Side Effects

Side Effects

Summary: When Whitney's father abandons her family, she begins taking medication that causes musical hallucinations.

Number of Episodes: Unknown

Stars: Meg DeLacy, Lulu Antariksa, Cade Canon Ball

                                                                               Language: English

                                                                               Additional Info: It's available on Youtube.
                                                                           

                                         Buy the Side Effects: The Music, Episode 1 OST on Amazon

I stumbled on Side Effects when it showed up in my recommended videos list. With the musical notes in the thumbnail picture, I figured it would have something to do with music- and I was right. Much like Glee, Side Effects uses popular music to illustrate the thoughts and emotions of the characters.

The beginning is a bit of a jumble, with all characters being introduced within the first 5 minutes or so, as well as two musical numbers within the first 10. At the end of the second song, we learn that the pills Whitney is taking cause musical hallucinations. The pacing eventually evens out, though.

The hallucinations are kind of cool. Each one is different, but they all have the same trippy kind of element to them. I particularly liked the animated Sweet Little Pill, the second song in the episode. There was also a Katy Perry style one to Hot N Cold that I liked. The production quality of the whole show was really good.

The cast was a mix of relatively unknown actors and Youtube personalities. Out of the kids, the only one I recognized from TV was Lulu Antariksa, who was on the Nick show How To Rock. Of the Youtube personalities, the only one I've really watched is Meghan Rosette. Despite most of their limited acting experience, they were all pretty good. I particularly thought Sam (played by Cade Cannon Ball) was good.

Overall, I thought Side Effects was enjoyable. I'd put this show somewhere between Nickelodeon or Disney and ABC Family- not as fluffy as the Nick/Disney shows but not as overly dramatic as the ABC Family shows. So far, there is only one episode available and I have no idea how many there are going to be. It did leave it open for at least one more, however. I did like it so I'll keep an eye out for further episodes.