A few weeks ago, more specifically, the last week of school, I was wondering, what the hell should I do for four months of summer vacation.
The first two weeks went by fast and very eventful but that was just two of the approximately 16 weeks of summer vacation.
Out of boredom, I tried catching up on my series. You see, ever since college, I've been very late with my television series. All I was able to stick to was Pretty Little Liars and Suits but I guess trying to catch up did me some good. Because of the fear of getting bored this summer, I rediscovered, Baby Daddy.
I remember blocking of my calendar to watch the pilot episode of Baby Daddy in 2012 but unfortunately, school work piled up and the series had to take a back seat for a while but you know what they say, better late than never.
Having my first free weekend, I literally did a marathon of Baby Daddy. I finished season 1 to half of season 2 in one day (Saturday) and finished the rest by Sunday/ Monday (mornight).
Before I carry on with my review of the series let me give you a brief introduction to the world of Baby Daddy.
First, let's start of with the main characters.
1. Ben Wheeler a.k.a The Baby Daddy
Fact: Ben is a bartender in New York City living in an apartment with his room mate/ best friend and brother. He fathers a very cute little girl named Emma after a blurry, drunken one night stand with a girl named Angela, who conveniently left the baby on Ben's doorstep after she went to chase her acting dreams. Now, Ben is trying to learn the ropes of being a father while remaining active in the dating scene.
Opinion: Ben is confusing to me. He's mature and responsible one second and then turn into this immature, crazy guy as soon as he sees anything with perfect legs. There are times that I like him and there are days when I just don't. His pick up lines and crazy ideas make me laugh though but I kinda don't like him for screwing things up with Riley.
2. Danny Wheeler
Fact: Danny is Ben's professional hockey player, older brother. He moved to New York to live with Ben after being traded for the New York Rangers. He's all tough and strong in the outside but like his little brother, Danny is also hoping to find true love, hopefully in the person of his best friend Riley whom he has loved since childhood but whom he knows is in love with Ben ever since.
Opinion: At first look, I really thought that Danny was the playboy since he's the buff guy who puts athlete in his occupation. Turns out, out of the three lead guys, Danny was the sweetest. Like what they said on the show, he's the relationship guy out of the three. Yes, he's been in quite a few throughout the show but I can still sense he's faithful to his feelings for Riley and I just adore how he can sit and listen to Riley gloat over her new guy and still remain supportive.
3. Tucker Dobbs
Fact: Tucker is Ben's room mate and best friend. He works in show business as he aspires to be a producer while pretending to be a lawyer to his parents. After Emma comes to the scene, he has developed a strong bond with the entire Wheeler family. He is also one of the two people whom Danny talks to about his secret feeling for Riley.
Opinion: Tucker is a great friend. The fact that he was willing to share his apartment to the entire Wheeler brady bunch was a "great friend" move for me. Although, I see him as someone waaaaay out of his league it's really fun seeing him try to be serious with his relationships. Most of the time, he stirs the trouble and leave someone to clean it up for him which is annoying but that's what makes the show funny.
4. Bonnie Wheeler
Fact: Bonnie is the funny and witty yet over bearing mother of the Wheeler brothers who thinks Ben is not adult enough to take care of a baby so she decides to move close to her kids in order to be of help or in her kid's term, to not give them privacy and meddle in their relationships. She also plays Danny's manager and she's the second person to know that Danny is in love with Riley.
Opinion: I might choose to hide under a rock if Bonnie was my mother because of her preference to meddle but throughout the show I have learned to appreciate her coolness. I mean, she's in the same dating pool as her children and she gets more date than them. I would consider that cool. I love how every other episode she has a new job to enjoy. Also, without Bonnie's one liners I don't if the show would work. It's also interesting how she can shift from being the crazy mom to the mom full of wisdom.
5. Riley Perrin
Fact: Riley is Danny's best friend and Ben's close friend. She has known the Wheeler's since high school when she was still called "Fat Pants" for being overweight. She is the first person Danny called after finding out they had a baby to take care of. Riley is now a lawyer who is trying to make mark to be recognized. She has been in love with Ben since high school and found a good friend within Danny who becomes her shock absorber every time Ben ignores her feelings without knowing that Danny has been in love with her all along.
Opinion: Riley is my favorite character. (I'm a bit biased because I totally adore Chelsea Kane.)I like how she can be the brain out of everyone. She's the one who makes sense and most of the time the one who's rational enough to make decisions. I just wish that she'd finally get over her crush on Ben and finally see that Danny is there. Out of all the characters, Riley, I believe is the stable one, her friend make her life crazy but I guess that's the fun part of their friendship. She's the best adviser above everyone else because you're sure she won't make you do anything against the law.
Top 3 things I like about this show.
1. I like the sense of friendship and family
Ben is the one who got a girl pregnant and he's the one responsible for Emma but since everyone around him knows he's not that capable to do it alone just yet, everyone tries their best to help him raise Emma even if sometimes they do it for their own self gain or like most times it ends in chaos. Everyone, sort of taken Emma under their wing to try and raise her the best way they can even though they make stupid mistakes along the way.
Everything that happens to one of them is everyone's business. There's almost no secret between them. You can see how one baby can bring all these people together especially in the case of Tucker and Riley, who really doesn't have any obligation to the Wheelers but still they chose to stick around and lend a helping hand whether to baby sit or play wing man.
2. The script and the delivery
There are lines that would hit you like brick because of how relatable it is and there are lines that would just make you laugh your ass off for the rest of the episode. The writers of this series are all geniuses. The actors are amazing in terms of delivery. The lines would not create that much impact without the awesome facial expressions, hand gestures, and perfect timing of the actors.
3. RILEY AND DANNY!
Their story is my favorite plot in this series. High school best friends. The jock and the loser. Now, the athlete and the lawyer. Danny has been in love with Riley since high school and even though he was the good looking popular athlete, he never dared tell her because he values their friendship too much (which kinda sucks for all the shippers). It's really amazing how all these years, Danny was able to sit and genuinely listen to Riley, whine about how his brother, Ben, won't fall in love with her. It's so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.
But then again....
How many freaking times do they have to make out for Danny to man up and admit his feelings and for Riley to stop being blind and realize Danny is seriously in love with her? They've kissed like 3 times already and yet no one is getting the point (impatient fan here). I just wish that Bonnie and Tucker would connive and get these two together since we all know Riley is over Ben and Danny is never getting over Riley. If you'd let me make a Friends reference, Riley is Rachel Green and Danny is Ross Gellar. From the start, we all know they're going to end up together. I just wish it happens sooner.
I rarely watch comedy series. In my previous post you'd see I'm all for drama, crime and suspense. The last comedy series I watched was Friends. It's a very hard show to follow in my books since there's too much history there but I believe Baby Daddy is the next Friends. It's a perfect combination of every emotion out there. It also caters to a lot of viewers.
It's crazy how I can say a lot of things to something I've bonded with over the weekend which just proves how much I like it and how it made an impact.
I'm really looking forward to the next episodes and I'm really excited that it got renewed for a fourth season.
Baby Daddy is a must watch series. It's not your typical comedy which makes no sense because believe it or not, every end of an episode is an additional learning to you. It might not be a big one but there's definitely something in every episode that you'd be able to carry with you every single day.
- Basically PauAu
