By Kenn Gold
In the ABC Family original series, Lincoln Heights, which premiered January 8, 2007 for a 13 episode run, police officer Eddie Sutton moved his family back to his old neighborhood of Lincoln Heights to start a new life. Life in the old neighborhood is dangerous though, and the family went through many trials learning that it was not as easy as it seemed to settle in. The Suttons 3 children, Cassie, Lizzie, and Tay had problems fitting in at their new school, and the move proved to be a strain on the relationship of Eddie, and his wife Jen.
Soon after the move, Eddie was forced to shoot a young man who had robbed a store, bringing danger to himself and his family from the boy’s gang member friends. Cassie found a relationship with Charles, another new kid at school, who was a military brat, and whose family had also recently relocated to Lincoln Heights. Though her relationship with Charles takes on a Romeo Juliet bend since Charles is white, and Eddie can’t quite bring himself to say that is the problem.
Season two premiered on September 4, 2007 on ABC Family, and finds the town of Lincoln Heights besieged by racial tension, after a tough summer. This tension escalates into violence, which starts at the high school, and quickly spreads to the streets. Each member of the Sutton family finds themselves in unique and dangerous situations due to the violence.
Eddie, and his white partner Kevin, are dispatched to stop looting at a store. Eddie is shot by a gang member, who is subsequently shot by Lund. At the high school, Charles and Cassie are separated as the violence erupts, and Cassie makes a poor decision to leave the school with friends, while Charles is injured in a fight. Tay and Lizzie lock themselves in the computer lab at their school, but Tay, who is diabetic, has forgot to bring his insulin, and begins having medical problems.
Meanwhile, the hospital is overwhelmed, and Jen must help a Doctor who shows her no respect, when he is injured, though she knows Eddie is on the way in with a gunshot wound. Charles arrives at the hospital, and hears from Cassie who is in danger, but his car won’t start, so he heads off on foot to save her.
As the violence and chaos escalate all around the family, they rise to the occasion and begin resolving the various problems with which they are faced. Charles rescues Cassie from an attacker, and a store owner transports Eddie and the gang member to the hospital. Jen helps her supervisor, and Tay and Lizzie are rescued when their friend text messages the principal about their emergency. Though Eddie now is going to be bedridden for a couple of weeks, which is sure to cause some additional angst.
Having not seen season one doesn’t seem to be a hindrance to enjoying season two of this dynamic show from ABC Family, and it is a quick study to pick up the plot. The show achieves a study of inner city turmoil that may not be fully appreciable by anyone who hasn’t experienced it. For example, the gang member’s mother and brother asking Eddie not to press charges against their boy, who has just committed a felony by shooting a police officer who was trying to help him, while that police officer is still in the hospital with his wound, is bizarre. It was rewarding to see that this gang member takes the blame for his actions, and it was also a rewarding scene to see the store owner who has just been helped by Eddie and his partner, in turn helping them, and confronting the gang members, as he takes the injured to the hospital. Also, a speech by the mayor, a Caucasian woman, who addresses the violence in Lincoln Heights is just surreal enough to be accurate. Bizarre, but surreal describes that scene.
While this show has enough of a hook to catch the casual viewer and to provide a look at inner city life, the real gem of the show seems to be the Romeo/Juliet relationship between Charles and Cassie, and Eddie’s denial of his own prejudice in accepting it. Robert Adamson and Erica Hubbard who play the star crossed couple are excellent in their parts, and both seemed destined for success.
Lincoln Heights is a show worth watching, and the fact that a full season has gone by should not be a reason not to catch the second. It will be interesting indeed to see where ABC Family takes this, and the concept is sound, and the show is worth the time.
Having not seen season one doesn’t seem to be a hindrance to enjoying season two of this dynamic show from ABC Family, and it is a quick study to pick up the plot. The show achieves a study of inner city turmoil that may not be fully appreciable by anyone who hasn’t experienced it. For example, the gang member’s mother and brother asking Eddie not to press charges against their boy, who has just committed a felony by shooting a police officer who was trying to help him, while that police officer is still in the hospital with his wound, is bizarre. It was rewarding to see that this gang member takes the blame for his actions, and it was also a rewarding scene to see the store owner who has just been helped by Eddie and his partner, in turn helping them, and confronting the gang members, as he takes the injured to the hospital. Also, a speech by the mayor, a Caucasian woman, who addresses the violence in Lincoln Heights is just surreal enough to be accurate. Bizarre, but surreal describes that scene.
While this show has enough of a hook to catch the casual viewer and to provide a look at inner city life, the real gem of the show seems to be the Romeo/Juliet relationship between Charles and Cassie, and Eddie’s denial of his own prejudice in accepting it. Robert Adamson and Erica Hubbard who play the star crossed couple are excellent in their parts, and both seemed destined for success.
Lincoln Heights is a show worth watching, and the fact that a full season has gone by should not be a reason not to catch the second. It will be interesting indeed to see where ABC Family takes this, and the concept is sound, and the show is worth the time.
