I am probably too old and too male to be watching anything on ABC Family, but really, what else was I supposed to watch this summer: Breaking Bad
? I have better things to do than watch the dad from Malcolm in the Middle
cough a hundred times in the span of an hour (okay I obvious do not have better things to do because I still find time to watch ABC Family, I still choose not too). 
The latest show on ABC Family comes from the same pedigree from the channel’s biggest breakout hit. The Lying Game is based on the Sara Shepard books, who also wrote the series that Pretty Little Liars
is based on, though The Lying Game got optioned as a television show before the books even hit the shelves.The story follows twins that were separated at birth (not to be confused with the show whose timeslot The Lying Game took over), one who grew up in privilege, the other in foster care and both played by Alexandra Chando (Rockville, CA
). They found out that each other exist when one went searching for their birth parents and circumstances brings them together when the one from the wrong side of the tracks gets in trouble and turns to her newfound sister to help. The rich one takes the opportunity to have the poor one take her place so she can follow a lead on their mother in Los Angles.
Things naturally go wrong when the rich twin does not return two days later like she said she would. And much like the pretty little liars who never bother to ask the police or even their parents for help with the crazy stalker, the poor one thinks it would be best to continue to poise as her missing sister. But at least her lie comes with a BMW.Rounding out the cast include Chando’s adopted parents Helen Slater (Supergirl
! Wow did I have such a crush on her in my youth) and Andy Buckley (The Office
), and their bratty biological daughter Allie Gonino (10 Things I Hate About You
). Then there are the rich girl’s rich friends Alice Greczyn (The Dukes of Hazzard
) and Kristen Prout (My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 2
) and rival Sharon Pierre-Louis (Fame
). And what show would be complete without a secret boyfriend, this time played by Blair Redford (The Day the Earth Stood Still
).
If you noticed, I did not describe any of the supporting cast members because none of them were even strongly written. Prout is apparently the quintessential dumb blonde, but the rest are really not given any insight of them from the writers who do not even bother to make any of them easy stereotypes, they all are just bland. But the biggest fail on the part of the writers is they did not set up a compelling mystery. By the end of the first episode of Pretty Little Liars, they set up a laundry list of questions that the viewers were left wondering, but there really are none there for The Lying Game. I guess I am supposed to wonder what happened to the rich girl, but I really do not. This is really poor writing because there is plenty of mysteries that could have been put in place even if they would have turned out to be red herrings. Luckily for The Lying Game, there is still a month left until the networks launch the fall programming giving it time to set up compelling plotlines. Because what else am I going to watch until then: Breaking Bad? I am not that pretentious.The Lying Game airs Mondays at 9:00 on ABC Family. You can stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.
– Elizabeth Cook (Weeds)
(The Dark Knight, Watchmen, Office Space)
- Jeff Bridges
, The Lying Game also looks to offer up some of its own teen intrigue of its own. Hopefully it does not follow its predecessor by taking a promising plot and make it cumbersome to watch at times. Two things The Lying Game has going for it is the highly likeable lead actress Alexandra Chando as twin sisters separated at birth (not by a hospital mistake, but by foster care) and the best use of music in a promo in recent memory when it used Adele’s 
for its ad campaign. Take a look at an extended promo below.
, or even 
, but (Expletive Deleted) in Paris lifts lines from the ice skating comedy 
and Kanye places them over ![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
to explain how the original Hendrickson’s managed to have three kids with three different hair colors). 
and 
to be a MENSA members but just because a distant relative was Italian does not explain a half Italian half Hispanic daughter when you are both very WASPy. 
where Mac learned she was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair) was a great find as the deaf Daphne and it is hard not to root for her on the show. While Vanessa Marano is, well, entertaining in a mini-Eliza Dushku kind of way. Hopefully ABC Family is smart enough to hold off new episodes until next summer because much like last year’s ![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
where we spent two hour trouncing around the island looking for dynamite and kidnapped Aaron only for the episode to end with us not being able to see what was down the hatch. The first hour of Falling Skies seemed like a stall tactic while we are forced to watch a power struggle between Noah Wiley and the commanding officer while we are left screaming at the television, just bomb the alien structure already. And much like Lost, we leave the season with the biggest question unanswered, in this case why are the aliens here? I was expecting the chick from 
to interpret their masterplan James Bond villain style in that last scene but it never came. 
- Jay-Z and Kanye West
is hitting shelves this Tuesday. The 12-DVD box set will include all 65 episodes as well as a retrospective featuring writers on the shoe and other bonus content.
by way of 
starring 
, 
, 
and the girl from 
with an ending so lame you wonder how the writers of 
did not come up with it first.
when Murphy shows up in jail.
and the dude from Zombieland? Yes please.
, also starring Seth Rogan, cancer can make you laugh. It also helps that the movie co-stars the highly likeable Anna Kendrick. 
. Apparently nobody knew his name probably becaude besides The Notebook, Gosling has been in some heavy and weird films like the drug addled teacher in 
and the doll lover from 
. Now he is making some assessable movies like the recent Crazy Stupid Love and the upcoming political thriller with George Clooney and action flick with Carey Mulligan.
, that you can tell will be awesome by title alone. And the movie gets bonus points for featuring 
herself as Mary Todd.