Braceface: Season 02 (2002)

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Season Two of the animated "teen-com" Braceface begins as the title character, aka Sharon Spitz, turns fourteen years old and enters high school. Here she becomes good friends with her mentor, the "original and unique" Dion, whom she assumes is gay--mainly because he's got a remarkable talent for dressmaking (later on, Sharon will make one too many assumptions about Dion, and very nearly wreck their friendship). Our heroine also learns a whole new slew of responsibilities--and makes a whole bunch more blunders--when she gets her first regular job at "Life Cycles". In other episodes, Sharon and her best bud Maria succumb to peer pressure and pose as "bad girls"; Sharon and Alden break up their relationship, sort of; the kids become self-conscious about their weight; snooty Nina is nearly left friendless when her flunkey Alyson gets tired of being taken advantage of her, and later nearly patches up her once-strong friendship with Sharon when they search for a lost dog; Sharon and her brothers have a tough time getting adjusted to their divorced mom's new boyfriend; the dangers of irresponsible gossiping and the rigors of a high school "parenting" class are played for all they're worth; and a journey to Italy turns out to be a life-altering experience for Sharon and her buds. Because of the series' strong pro-ecological and pro-animal stance, the second season of Braceface was honored with both an Environmental Media Association Award and a Genesis Award. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi