My Life as Liz
| My Life as Liz | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Photo of Series | |
| Genre | Scripted 'Reality' |
| Created by | Jessica Antonini Lindsey Bannister Clayton Cogswell Betty Park Joseph Van Harken, Jr.[1] |
| Starring | Elizabeth Lee[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Lindsey Bannister Marshall Eisen Dave Sirulnick Joseph Van Harken, Jr. |
| Producers | Jessica Antonini Clayton Cogswell Howie Miller Jesse Paddock Heather Walsh Justin Zimmerman |
| Editors | Brian Murphy Betty Park Jon Philpot David S. Tung[1] |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | January 18, 2010 – present |
My Life as Liz is an American television series that debuted on MTV on January 18, 2010. Produced by MTV Studios[2], the show has had good ratings throughout its first season.[2] The first season ended on March 8, 2010.[2] Filming for a not yet officially announced second season began in early 2010 in New York City[3][4][5], mostly at Pratt Institute[6], the college Elizabeth Lee attends. On August 11th, 2010, MTV posted a video in its website in which the announcer mentions "Check all new episodes of My Life as Liz this fall" [7]. On October 28th, 2010, in the "Upfront de MTV Networks México", MTV Latinoamérica reported that 2011 will see on its screen "successful shows(...)[like]My Life as Liz, with its second season." [8][9] These so far, have been the only official mentions from MTV regarding a second season.
Genre
My Life as Liz uses the camera-work and editing typical of reality television. The Los Angeles Times asserts that the show "is quasi-reality -- real people, in their real environment, leading lives that are being in some way dramatized," and that the show "flirts with documentary but intersperses scenes of high-school hallway conversations."[10] An MTV executive has stated, "We don't look at it as just a reality show. We weren't going to call it a sitcom, because it's not." [10] Executive Producer Marshall Eisen stated, "The rule was, when Liz is around other people, we played that as straight as we could. When she's alone, that's when we were able to stylize things more."[10] Elizabeth Lee has said that there are multiple scenes that are 'planned', citing the scene in 'Liz's Got Talent (Part 1)' where Liz dresses as a superhero and in 'Summer of Suck' where Taylor Terry is shown in front of a black screen, but the events and relationships are true. [11]
Series overview
Season One focuses on the life of Liz Lee. She lives in Burleson, Texas, she is extremely proud to be a nerd, and she is happy to have her friends.[12] The show also focuses around its main antagonist, Cori Cooper, her minions, Taylor Terry and Tori Langley, and all of Liz's friends such as Bryson, (Who is also her love intrest) Sully, Cameron, Miles and Troy.[12] Season One shows Liz's journey through her senior year in High School, and her struggles with her enemy, Cori Cooper.[2]
Liz
The show's main character, Liz is a girl from Burleson, Texas. She is a non-conformist, and proud of it. She enjoys reading comic books and is a big fan of indie music.[12] She constantly tries to humiliate her enemy, Cori Cooper a member of the blond squad.[12] She has a pet snake and has lost track of the number of colors she has dyed her hair.[12] The show featured her crush, Bryson, who often wears the brim of his hat flipped straight up or sideways. In the season one finale she moves away from her hometown of Burleson, Texas, to New York City.[12]
Cori
Known as the "queen of mean". She hates Liz for being herself, even though they used to be friends. She is very self- absorbed and hates "anyone who has an original thought". She is one of the most popular girls in school-even though she isn't the prettiest, she is also a member of the "blond squad" which consists of her, Taylor, and Tori. She is extremely stupid and lacks any form of common sense at all. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, and no one can stand in her way. She likes to dress far beyond her monetary means, even though what she wears is not designer, she still can't afford what she wears. She always looks for ways to get back at Liz, her arch-nemesis, because she is jealous of her. Cori does suffer a few personal defeats in the series, such as when she verbally attacked Liz at a party being given by Taylor, who stood up for her against Cori's insults. Cori then demanded that she choose between her and Liz. Taylor, finally having had enough of Cori's hateful behavior, chose Liz. Later in the season during the "A Prom to Remember (Part 2)" episode, Liz had a mini meltdown right before the school announced the prom queen which was awarded to someone else. Feeling better about Cori not winning the crown, Cori then had a meltdown and went to the bathroom with her other friend, crying about how she feels and how she thinks everyone in the school hates her. Liz then encounters Cori again and gives her a napkin saying "It's just High School". Cori then said thank you to Liz for both the napkin and the little pep talk.[2]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | First Airdate | Last Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 9 | January 18, 2010 | March 8, 2010 | |
Critical response
Todd VanDerWerff of The AV Club gives the first episode a C rating. He compares the show to the style of the Coen Brothers films and of mock documentary of Christopher Guest but criticizes it for having learned all the wrong lessons. He credits the show with having some goofy charm but is disappointed by the same old stereotypes. He questions if the show is a sitcom blended with a reality show or the other way around. He criticizes the heavily scripted nature of the show but notes the show could be fixed if it was more honest and decisive about what it really wants to be.[13]
Mike Hale of The New York Times gives a somewhat similar opinion, saying "It registers more as a sitcom than a reality show — it’s so stylized and carefully planned and post-produced, it’s the next best thing to scripted, if it isn’t in fact a wholly scripted put-on", but remarks, "And that’s the point." He thinks of the premise as "It’s as if the geeky misfit viewer who hates all those blond women on The Hills were suddenly part of the show." Although he says the main protagonist "Doesn’t make her life or her opinions seem interesting enough to draw you in" he finds some of the other characters make more of an impression, and says characters like Troy Yingst need more screen time.[14]
References
- ^ a b c "MTV Aired Credits Page". 2007-09-07.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ a b c d e "My Life as Liz Page". 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2010-05-02. Cite error: The named reference "MTV Channel" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Filming season 2". Retrieved 2010-21-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Filming season 2 - Taylor going away party". Retrieved 2010-21-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Filming season 2 - Streets". Retrieved 2010-21-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "MTV announcing to Pratt Institute students fiming at campus". Retrieved 2010-21-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Liz gets frank gets frank about her relationship with flo". Retrieved 2010-21-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Season 2 confirmed by MTV Latin America executives on the "Upfront de MTV Networks México 2011"". Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ "Season 2 confirmed by MTV Latin America executives on the "Upfront de MTV Networks México 2011" (Mexican newspaper)". Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ a b c Jon Caramanica (February 14, 2010). "The truth about 'My Life as Liz'". Los Angeles Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
- ^ "Radio interview with Liz Lee on the "Somewhere in Vegas" podcast". Retrieved 2010-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e f "Liz, My Life As Liz". MTV. Retrieved 2010-05-02. Cite error: The named reference "MTV%252520Channel" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (January 18, 2010). "My Life as Liz". The AV Club. The Onion. Rating C
- ^ Hale, Mike (January 26, 2010). "'My Life as Liz' and 'The Buried Life' - Youthful Reality, MTV-style". The New York Times.
