Terry Morrow: Bristol Palin's reality show feels like rehearsed 'Tripp'

Photo by Richard Knapp

Bristol Palin, daughter of former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and her son Tripp, during the filming of her series, "Bristol Palin: Life's A Tripp."

Bristol Palin has a life ready made for reality TV.

She was a teenager who had an unplanned pregnancy. Her mother carried her into the limelight when she was a vice presidential candidate four years ago. And everything Bristol does usually ends up as a headline if not a scandal.

What we get from "Bristol Palin: Life's A Tripp" (10 p.m. Tuesday, Lifetime) is life through Bristol's filtered lens. She decides to move to Los Angeles to work for a charitable organization and brings her sister, Willow, with her. Bristol's toddler, Tripp, is in tow.

The fish-out-of-water reality experience doesn't quite gel with reality. Bristol talks of her fear of living in the sunny but sharky Los Angeles, a stark contrast from her home in Alaska. It's not as if Bristol has never been away from home. She's traveled extensively and was in Los Angeles a lot during her "Dancing with the Stars" days.

Mom Sarah Palin is around occasionally here, always dispensing matriarchal and wise advice. For the purpose of this, she makes a much better mom than a political figurehead.

In the two episodes offered for review, the series looks more at Bristol's social life than her job at Help The Children organization. Work is talked about but rarely seen. It's all in the editing, which gives the show a deceptiveness. Scenes seemed rehearsed.

Worst of all, Bristol is never wrong. She's always the victim.

One night out, a stranger screams to her Sarah Palin is a tramp. Then Bristol's night turns into tears. It's one of the more stirring aspects of the series that is generally flat (and would be a better fit for MTV).

This half-hour seems contrived, but somewhere in it there's a glimmer of truth that's almost endearing.

Score: 3 stars (out of five)

Terry Morrow may be reached at 865-342-6445 or morrowt@knoxville.com.

© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!

© 2012 Knoxville.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.