The Carrie Diaries: "Pilot": AKA: So It Begins

Ok, so yesterday I was chomping at the bit for everyone to watch the series premier of The Carrie Diaries on the CW, and now today I am prepared to render my verdict of it. For those of you who have not yet watched it, you may wish to go do so before continuing on...

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie Bradshaw. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Carrie_163.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It's important to note that this is not a direct prequel to HBO's Sex & The City, as right off the bat the Sex & The City fan tuning in will notice several facts that contradict what little back story we knew on the Grown Up Carrie's home life. First off she has a very loving father who is completely present, especially since it is revealed early on that Carrie's mother has just recently passed away. We also meet her rebellious little sister Dorrit. I kid you not, the girl's name is Dorrit, can we all take a mo-mo to feel bad for her?

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Freema Agyeman as Larissa. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Larissa_029.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Good...

Over all the show was pretty cute, I have to say it is nice to see a "teen soap" focused on finding oneself, as opposed to snagging the guy. This Carrie is on a quest to discover herself, she hasn't even decided that she wants to be a writer yet. Of course there is still a guy to be snagged, but Carrie has had her heart stolen by another man...Man-hattan.

Wardrobe NAILED the 80's style on Donna and the Jens.  Those three look FABULOUS. The perms, the neon, the tacky jewelery, perfection. And so far Larissa is also showing some fabulously tacky 80's fashion, can we say shoulder pads?

I know it's a small thing, but I LOVED the fact that Dorrit immediately changes into her mother's dress, after it is given to her. We see the scene where Carrie hands it to her, then in the next scene, where they are packing up her mother's things, you can see what she was wearing lying on the bed, and that she is now wearing her mother's green dress. It was a really sweet and touching detail.

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Brendan Dooling as Walt. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Walt_033.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

 The Bad...

Wardrobe didn't do such a fabu job on the main group. Not only is Carrie lacking the crazy style which she was an icon for, which I am willing to buy on the fact that maybe she needed to grow into her style, but her style is not really eighty's esq. Sure you can argue maybe her style sense isn't as flashy yet, but something just wasn't right. Same with Maggie and Mouse.


I will admit, though I understand that her having just come back from her first adventure in "The City" was supposed to "empower" her I felt she was just a little too composed when dismissing Sebastian at that moment.  He was her first kiss, and only hours earlier she had been squealing over him with  Mouse. Big City empowerment or not that had to have stung.

The Carrie Diaries -- "Pilot" -- Pictured (L-R): AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie and Austin Butler as Sebastian -- Photo: Giovanni Rufino/The CW -- © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Just Was...

Um, is it just me or does Maggie hooking up with an older guy, a cop no less, seem a little skeevy? I mean do we think she's even 18 yet? You figure she's in the same grade as Carrie, who we know is 16 so she's more likely the same age or at most 17. Not only is she most likely under aged but her father is the chief of police, yeah, they threw that in during the not-actually-at-the-dance-dance-scene, so it would be fair to assume whoever this hot cop is knows exactly how old she is. Which makes the whole thing just seems a little wrong to me.  Plus in the book, please don't look at me like that I did it for research purposes I swear, she is hooking up with another guy in their grade, which to mean just makes more sense, and is slightly less creepy.

I find it hard to believe that Carrie, at 16 had no aspirations of being a writer. Ok, maybe she didn't yet know that she could be able to make a career of it, but she tells Larissa that she doesn't write, that her mother did in journals. Sorry, I'm not buying that. To have the kind of drive we know Carrie to have, Sex &The City version aside, there is no way that Carrie hasn't been writing stories all her life.

Also is it just me or did Carrie's voice overs sound like a combination of Lindsay Lohan ala Mean Girls/Emma Stone ala Easy A? Not so much what was said, but the inflections.

The show itself is nothing groundbreaking, but it is entertaining. I am excited to see how they are going to progress, without making the story too predictable. How deep into her double life will Carrie steep? Tune in next week for more Virginity & The Suburbs...

The Carrie Diaries: AKA: You Win CW

So I have to admit, so far I have been a little disappointed in the CW's new pilot casting. Over the years I have come to expect a certain kind of casting for them. While the ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX seem to cast "stars" are at least well know actors in their shows, I have always been able to count on the CW to cast less well known talent. I'm a sucker for new talent, so this whole trend of casting well know established actors in new tv shows, has not exactly thrilled me.

This year the CW seemed to merely be casting "kind of know" actors and recycling their own actors. A perfect example being their new pilot Arrow. Side bar, I'm in no way knocking Arrow, as I've mentioned before I am ridiculously excited for this series. The cast includes, Stephen Amell, who has guested on a few episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Katie Cassidy, who played characters on Gossip Girl, Supernatural and 7th Heaven, and Willa Holland who also appeared on Gossip Girl.

But now? All is forgiven. I know I am a little behind on this announcement, but hey give me a break I was out on vacation. On March 4th Deadline released an article announcing Brendan Dooling had been cast in the role of Walt in the CW's new pilot The Carrie Diaries. The series is based on the book of the same name which is written as a prequel to the Sex and the City series, and Walt is described as "Carrie's best guy friend who is most likely gay but doesn't know it yet as it isn't an easy thing to come to terms with in the mid-1983." For those interested the article can be found here.

Brendan Dooling is an awesomely talented up and comer, most recently heard as the voice of Chippy the Elf in the animated holiday film, An Elf's Story: The Elf  on the Shelf, and exactly the type of actor that the CW should be casting. I am beyond excited to see The Carrie Diaries now. CW you have totally redeemed yourself in my eyes...at least for now.