Greek: Chapter 5

Entertainment venues concerning time spent in college has fallen into some disrepute. It seems that since the brilliant movie ‘Animal House’ most flicks and subsequently television series set in a university have degraded to hedonistic romps fueled by excesses in drugs, alcohol and indiscriminant sex. I went to college in the early seventies when Vietnam was still a major issue and Grateful Dead concert tickets were highly coveted. While getting wasted and hooking up was a dominate part of college life it was nothing close to the scale of debauchery typically depicted in movies currently. One series on television has made great strides in showing the college experience in a more balanced, realistic light; Greek. As part of the rotating lineup on the ABC Family Network this series has been providing a sensible look at young adults in college that never sacrifices its mandate to offer family friendly entertainment. The series does represent some of the excessive predilections frequently found with modern college students but the most important thing is the story lines make a point to accompany such actions with realistic consequences. Typical of this channel’s new mandate such didactic leanings are not heavy handed or overwhelming. First and foremost the purpose of series like this one is to entertain. Along with this the producers realize that the target demographic is highly impressionable and as such they assume the appropriate sense of responsibility. I do readily admit that the show didn’t initially appear on my radar when it first appeared but then I received a copy of the first DVD release I started watching and before I was finished with the first disc I was caught up in the characters and their circumstances. Yes, a large part of this appeal is the soap opera nature of the series; it is rather addictive. There is nothing wrong with being a soap opera as long as the producers are up front about it and embrace this form of storytelling; it is a proven way to present an ongoing story.

It seems that the series creator Patrick Sean Smith has been on a mission to redefine the teen oriented soap operas with his work bring series such as ‘Everwood’, Sumerland’ and ‘Supernatural’ to life. This has given him a unique perspective and the trust of both the audience and network with his ability to maintain the expected level of quality held by shows like ‘Greek’. The series has been permitted to grow over the last three seasons nicely reflecting the changes that typically occur to college students. This is somewhat of a risk as far as the network goes since this approach requires the dynamic that has proven successful to undergo frequent, radical change. For example it is only natural at that age for romantic relationships to undergo near constant flux. As season three commences Max Tyler (Michael Rady) gets dumped by Casey Cartwright (Spencer Grammer), the female lead, and in the fashion typical to youth overreacts by quitting in the middle of his graduate school program to return to England. There is a sort of six degree game on the campus of Cyprus-Rhodes University; this action has ramifications to Casey’s younger brother, Rusty (Jacob Zachar), who was depending on Max’s tutelage to pass an organic chemistry test. This was vital to Rusty who is in danger of losing his standing in the fraternity if he was unable to get his GPA up to the academic minimum required to stay in Kappa Tau. One of the main plot points is a common one in the soap opera playbook; the conflagration. A fire destroys Gamma Psi pointing to the rival Zeta Beta Zeta sorority threatening their premier position in the Greek System. This becomes particularly important when the fire department suspects arson.

One of the topics taken on by the series is sexual identity. Grant (Gregory Michael) was a closeted gay man who eventually becomes openly gay and winds up dating hid roommate Calvin (Paul James). Calvin has been openly gay for most of the series shoe the relationship between these two helps to demonstrate the diversity of sexual identities. This sensitive topic is tactfully handled and while generally family friendly parents might want to consider the suitability with younger children. This also pertains to the way the series handles sexual intimacy and matters like drinking. No matter what parents want to think these factors are part of the college experience and it is good that a series like this exists to provide a more realistic view of these common circumstances. Rusty is an engineering student or what is commonly referred to as a nerd. They go as far as having an episode revolving around a comic book convention but usually students in these majors aren’t shown as the socially inept laughing stocks that are common place in the movies but as serious student that can break away from the books long enough to enter into normal friendships and even romantic involvements. At this point in their academic careers they are starting to look to their graduate studies. Casey has ambitions of attending law school so her horizons are moving beyond the sorority to acing her upcoming LSAT examines. Her long term boyfriend, Cappie (Scott Michael Foster) has been undeclared and more or less drifting along. He is undergoing a lot of trepidation with the looming prospect of growing up and facing life outside the familiarity and relative safety of the university. This Peter Pan personality trait begins to wear exceptionally thin with the more ambitious Casey.

Posted 01/11/11