As I see it, everyone is comparing it too much with the original series. It has not much to do with it, except for the setting and some of the original characters (that I believe were put in just to grab attention). Personally, I see it as a whole new project and I don't care much about the old one.
The first episodes started off a bit lame, it reminded me of 7th Heaven with all the we're-one-big-happy-family thing. But the last episodes got my attention back. The characters and plot developed faster, bringing speed and interesting situations.
The thing I don't like is the fact that it's all set in high school. For a few reasons: the characters don't look like they're 16 (I know, they never do, but 23-year old actors are too much for me); it's giving a non-existing picture of what it looks like in high school, it could be set in college, so that 15-year-old girls wouldn't get such a messed up picture.
I don't know, it's not that bad, for me it's another show like Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, O.C. or whatever. They're completely different, I agree, yet it's still the same: love, hatred, family, friendship etc. If you like that kind of thing, you probably won't be disappointed.