Expecting Amish

Yes, I watched this lame Lifetime Original Movie and, despite, its numerous issues, I will watch it again.
Hannah (AJ Michalka) is Amish but struggling with her lot in life. Her mother has died so she has tons of extra responsibilities. She is also supposed to marry Samuel (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), because that has always been the plan. However, at the last minute, she decides that she will go on Rumspringa with some others and journey to Los Angeles. At first, she is such a party pooper, not joining the others, including Mary (Alyson Stoner). She finally does shed her Amish clothing and goes to a frat party where she literally almost trips over Josh (Jesse McCartney). He is finishing up his degree in computer science and works part-time as a DJ, which is how he impresses Hannah.
Naturally, the film becomes incredibly predictable. Josh and Hannah hang out, though, at Hannah's insistence, only as friends but after an almost kiss, she tries to completely sever things with him. Of course, that doesn't completely work. On her last day there, before returning to Lancaster, PA (pronounced incorrectly throughout the film), she is walking along the beach and runs into him and things get serious. She decides that she would like to stay with him, but first, she must return to her old life to break ties with them properly.
However, once she has returned, she is back to her old compliant self, putting off what she really wants to do. And then, in yet another plot twist, things get serious. Hannah is pregnant. Of course she is. This is what always happens on Lifetime movies. Now, I would have thought Josh would have been smarter than that and actually used a condom, which leads to rant number one. Number One: If you're going to be stupid enough and have sex before you're emotionally ready and with someone you don't know that well, don't be even stupider, use protection. In fact, I think unless the guy tells the girl, a condom is assumed. Hannah might not have known about protection, but Josh has no excuse whatsoever. People need to stop treating sex like it is something casual when it isn't. And these two people aren't ready to be parents, which I'll get to later.
Though Josh did give Hannah his old cell phone (which she takes into town for charging purposes, answering one of my questions), she tells Samuel the news first. Yeah. Samuel decides to act like the good guy and will claim the baby as his own, which means that both of them need to get baptized and married as quickly as possible, as Josh will want nothing to do with her now that she's pregnant and will force her to do something bad or will be alone in the cold, cruel world and have a baby to deal with. Though Hannah agrees to this plan, she does so with only half a heart. Still, she decides to do the right thing. She calls Josh (this is not something you should be telling a person over the phone, not that she had much choice in the matter) and says that she expects nothing from him because they only knew each other for a few weeks and she tells him the news anyway, hanging up with Josh barely having the time to react.
Fortunately, Josh is not a complete idiot, though probably close. He drives all the way from Los Angeles to Lancaster and begs her to come with him in front of her family and the whole small village, including Samuel. Awkward is right Josh. I knew the l-bomb would be dropped and it was, twice, with both Josh and Samuel fighting over her and telling her what she wants. She finally says that they need to stop talking for her, which is true, but only Josh realizes that she's right. He leaves.
Which means that the ball is her court. At the eleventh hour, she decides that she can't be baptized and changes back into her English clothes, packs her suitcase and prepares her good-byes. Samuel calls her ungrateful and calls out her pregnancy in front of everyone. She is shunned from the community and somehow, someway (she threw her cell phone into a pond) meets up with Josh and they have a nice reunion. Now, I have no clue where they met up, as she couldn't have gone across country, but whatever, just a lame plot hole.
The film, then, jumps eight months, leading me to predict that Hannah has had the baby, a little girl and named the baby after her mother. All of which turns out to be true, but instead of showing us, it is read to us in a letter mailed to her father. Yes, a cheap ending. Literally, it was cheaper to just tell us in a letter than showing them happy in Los Angeles.
Though the film isn't spectacular, it still gives the viewer some serious issues to ponder. Did Hannah really make the right choice? I think she did because Samuel would have held it over her head that he married her so her child wouldn't be a bastard. But at what cost? She abandoned her siblings, perhaps ruining their lives in the process. And I feel that no one really cared much about the baby. I was glad that Josh loved Hannah for just being Hannah, but you don't get that the baby was that important, though the letter says otherwise.
Mechanically, the film doesn't have any major issues. There are the plot holes and the acting is inconsistent. Michalka is rather wooden throughout. Now, I think part of this was by design as the Amish people in this film seem to be rather unemotional, but even when she is with Josh she doesn't brighten up much which bothers me.
Now, I could probably rant a lot more about this film, though I've gotten my main points across. Grade: B-

Extant: Re-Entry (Pilot)

This show was interesting, certainly not completely what I was expecting.
Molly Woods (Halle Berry) has just returned from a year-long solo mission in space performing experiments and the like while all alone with the computer program Ben, who may or may not be like HAL. But something strange happens. An alien appears, but his image is not captured on the camera so Molly deletes it because it can't be explained.
Needless to say, that odd event has some life changing consequences. Upon returning to Earth, her doctor and friend, Sam (Camryn Manheim) informs her that she's pregnant. After all those years of infertility, she's finally pregnant. Molly doesn't fully understand and doesn't tell her husband, John (Goran Visnjic).
The other main plot involves John and his work in robotics. Because the Woods were unable to have children of their own, he built them one. Ethan (Pierce Gagnon) is a six-year-old robot they've raised as though he was a human. But he's not human. His emotions are too stiff, such as when his father is questioned by the foundation whom he works for, as to whether there is a kill switch for these creations. Ethan also is not nice, stiff and angry and plain old mean to his mother. And he might even have violent tendencies and lack of compassion for other humans. His whole existence might just unravel before the season ends.
As for Molly's pregnancy, it's probably a plant by the very people she works for. She's an unwilling guinea pig in their evil but unknown plan. A cover-up of ridiculous proportions. Even her therapy sessions are being watched by others.
Even though this show isn't what I expected, it does draw you in so I will probably watch the rest of the season. As for the acting, it's pretty good. Berry is great with an extremely emotional face. And, boy, does she look good. Visnjic, as her husband, is also pretty good, but he may be having an affair with his assistant, played by Grace Gummer, daughter of the lovely Meryl Streep. Gagnon, as the son, is just odd. I mean, he's a great child actor fully inhabiting the role but the character is just odd and creepy. The supporting cast hasn't been given enough to do yet for me to judge them yet, but the acting is at least acceptable.
Also, the technology of the near-future is pretty good, though it is not fully explained and perhaps inconsistant and the fashion is still modern day.
Nevertheless, it is probably one of the best dramas I've seen this season, but then again, I haven't seen too many. I just hope that this show doesn't turn stale and redundant. Grade: B+