Sweet Valley High: Season 1
MoreBeverly Hills 90210thanFreaks and Geeks,Sweet Valley Highlooks at the lives and loves of the popular kids rather than the outcasts. Cynthia and Brittany Daniel star as twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield in the television version of Francine Pascal's best selling book series. With their seemingly perfect Southern California lives, Liz and Jess are more Betty and Veronica, from theArchiecomics, than the high school girls of any other TV series. In other words,Sweet Valley Highis escapism, pure and simple--and what's wrong with a little escapism? While both girls are part of the in-crowd, therearedifferences between them. Liz, a reporter for the school newspaper, is the good one, while Jess, a cheerleader, is the not-so-good one.Created by Josh Goldstein (American Dreams),The Complete First Seasonincludes all 22 episodes broadcast between 1994-1995. Supporting characters include Liz's boyfriend Todd (Ryan James Bittle) and best friend Enid (Amy Danles) and Jess's best friends Lila (Bridget Flanery) and Patty (Amarilis). Rich kid Bruce (Brock Burnett), his pal Manny (Harley Rodriguez), token nerd Winston "Eggman" Egbert (Michael Perl), and a few teachers--but no parents--round out the cast. Most of the conflicts the girls face are created by devious, self-centered Jess, who pretends to be her sister whenever Liz has something she wants, like a potential college boyfriend ("Dangerous Love"), a broadcasting gig ("Oracle on Air"), or praise from the hot poetry teacher ("Poetic Injustice").Sweet Valley Highran on FOX for three seasons, followed by a fourth and final season on UPN.--Kathleen C. Fennessy