Posted on Saturday, 11th October 2008 by astronomius
Put identical twins Zack and Cody Martin (Dylan and Cole Sprouse), spoiled heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song) and hotel manager Marion Moseby (Phill Lewis) in various comical situations on and off a commercial cruise liner while they travel all over the world, and you have Disney Channel’s latest spinoff “Suite Life On Deck”.
Brenda Song and Phill Lewis reprise their established “Suite Life” roles as spoiled heiress London Tipton and hotel manager Marion Moseby in the Disney Channel spinoff, “Suite Life On Deck”, and that’s good because they’re good actors, completely know their characters and have a wonderful sense of comic timing.
They’re the mainstays of the show, even though they’re playing thin, cartoon versions of their former characters.
“Suite Life On Deck” also showcases new Disney Channel actress Debby Ryan; she plays Bailey Pickett, an attractive, good-natured, downhome, intelligent, somewhat complex, country girl who does well in school and has to spend some effort making new friends.
Bailey is the most credible, well-rounded and well-written character “…On Deck”; partly because of the writing and partly because Debby plays her character Bailey truthfully with hidden sweetness and vulnerability.
The official word for the show is that Debby Ryan’s character, Bailey, replaced Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale).
The main deck of “Suite Life On Deck” is the best and most attractive looking set I’ve ever seen on any Disney Channel show, probably cost them a bundle to design and build, and the ship’s deck is even better looking than the hotel lobby on the original “Suite Life”.
The show also has identical twins who look exactly like Dylan and Cole Sprouse, and this set of twins doesn’t quite play Zack and Cody like the other ones did; there seemed to be a lot more to shoot for on the original “Suite Life” by the actors and creative staff, it was Emmy-nominated and it showed.
I also think the original music could rock a bit and reflect the inner struggle and discovery of the teens onboard, instead of the tame imitative musak offered.
Soap opera actress Erin Cardillo, though, comically plays the teens’ frazzled school instructor, Miss Emma Tutweiler, with noticeable zest and always a little something interesting going on inside.
“Suite Life On Deck” is worth watching, but I’m still waiting for the situations, dialogue and lacking characterization to improve.
3/5
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