Probably only about three of y’all watch it, if that, but what did you think of the 80s flashback episode of Gossip Girl this week? Valley Girls (aka “obvious backdoor pilot for spin-off series”) wasn’t half bad, I thought: the present day stuff was relatively promising, after more than a few weeks of some real drek; and although the 80s stuff felt like it had been grafted on and had minimal relevance to the present day plot, “all this has happened before and will happen again; your parents were young once, and one day you’ll be parents, too,” was quite a fun point to make for younger viewers.
I’m not sure how well 80s Gossip Girl might stand up as a show, though. While the presence of ANDREW McCARTHY in a show set in the 80s was a stroke of genius and possibly worth the admission fee alone, none of the other characters felt that interesting, despite its obvious attempt to be The Breakfast Club. It’s basically backstory that was more interesting when mentioned in passing than writ large. And unlike Cold Case, Mad Men, and other shows with flashbacks, this felt more amazed by the decade it was recreating, overdosing on just about everything 80s in just a few seconds: quick – shoulderpads, leotards, MTV, old VHS players, more, more! But for a show aimed at a generation who never even saw a single year of the 80s, that’s probably excusable.
Loved the soundtrack though and a No Doubt reunion where they sing Adam Ant’s ‘Stand and Deliver’ is almost as appealing as ANDREW McCARTHY. Almost.
As a series, it’s not yet a cert and I can see why; the Melrose Place remake is apparently a shoo-in, however. Here’s the promo for it and you can probably catch it (if you’re quick) by visiting YouTube.
What’s the most tear-jerking movie you’ve ever seen and why?
Off the top of my head, I’d say The Shawshank Redemption, mainly thanks to the ending, but hows about you? If you want, you can name a TV show instead, but I can’t think of any TV shows that were specifically tearjerking – can you think of any?
As always, leave a comment with your answer or a link to your answer on your own blog.
The Unit‘s a strangely schizophrenic show. On the one hand, it tries its level best to be realistic about the US special forces, its procedures, what it must be like to be married to a special forces soldier and so on. It’s quite conservative – about the only conservative show on mainstream TV other than 24 and maybe 30 Rock (debate anyone?) – yet will quite happily have a Latino president. It’s also quite ruthless, with our heroes frequently making quite nasty decisions (yes, we will sell you, helpful lady, into prostitution) to get the job done.
But it’s also depressingly escapist and silly at times, with this season’s David Mamet cluster-f*ck of the Unit being forced to retrieve the spear that was used to stab Jesus, and being visited by the spirit of departed Unit member Hector.
I kid you not.
So was the finale of season four one of those times when silliness outweighed true grit?
