olderbutwiser As a parent of two girls(14 and 11) I have grave doubts about this show and all the shows aimed at tweens. First, I am always amazed that the living conditions of Drake/Josh, Zac/Cody, Hanna, Carly, Derek, Sunny etc. always make most houses look tiny and cramped. Most people work hard all day to pay for living quarters less than half the size yet on these shows nobody is going or coming from work, paying utility,rent, mortgage or insurance bills, mopping, sweeping, changing lightbulbs, fixing toilets,etc. Just walking in and out(and down the ubiquitous wide stairs that only exist on TV sets) cracking jokes(most of which involve lying and the hilarious results) and shirking work. I think kids watching these will have unrealistic expectations on how hard they will work and how luxurious their lives will be. Second, there is never an intact family, always a Mom or Dad but never both, who are always going on sexless dates but never seem to have any of the downside of divorce(alimony, support, arguments). Again, kids may get the impression that if mom/dad get divorced there will be fun fun fun(actually mom or dad are often not around if that helps the plot). Needless to say there is no mention of spirituality(forget specific religion). Finally there is a theme that troubles me. There are "nerds" that are good in school, "jocks" good in sports, "goody two shoes" as well. The protagonists are not good at school, sports, or charitable but make wisecracks about those who are. The message is don't be good at anything, just be one of the "nothings" who blend in cracking jokes. Needless to say I give all these shows a zero and turn them off all the time and am just short of forbidding them in my house.

onhisblueguitar "Life with Derek" is a very well-written show about a girl named Casey McDonald (Ashley Leggat) who's mom gets remarried to a guy who has three other children. This show deals with how Casey copes with her new surroundings - and her new step-brother, Derek Venturi(Michael Seater). Derek and Casey are complete opposites, which causes a lot of tension between themselves and the rest of the family. Casey is an organized, neat-freak while Derek is a slacker who loves hitting on girls. There's a lot of bickering and bantering between them, but in some episodes, they actually do show that they care about each other. Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat have great chemistry, and their the ones that make the show the way it is.The only things I don't like are the sound effects, the extremely corny theme song, and well..honestly, some of their jokes are very cheesy. But overall it's a good show. I try to watch it every time I can, but Disney makes it hard by airing it at midnight.

Ally I absolutely love this show! The actors and characters are all incredible (including those who aren't appreciated well enough like Noel, Tinker, Sheldon and Sam).I loved the original Casey, she was independent, beautiful, smart and self-confident. Through most of season 4 she's changed into character I'm no longer a fan of now that she's mean to guys like Noel, accepting of guys like Truman who cheat on her and smart even though the last season indicates that she isn't really.Derek's character growth is incredible. He used to be a teenager who hated serious relationships and he changes after living with the McDonalds to become a more considerate person who respects people more than he used to.All the characters have matured so much. Emily no longer acts stalkerish towards Derek, something I thank her relationship with Sheldon for and Sam develops a personality in the 3rd season that is amazing. Ralph is just incredibly unaware of what people are usually talking about but he's very lovable.Edwin is played amazingly and is hilarious while Lizzie is the perfectly sane tomboy. Marti is just an adorable and smart little girl who is independent and individual and she's played extremely well.Nora and George are comical parents but are in far over their heads with 5 kids and one on the way in the last episode.In the fourth season the obnoxious Truman shows up and stalks, harasses, and annoys Casey and finally convinces her to date him and the episode later he cheats on her. Then in an attempt to win her back he apologizes and she takes him back even after he kissed her cousin.This show used to be my favourite but I'm starting to like it a lot less now and that makes me feel bad.

Jonas_fan11 I think that this is one of Disney's shows that I sort of like sort of don't like. I like certain episodes a lot, but not very many. I think that some of the episodes are okay. I think that quite a few of the episodes aren't very good. I usually just turn it off once I find out what episode it is, but I sometimes leave, but not very often. I think that the actors and actresses are pretty good, especially since most of them are kids. That is mostly why I gave it the five out of ten, but I also put it there, since I like a few of the episodes. I think that I would still like that show the same amount that I do now, even if the had different actors and actresses. This show is okay, I think it mostly is just for teaching kids life lessons, more than a show to entertain people. All together I think this show is okay, and I guess you could see this show if you wanted to, but I don't suggest it too strongly.