Review of H2O: Just Add Water

I watched season one when I was in elementary school and loved it, now I'm in college and figured I'd re-watch season one for the laughs and nostalgia. In all honesty the show holds up pretty well, but definitely has its problems. I am going to go into what the show does well as well as problems the show has, but keep in mind if you just want to show it to it's proper age group (tweens and kids) the show will work great! And in all honesty the problems I had with the show I think added to the laughs! And this review is only over season one (didn't love the show enough to watch 3 seasons- lol) H2O introduces three girls who are not (all) previous friends who become mermaids together from a mysterious island they get stranded on together. They find out that if they touch water (just a drop) they will become a mermaid until dry. The three girls have varying personality's of the fearful nice one (Cleo), the (kinda bossy) responsible one (Emma), and the (kinda moody) rebellious, funny one (Rikki). They learn to deal with this situation, and juggle high school. First off think what the show does great is introduce a situation where I really feel the curse of the superpower. Pretty early on we find out that "touching water" can be as simple as moisturizing your face or getting any form of drink (soda, juice, etc) on you. This helps make the world feel more "lived it" because this would technically be true. It also creates some reasonable drama that I agree with. Normally when a character with a superpower doesn't want to do things because of their power it seems a little melodramatic and forced. Here, in any given episode they will argue if they can host a party, go to a pool party, get a job at a marine park- and each time the arguments still seem warranted (for the most part- I'll get to that later)- because it's a fair argument that going to a pool party would give you a really good chance to get wet. But it's also a fair argument that you shouldn't let situations hold you back from living your life. Also a show that can get me to stress about water (even if it's in the background-I mean seriously did they have to live so close to the water) is doing something right. Another thing I thought was done well was the friendship and independence of each of the girls. Let me explain, I like that Rikki joins cleo and Emma's established friendship after they all find out their mermaids. I am a big fan of people sorta running into a bond or creating a friendship over a shared experience. It wouldn't make sense that these three clearly different personality's would have been friends for years, and it's more fun to watch people have to learn to work together because of a common goal. The friendship they form is nice enough for me too root for it, but also rocky enough for me to buy into arguments. As for the characters independence- it's a small thing but it makes the world feel real, I really liked how self motivated a lucid each character is. For the most part the characters do their own thing,Cleo could spend an episode cleaning out her closet. Most "teen" group or power shows tend to keep the cast together or one member is off. But that one member tends to have to ask for permission or it's a big deal that their not all together. Each character just tends to do their own thing unless something happened that involves all of them. Like the episode where Cleo decides to go to a pool party, Emma and Rikki aren't interested and don't even notice her absence until they get called. This aspect to the show also helps make the romance seem more believable. Rikki and Zane get stranded together on a roof and have a natural (enough) conversation that leads to them dating. I buy that the experience they had forms a relationship, and I also buy it when the other characters seem shocked and still don't really like Zane when they eventually find out Rikki is dating him. My last few positives are that the mermaid tails seem really believable and still hold up. I like that we don't get a ton of information (at least in season one) about how they are mermaids. (I just don't think you can come up with a good enough explanation, it's better that it's just a weird thing that happen, and it feels a little more special when we get some information every now and then) the romance is delightfully awkward (Zane and Rikkis overall relationship works the best) and the color coded characters is kinda a fun touch (seriously Emma wears blue/white- Cleo wears Pink/purple- and Rikki wears red/black) Ok now into the negatives, first off the writing. The dialogue isn't great (kinda stereotypical teen show writing) but by no means even close to the worst of tween dialogue I've seen. Some episodes are way cringer than others (nearly any episode with the younger siblings or Cleo's family are worth skipping) But there's a handful of other episodes in season one with pretty bad main or side plots- but that being said some of those episodes I also found those to be the funniest to watch. Going right into my second negative, the acting. Once again not the worst, And they don't have the best dialogue to work with. Cleo is probably the worst, she does ok in episodes where she doesn't have to be fearful, overly weird (her moon episode), or mad. So she's fine when she's just being generally nice or supportive (which is a decent chunk of her character), but this really makes her one of the weakest characters and she's probably the most forgetful of the main three, though at times her acting did make her the funniest. Emma's a little better than Cleo, though she can be pretty bad too. Her character suffers from a decent chunk of the bad writing so that's apart of it, but for the most part she comes across as a kinda mean overly organized somewhat leader of the group, but I do think this was intended for the character to be like this. (It doesn't make her terribly likable though) Rikki really made this show for me, the actress is the best (by quite a bit/ though she does also have her moments) she really feels like a self assured, headstrong teen who really believes that this is the coolest thing to ever happen to her, but admits it can be hard to deal with. Honestly her acting was good enough that it made her character more likable than the other two, she just has more of a physicality and a delivery that worked. (I think the episode that's most worth watching is bad moon rising (rikkis moon episode)) Lewis and Zane are also some of the better actors. lewis's curiosity makes him likable and also is how we get most of the information over the logistics of being a mermaid. Zane is made sympathetic by his father (who also is a pretty good actor- seriously every scene he comes out I could see his disappointment -and Zane just seemed so over it that I couldn't help but laugh) Zane scene where he almost drowns is one of the shows best moments, mainly for how stressful it is. I also think Zane and Rikki have quite a bit of chemistry that makes there scenes really worth watching. Overall I don't think I'll watch all of season one again- unless I'm just really in the mood to laugh at some of those episodes. but the show is entertaining enough for a nostalgic re-watch -seriously Zane's drowning scene, rikkis moon episode, Zane and rikkis talk of the balcony (as well as some of their dates), and even the moment when Lewis finds out their mermaids (particularly Cleo)are much better than they should be. For the most part the shows a cheesy, funny, and a overall great time if your up for it!