Part II...in defense

Part II of my defense of Make it or Break It.



You know, I am a fan of drama. Good drama. And this is not the kind of show I normally watch. (i.e. I don't watch anything on ABC Family normally). But, it's about one of my favorite things of all time. I can watch it and accept it for what it is and overlook the parts that aren't 100% true to life.

Point #1: A lot of people are bet out of shape over the lack of difficulty in their routines. But, ok seriously, short of having Rebecca Bross taking some "time off" (lol) and come be a stunt double, what do people expect? Elite gymnasts are elite gymnasts, and they train 40+ hours per week to make it the the Nationals, Worlds & Olympics, no be stunt doubles. That being said, I'm ok with the amount of difficulty they do. For an ongoing tv show, I would imagine it'd be hard to find four stunt double who not only could resemble each of the four girls, but who also could, consistently, do things like triple fulls, full-ins and double layouts. For Stick It and Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, since they were films and not tv shows, it was a one-shot deal, so Nastia Liukin and Vanessa Atler could take some time off as a one-time thing to film the movie.

What I'm NOT ok with is the crappy stunt work in a movie like Little Girls in Pretty Boxes. I re-watched that the other week. I think one of that movie's "competitive" vaults was a layout Yurchenko. OK, that's somewhat hard to believe for it being 1997 and a gymnast on the national team, but possible, maybe. But even so, one of the first things gymnasts train is how to fall. That movie (as best I recall) showed a gymnast falling, just straight on her back, on that vault. That's not the kind of fall where you'd break your back, nor is that the kind of fall a gymnast would take. What IS a nasty fault, for example, would be Kerri Strug's fall from compulsory bars in 1994. Please, LGIPB, I'm not that stupid.



Point #2: A lot of people have made comments like, the national team doesn't train at one gym....that's not how national teams are picked, etc etc. Well... the rules for selecting teams in the U.S. have changed numerous times. We used to not have "Bela's Camp" and now we do.... I mean, the show isn't intended to exactly replicate the American system. If it did, then, you know, there could be the potential for some "shady" dealings that might make the Karolyis, USA Gymnastics, and even individual coaches look bad. This is ABC Family and they aren't going to go there. If this was HBO, ok, maybe.

In my opinion, I'd LOVE a show that explored all of that. But that's not what we have right now. But what we have isn't AWFUL. It has its weaker elements: all the sex scandals which seem hard to believe; Mrs. Kmetko, who is too over the top to believe; the wheelchair-bound kid, which is just a bit over the top as well; the chit chatting and casual attitude during practice; the party in L.A....



All that being said, I am very much enjoying the plot surrounding Payson getting injured. Though not all careers end in injury, a lot of careers end when gymnasts don't make Olympic teams. I have read this before, this can leave a lot of girls baffled and bewildered: gymnastics was my whole life, NOW what? And that's a hard one. I am enjoying that. And the consequence of Payson's injury was (Kaylie?) Cruz winning a national title, which, I think we can all agree that there have been competitions where the best gymnast did not necessarily win. And in th4 back of her mind, she knows that's true. And she knows she benefited from Payson's fall. hmm... much like Bridget Sloan benefited from Rebecca Bross' fall in the final rotation, final tumbling pass at last year's Worlds.

Make it or Break it

Dwight Normile has written his top 10 (really 9) thoughts on Make It or Break It:

1. Including actual gymnastics in a show supposedly set in a gymnastics club has become too much of a hassle for the producers. Last night's gymnastics scenes totaled about 20 seconds. Apparently, the interior of the Rock is about as boring as, well, the inside of any gym. And the daily grind of workouts is even drier. Instead, why not jet (privately!) to L.A. for a party or two? And Payson can get another doctor's opinion while there. Now that's creative, if not convenient, script writing. Is it just me, or does the plot have a "Make It Up As We Go Along or Break It" feel?

Yea, and what top-level coach would give his girls a Saturday off for no good reason? And these girls prob. wouldn't be drinking high-calorie sugar-filled daiquiris by the pool (virgin or not).

2. The sequence of Emily tucking after a pirouette and then slinging a double flyaway was certainly interesting, considering the stunt double was obviously about to jump off. It reminded me of American Anthem, when Mitch Gaylord's high bar dismount at the big meet somehow hovered over the ground forever as the camera panned the emotions of every other cast member. He probably did a quintuple-twisting octuple by the time they showed him land.

I think I remember this scene...and it did seem pieced together.

3. Lauren is the best tumbler on the team; she flip-flopped on BFF Kaylie last night, just like she does with every other character, for that matter. But you already knew that.

Lauren is just annoying, but there's a Lauren in most all soap operas. I guess she's a necessary ingredient.

4. Payson looked really confident strolling the red carpet, despite the back brace. Maybe it was the experience she gained earlier in the season when her team put on its own fashion show.

Yea, why didn't she need her walker then, but in most ever other scene, she looks pathetic, barely getting around?

5. The line "Goodnight, Butterfly" made my two teenaged kids laugh and roll their eyes.

I missed this...

6. Emily and her boyfriend seem to speak in text.

7. It was odd to see a promo for Secret Life of an American Teenager, plugging an appearance by Shawn Johnson. (BTW, happy 18th, Shawn.) My daughter said, "Shouldn't she be on MIOBI?"--Good call

8. I wonder if, say, Bridget Sloan, works part-time at a pizza joint. "Marta, is it OK if I miss the first two days of training camp? I couldn't get anyone to cover my shifts — not even my mother."

lol, I know, right? I mean, I understand an athlete not coming from a well-off family but in elite gymnastics, when you're on the national team, that position trumps all other things in your life. Doubt that would fly with the Karolyis or even Mary Lee Tracy for that matter.

9. The music is the best part of this show.

10. The music is the best part of this show. (Sorry, but out of complete indifference, I could only come up with nine observations.)

Feel free to add a 10th to the list.

I think that the day-to-day grind of gym practice, school, homework and ice buckets ON THE SURFACE doesn't sound that interesting, so the writers added all this over the top drama to add some interest. BUT I think what they're missing is that the hard work, the disappointments, the overcoming of obstacles, the friendly rivalries, etc. (the more subtle things) COULD make for an EXCELLENT show... but it's like they had to "dumb it down" to what they thought viewers would like. I watch it, despite it faults, b/c hey, at least it's a show about gymnastics, and some parts of it I do enjoy. For example, can you imagine how Payson feels w/ her injury? This is something more based in reality, I think. Think Kerri Strug w/ her bad fall in '94. Yes, she came back from it, but any injury like that can take out the most talented gymnast, and then often times ends up being an advantages for other gymnasts to take home medals they might not have been able to before. Another example along the same lines, Milo at the 94 Worlds: She was in better physical shape than Miller but she just didn't compete as well. She SHOULD have won but didn't. Life isn't fair that way. The brunette (can't think of her name) "won" the Nationals in MIorBI b/c Payson wasn't there, even though she prob. wasn't the most talented gymnast there. So...I think that part is realistic and interesting.

One thing I really don't like though: the Kmetko girl's mother. Too over the top, too unbelievable. What would be wrong with a "normal" single working mother? Sheesh...