iCarly

*iCarly. Nickelodeon (2007-)*

In the pilot episode, Carly and her best friend Sam get into trouble at school. Their punishment is filming students' auditions for the talent show. While Sam and Carly run the auditions, Carly's friend Freddie records them. He's supposed to go home and upload the auditions to SplashFace (iCarly's version of YouTube) so their teacher Ms. Briggs can watch them at home. Instead of uploading the auditions, though, Freddie uploads footage of Carly and Sam making jokes. Before Freddie can take the video down, over 28,000 people have watched Carly and Sam. This inspires Carly to create her own web-show, called iCarly, co-hosted by Sam and filmed by Freddie.

Carly's dad is in the military and is stationed in Europe. Her older brother, Spencer, acts as her legal guardian. The 26-year-old artist has an amazing apartment, filled with his crazy creations, an elevator, and other perfect props for a web-show set. It's a perfect Nickelodeon show set up: no parents; cool guardian; attractive 14-year-old girl and her attractive-and-funny best-friend; geeky friend with amazing tech skills and equipment; super cool apartment. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon decided to tack on a laugh-track, which takes away from the show's authenticity. Anyone watching gets bombarded by canned laughter every other minute.

Although it seems ridiculously unlikely to me, iCarly becomes an overnight success, drawing 34,000 viewers to the first show. Carly, Sam and Freddie have to deal with becoming famous. Episodes, then, contain "realistic" problems of 14-year-olds, as well as problems with fame and status. I'm sure it's the right blend of fantasy and I-can-relate for tween audiences.

After watching the show, I thought it seemed kind of forced. Between the over-the-top acting and the bad laugh track, I was pretty turned off. Something about it reminded me of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which I also never liked much. I understood how people could enjoy it, but the humor was so obvious and the acting so fake. But there are also elements of iCarly that remind me of Boy Meets World, which I did really like as a teenager. I can see younger tweens (maybe 9-12 year olds) enjoying iCarly. But after hitting 14, it might feel a little young. I'm not sure that teenagers really watch Nickelodeon after reaching 14. I'm kind of out of touch, there...

A perk of iCarly is the emphasis on technology. These reviews of the show mention kids being inspired to create their own web shows. As long as kids realize they aren't going to have 30,000 fans overnight, making a show like iCarly could be a great (and educational) experience. YouTube and podcasting--and even blogging--are great ways to make public statements and/or art, and kids should be learning how to use this technology in safe, responsible ways. I think they'll also be benefited by learning these tools at a young age. So although I can recommend iCarly to a 9-12 audience for simple entertainment, I recommend it even more for tech inspiration.