Favorite Episodes: Ready or Not

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This was a 90s Canadian show, but I caught reruns on the Disney Channel. It took me quite a while to catch all of it, but I eventually saw each episode of Ready or Not, and followed the trials and tribulations of tweens-to-teens Amanda and Busy. It ran for five (short) seasons, and the characters only aged three years. While I think it would have been good to watch the girls go through high school, they really did hit a light smattering of most general topics pretty quickly. It does seem that every episode has been removed from the internet, although the entire first season was available on youtube last time I wrote about this show.

Season 1: "Model Perfect" (S01E03) Amanda joins the swim team, and all of the time in a swimsuit makes her start to think about losing weight... by not eating. Kinda a typical episode, dealing with a "very special issue" in a shallow and short way. But, I like how they tackled body image so early on in the series (the pilot is about breast development, too).

Season 2: "First Date" (S02E02) Busy is really panicked about going on a date with Troy. Not only is she worried about typical first-date stuff, but she's also freaked that maybe she's not good enough at bowling, the venue where said date will be taking place. She ends up dressing up to seem more feminine, but she quickly learns that being yourself is the best plan. I like this episode because I feel like Busy's love life is often over-shadowed by Amanda's.

Season 3: "Swear to God" (S03E09) When her Jewish teacher asks if Amanda will be taking a day off for High Holidays, Amanda becomes embarrassed that she really doesn't know about her Jewish heritage. She takes a sudden interest, finds that she'd need to cram to make her bat mitzvah, and also becomes concerned about antisemitic remarks. I always like episodes when a character is trying to explore his or her identity through faith.

Season 4: "Glamor Girl" (S04E04) Amanda's acting career is at a lull when her part in Wizard of Oz is the tornado. So, she decides to turn to modeling. The problem is, she's told early on that she'll need a nose job if she hopes to be successful. It doesn't take much time before Amanda is contemplating the operation, driving her self-esteem further into the ground. As someone who has considered various cosmetic procedures in my adult life (haven't had any yet, but they haven't left my mind completely), it amuses me to no end how some teenagers think about the same.

Season 5: "Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up" (S05E02) After another girl falls in the river and Busy rescues her, Busy is overwhelmed with the attention of everyone wanting to hear the story. After Busy finds out that the other girl staged it all for some attention, she's appalled. Amanda, meanwhile, is completely absorbed in auditioning for a youth drama group, which becomes a big part of the final season. I like the Busy storyline better, LoL.