The television series Sweet Valley High is based upon the Sweet Valley High books written by Francine Pascal. The stories are about a pair of twins in high school who have opposite personalities and lead very different lives. Of course, what one does always affects the other and their many friends. Overall, there isn't anything really elaborate or deep about this series. It takes a comical approach that pretty much is the same thing over and over again. The series is great for young teenagers looking for a quick laugh, but the show's light content, below average acting, and poorly developed characters probably will not attract everyone else.

The two main characters in Sweet Valley High are twin sisters Elizabeth (Cynthia Daniels) and Jessica (Brittany Daniels) Wakefield. Elizabeth is the conservative type, who gets good grades and always does the right thing. She has a steady boyfriend and plays an active role in many extra curricular activities. Her sister Jessica is the complete opposite. She's more into the social aspects of high school and not so much the academics. She is very self-centered, egocentric, and has no problem committing acts her good sister would cringe at. She lies and cheats without pause to better her own position in life. She also offers a less stable personality, as she doesn't have a boyfriend and seems to be after a different 'hunk' each week. The fundamental aspect of this series is the twin's conflicting personalities and the crazy situations that develop.

The majority of the first season episodes revolve around Jessica lying and cheating someone out of something to better her self. In a good portion of the episodes Jessica pretends to be her identical sister. There are also several episodes where she tramples over her sister's and her own friends without second thought. This very generic and plain approach is fun at first, but quickly gets old. There is very little remarkable about the stories.

In addition, the characters do not really add a lot either. The main characters Elizabeth and Jessica are not the best pair of characters. This is not necessarily due to their acting capabilities, but rather that their interactions in each episode do not really seem to give a lot of chance to develop. They seem to be the same people in the same situations over and over again. The supporting characters also offer very little to the overall series. The acting performances range with some characters feeling overplayed and out of context. There are a few that are likeable and add a douse of comedy. Another difficulty I had with the supporting characters was that their roles were very limited. This is because the short runtime of an episode and that there were a lot of supporting characters.

Overall, I was not very impressed with this television series. The content is a little to mild mannered and the characters offer very little. However, despite that I was not totally enthralled by this DVD release as a whole, I found that an episode or two was amusing enough to keep me entertained. If you enjoy high school comedies that are far from serious (like Saved By the Bell) you might enjoy the first season of Sweet Valley High.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture houses a distinct grain that usually accompanies most TV on DVD releases. However, the grain is a little more distinct than other releases. There are also a few issues with compression artifacts that cause color distortions.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in 2.0 Dolby digital. It comes in two languages, English and Spanish. It is a very plain track that offers very little oomph. The track is dialogue driven and remains flat. There is very little distinction with channel separation. There are also subtitles in English and Spanish.

Extras:
none

Final Thoughts:
The first season of Sweet Valley High is not very impressive. Part of the reason is that it is tailored for a very distinct audience, young teenagers. So unless you fit in that category (or really enjoy high school comedies), the show's limited approach in both its cast and stories will probably offer you very little.