The Suite Life of Zack and Cody Review
My nine-year-old daughter, Tia is such an avid watcher of the Disney Channel’s original television series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, that I have inadvertently been turned into a huge “Suite Life” fanatic myself. The show, which premiered in March of 2005, makes a clear reference to the twins’ “suite” life in a hotel room.
Zack and Cody Martin (Dylan and Cole Sprouse) are identical twins whose single mother, Carey, (Kim Rhodes) is a headlining singer at the Tipton Hotel. They used to live on the road, but now they live in the swankiest hotel in Boston in an upper floor suite as a provision of her contract. The Martin twins were 12-years-old (mentioned in numerous episodes in the first season) at the beginning of the series and they are now 13. The sitcom is the second highest rated show on the Disney Channel, right behind That’s So Raven. As of December 2005 and has garnered rave reviews from children all over the country, including my daughter Tia, who had this to say about “The Suite Life.”
“The Suite Life of Zack and Cody is just awesome. My favorite character is Cody because I think we are a lot alike. I also like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody because, everything that Zack and Cody do is so weird and crazy. I also think that Brenda, Ashley, Dillion, Cole and everybody else on the show does a great job acting. The show is so funny at times that me and my dad will be on the floor cracking up! I have been watching the Suite Life of Zack and Cody since it premeired and it is my second favorite show of all behind That’s So Raven. It’s really great.”
Main Characters
Zack Martin (played by Dylan Sprouse) – Ever willing to get in trouble, Zack always sets out to get exactly what he wants. He is a big Boston Red Sox fan and he hates the Yankees. He loves to skateboard, play basketball, soccer, and get in trouble. He doesn’t stop with only getting himself into trouble, he drags his brother into it with him almost all the time. He has also shown skill with dancing. He generally dresses casually (while his brother dresses more conservatively) and is very sloppy (while his brother is neat). He has a huge crush on Maddie (the Tipton candy counter girl and his babysitter), but it seems to disappear in the second season. Zack is only 15 minutes older than Cody.
Cody Martin (played by Cole Sprouse) – Cody is the nicer and smarter twin, but he often plays along with his brother’s schemes. He shows less interest in girls than his brother, and is more mature. Like Zack, he is a big Red Sox fan and hates the New York Yankees . He has shown passion for magic tricks, baking, and cooking as well as mime and dance. In “French 101” it was shown that he has a Nintendo DS. He is a superb math student. Cody loves to bring his blanky with him as seen in several episodes and gets woozy reading in moving vehicles mentioned in “Dad’s Back”. He has expressed the desire to become a math professor or a Supreme Court Justice. He wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Cody occasionally predicts that Zack will end up in jail.
Madeline “Maddie” Margaret Genevieve Miranda Catherine Fitzpatrick (played by Ashley Tisdale) – Maddie works the candy counter at the Tipton. She also manages the Camp Tipton Daycare center. Maddie is very hard-working and empathetic. She is also very smart, and often must find ways to avoid being blamed for the boys’ handywork while she babysits them. Maddie is one of London’s closer friends, although London often treats her more like a servant, usually bribing her with 100 or 1,000 dollars.
They often have little fights, but in the end they always make up. Maddie lives across the street from Fenway Park. In her apartment, she watches the Red Sox games from her window. She has an older, married sister who has moved out of the family apartment, giving Maddie their shared bedroom all to herself, as revealed in “Poor Little Rich Girl”, which also describes her grandmother living with the family, and Maddie’s parents having very loud arguments regularly. She has asthma as revealed in “Kisses & Basketball”.
Her hair tends to frizz up in humid weather. She is a strong supporter of environmental causes. She has a dog named Scamp as seen in “Crushed”. She also has a brother named Liam, whom she describes as a “booger” in Not So Suite 16. She goes to the school Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, where we primarily see Sister Dominick as her teacher. Maddie is also part Irish and believes in evil Leprechauns as revealed in Books & Birdhouses.
London Tipton (played by Brenda Song) – London Tipton is a spoiled rich teenager, who at times seems very air-headed. London Tipton’s character is inspired by Paris Hilton. London is the name of the capital of England. Paris is the capital of France. At times, although not very often, London expresses some form of instant intelligence, usually without even noticing it. Her father Mr. Tipton is the owner of the Tipton Hotels. Her parents are divorced. London has a dog named Ivana who is seen in a several episodes. London’s best friend (at times)is Maddie.
She is good at chess, kung-fu and yoga. London is a really bad and was transferred to the same private school as Maddie and is often treated better than Maddie by teachers.
Carey Martin (played by Kim Rhodes) – The boys’ mom is the headline singer at the Tipton. She is a divorced single mother, intelligent, kind, and she loves the twins very much. In “The Prince & The Plunger” it was shown that her secret admirer is Arwin Quentin Hawkhauser. We learn that Carey found her talent for singing by mistake when she was at a talent show doing stand-up comedy. In “Moseby’s Big Brother”, she reveals she has a younger sister whom she no longer talks to. In “Free Tippy” and “The Suite Smell of Excess”, we see that she is very fond of George Clooney.
Marion Moseby (played by Phill Lewis) – The manager of the Tipton, Mr. Moseby is often exasperated by the twins’ antics. He often acts as though he does not care about the boys, though he secretly does. In “The Ghost of 613”, it is revealed that he started out at the Tipton as a bellhop back in the 1970’s and during this time he had an afro. He has been a surrogate father to London. He can speak French fluently. Mr. Moseby also has an older brother named Spencer (played by Dana Michael Woods), as seen in Moseby’s Big Brother, but got treated unfairly because he wasn’t “lactose intolerant. Moseby has his own running gag in which he says or does something that causes guests to think he’s crazy or mean.
The Disney Channel has announced that a spin-off of the show is currently in development. The show entitled Housebroken will revolve around the Suite Life character Arwin Q. Hawkhauser (played by Brian Stepanek) when he decides to move in with his sister-in-law (who is a single mom) to help take care of her children.
