Forget Team Baze, Ryan, Bug or Jones… the team we’re sticking up for following last night’s fantastic LIFE UNEXPECTED is “Team Sweatpants.” Comfort over style every time. That is all.

Full disclosure time. When Josh Schwartz recently tweeted, “Will you believe me when I say the show will never be the same after tonights episode?!!” er…. we didn’t. After-all, when it comes to television, the term ‘Game Changer” is thrown around about as often as “Jump the Shark.” That said, last night’s Zachary Levi directed episode of CHUCK truly lived up to the hype. Which is why, rather than nitpick on the little things — like the somewhat ridiculous Buy More subplot that completely overshadowed the return of Jeffster! and the fact that the score wasn’t so much of a homage to the Terminator movies, but a massive rip-off — we thought we’d take this opportunity to revel in the, for lack of a better word, awesomeness that was the much anticipated Subway product integration reaction by Morgan Grimes upon discovering his best-friend Chuck’s not-so-secret identity. Things will truly never be the same and frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Currently raging within the confines of the comment section of a recent post on theTVaddict.com is a debate over LIFE UNEXPECTED’s Bug. Turns out, much to our surprise and chagrin, many of you aren’t too fond of Lux’s ex-boyfriend. Begging the question: Did you not see Monday’s episode? While Bug may have started out as a one-dimensional teenaged hoodlum with a very unfortunate moniker, he pretty much single-handidly won us over following an episode that saw him break up with Lux in an effort to give her a fresh start. So much so that we’re counting down to his (Spoiler Alert!) inevitable return in the hopes that he’s given the opportunity to make something of himself and possibly win Lux back. Plus, we just recently discovered that his portrayer Rafi Gavron is (a) British, (b) Real-life best friends with Chuck Bass, we mean Ed Westwick and most importantly of all, (c) played a supporting role in one of our favorite movies of 2008, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

To those frustrated viewers (Yes, we’re talking to you CouchTater) who claim LOST doesn’t give any answers, we give you Carlton Cuse’s response (via twitter) to the biggest mystery from last night’s episode with regards to Claire’s not-so-quite-there-baby, “It’s called Squirrel Baby.” Happy now?

It’s official: ABC has all but forgotten about THE FORGOTTEN. How do we know this you ask? Simple. Seeing as though the Alphabet Network is notorious for running shows such as GREY’S ANATOMY, DANCING WITH THE STARS and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES past 10PM in an effort to bump their lead-outs ratings, we — as all good TV Addict should — have gotten into the habit of recording the show after the show we actually want to watch to to ensure we don’t miss the ending. Where the news star Christian Slater could probably do without comes in is that over the past couple of weeks, THE FORGOTTEN has started at precisely 10PM. Which means, either ABC has actually started to listen to viewer complaints, or the more likely conclusion, that the network cares so little about the fate of the little-watched Jerry Bruckheimer procedural that they’re not even bothering to give it the LOST overrun bump. In a word, “Ouch.”

Photo Credit: Jack Rowand /©2009 The CW Network

If the CW ever wants to be taken seriously as a major network, they need to stop talkin’ the talk and start walkin’ the walk. And they can start by expanding their schedule so as not to be running reruns on Wednesday of a show we watched on Monday.

With that in mind, we’d like to suggest that instead of looking at the renewal of ONE TREE HILL and LIFE UNEXPECTED as an “either/or” prospect, they greenlight both shows for next season. Because while E! Online is reporting that only one of the youth-centric shows will be coming back next season, bringing both back would go a long way toward filling some of those awkward gaps the current slate so prominently features.

While OTH (as the kids call it) may be getting a bit long in the tooth and is having a season as uneven as some of the hems featured on PROJECT RUNWAY, it’s still a more marketable product than, say, the upcoming FLY GIRLS or the already-renewed AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, neither of which is going to bring in big bucks when released on DVD. Plus, OTH has a respectable and, more important, demo-friendly audience ready to be wooed by an endless barrage of ads for the CW’s other, weaker offerings sure to be coming down the pike next fall.

As for LIFE UNEXPECTED — which we can all agree is a welcome change of pace from the network’s traditional parade of vapid blonde bimbos making really poor decisions — one might argue that the series has shown more than enough of a creative spark in its short run to warrant another 13 episodes in which to grow. You know, like the patience the network used to exhibit toward once unknown entities such as the GILMORE GIRLS and dare we say the likes of 7th HEAVEN, both of which were far from bonafide hits out of the gate. Plus, while two million weekly viewers isn’t exactly VAMPIRE DIARIES numbers — when you factor in that the CW’s idea of a marketing budget is getting some poor intern with rudimentary photoshop skills to design this — well, it’s fairly impressive.

They say you gotta spend money to make money. So it’s time for the CW to either beef up their schedule — and not simply with cheap-to-produce reality offerings — or concede defeat by admitting they’ll never be one of the big boys.

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Photo Credits: JSquared Photography/The CW, Richard Phibbs / The CW

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Since CBS insists on ruining our post-Super Bowl party with the likes of SURVIVOR, CRIMINAL MINDS and Sunday’s super-underwhelming UNDERCOVER BOSS each and every time they get the chance. A fairly funny instalment of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER that introduced “duck or rabbit” into the lexicon, included a memorable callback to the ‘naked man,’ and featured one of the smartest Ted one-liners to date (”Don = Donald = Donald Duck”) — was slightly less so as we spent the better part of twenty-two minutes wondering just how many more faux post-Super Bowl episodes creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays will have to concoct before CBS finally gets the message. Fingers crossed three times is the charm.

HOUSE
Last night’s Tour-du-Cuddy performance by Lisa Edelstein continued to reinforced our belief that if HOUSE wasn’t so frequently overly formulaic, we wouldn’t so frequently press pass on Monday nights.

LIFE UNEXPECTED
Despite some fantastic guest starring turns by TV Addict favorites such as EVERWOOD’s Merrilyn Gann and BEING ERICA’s Erin Karpluk, last night’s fourth episode of LIFE UNEXPECTED finds us getting somewhat unexpectedly annoyed with the show’s pint-sized protagonist. Seriously. Outside of getting adopted by the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt clan, when is Lux going to grow up and realize just how good she’s got it? Echoing the sentiments of fellow Canadian TV Addict Myles McNutt, there are only so many more times we wish to tune in to see the same plot-point rehashed. Or, as our favorite fictional President [Bartlett] might put it, “What’s Next?”

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE
Needing to kill some time between HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and LIFE UNEXPECTED, we yet again subjected ourselves to a few minutes of Jenna Elfman’s so-called half-hour sitcom. Needless to say, our problem with it is simple: Just how is this show still on the air?

The origins of Lux’s name.
Aside from creator Liz Tigelaar’s inexplicable love for names featuring the letter ‘X,’ the origins of LIFE UNEXPECTED’s pint-sized protagonists moniker can be directly attributed to the showrunners love for the movie Virgin Suicides, whose lead character, played by Kirsten Dunst, was… you guessed it, named Lux.

What’s in a name (Part II).
The road to a title for the hit CW series was an unexpectedly bumpy one with LIFE UNEXPECTED’s originally being billed as LIGHT YEARS. “The original idea was that Lux entered Kate and Baze’s lives, illuminating things for them in a way in which they’ve never experienced before, kind of like these are their light years,” explained Tigerlaar. “Of course the title tested way too ‘Sci-fi’ so after many iterations we settled on LIFE UNEXPECTED, and what I like about it is that you can find the letters ‘Lux’ within the title.”

Tigelaar’s betting on a second season.
So much so that the season finale, which Tigelaar just recently put the finishing touches on will leave fans with just enough questions to ensure they’ll be clamoring for a second season. “We’re definitely airing on the side of season rather than series finale,” promised Tigelaar. “While there will be a culmination of a lot of things so that the finale will feel satisfying, there will be more than enough questions left up in the air laying the groundwork for a second season.”

Cate and Baze are not Soul Mates!
At least according to Tigelaar, who told TVGuide in a recent interview that, “Obviously when something big happens like that in the pilot, with two characters carrying a significant secret, you’re waiting for it to come out. That will definitely happen, and as most secrets do, they come out at an inopportune time. In terms of Cate and Baze’s relationship, these are two people who have to really reconcile what their feelings are about each other. Because of TV, we’re trained to think that Cate and Baze belong together. But there’s a good question in there: “Really? You’re the soul mate of the guy who knocked you up in high school in the back of a minivan? Really?” Logic says that’s ridiculous”

It’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon.
Particular since you can download the season premiere of LIFE UNEXPECTED for free on iTunes by clicking here.

1. The CAPRICA series premiere. [iTunes]
2. The LIFE UNEXPECTED series premiere. [iTunes]
3. THE DEEP END series premiere. [iTunes]
4. The DEGRASSI HIGH series premiere. [iTunes]
5. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit” [iTunes]

The pilot episode of LIFE UNEXPECTED is so unabashedly charming that I almost needed to make sure my media cabinet wasn’t grinning. This atypical new dramedy has little to do with The CW’s current breed of programming: there is nary a nude model, verklempt socialites cheering with champagne glasses, or forlorn vampires. It came out of the 2009 Upfronts buzzing with praise, most notably of which are the comparisons to Amy Sherman-Palladino’s late, great GILMORE GIRLS. I agree that this light, broadly appealing effort harkens back to The WB of yesteryear, where its young characters were often fully and complexly realized.  
 
But the show I would really compare it to is JJ Abrams’ FELICITY: both feature a female lead with a mane of hair in a world so bizarre to them (in this case its being part of a family, however dysfunctional) that they travel listlessly in search of understanding – of themselves, what it means to be where they are in their lives and how those situations relate. And though creator Liz Tigelaar (who’s previously worked as a producer on BROTHERS & SISTERS and Abrams’ own WHAT ABOUT BRIAN) hasn’t shown any intention to ratchet the tension any higher than that of a romantic comedy, it remains promising.
 

Lux (Brittany Robertson, previously on CBS’ grossly misunderstood SWINGTOWN the a beleaguered teen next door) has bounced around foster homes her entire life, and on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, plans to do something about it. Plotting to become emancipated, she seeks out her birth parents who, like her, have managed to stay within the city limits of Portland, Ore. But upon discovering that they share a daughter, Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) – who lives above a bar in a building owned by his father – and Cate (Shiri Appleby) – a morning radio talk show host who happens to be romantically involved with her co-host (Kerr Smith) – show up at her court hearing and leave with shared custody.
 
Cate and Baze’s backstory is classic rom-com fodder: a one-time high school tryst turns procreational, their brief relationship ending with Cate giving up Lux, believing that she would be adopted. Polaha and Appleby’s chemistry is endearing – they convincingly convey a long-burning desire for each other. More enchanting though is dynamic between Baze and Lux, who quickly forge a realistic and welcoming father-daughter duo, rife with sarcasm, frustration, and adoration. But that relationship takes a backseat in the two subsequent episodes I previewed for a closer examination of Lux and her friends still stuck in foster care, whose interactions tend to gravitate to soapy melodrama. (As does meeting the grandparents and token irate/overly-attentive aunt in Episode 3, a trope I’d beg to know when it can finally be retired to the cliché scrapheap with Damien Rice’ “The Blower’s Daughter.”)
 
You might remember Appleby and Smith as stars of their own WB series, ROSWELL and DAWSON’S CREEK – Polaha has been a guest star on MAD MEN and was Judy Greer’s love interest in the short-lived ABC sitcom MISS GUIDED. All three of their characters aren’t especially well-defined, or even original: Appleby’s Cate fears commitment and has trust issues (and says silly things like, “I learned a long time ago that the only person you can trust is yourself!”) and Baze is the rebellious child of old, wasp-y money, taking his father’s building and turning it into a bar (“He said to do what I love, and I love to drink for free.”) How to fit Kerr Smith into the equation has proven tricky, so in these initial episodes, he’s used sparingly, if inefficiently.
 
The following weeks are not as strong or as charming as the pilot, which, oddly, is where it most resembles a classic WB show: the growing pains are noticeable, and until its producers narrow down what kind of show it wants to be (they seem to be leaning towards a lighter, less serious tone that I hope they abandon for a more varied approach), will be uneven. FELICITY didn’t get really good until its third season, and from what I’ve seen so far, I wouldn’t mind doing the same with this show. Grade: B
 

LIFE UNEXPECTED has that old-school WB feel.
It only took four years, but the network that GILMORE GIRLS and 7th HEAVEN built finally seems to remember it roots. “It might not be a typical show in the way of GOSSIP GIRL, but if you consider the CW as a merge of UPN and the WB, the show is very much in the same vain as EVERWOOD, FELICITY and DAWSON’S CREEK,” explains creator and co-executive producer Liz Tigelaar during a recent one-on-one with the TV Addict at last week’s Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena. “[Series star] Kristoffer Polaha said it on the press line, we’re the only show on all of television that’s a character driven show. It’s not a remake, there’s no high concept, there just isn’t that hook. It’s a group of people in this coming of age story about how these grown ups grow up.”

It’s not a high school show.
Putting aside for a moment that LIFE’s plucky young protagonist, 15-year old Lux, played by SWINGTOWN’s Britt Robertson (Who Tigelaar says was “hands down the best actress we could have gotten. There’s no one better!”) will of course attend high school, one of the most unexpected treats about LIFE UNEXPECTED is that thanks to some serious drama between genetically blessed bio-parents Cate and Baze (Shiri Appleby and Kristoffer Polaha respectively), there’s actually a reason for people over the age of 21 to tune in. Promises Tigelaar, “While we want to use the high school as a backdrop to tell stories [The high school that Lux is going to will be the same one Cate and Baze attended.] The set piece of the school is more of an emotional one. If we do a story about the Winter Formal it will resonate because Cate got knocked up at that Winter Formal, rather than an episode about who’s going to ask Lux on a date.”

This time, it’s personal.
Having had the pleasure of meeting Tigelaar in person on more than one occasion, we can assure you first hand, that her enthusiasm is infectious. And for good reason. Not only is LIFE UNEXPECTED a culmination of over a decade of hard work after getting her start on such TV Addict favorite such as DAWSON’S CREEK, KYLE XY and BROTHERS & SISTERS. Lux’s journey of a girl finally getting to meet her birth-parents is a very personal one for Tigelaar who is an adoptee herself, having only discovering her real-life birth parents over the course of filming the show. Joked Tigelaar, “The first thing my bio-mom sad was, ‘I’m not a radio DJ!’” Which trust us, is something that will make a lot more sense after you’ve watched the pilot.

A Strange Guest Star.
While Erin Karpluk may not be a household name to the majority of the CW’s target demo, fans of the CBC/SoapNet series BEING ERICA will be pleased to discover that Karpluk makes an unexpected appearance on the soot-to-be-hit CW show starting with the fourth episode. “I play the character of Alice who is the boss of Shiri Appleby and Kerr Smith, Kate and Ryan,” revealed Karpluk at last week’s Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena. A recurring character that fans may also be surprised to discover was far more pressure for the actress than one might expect. “To be honest I was very nervous to start LIFE UNEXPECTED because someone else is driving the ship and I don’t want to screw it up. You’re there to support the other actors on the show and it’s nerve-wracking jumping onto a show where the cast and crew know each other and are already in motion and you’re the new person. But everybody was very welcoming, the cast was fantastic to work with and the writers are great. Plus it’s kind of nice not to work everyday, I can have a life outside, get my taxes down, go to the gym and go on a date.”

Take a look at the alternatives!
No really. Up against THE BACHELOR, HEROES and TWO AND A HALF MEN, what’s your excuse for not giving LIFE UNEXPECTED a shot?

LIFE UNEXPECTED Premieres Monday January 18 on the CW at 9PM