What Could Have Been

It's probably not the coolest thing to admit this but I adore the Disney Channel.

With their bubble-gum pop tween stars and cheesy lines and phony laugh tracks, the Disney Channel, in my sugar-coated opinion, has some of the most amusing shows on air right now. Selena Gomez casts a spell on "The Wizards of Wizardly Place" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" fills me with giggles over the twins' crazy antics.

But before the "It's A Gas Production" perfected this formula of creating zany sitcoms with kids dressed in crazy clothes and speaking lines one might hear in "I Love Lucy" or "Friends," there were a different breed of shows on the Disney Channel. Shows like "Flash Forward" and "The Torkelsons" were a little more somber, the acting a little more natural and the characters a little less endearing but all the more lovable.

My favorite show though was the incomparable "Even Stevens"

Goofball Louis propelled actor Shia Labeouf to superstardom as the talented actor with Tom Hanks' "Everyman" appeal stars in Indiana Jones movies and the ginormous "Transformers" summer franchise.

But as awesome as Shia and his Optimus Prime is, it's always been Ren, played by Christy Carlson Romano, that was my favorite. Uptight, excessively stylish, an ambitious perfectionist go-getter, Ren was exactly the girl I strived to be. (Hey, beats having Hannah Montana as your role model, ok??) I'm even going into broadcast journalism because Ren worked on her school's television station on the show. (Ok, I would never base my life career decision on a television show, ok?! Or would I...)

Now, it's been about 6 years since the show has gone off air and while Shia is off showing off his newfound status as a "movie star" or whatever, Christy is doing this...

Life is not fair, man.