This show popped up in my memory one night as commercials for "One Tree Hill," "The OC," and "Smallville" bombarded my TV screen. I was in fifth or sixth grade when "Fifteen" was on the air, and I remember sitting with my sisters in front of my grandparents' TV on a random Saturday or Sunday afternoon, eagerly awaiting the next episode. I only watched it sporadically, since we didn't have cable TV ourselves, so Ashley would be dating Matt in one episode and then the next episode I saw had Ashley running off with Dylan. I was fairly young and easily bedazzled by the "drama," but I still vaguely remember thinking that there had to be more than just those ten people at the school!
It may have had corny plot lines, low-budget sets, and clichéd cardboard cut-out characters, but even so, I consider "Fifteen" to be one of the pioneering shows in the contemporary teen soap genre along with "Beverly Hills 90210." The WB network should thank their lucky stars that "Fifteen" ran and did well enough for this type of TV show to continue.
