Maybe other people think that this show is cliché but I think it couldn't be any more realistic. I just graduated from high school and the way the guys acted on the show is exactly how I know them to be. Every single guy that I knew at sixteen acted exactly like that(I'm only seventeen). Not to mention the teacher on the show that reminded me so much of about four English teachers I have known. It was so realistic when it came to the "full-figured" issue where he likes her but doesn't want to be embarrassed. I think cliché would be high school cheerleaders, jocks, and nerds. I don't see any of those labels here. This isn't some "Saved by the Bell" episode. And I don't think the aim of the pilot was to so much feel for the characters without really knowing them, as it was to just have you understand them.