High School Confidential

Although a bit rough at times (it's nowhere near as slick as "Laguna Beach"), Confidential is strong, emotionally charged stuff with the kind of real kids not often seen on TV.

The series, from Liese's Herizon Prods. and New Line Television, is remarkable for the way it compresses time and hones in on pivotal moments.

High School Confidential is an illuminating documentary series more in the tradition of director Michael Apted's series of films, starting with "Seven Up!," that have been tracing the lives of its subjects since 1964.

Certainly nothing here is "groundbreaking," as WE's production notes claim, given past exercises such as Michael Apted's landmark "7 Up!" series. Yet High School Confidential is the kind of personal document that merits attention--inviting curiosity not just regarding how these teens navigated through high school, but what their lives will be like seven years from now and beyond.

The lives shown here, in surprisingly frank profiles, are fascinating enough to sustain interest.

Failing to realize high ambitions, High School Confidential skims across the lives of 12 teenage girls growing up in placid Kansas.

Somehow, even after following these girls from ninth through 12th grade, Confidential manages to make their stories boring.