Summer TV is now upon us, and the CW is starting its summer shows with a foray into teen angst in Hidden Palms. Some (TV Guide) have dubbed it a soap opera, but I think it's just a way for the network to show skin and get ratings. It's about a group of kids in California, one being a 16 year old ex-junkie who saw his dad commit suicide.

I think the purpose of the show is to show skin. Most of the promos have scantily clad young adults sitting near or in a pool.Naturally, these kids are what networks think are ideal - nice bodies, perfect abs. Not really reality, but it gets ratings. That's what TV is all about. (And I'm pretty sure that's what most people will be watching it for - and probably not for the performances. This is, after all, the CW, the network that canceled Veronica Mars.)

The show is by the creator of Dawson's Creek. Although I didn't see too many episodes, it seemed to be well written and smart. Of course, I don't believe for a minute that teens would talk like that all the time, but it wasn't bad for TV dialog. But the current comparison is going to be towards Fox's The OC, another show I didn't watch a lot of.

Drinking, partying, sex. Some intrigue, I'm sure, since it's billed as a mystery, too.

The real mystery will be if the lackluster acting can make this a success.

Hidden Palms premiers Wednesday, May 30 at 8pm.

Anyone planning on watching this? Thoughts on the show? Like it, hate it?

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This article was written by david and published on
May 29, 2007 at 6:54am.
The article was given the following tags:

• cw
• hidden palms
• media