THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER VOLUME THREE DVD SET
Studio: ABC Family/Disney
Year: 2009
Rated: TV-14
Film Length: 8 hours, 42 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Release Date: December 22, 2009
The Series
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is the story of Amy (Shailene Woodley), a teenage mom still in high school who has broken up with Ricky (Daren Kagasoff), the father of their child. Ricky works a part-time job with Ben (Ken Baumann) who is now dating Amy. Meanwhile, Ben’s dad Leo (Steve Schirripa) is dating an internet porn star (Jennifer Coolidge). Now that Amy has had her baby, her mother Anne (Molly Ringwald) is also expecting. Anne is divorcing Amy’s dad George (Mark Derwin) but mistakenly believes George is not the father.
Amy is not aware that her friend Adrian (Francia Raisa) has slept with Ricky. Meanwhile, Amy’s friend Grace (Megan Park) is contemplating "taking things to the next level" with her boyfriend Jack (Greg Finlay), not knowing that tragic events will force her into a spiral of guilt over her decision.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager premiered on ABC Family on September 3, 2008, and its second season is airing new episodes at the time of this review. This volume three set consists of all 12 episodes from season 3 on 3 discs. The episodes contained in this set aired originally from June through September of 2009.
The Secret Life, like most soap operas, has a large cast of characters with interconnecting relationships. There are many other secondary characters who come and go through the course of season 3. Although I had never seen this series before reviewing this set, the episodic storytelling style of each episode makes it user-friendly for new viewers who have not seen every previous episode. The brief recaps at the beginning of each episode also help in this regard. This series becomes increasingly addictive with each successive episode, so I can understand how The Secret Life has developed such a following in the year and a half since its premiere. It is an entertaining series even if it is conventional in its approach.
Video
The video is anamorphic wide-screen 1:78:1 enhanced for 16 x 9 monitors. There are some compression artifacts visible, which is inevitable when 4 episodes are crammed onto a single disc. Minor mosquito noise and haloing are present, however, these episodes otherwise are transferred well in spite of these limitations. Flesh tones appear natural with good color accuracy and no apparent smearing.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound conveys ambient sounds well and really shines during the brief musical portions of the show. Most audio comes through front and center for dialogue and fidelity is excellent with dialogue always clearly audible and good dynamic range on the sound effects.
Special Features
The special features are on Disc 3 and include the following:
Hat Chat: Cast members pull viewer questions out of a hat seemingly at random to ask other cast members questions about the show.
Make It Or Break It (5:23): This is the pilot episode of one of the latest shows to premiere on ABC Family. This episode aired originally on June 22, 2009, and follows a group of teenage gymnasts who aspire to compete in the Olympic games. Make It Or Break It usually airs on ABC Family on the same nights as The Secret Life.
Conclusion
The third season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager seems to build well on the framework established in the first two seasons. The story arc in the first two seasons apparently followed Amy’s story as she learned of her pregnancy and had her baby. The third season, represented here in Volume 3, follows the repercussions of those events, both for Amy and for her friends and family. This show may not be for everybody, since soap operas are a matter of taste. Still, if soaps are your cup of tea, then The Secret Life of the American Teenager comes recommended.
