Huge Complete Series

Huge was an ABC Family show that ran in the summer months of 2010. It focused on a group of teenagers at a weight loss camp. It had 10 episodes total, and the timeframe was the first few weeks of camp. Most important, it was a smart, original show with realistic characters, quality writing and talented actors. The show made it clear: you shouldn't hate your body, you should be healthy. An amazing message during this time when over half of Americans are overweight, and actors on most other tv shows are stick thin.

ABC Family is a terrible network. I have tried to watch their other shows, such as The Secret Life, Pretty Little Liars and Melissa and Joey. They could be any other time slot filler-type show on any other network, yet these are the shows that will be on next year. It makes me sad, because they actually had the best, most realistic show about teens since Freaks and Geeks, and they cancelled it after just 10 episodes. I had hoped some other network would pick it up, because with the proper marketing, this show could have been just what it the title is: HUGE.

Coming from Winnie Holzman (who created "My So-Called Life" and wrote the book for "Wicked") it's hard to imagine how this show flew as far under the radar as it did when it premiered on ABC Family in 2010. Sadly, it did, the ratings were miniscule, and it wasn't renewed. This means that the 10 episodes that were produced are all that we'll ever get to see of the world that she and the writers and actors put on screen, and that's a bit of a tragedy.

A host of talented young actors who have, by and large, made fledgeling careers out of playing the fat sidekick and doing brief walk-ons in other people's stories get to shine in a series that treats them as more than a one-note punchline. The characters feel lived-in and real as they grapple with the other problems that teens of all body shapes and sizes cope with, even as the story has a lot to say about how they see themselves and relate to a world in which people who look like them are stigmatized and underrepresented in the media; this is, after all, a show that aired next to "Pretty Little Liars". It's charmingly warm-hearted and charitable without being overwhelmed by sentiment (though at times it's a close-run thing), and it's a shame that it won't be coming back.

Well worth your time.

I don't like teen dramas. In fact, I hate them because they tend to be contrived and superficial. Lately, they have also been exploiting teenagers by glamorizing them into something most of them can't even afford to be. However, this teen drama is flawless and the product itself is near-flawless. I'm not going to talk about the show much because Peter and Sundiata already did that for me and I'm not going to review the show because there are others out there who will do that for you (strongly recommend Jezebel's review of the show and comparison with Mike & Molly).

The show itself is amazing and I love that they focus on little flaws like natural blemishes. In the commentaries, Dooley said that they didn't put any make-up on the cast members and when they did, she asked the team to be as minimalistic as possible. They really did an amazing job to emphasize that these characters are real people. Including body image, other subject matters that arise are some that are rarely ever handled with such sophistication and poignancy--from Caitlin's eating disorder to Alistair's sexuality. It only makes me angrier that I didn't get to see a proper resolution for everyone that I wish they could have had.

The only complaint I would have about the product itself is that I wish there were subtitles and that there were commentaries on all of the episodes, including Nikki Blonsky and other cast members. It would have been fun to see what they had to say about certain scenes. It's a minor detail I could live without.

The show itself is flawless and this DVD set is a must-have for those who value high-quality television. Unless network TV gets their act together and realizes that not all women are Size 0 and not all men are buff & athletic and not everyone is heterosexual/cisgendered/heteronormative, you won't see another show like this for a long, LONG time to come.