It's clearly a Sweet Valley day today! I've been asking everyone what they thought of the teen book series and now I'd like to know everyone's thoughts about the TV series that accompanied the books so we could follow the escapades of the Wakefield twins right in our living rooms!
When I was reading the books, I used to think how great it would be if they turned the books into a TV series. And then around the mid-nineties, I got my wish! I was mega excited and couldn't wait to watch it.
I didn't mind the TV series but I won't lie - I did feel quite underwhelmed by it. No one on the show looked like the characters in the book; Jessica and Elizabeth didn't seem to have any other family despite their parents and brother featuring in the books quite frequently; the acting abilities of certain people left a lot to be desired (no one names mentioned!) But most disappointingly, whereas the books dealt with some pretty heavy topics, the TV show was more like a comedy/kids TV show so it couldn't deal with those topics in quite the same way. As everyone knows, TV adaptations don't always follow the book exactly but I don't think my teen self understood that at the time.
But despite all that, I'm glad they made the show. It was interesting to see how Sweet Valley High translated onto the small screen and it was still fun to watch.
What did all you SV fans think?
I'm sorry but I really wasn't impressed. I don't think this TV show did the Sweet Valley books real justice. I think if it had been a TV series on its own, it might have worked. But because it was based on the books, those of us who read it kept making comparisons. It was like "That didn't happen in the book." "She didn't look like that in the book." "Nah, the book was better!"