10 Things I Hate About You: Volume One

Diverging from the Seattle-set 1999 film, this ABC Family series version of 10 Things I Hate About You (an updating of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew) plays out in Los Angeles, where dissimilar sisters Kat (Lindsey Shaw) and Bianca (Meaghan Jette Martin) settle with their father, Walter (Larry Miller, the sole holdover from the big-screen cast, which included Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger) following a move from Ohio. Socially conscious Kat disdains the hierarchy at Padua High, while bubbly Bianca longs to join the popular crowd, and naturally starts by cozying up to bossy head cheerleader Chastity (Dana Davis). During these 10 first-season episodes from 2009, nerdy Cameron (Nicholas Braun) tries to woo Bianca, while bad-boy Patrick (Ethan Peck) and Kat pretend they don't like each other. Other characters of interest include Kat's feisty pal Mandella (Jolene Purdy), Chastity's body-conscious boyfriend Joey (Chris Zylka), and Principal Holland (a very funny Suzy Nakamura). Despite more sexual innuendo than necessary in a “family” show and differences from the original that may irritate some viewers, the sharp writing and a charismatic cast make this a fairly successful movie-to-TV transition. DVD extras include audio commentaries with the cast and crew (including creator Carter Covington and producer Gil Junger, who directed the original film), behind-the-scenes featurettes, and bloopers. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)