Pilot Review: The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries (CW)
Premiered January 14 at 8pm

I’ll start off right away by stating the obvious, which is that I’m not a part of the target demographic for this show, or really for this network at all, select superhero series exempted. I’ve also seen few episodes of “Sex and the City,” so I can compare it only to a presentation I did with several female students in a romantic comedy course in college and the first film, which I have unfortunately seen. The main appeal going into this show was AnnaSophia Robb, who wowed me in “Sleepwalking” and seems to be one of the better young actresses working today. She is in fact 19 years old, but I still think that she looks much more like a high schooler than someone who might have graduated college and already be working in the real world, as everyone she meets seems to think. Her move to Manhattan high life was quite quick and hard to believe, and its lack of reality is paired with the far less interesting antics at her school and home, particularly her obnoxious sister Dorrit. This show is all about never reminding you that you’re watching something set in the 80s, and I think that it’s likely to get caught up with that as it tries to stay somewhat true to the existing events in the “Sex and the City” timeline. Taken as its own show, it has spunk but little appeal otherwise for me. The dialogue is less than impressive, and this show is unlikely to be able to capture the phenomenon that HBO did with the series from which this one was created.

How will it work as a series? Carrie is now a Manhattan connoisseur after spending a few hours in the city, so her time will likely be split between living in and dreaming about living in Manhattan, with plenty of teenage angst mixed in. Sexual exploits, betrayal, and other plotlines are sure to surface.
How long will it last? The ratings for the pilot weren’t great, losing viewers throughout the hour, and the numbers increasing through DVR viewings only helps so much. This is a good fit for the CW, so I can see how they’d want to keep it around, but I would be tentative about them endorsing a second season just yet.

Pilot grade: C