The Secret Life of the American Teenager
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June 7th, 2011 5:24 PM
Person you are so right. It is fiction. I did laugh when the writer said, " kill a baby just to shake up a one hour drama." Way to give part of this discussion a little perspective:)
June 7th, 2011 4:30 PM
They already had a teen pregnancy resulting in motherhood. Also, Ben and Adrian only got married because of the baby. Pluck the baby out of the equation, and I bet it would be really fun to figure out where to take the characters. Adoption just isn't a plausible outcome for their situation, plus that's just too soft-core. This show could use a bit more tragedy. Especially tragedy not brought onto the characters by their own actions. (Also, they didn't actually kill a baby. I don't know if you're aware, but this is a FICTIONAL program.)
June 7th, 2011 4:30 PM
I watch the show because I am a youth pastor and it covers many issues teens deal with and let's face it they are watching it and talking about it. Why not take the opportunity to talk to them. It was apparent what may happen and - had a hard time with that because 3 months ago one of our teens gave birth and dealt with a death 3 days later. After seeing firsthand what she went through(test, poking, prodding, praying and mourning)I was relieved they did not offer much detail. I know the writers were trying to show not every pregnancy ends well without too much. Now the thing is will they potray the "ever after" they have created. We will see.
June 7th, 2011 4:08 PM
i dont watch this show but i did watch this one. this was sad. i did not cry. but it was emotional.
June 7th, 2011 4:05 PM
this was really sad i was starting to cry because i didnt know what was going to happen. i like adrian and ben. but, i never thought that this was going to happen to them:( . so this is the only show of the part that i hae cry in. and if it wasn't going to be like this i would still cry. So, last night i did feel bad!.
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June 7th, 2011 4:02 PM
i agree with the reviewer the writers didnt have to kill a baby and set up this plot twist it was emotionla no i did NOT cry but it was emotional and mysterious and now im afraid for Ben he is not that strong in life and now this comes he is shattered beyond hope adrian is a strong girl she will suffer but eventually come back i think however as i said before Ben has been lost!
June 7th, 2011 3:57 PM
This show is awful. The plot is unrealistic and the acting so terrible I have trouble watching an entire episode. I'm glad the baby was stillborn because it put some sort of interest while showing that happy endings are not always around the corner.
June 7th, 2011 2:45 PM
I think this episode was awesome. They wanted to show that not every pregnancy goes well, there is always something that can happen during a perfect pregnancy. From the preview you can kind of assume something was going to happen to Adrien or the baby. There are many things that can happen during the birthing process and kids need to know that its not just rainbows and butterfly's having a kid at a young age. It could be them.
Also, i do not know what to think about the preview for next week but since the begin of the series I've hoped Amy and Ricky would get together and if something happens where it gets messed up, i will no longer be watching anymore. There's been too much with the 4kids(Amy,Ricky Adrien and Bed). Ben and Adrien need to not mess things up for Amy and Ricky!
June 7th, 2011 2:38 PM
I have watched the show since the beginning. Although I have found some of the dialog to be a little cheesy at times I have continued to watch because of the subject matter that is raised.I think that the concept of the show is to give parents as well as teens a idea of how to open a dialog about sex and relationships. I also don't want to see Ricky, Amy, Ben and Adrian to switch back to their former relationships in any way.
As a mother who has been in Adrian's position, I feel that it was done in a tasteful manner.There are those that think they needed to see Adrian and Ben hold their still born child but I think that would have gone too far. That is a very private moment that not everyone can understand if they have not lost a child.
I think that Adrian asking Amy to be with her is a natural reaction.But the writers will have to remember that Adrian and Amy's similarity in their situation stops there. In a realistic situation Adrian may come to resent how Amy's life seems to
June 7th, 2011 2:31 PM
I figured it out all through the episode. I have been pregnant so it was easy to figure it out. I can't imagine the actors who play ben and adrian doing their parts any better. They made it seem real. I cried even though I didn't want to I couldn't help it. The story line was so sad and moving. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if I had lost my child like that. The next season should be interesting to see how everyone is doing after the tragedy.
June 7th, 2011 2:10 PM
jessica, i definitely could not believe that there was only like ten minutes left in the episode when they finally actually said what was happening. i agree that they should have spent more time on the issue.
June 7th, 2011 2:04 PM
I agree with the writer of the review of the episode. If their main goal was to shed a light on the tragedy of stillbirth, then they should have devoted the entire episode to it. They could have shown how the baby is delivered and held after he or she is born and in future episodes show the effect that this tragedy has on different people. Instead, they were very vague about the specifics and chose to promote the tragedy of the episode with everyone crying. This was obviously a way for them to draw in viewers. My daughter is 15 and she watched the first season of this show and quit watching midway through season 2. She had not watched any of season 3, but she watched the episode last night due to the advertising of the subject matter. So, I would say that the ploy by ABC Family was successful. She isn't planning on watching it next week, so I don't know how the ploy will work in the long run. I spend a lot of time with high school girls and while there are a few that talk about sex, th
June 7th, 2011 1:34 PM
If the show really wanted to show how this tragic situation can happen to make awareness it should have spent more time on the matter. Instead it took place for about 3 minutes in an hour long show & the majority of the time they were playing that depressing song. They took a sad subject & purely used it for ratings, not awareness.
June 7th, 2011 1:07 PM
i just finished watching the ep and reading the blog and all the reviews. the first thing i absolutely need to say is that for anyone writing about how it would be more realistic for adrian to have had an abortion, have a miscarriage or give the baby up for adoption is ridiculous. more realistic?? really?? women give birth to stillborn babies every day. many people have posted statistics on their reviews. i don't think you could get any more realistic then going to the doctor one day and everything is fine to finding out the next day your life has changed forever and not the way you thought it would. any of those storylines would have of course been REALISTIC but not more or less realistic then having a stillborn child.
what's so important at this point is how the writers have these kids deal with what happened. will the show lose viewers?? i'm not sure, i know i won't stop watching b/c of what happened. as a grown woman of three small children, my heart broke watching a
June 7th, 2011 1:00 PM
While it was so sad to see Adrian give birth to a stillborn baby, sometimes this is exactly what a show needs to get more people to watch.
This made for a very dramatic story that was very emotional and moving. I agree that I wished they wouldn't have waited for everyone to be informed of this tragedy within the last 15 minutes of the show. The tragedy deserved more airtime, which I'm hoping we'll see in the next episode. But if they give awards out for actors on shows such as this, I'm sure there will be some nominations because every actor on the show gave a very emotional performance that I'm sure moved more people than just myself. I NEVER NEVER cry and I had tears streaming down my face the last 15 minutes of that show. I'm sorry they lost the baby, but I think this will renew the show and the audience will now want to watch the repercussions of that loss, not turn the channel.
June 7th, 2011 12:57 PM
The fact that people aren't willing to talk about these issues because they are trying to keep teens and kids so sheltered about sex and other hard subject matters makes this very appropriate for a kids/family show. Obviously teens don't talk about sex as openly to their parents as portrayed in this show...but that's what makes this show so interesting. Wouldn't it be more ideal if teens could be more open about sex? Unfortunately, teens end up learning about sex through other teens. As cheesy as this show can be, I'm glad that someone is trying to open up a conversation about sex, pregnancies, and the consequences. If I'm not mistaken, many of the stillbirths that do occur end up happening to younger people. It's a harsh reality that stillbirths happen at all, but it's something that people need to realize rather than turning away from it and pretending like it doesn't happen. It doesn't mean people need to be scared that it will happen to them though.
June 7th, 2011 12:56 PM
Can I be completely honest? I hate Ben and Adrian. They are not right for each other and they are completely annoying. I thought last night's episode was full of awkward crying and I thought it was a little bit over the top. Ben and Adrian's pregnancy was way too perfect that I knew that something bad was going to happen at the end. The baby being stillborn is a tragedy and I was shocked that they went with this story line. I'm curious about what this is going to do with Ben and Adrian's relationship. Now that they don't have a baby, I would really like to see them break up...like I said before, they're not right for each other.
June 7th, 2011 12:49 PM
I am not a Secret Life watcher but I read this article simply to see what tragedy occured. I personally think that there is no reason not to go with this storyline. Yes it is a show geared towards teens and it is on ABC family but um hello... do you not realize that these teens are having SEX. What's more innapropriate than that? If it is okay to let your teens watch a show where this is happening then I think they can handle a tragedy... I totally agree with an earlier comment made by someone that said that it is ridiculous to have teens under the assumption that when you get pregnant as a teen it's all fun and good and you will marry the man of your dreams and live happily ever after in your perfect little bubble! How often does that really happen? 1 in 10... I think that is even a generous number. If you don't want your teens to see the realities of what can happen in ANY pregnancy then don't let them watch! This in my opinion is a ridiculous argument.
June 7th, 2011 12:43 PM
I think that it was an injustice to the subject matter to have it consist of about 5 minutes of the show. If ABC Family wanted to shed light on the pain of the loss of a child, then do it right, and not tack it on at the end.
I also did not care for the way the trailer seemed to trivialize the situation, and give the implication that the Amy/Ricky/Adrian/Ben thing was about to flair up again.
I've never missed an episode, but if the writers mess with the dynamic of Amy & Ricky, I will probably stop watching. It's time to let the characters grow and see where they can take things.
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June 7th, 2011 12:43 PM
On another note... Sometimes they don't know why a healthy pregnancy ends, it just does. They can't always know what's happening inside while the baby is growing. Some things happen too fast to be able to be helped or fixed.
I don't think this should make anyone who is expecting fear that this will happen to them. Each pregnancy is different for every women and there are signs when things are wrong. (Like her not feeling the baby move). Hopefully this episode helps to enlighten the reality that some pregnancies end in tragedy but that not all pregnancies are like that.
June 7th, 2011 12:33 PM
@ laura- I don't think that is what the writer was saying. We are all aware that it's a very real topic but it doesn't belong on a kids tv show on ABCFamily! The show is ridiculous. No teenage girl is going to go to her father & say "we had sex but decided not to do it again." And no father will or should pay their kid $50 for doing so.
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June 7th, 2011 12:32 PM
I have 2 boys with another on the way after a miscarriage. I LOVED this episode! I usually can't stand this show because of all the stupid drama and bad decisions made by not only the teens but the adults. I stopped watching after the first season until I heard about this episode. I knew right away that she was going to loose the baby. I cried while I watched the episode after loosing a baby of my own.
I have to say I am impressed that they would write this into the show. These kind of things aren't talked about unless your the one going through them. In reality, sometimes you loose a baby. It's not like they aborted the baby, she simply died. It's tragic but sometimes that's how life is. I think that for some this episode will enlighten them to the fact that not all pregnancies turn out with a baby. This is true reality at it's most sad and tragic.
June 7th, 2011 12:29 PM
Things like this happen in real life, and although tragic, it sheds some light as what people go through in these situations. Not everyone can have a healthy baby...some people are face with miscarriages, still borns, and even not having the chance to even conceive. Kudos to the director for having the guts to put something like this out. Not everything ends up in a happy ending. If people stop watching this show because of this episode, then they obviously can't face the truth...but remember, although these characters are made up, women face these trials everyday. It happens more than we know and the reality of it, some women might never get a happy ending.
Also, our society is made up with teen mothers. It seems like any product or message we want to send out to the kids is that sex is okay, therefore making our teenagers sexually active when they are young. We can preach all we want to about how sex is bad and abstinence is better, but in the end, we cannot control our children
June 7th, 2011 12:23 PM
The writer comes off as insensitive in this blog. If the storyline made you cry and it really bothers you that they "killed" a baby then maybe you should write a blog about risk-factors for stillbirth or try to raise money to help real families deal with this?
The writers of the show could have given the baby up for adoption or had a miscarriage early in the season but women in this situation do not get to choose those options for the babies who die. I feel like it is insulting to ask the show the lighten things up for your comfort. This is a network for families and families sometimes experience tragic, tragic loss. I hope you never have to experience it. Maybe try to gain a little insight before posting a review that basically says to mothers of stillborn kids: "You're life is too sad for me to watch on TV for a few mins k thnx bye!"
June 7th, 2011 12:19 PM
I actually enjoyed this episode. Honestly? Yeah it was sad and tragic that Adriannes baby died but I think the message was well received. Up until now the show has told viewers that hey you can have a baby at 15...and work and still go to school and still live at home with parents helping you and still be able to date and go out with friends. And while this may the case for 1 or 2 teenagers it is rarely the norm. I think the show would've been ridiculous if it had portrayed 2 teen moms with perfect lives and families. This episode was just a reminder that life isn't all butterflies and sunshine...there is heartbreak and maybe teenagers aren't the best equipped for dealing with this level of heartbreak. I am in no way bashing teenage pregnancy, I understand that it happens and will continue to happen but I do think this episode was a reality check that was long coming to The Secret Life, nobody ever gets it all like these characters seem to.