6teen

What’s the Story?

Nickelodeon's animated comedy 6TEEN centers on six teenage friends whose lives converge every day at the local mall, where they all have after-school jobs. Holding onto those jobs is challenging for each of them in a different way, given their unique personalities: Jen (voiced by Megan Fahlenbock), the athlete of the group, works at a sporting goods store. Caitlin (Brooke D'Orsay), a sweet and somewhat ditzy "valley girl" type, works at a lemonade stand. Wyatt (Jesse Gibbons), an over-caffeinated musician, works at a music store. Nikki (Stacey DePass), the rebel of the group, works at a clothing store where, ironically, she'd never be caught dead shopping. Jude (Christian Potenza) is a laid-back grunge/skater type who works at a fast food restaurant. As for ladies' man Jonesy (Terry McGurrin), he's held more jobs than you can count (he gets fired at least once per episode).

Is It Any Good?

6teen is fairly cute and entertaining without being too obnoxious, though some of the characters' flighty behavior would make most adults roll their eyes and shake their heads in frustration. Although the show tends to portray teens as incompetent goof-offs, young viewers will certainly relate to life at the mall and the issues the characters face, most of which are realistic (though none too weighty).

The show pretty much makes the characters' after-school lives look like one big party -- popularity contests and attracting the opposite sex are a main focus -- so more than anything, it just provides an escape for young viewers. Messages about friendship and responsibility sometimes emerge from underneath all the silly antics, but generally 6teen is short on substance -- like the cotton candy the teens are seen consuming at the mall.