someone rats them out. Then there's a practical joke-off between Kappa Tau and Omega Chi that gets predictably out of hand, a flashback episode with Casey and Cappie recalling their freshmen year, a sporting competition, more parties, and more new people to hook up with and complicate your life--all of which leads up to spring break, and it's Rebecca Gone Wild. And, of course, plenty of relationship complications and more secrets. What would a soaper in the "Beverly Hills 90210" tradition be without secrets and backstabbing and antes that seem oh-so-high to young people.