After launching his career as the creative force behind All That, Dan Schneider has gone on to create some of Nickelodeon and TeenNick's best and most well-known programs, including The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly. His latest effort is Victorious, a Nickelodeon sitcom starring teen idol Victoria Justice. Known primarily for her supporting role in Zoey 101 and starring in the iCarly movie, iFight Shelby Marx, her first lead role in a television series finds her as Victoria "Tori" Vega, an easily likable high student whose talent is obvious to everyone but herself. After her naive sister is unable to perform at her art school's annual talent show, Victoria unwillingly takes the stage, wows the crowd, and, eventually leaves her "normal" high school to enroll at the fictional Hollywood Arts High School. From the very first day, it's clear: the transition will be a difficult one, thanks to the inherent irregularities that come with such a process, but ultimately necessary to achieving her lifelong dream.
Victorious adds little to Schneider's patented formula--the characters are still a bit odd, their dialogue quirky, and the situations they find themselves always more absurd than reasonable. Fans of Schneider's previous works will be right at home here, but unless you find Victoria Justice's character a more effective protagonist than, say, Zoey Brooks or Carly Shay, those who find shows like these predictable and cliché will likely retain the same opinion.
