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Life Unexpected Episodes 1 and 2 Review
by Kate Blake Admin The Entertainment Hotline

The CW has done something amazing- they have actually premiered a new series that does not deal with rich spoiled teens who are completely selfish and living for themselves. The new Monday night series Life Unexpected is a fresh drama with heart and characters you instantly like and connect with. The premise of the series is simple. Shiri Appleby’s character Cate Cassidy got pregnant in high school by Kristoffer Pahala’s character Nate Basil aka Base. She had the baby and gave it up for adoption thinking that social services would follow through and find the baby a great home which they promised her they would do. Fast forward sixteen years- the daughter Base didn’t even know he had shows up wanting her parents to sign off on her papers so she can be emancipated from the foster care system where she has been for her entire life. How did this happen? It seems that Lux had some health problems- she was a sickly baby with heart problems that had to be fixed and by the time she was really out of the hospital she was closer to being a school age kid than a baby and no longer a great adoption candidate.

I liked this very real backdrop for the show from the get go. Cate was not a bad person- she sincerely believed she was doing the right thing and had no way of knowing  what had happened to her child. Lux doesn’t seem to hold anything against her either. Lux is a little star struck by her mother too which doesn’t hurt- you see Cate is a morning radio jock along with her on air partner Ryan (played by Dawson’s Creek alum Kerr Smith )who is also her boyfriend. Lux has listened to the two of them for years and feels like she already knows her mother when she first meets her. Shiri plays the shocked, confused and unsure woman beautifully. We see her emotions and turmoil on her face as she initially meets her daughter and is sickened by her own guilt, angered by Base and his insensitive handling of introducing mother and daughter and then torn as she realizes she wants this young woman in her life and to do right by her.

Along the way Cate and her new fiance Ryan temporarily break up- and she heads over to Nate’s to cry in her beer and rehash their lives since high school. This ends in a drunken hookup which Cate is crawling away from in the morning when she finds Lux sleeping on the street – that was the key point for Cate deciding that she needs to step up and be a mother.

Base is another story. Beyond Peter Pan – he is the guy who hasn’t grown up because he feels his best years are behind him. He tells Cate that he feels he peaked in high school which is why he clings to his frat boy ways. He lives above the bar he runs with two buddies and the place is very much like something out of Animal House. All fine and good for 22 year olds but these men are in the early 30s. The first episode sees Cate and Nate getting temporary joint custody of Lux- to her dismay. The second episode deals with them working to pass the social workers review so they can give Lux a real home.

Lux is unsure about everything. She cannot believe that Cate is her mother but she is conflicted. Like a good play not everything has been laid out for us in the first episode. In episode two we learn why Lux wanted to be emancipated and what the plan was. She and another girlfriend were planning to be emancipated together so they could move in with their boyfriends. Lux’s friends are not crazy about her living with her Nob Hill fancy mom instead. Truth be known- her friends are naturally jealous. How this will play out over time remains to be seen. There is tension with Cate’s work over her newly announced mom status- it is in conflict with her on air single girl persona and Lux’s friends are not going to accept things immediately.

Episode two has Cate and Lux commiting to being a family as the courts and social workers decide Cate has a place for her daughter. Nate however has issues he needs to confront first. The courts say he can’t have her living with him as the open access to alcohol is a no no along with the obvious presence of pot at his place. A very pretty glass bong converted to a lamp is highlighted in the episode. I liked that things were not instantly perfect for everyone. Lux and Cate are not 100% solid. Both have work to do in gaining each other’s trust. Cate is back with Ryan and he is valiently going along with his fiance taking in her daughter though he never expected that when he proposed to his very single 32 year old girlfriend he would be looking at becoming a step dad to a teenager too.

Next week we meet the families. One of my least favorite actresses Cynthia Stevenson is in the episode- I think we are going to see why Cate gave her daughter up in the first place and did not feel she could count on her family to help her in the first place. I am interested in seeing how Nate deals with his new found responsibilities. I like his buddy Math – the chubby guy who has had a thing for Cate forever and cannot believe that Nate would ever do anything to hurt “the most amazing woman in the world”. People are already shipping Cate and Nate- personally I am rooting that they both grow up and realize what has been holding them back so they can both evolve as people and be great parents for their daughter.

I really like Britt Robertson as Lux. She is earnest yet sincere and her character is not nearly as cynical as one might expect from a kid bounced around her whole life. Shiri Appleby has been one of my favorite actresses since I first saw her in Roswell back when the WB was The WB. If the CW can find 4 more series as fresh and involving as Life Unexpected they could be poised to do something truly unexpected- knock NBC from the number 4 position as a network. Now that would be unexpected! If you haven’t seen the show yet- watch it online on the CW website at http://cwtv.com – or download it on iTunes or Amazon.