TV Drama - The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Summary
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. The series follows Amy Juergens who unexpectadlly falls pregnant by Ricky Underwood. Its based around how she, Ricky, family and friends cope with the unplaned pregnancy and how they have to overcome challenges thrown their way. To see the full description of each series and what its all about click here

Drama Details
The Secret Life of the American Teenager's production company is ABC Family Original Productions. The production team of this serious include written by: Brenda Hampton; Jeffrey Rodgers; Caroline Kepnes; Jeff Olsen; Chris Olsen; Elaine Arata; Paul Perlove; Kelley Turk; Anne Ramsay and Courtney Turk. It was directed by: Ron Underwood; Anson Williams; Jason Priestley; John Schneider; Gail Bradley; Keith Truesdell; Lindsley Parsons III. The full cast are: Shailene Woodley portrays Amy Juergens, Daren Kagasoff portrays Richard "Ricky" Underwood, Megan Park portrays Grace Kathleen Bowman, Francia Raisa portrays Adrian Lee, Kenny Baumann portrays Benjamin "Ben" Boykewich, India Eisley portrays Ashley Juergens, Greg Finley II portrays Jack Pappas, Molly Ringwald portrays Anne Juergens, Mark Derwin portrays George Juergens, Steve Schirripa portrays Leo Boykevich.

Main characters. Left to right: Greg Finley II; Megan Park;  Daren Kagasoff; Shailene Woodley; Kenny Baumann;                                                                    Francia Raisa.                                                              

            

 The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 1 Episode 22 - In this show it focuses on the baby's arrival. Amy is at the hospital and is expectant of her baby's arrival to the world. However she isn't dealing with the pain very well and to make time go by faster, she flashes back to the night where she met Ricky and where it all started-band camp.You see that Ricky was Amy's first kiss, and that she didnt want to stay with Ricky knowing full well what could happen, but he minipulated her into staying by saying "Whats a few more minutes" resulting in their current situation. This episode is called 'One Night at Band Camp', its directed incredibly well, because it gives viewers a better understanding into what actually happened exactly 8 months and 2 weeks ago. Because this episode is mainly on Ricky and Amy, I decided to focus on them.

Ricky is an 18 year old with a troubled past and emotional issues, resulting in promiscuity and a reputation as the school's "bad boy". In this episode you see more of Ricky from the past because of the flashback. In this episode Ricky is shown as a manipulative, flirtacious guy that basically gets what he wants. But obviously due to current situations between him and Amy, you soon see him start to change.

Amy is 17 years old, she's a sensitive, intelligent, kind and loving girl in high school who plays the French horn. In the episode it focuses on Amy in the present and past, going from the hospital where shes having the flashback, and back in the flashback. In the flashback that Amy has, we learn that she had a one night stand with Ricky, and how even though she knew what she was doing she wasnt exactly excited about it and as a consequence she ends up falling pregnant. In this episode as well, it shows Amy in labour and shows how she's unable to handle pain.

Newspaper Reviews:
This show recieved mixed reviwes at the time of its debt. Here are a few of the mixed reviews.
-The New York Post praised the series for having a set of characters that are "... real and come from families of all stripes – from intact to single-parent households to one boy in foster care..."
-Variety Magazine reports that "ABC Family's latest original drama wants to be a slow-motion version of "Juno" but settles for being an obvious, stereotype-laden teen soap [...] based on first impressions, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" should probably stay a secret."
- ReporterMag's Andrew Rees says, "The show...might be the worst scripted drama on television. Suffering from gag-worthy dialog, horrific plot twists, terrible acting, and characters who not even the best of 3-D glasses could give depth to, it’s a wonder how this show stays on the air."