10 Things I Hate About You Volume 1
ABC Family brings the film 10 Things I Hate About You to television with a great cast and well done writing just like the film but the series does take its time developing.
Film making 20/25
Video 18/25
Audio 18/25
Bonus Features 14/25
Total 70/100
10 Things I Hate About You Volume 1 is a new series from ABC Family with only one of the same actors of the film but the same story line and characters. The show does well and they have taken the same Kat character who is smart and not interested in boys at the beginning as one of the main characters.
10 Things I Hate About You is more of a family series and looks not just at Kat’s love hate relationship with Patrick but more with her relationship with her sister. The show also concentrates less on Cameron and almost not at all with Michael, Cameron’s friend.
It might take several episodes for Kat to come to the realization that she is falling for the hard core hunk Patrick but she also likes her sister a lot more right off the bat compared to the film. While the movie did have to get things done in the hour plus that a movie has the series does things a bit slower and takes off pretty quickly at the same time.
10 things I hate about you is much like the film but taken at a slower pace with much the same well written story line and good acting. Much of the first two episodes or so take the time to not only try and introduce the actors and characters that are both different and much alike.
The characters are much the same but the actors of course put a somewhat to a much different spin on each of their roles as well as some of them being a bit different from the movie version. The show during the first season, or what they are calling Volume 1, takes off a little slower than the film.
The main character of Cameron’s friend is not a large presence but has been relegated to every few episodes which means a lot. The series has it’s own feel or character and they do take the job of differentiating the two seriously which is important for a series based on a film.
The only actor I could tell that was the same from the movie is the father Walter Stratford played by Larry Miller but he makes the perfect father in both the film and series. The show does a great job of taking the film to the half hour long episodes and keeps each episode self contained but they do have common themes across the series.
The series has the usual friendships and teenage love interests with the everyday trials and tribulations with some good humor thrown in especially from the father Walter. Walter is probably one of the main characters that keeps the show together with his overbearing father figure working full time at keeping his two daughters safe from boys and the world.
The video and audio are pretty good with standard definition video on the episodes of the DVD volume 1 with good color and no real technical problems to speak of. Audio is well done and works good with the usual Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound that works as well as you would expect in the various scenes of the show.
The series is filmed in a wide variety of locations including the jump from school, indoors at homes and outdoors around the school and community so audio is a mix with good effects in all areas. The DVD set includes Spanish and French subtitles as well widescreen 1:78:1 format for 16x9 widescreen TV’s.
Bonus content is pretty thin but after all this is ten 30 minute shows without commercials for 5 hours of fun family entertainment. There is a bonus in the Make It or Break It premiere episode, some cast talks about what they love and hate on the show and more.
Bonus features include a look backstage with Kat and Bianca or Lindsey Shaw and Meaghan Martin as they talk about the show which is basically a tour of the show along with a quick summary of characters and storyline. The bloopers is a really quick gag reel and the audio commentary plays on the Light My Fire episode for one little extra look at that episode.
There is not all that much in the extra features but what is there is alright for a one time viewing but not much more than you would expect on a series DVD. 10 Things I Hate About You is a funny and family friendly look at teenage life with no real emphasis on anything other than normal suburban life.