“True Jackson is taped before a live studio audience.”
I hadn’t heard anything like that on Nickelodeon since the before time, in the long, long ago. I’ve gotta admit, when I heard them at the start of my hellacious endeavor I had flashes of Clarissa Explains It All and Kenan & Kel. For a brief moment, I tried to make an effort to view True Jackson, VP from the perspective of a 10-year-old kid, tuning into Nick every morning, afternoon and night like clockwork, hurrying through dinner so I could catch the second half of the Ren & Stimpy I’ve seen thousands of times already. For a brief moment, I was hoping there would be something in True Jackson I could get behind besides it being "Taped Before a Live Studio Audience". It was at the three minute, fifty-eight second mark, when True “hilariously” fell down, for the second time, that I lost that hope. More than that, I lost whatever hope I still may have had of Nick ever reclaiming its former glory. Maybe that part of me should have died years ago, but when it finally did it was both a relief and as painful as heartbreak.
The falling didn’t stop there, either; before the first episode was over 6 people had fallen down. This is wholly indicative of the humor True Jackson VP shoots for. To its credit the gags fly at you pretty quick, and while not many of them will stick for any rational person over 11, there’s a chuckle to be had here and there. Unfortunately, while the adults in the cast (namely Greg Proops, who is hilarious) usually hit their mark, the entire pubescent ensemble plays it big, bigger, biggest, rarely getting genuine laughs. Keke Palmer (True) doesn’t typically go too far overboard, but her BFFs Matt Shively (Ryan) and Ashley Argota (Lulu) seem to be channeling their inner Jim Carrey impersonators every time they show off their physicality. My God, sometimes they seem like they’re dancing in the middle of crowded rooms. Sure, Ryan’s just a fifteen-year-old douche, but if I were his dad I’d consider getting the boy some help. He probably has ADD.
The show also suffers from multi-culturitus. With True being black, Lulu being somewhat ambiguously Asian and Ryan being white, one can’t help but ponder stereotypes throughout the entire span of the show. It’s almost uncomfortable when the three of them say pretty damn offensive stuff. True says a bunch pretty early on in the series that amazes me could get by the censors. Aside from all that, some of the stuff Ryan does is just weird and disgusting. At one point he eats a ham sandwich out of the garbage right in front of True and Lulu, and they seem the think almost nothing of it. Even if they were aware of some serious mental illness he may have… No. Just no.
DVD Bonus Features
The set’s somewhat stacked for a half a season of a Nick show with your standard behind-the-scenes footage, a blooper reel, and screen tests. Headlining is a behind-the-scenes look at the Barbie Fashion Show in New York. Believe me, it’s exactly what you think it is. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the Barbie Fashion Show in New York.
There’s nothing to complain about on the technical front. It’s a current show shot in full screen, which says something about how Nick still sees their target audience. There’s only Dolby Digital Stereo and it’s only in English. No foreign languages or subtitles are available on the disc.
True Jackson VP will make your kids laugh. It may even make you laugh once or twice. But more often than not, it’ll just make you hate its characters and their completely one-dimensional, endlessly repeated functions. There are no arcs and don’t expect any lessons of the week to carry over into the next. It’s a bad show made for kids and if you have to watch it or pay any money for it for any reason other than you genuinely wanting to, I feel pity for you.
"True Jackson, VP: Season One, Volume One" is on sale September 8, 2009 and is rated NR. Children & Family. Directed by Gary Halvorson, Katy Garretson, Roger Christiansen. Written by Jason Kessler, Andy Gordon. Starring Ashley Argota, Greg Proops, Keke Palmer, Matt Shively.
