Getting in Character: Responsibility

Obviously, this program (and presumably the forthcoming titles in the series) was made to instill character traits in young teens that will allow them to be healthy, happy members of society. Unfortunately, the acting--at least in the initial entry, Responsibility--is so forcibly "hip" and self-consciously awful, I'm not convinced a group of teens would sit still for it. Eight kids--ethnically mixed and stereotypically diverse (The Nerd, The Jock, The Bad Boy, The Ditsy Girl, etc.)--are videotaping a school project about "character." Brock (bad boy) would rather be with his friends (crew, homies, buds) at his house (crib) than working on the class project--thereby ignoring (sweatin', blowing off and dissin') his school mates. His class mates think this is unfair (wack, slack) and whine he should act more responsible (bomb) in the real world (?!). It's unclear how, but evidently Brock has an epiphany, learns the definition of ‘responsibility' and decides to do the right thing: help with the project. I don't know what the active ingredient is in believable adolescent dialog, but I know when I hear it, and this ain't it, cousin. To be fair, in the last sentence of the tape, The Jock explains ‘responsibility' perfectly--it's catching the ball and making a commitment to carry it down the field as far as possible. He scores! I wish the scriptwriters would have focused more on simple straightforward content and less on, umm, so called style. Optional. Aud: I, J. (N. Plympton)