8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

“8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter” is without doubt my favourite series besides “Friends” – and probably the sole reason for me to keep our Freeview subscription. With all these series out there, most of them very unoriginal, it is very difficult to sort out the good from the bad. This one, however, is certainly a cut above the rest. I have even considered buying a VCR, just to be able to catch every single episode!


...based on the best-selling book “8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter” by W. Bruce Cameron. The series was produced in association with Touchstone Television, Shady Acred Entertainment, Flody Co and the ABC Televison Network. The directors are Gil Junger and James Widdoes. There have been various executive producers over the years, including Tom Shadyac, Flody Suarez. Jamie Widdoes, John Peaslee, Judd Pillot, Michael Bostick and Tracy Gamble.
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“8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter” is without doubt my favourite series besides “Friends” – and probably the sole reason for me to keep our Freeview subscription. With all these series out there, most of them very unoriginal, it is very difficult to sort out the good from the bad. This one, however, is certainly a cut above the rest. I have even considered buying a VCR, just to be able to catch every single episode!

♥ Background ♥

The series is based on the best-selling book “8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter” by W. Bruce Cameron. The series was produced in association with Touchstone Television, Shady Acred Entertainment, Flody Co and the ABC Televison Network. The directors are Gil Junger and James Widdoes. There have been various executive producers over the years, including Tom Shadyac, Flody Suarez. Jamie Widdoes, John Peaslee, Judd Pillot, Michael Bostick and Tracy Gamble.

So far, three seasons have been produced. The episodes currently shown on ABC 1 are part of both Season 1 and Season 2. You can catch “8 simple rules” by tuning into ABC 1 at 4.45 p.m. on weekdays.

John Ritter, the star of the series, died in 2003. Yet, the series continues. I have read that the death has been integrated into the story line, however, I myself have only seen the episodes which he was part of. I can therefore not comment on how the story developed after his tragic departure. My review is therefore based on the episodes I have seen to date, which all include this fun and talented actor.

♥ The story ♥

The series is very much a family comedy that mainly focuses on the relationship between Paul Hennessy and his teenage daughters (Bridget and Kerry), who are always up to some kind of trouble. Paul is not your typical breadwinning father – when his wife Cate decides to return to work as a nurse, it is him who gives up his job as a sports writer and becomes a stay-at-home Dad who writes a column on the side.

Once he starts spending more time around the children, he quickly realises that teenage girls are a lot more complicated than they were as little girls. Now he has to deal with boy craziness and mood swings. And the boy (Rory) is not always easy to handle, either – he has hormones, too. And a weird obsession with getting a monkey.

♥ Characters ♥

►Paul Hennessy◄

Played by John Ritter, he is just a loveable and caring father. Like any father, he wishes that his girls would have stayed young forever, and he really cannot stand the fact that they have blossomed into two beautiful young ladies that attract a lot of attention from the boys. So he tries to impose strict rules on dating, but like any loving Dad, he is just a tiny bit too trusting at times. Bridget often manages to sneak past him – but not without some tiny consequences. Overall, however, he loves his daughters so much and Cate has so much influence over him, that often his punishment is not as severe as one would expect.

In trying to be perfect, Paul often gets things embarrassingly wrong. In one cringe-worthy episode, for example, Rory steals a picture from a famous race car driver that Paul is hoping to write a book on. Instead of sending Rory back with the picture, he tries to sneak in to the race car driver’s house and put it back.

His softness is best evidenced in the ‘puppies’ episode – where he strictly tells Kerry to take a homeless dog to the shelter instead of keeping it. At the end, however, when puppy does not find a home, he gives in and allows Kerry to keep it.

►Cate Hennessy◄

Played by Katey Seagal, she is essentially a mixture of her two daughters and as such a superb mother. She has Kerry’s intelligence, which allows her to cope with any min-crisis that children and husband may present to her. And she also has a bit of Bridget. As a teenager, she herself was part of the popular crowd – boy crazy and wild. As such, she can often relate to what Bridget is going through and lessen the strictness of the rules Paul has imposed on the dating lives of his daughters.

She is probably my least favourite character, despite being the best actress in the series. I think my favourite episode is the one where she lands a solo part in a performance of her choir and does not want her family to turn up and see her.

►Bridget Hennessy ◄

Played by Kaley Cuoco, she reminds many viewers of Christina Applegate in “Married with Children”. As a 16-year-old teenager who is skinny, blonde and too sexy for her own good, she is very self-absorbed. The most important things in her life are looks, make-up, fashion – and, of course, boys. Bridget is as fickle as a candle in the wind – every week she is interested in a different boy. And sometimes even more than one.

One of her most interesting ‘obsession’ is definitely her brief obsession with neighbour Donnie Doyle – a young man in the naval academy who seriously falls in love with her and then hopes that fickle Bridget will be able to maintain a long distance relationship with him. And her brief obsession with her drumming teacher is equally entertaining – a college guy who will make Bridget break all the rules of the house.

►Kerry Hennessy◄

Played by Amy Davidson, Kerry is my favourite character in this series. She is the middle child – and as such often overlooked between the tantrums of Bridget and the strange obsessions of Rory. She is a very intelligent young woman, but tends to have heavy mood swings at times, mostly caused by the fact that she is simply not being acknowledged enough. Kerry can be very sarcastic at times – which makes her even more loveable. While she is not the traditional blonde beauty, her personality and cute dark red curly locks just make her so much more adorable than her sister Bridget.

Some of my favourite moments including Kerry are the episode where Bridget wants to make the cheer-leading team, but fails while Kerry, who merely tries out to mock the cheerleaders, is picked for the team. Another cute episode is where Kerry is trying to find homes for animals in a shelter. One episode shows her talented and intelligent side – and how she is so much more than her sister. The other shows how caring and wonderful she really is.

►Rory Hennessy◄

Played by Martin Spanjers. He is your typical young boy entering puberty. He is in the process of discovering girls – and tends to develop strange obsessions – for instance with monkeys. His role in the series is almost peripheral – but he is good for some laughs.

One of my favourite episodes with Rory include the one where he is going through the neighbourhood, throwing eggs and toilet paper at people’s houses and cars. The other one I really enjoyed was the one where Bridget has a school assignment with a pre-tend baby in the shape of a flour bag. Let us just say that Rory (along with Kerry) is partly responsible for the flour bag not being in top condition by the time the assignment is done.

♥ Guest appearances ♥

The series does not only have star Katey Seagal(“Married with Children”), but also benefits from a series of guest appearances. People who appeared on the show include Pamela Anderson, Ed ONeill (“Married with Children”), Nick Carter (“Backstreet Boys”), Jason Priestley (“Beverly Hills 90210”), John Ratzenverger (“Cheers”) and Tatum O’Neal (John McEnroe’s ex-wife and actress).

♥ My verdict ♥

There are many reasons to love this series, but for me, three stand out:

The first one must be the great interaction of the characters. The relationship between the sisters is so believable. You can see how much they really love each other, yet they argue all the time, pull each other’s hair and pretend they do not like each other. Equally believable is their relationship with brother Rory – he is really more or less invisible to them, unless he gets a little annoying. Paul Hennessy is the typical father – I recognise my own in him. Over-protective, caring – loved and hated by the daughters at the same time. The one character that is a little atypical must be Cate – even though she occasionally comes forward and does these typical mother-daughter things, she is not a stay-at-home mom and more portrays a modern career woman type of mother. Her relationship with Paul comes across as a partnership – but more as a friendship than a husband and wife type of relationship. The only time you feel that they really click is when they try to decide how to deal with the children and balance each other out in the process.

The second reason must be the comedy value. The script is great, the jokes are funny. I laugh at least 5 times in every episode. And, apart from Cate, they all will make you laugh at some time or the other. Even Bridget, who I mostly find annoying, has her humorous moments. The writing is witty, but not too fast-paced, so it is easy to follow.

The third reason must be that it is a family series. I think it is for everyone – and I think it may actually help people recognise themselves and understand family members better as a result of it. Sure, it is over-the-top in parts, that is what all comedies are. But at the very bottom, there is a lot of truth to the situations and the characters.

So what are you waiting for? Tune into ABC 1 and tell me what you think.

****I know that Ciao lists this series under E4, but I have yet to find the series on that channel. I saw older listings on Sky when searching the internet, but cannot verify this information, as I do not have Sky. Since the channel does not change the content of the show, I hope you all feel that I am entitled to place this review here. Thanks for reading!****

 

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