My So-Called Post
This weekend while Luis was playing Magic, I plopped myself down for some quality time with our DVD player. As I flipped through our binder, I considered Crouching Tiger, Amelie, and The Last Unicorn before deciding on one of the greatest, prematurely canceled TV programs ever.
Do you remember seeing your first episode of My So-Called Life? My mom and I watched it together and both really enjoyed it. We never quite got my dad into the game, as he had been burned before by my insistence that 90210 was "reeeeeeeally good."
So what was it about MSCL that was so amazing? It spoke directly to teenagers about teenage issues in teenage language. Hair flips and bitten lips came to mean more than their accompanying dialogue, and there was more weight in an awkward silence than in any other interaction. Kids drank and smoked, lied to their parents, and made out in the halls. Friends betrayed each other and shifted alliances for petty reasons, and enemies found common ground in the girls' room.
Perhaps MSCL was too real, and it frightened parents and the network into clipping its wings. Fortunately it is now available on DVD for future generations to enjoy - I know my nieces will be getting these sets as gifts when I think they are old enough.
What are your favorite MSCL episodes and moments?
- Krakow pulling a Cyrano and writing Jordan's love letter to Angela.
- The entire Boiler Room episode (remember Buffalo Tom?)
- The Christmas episode with Juliana Hatfield which makes me cry every time.
- Saying "Go, now. Go!" along with the opening credits.
Do you remember seeing your first episode of My So-Called Life? My mom and I watched it together and both really enjoyed it. We never quite got my dad into the game, as he had been burned before by my insistence that 90210 was "reeeeeeeally good."
So what was it about MSCL that was so amazing? It spoke directly to teenagers about teenage issues in teenage language. Hair flips and bitten lips came to mean more than their accompanying dialogue, and there was more weight in an awkward silence than in any other interaction. Kids drank and smoked, lied to their parents, and made out in the halls. Friends betrayed each other and shifted alliances for petty reasons, and enemies found common ground in the girls' room. Perhaps MSCL was too real, and it frightened parents and the network into clipping its wings. Fortunately it is now available on DVD for future generations to enjoy - I know my nieces will be getting these sets as gifts when I think they are old enough.
What are your favorite MSCL episodes and moments?
- Krakow pulling a Cyrano and writing Jordan's love letter to Angela.
- The entire Boiler Room episode (remember Buffalo Tom?)
- The Christmas episode with Juliana Hatfield which makes me cry every time.
- Saying "Go, now. Go!" along with the opening credits.
posted by Liz at 4:09 PM
2 Comments:
I am waaaaaay past teenage years, and I was even when MSCL first aired on TV, but I adored that show. The Christmas episode is not only my favorite one, but my all-time favorite Christmas episode of ANY show ever on TV.
I have it on tape, but my old, cranky VCR died, and now I'm trying to transfer it to DVD somehow.
And yes, I too cry every time.
That's what Netflix is for, :-)! While I didn't grow up with MSCL and as such let Liz watch most of the episodes by herself, I've been able to find a ton of old shows on Netflix, which has been pretty cool.
Luis
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