TV memoirs, Part II
A little over a month ago, when I was deep in the throes of term paper-induced procrastination, I wrote about my favorite childhood television shows, promising to follow up with the ones I watched as a teenager. And since sninkle is always asking me for more true stories (a ploy, I suspect, to improve my memory; I rely too much on hers), I will dutifully comply.
My adolescence began with a string of WB teen dramas. The first one I watched was a truly terrible show called Popular about a popular and unpopular girl whose parents are getting married.
I remember crushing on Cristopher Gorham and thinking that Sam --the unpopular girl-- and her friend Carmen, played by Sarah Rue, were pretty kick-ass. I think I wanted a nose ring like Sam, but of course I was thirteen and wasn't about to bring that up with my parents.
That same year, Jack & Jill, another WB dramedy, came on the air. I don't remember much about the plot -- Wikipedia tells me that it was about the romantic entanglements among a group of twenty-something friends in New York, which sounds about right -- but do remember that it featured the always fabulous Amanda Peet as "Jack" and a swarthy pretty-lipped guy -- "Ivan Sergei", says IMDB -- as "Jill." Yes, with a cute name swap like that, the show was obviously destined for greatness. IMDB tells me that the cast was even more awesome than I remember, with Weeds' hilarious Justin Kirk (Andy Botwin), Jaime Pressly, and Sarah Paulson.
Anyhow, both Popular and Jack & Jill aired for two seasons starting in 1999, and after that I moved onto other WB staples Gilmore Girls, Everwood, and (sporadically) Felicity. I was with Gilmore Girls from the beginning -- my friends and I would tape the episodes (yes, on VHS) and get together every few weeks to have a marathon. Sometimes, I confess, I didn't manage to wait until then, especially when Tristan and Jess exploded the screen with their sexiness. [ 1]
Classroom teasing vs. Book stealing
This was also, not coincidentally, the show that finally clued me into the existence of fandom, and I spent many hours reading fan sites and "Trory" and "Literati" fan fiction. I still remember that my favorite author was "April," who wrote fluffy stories about snowstorm kisses.[ 2] Alas, Supernatural fans, I must admit that I was never taken with Jared Padalecki and his floppy hair, even if I am duly impressed by the enormous hulking man he has since turned into.
And then, of course, there was Alias. I was hooked from the beginning, and drafted sninkle onto the bandwagon after season one. "Make like Sydney Bristow" was the mantra of our high school years. I mean, how could you not love a character who could beat up all the guys, throw herself off clock towers and land on her feet, speak a million languages, and run in heels ... all while studying English in graduate school? Though Alias had its highs (duh, and double duh) and lows, and got stranger and stranger as the seasons progressed, it will always have a special place in my heart. When I miss someone, I think of Marshall's attempt at poetry (see video); when I see aviator sunglasses, I remember Will's brief and hilarious reappearance in Season 3; when I rewatch Firefly, I think about how Ana Espinosa -- along with spy mommy -- really was the only worthy rival for Sydney.
(Watch at 5:25)
And, of course, I still want to be able to make like Sydney Bristow.[ 3]
So, I've shared, now it's your turn. Favorite television moments from your adolescence? The epic TV romance of your teen years? Go!
[ 1]
This would have been a huge dilemma for me, if CMM hadn't been drafted onto One Tree Hill: Tristan vs. Jess? Snarky arrogance or Brooding bookworm? As it would have it, these are the characteristics of the male leads in many of my favorite romantic triangles.
[ 2] I just did a FanFiction.net search for the author, and actually managed to find her. "When Snow Falls", from the title, seems to be the story that I am remembering, but I am refraining from actually clicking.
[ 3]
OMG, guys, apparently ABC is floating the idea of rebooting Alias! What might this mean? If it gets out of development land and into reality, that is. Would a reboot mean the same cast? Would SARK be back? (I confess I kept watching Heroes even when it was terrible just for David Anders and his fake British accent, and then for the glorious KBell. If VMars were ever resurrected, this blog would explode with LOVE.)
My adolescence began with a string of WB teen dramas. The first one I watched was a truly terrible show called Popular about a popular and unpopular girl whose parents are getting married.
Click to viewI remember crushing on Cristopher Gorham and thinking that Sam --the unpopular girl-- and her friend Carmen, played by Sarah Rue, were pretty kick-ass. I think I wanted a nose ring like Sam, but of course I was thirteen and wasn't about to bring that up with my parents.
That same year, Jack & Jill, another WB dramedy, came on the air. I don't remember much about the plot -- Wikipedia tells me that it was about the romantic entanglements among a group of twenty-something friends in New York, which sounds about right -- but do remember that it featured the always fabulous Amanda Peet as "Jack" and a swarthy pretty-lipped guy -- "Ivan Sergei", says IMDB -- as "Jill." Yes, with a cute name swap like that, the show was obviously destined for greatness. IMDB tells me that the cast was even more awesome than I remember, with Weeds' hilarious Justin Kirk (Andy Botwin), Jaime Pressly, and Sarah Paulson.
Anyhow, both Popular and Jack & Jill aired for two seasons starting in 1999, and after that I moved onto other WB staples Gilmore Girls, Everwood, and (sporadically) Felicity. I was with Gilmore Girls from the beginning -- my friends and I would tape the episodes (yes, on VHS) and get together every few weeks to have a marathon. Sometimes, I confess, I didn't manage to wait until then, especially when Tristan and Jess exploded the screen with their sexiness. [ 1]
Classroom teasing vs. Book stealing
This was also, not coincidentally, the show that finally clued me into the existence of fandom, and I spent many hours reading fan sites and "Trory" and "Literati" fan fiction. I still remember that my favorite author was "April," who wrote fluffy stories about snowstorm kisses.[ 2] Alas, Supernatural fans, I must admit that I was never taken with Jared Padalecki and his floppy hair, even if I am duly impressed by the enormous hulking man he has since turned into.
And then, of course, there was Alias. I was hooked from the beginning, and drafted sninkle onto the bandwagon after season one. "Make like Sydney Bristow" was the mantra of our high school years. I mean, how could you not love a character who could beat up all the guys, throw herself off clock towers and land on her feet, speak a million languages, and run in heels ... all while studying English in graduate school? Though Alias had its highs (duh, and double duh) and lows, and got stranger and stranger as the seasons progressed, it will always have a special place in my heart. When I miss someone, I think of Marshall's attempt at poetry (see video); when I see aviator sunglasses, I remember Will's brief and hilarious reappearance in Season 3; when I rewatch Firefly, I think about how Ana Espinosa -- along with spy mommy -- really was the only worthy rival for Sydney.
(Watch at 5:25)
And, of course, I still want to be able to make like Sydney Bristow.[ 3]
So, I've shared, now it's your turn. Favorite television moments from your adolescence? The epic TV romance of your teen years? Go!
[ 1]
This would have been a huge dilemma for me, if CMM hadn't been drafted onto One Tree Hill: Tristan vs. Jess? Snarky arrogance or Brooding bookworm? As it would have it, these are the characteristics of the male leads in many of my favorite romantic triangles.
[ 2] I just did a FanFiction.net search for the author, and actually managed to find her. "When Snow Falls", from the title, seems to be the story that I am remembering, but I am refraining from actually clicking.
[ 3]
OMG, guys, apparently ABC is floating the idea of rebooting Alias! What might this mean? If it gets out of development land and into reality, that is. Would a reboot mean the same cast? Would SARK be back? (I confess I kept watching Heroes even when it was terrible just for David Anders and his fake British accent, and then for the glorious KBell. If VMars were ever resurrected, this blog would explode with LOVE.)