An Endless "Pretty Little Liars" Multiverse

Pretty Little Liars was first a book series, then adapted into a TV show on ABC Family (now Freeform). The story followed four girls--Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah--being harrassed by an anonymous foe called A following the disappearance of their fifth friend and leader of the bunch, Alison DiLaurentis. The story was fraught with drama, like coming out of the closet, dating a teacher, cheating on tests, etc. The drama was ramped up over the course of the series (both book and TV) as various people were revealed to be involved in the anonymous bullying and threats that the girls experienced.

Now, I found the show to be incredibly tedious when I watched it the first time, so much so that I gave up and turned to the book series for answers. I was disappointed to find that after the second season of the show, the plots of the book and the TV show diverged greatly, thus rendering my reading of the book useless. And now I was interested in both stories, so felt inclined and compelled to both binge watch the show and speed read the books. In short, both stories are over the top and ridiculous, with the books seeming a little less mature and the TV show a LOT less thought out. Overall, though the TV show is probably the longest, minutes-wise, of any TV series I've ever watched, and the book series one of the longest I've ever read, they're both probably my least favorite in each category.

The PLL TV series was planned out for the first two seasons as it fairly closely followed the books, but after the plots diverged, the TV show went off the rails. It still felt like it had direction and purpose for the third and fourth seasons, with the fourth season having some of the highest rated episodes, but all of the clues and hints and storylines dissolved into nothing with the reveal of the second A. Without spoiling anything, the second A reveal necessitated a lot of retconning, as well as hand-waving, and, most importantly, the glossing-over of many, many plot holes. It became apparent that the second A was not planned from the beginning and it almost felt like a name being drawn out of a hat. The third and final A reveal was just as bad, if not worse, though it probably contained fewer plot holes. It was just stupid, though, and came out of nowhere. The writers of the show later admitted that they did not know who A was as they were writing. That's just disappointing and disrespectful. The fans who carefully dissected details of every episode were doing so pointlessly. Nothing really had any meaning. It was just drama fodder and nothing more.

Marlene King, the head writer of the TV series, was masterful at building and breaking tension, stringing along audiences for quickly abandoned plot lines and irrelevant revelations. It was entertaining, for the most part, even if most of the content of the show was inconsequential. One YouTube commentator that I watched explained that out of a typical 20+ episode season, only about 5 episodes would actually progress the plot. That's a lot of wasted time and wasted potential. There are many examples of these useless plots and red herrings, such as Ezra's illegitimate son who we spend half a season getting to know, just to find out that he's not actually his kid. The kid never reappears. This happens continually during the course of the show.

What's sad is that it had so much promise. I love dramatic teen series, which is why I've been an avid fan of Degrassi since high school. And the mystery element draws you back in no matter how much you wish you could escape. I think that the best situation would be for a new reboot with the tone and artistry of the TV series coupled with a thought-out and pre-planned story like the books. And this concept could be rebooted indefinitely.

All this to say that I have faith, given a better writing team, that the PLL story could be rebooted with much greater success. Here are some basics that I think could save the series:

1. Eliminate unnecessary characters. There are so many people in the TV show that are just there to be suspicious and nothing else. They have no personality, are bland, boring, and waste our time. I think characters from the show like Sydney and Sarah Harvey should not appear in a new reboot.

2. Keep the seasons short. I think with forty-five minute episodes, 12 should be more than enough to constitute a season. This length would prevent the temptation to waste time with irrelevant drama that will just get written away within a few episodes while still allowing for purposeful red herrings.

3. Keep the premise the same. Alison is an enigmatic character whose disappearance launches her to an iconic status. The four friends each have their own unique background and personalities that are engaging and fun to watch. The show should, initially, center around Alison's disappearance and the harassment from an anonymous A. From there, the writers can do whatever they like. Every iteration of "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie features a different killer. This series could be the same way.

4. Pre-plan as much as possible. With a limited number of episodes and seasons, the entire plot should be able to be planned. Perhaps the fear of sudden cancellation kept the writing staff of the original show from wanting to create a defined story, afraid that they would run out of time to execute on the plan. But I think even if you would have to rush the explanations and rewrite the ending to occur sooner than anticipated, it would be better than having the writers flying by the seat of their pants. The audience should be able to see the end coming or at least have the opportunity to predict it. A reveals should never be characters that we have never met.

5. Include fun easter eggs and hidden codes. With the detective-like viewers the original series had, things like hidden cyphers would be awesome to include in episodes. These things should not necessarily impact the plot, but perhaps give the observant audience a tiny hint or clue. These inclusions could help the viewers solve the mystery before the characters.

6. Retain the original characters' awesomeness. One big complaint I have about the TV series is that when Alison returned in later seasons, she was a shell of her former self. She used to be manipulative, seductive, mean, underhanded, crafty, and intimidating. When she returned to the other characters, she was weak, paranoid, and almost sweet. I liked her the way she was before. I wonder if the actress gaining weight subconsciously caused the writers to think or her as less seductive, with her new, softer features creating a more demure vibe. I disagree with that choice whole-heartedly. I also think Emily's character was almost irrelevant for most of the TV series, where her presence in the books was far more impactful.

PLL is getting a sort of reboot with a new HBO series called Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. I'm disappointed by what I know of this new series, since it takes place in the same (messy) continuity of the first series (and I guess the spin-offs, Ravenswood and The Perfectionists). I would rather have a new interpretation of the characters we already know and love. Anything else would feel, in my opinion, like a cheap imitation. Let's have a PLL multiverse, with similar but different versions of Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hannah, grappling with the varying circumstances surrounding a friend's disappearance. I probably won't care about these new kids' problems, and I will definitely feel like any new anonymous menace will just be a pitiful A copycat. And god forbid they try to tie it in with story beats from the first series.

This show is being handled by new writers and it looks like the first season will, possibly, be a more compact ten episodes, but I have little faith that they'll be able to salvage the PLL television universe as it currently exists. I think it would be better to start from scratch. But I'm guess that's what fanfic is for!