NDSU Spectrum: TV review
‘Higher Ground’ offers a different take on teen life
By JOHN HANSEN
Sept. 8, 2000
“Higher Ground” is probably best known for being the breakout series for Hayden Christensen, who landed the role of Anakin Skywalker in “Star Wars” Episodes II and III. It’s OK to tune in to watch the new Anakin, but keep watching because it’s a great show.
Getting to know them
This Fox Family Channel series, which ran from January to June, takes place at Horizon, a school in a wooded, mountainous area designed to help drug-addicted teens recover from their problems. “Higher Ground’s” first season builds upon itself with each episode.
The early part of the season is like an anthology – each student has their own episode, enlightening us to the backstories of Scott (Christensen), Shelby (AJ Cook), Daisy (Jewel Staite), Ezra (Kyle Downes), Auggie (Jorge Vargas), Juliet (Meghan Ory) and Katherine (Kandyse McClure), along with guidance counselors Peter (Joe Lando) and Sophie (Anne Marie Loder).
“Higher Ground” (2000)
When: 7 p.m. Fridays on Fox Family Channel
Starring: Joe Lando, Anne Marie Loder, Hayden Christensen, AJ Cook, Kandyse McClure, Kyle Downes, Meghan Ory, Jorge Vargas, Jewel Staite
Executive producers: Harold Tichenor, Matthew Hastings, Michael Braverman, Douglas Schwartz, Frank Giustra, Joe Lando
Later episodes that full advantage of the talented ensemble by pushing the group dynamic, romantic pairings and inner conflicts to another level.
The characters on “Higher Ground” are deeply flawed, yet they are all the more lovable because of their problems. Of course, not everyone can relate to drug addiction, but that’s not the focus anyway. The focus is on what drove these kids to seek an escape through drugs.
Plenty of romance
Like most teen dramas, “Higher Ground” offers plenty of romance, notably the Scott and Shelby pairing, which is the sweetest and most meaningful romance currently on TV. In the first eight episodes, Scott and Shelby act like they hate each other – and everyone else for that matter. Ezra sees through Shelby’s façade when she rescues a little girl lost in the woods, then demands that Ezra take the credit for the rescue. “It’s all an act, isn’t it?” he says, shaking his head.
Both Shelby and Scott have put up protective barriers of anger so no one gets too close. Scott was sexually abused by his stepmother, but no one believed him. In “Seductions,” he tells Shelby his story. That episode’s scene of Scott and Shelby sleeping and holding hands is one of “Higher Ground’s” many too-sweet-for-words moments.
It takes Shelby a long time, and much emotional turmoil, before she tells Scott her story – that of an abusive father, a mother who always sided with the father, prostitution for the sake of survival, and guilt over leaving her sister behind. When Scott finally starts to understand Shelby’s history in “Mended Fences,” it brings them closer together.
If Scott and Shelby had never found each other, one can imagine they would have continued their downward spiral of drug addiction and despair all the way to suicide. Only by finding each other could they save themselves. In my book, the final handful of episodes featuring this adorable couple pushes “Higher Ground” from good to great.
Other appealing characters
But I digress; there are other reasons to watch the show. Daisy starts off as a sweet-natured Goth girl obsessed with Tarot cards, but gradually develops a knack for sarcasm that provides many great one-liners. Ezra’s schoolboy crush on Daisy ranks second only to Scott and Shelby in the cute-couple department.
Few teen shows portray adults as honestly as “Higher Ground” does; they may have a few more years of life experience than the teens, but they haven’t exactly figured it all out yet. As the head counselor, Peter has a unique blend of trustworthiness and vulnerability, and Sophie often seems like a carefree kid in an adult’s body.
Ultimately, “Higher Ground” is memorable for its well-rounded characters that one can’t help but care for even when it seems they couldn’t possibly be more maladjusted.
Grade: A
FOND FAREWELL
“Higher Ground” (2000, Fox Family) – Although it’s probably best known as the show that produced the new Anakin Skywalker, “Higher Ground” is a great series in its own right, exploring the trials of drug-addicted teens. After the early episodes gave us the backgrounds of each teen, the show found its strengths later in the year – namely the adorable/tragic coupling of Scott (Darth Vader-to-be Hayden Christensen) and Shelby (AJ Cook) and the brazen sarcasm of Daisy (Jewel Staite). A
– John Hansen, NDSU Spectrum, Sept. 22, 2000