[The following article was submitted by one of our faithful readers: HRW. If you are interested in submitting your own article, click here for more information about our weekly reader's editorial. Enjoy!]
When it debuted in the fall of 2007, Gossip Girl was just what young, hip television viewers had been craving. It had all of the quintessential elements of a teen-drama – good looking actors and actresses, a high school setting, trend setting fashions, and of course…the kid from the other side of the tracks (or in this case, bridge) who just wants to be a part of the cool crowd. But Gossip Girl brought so much more to the table than Dawson’s Creek or (the original) 90210 ever could…namely sex, drugs, lots of drama, and the most glamorous, fabulous setting that any television show could have…New York City.
The first two seasons of the show were awesome…but then, the GG crew graduated from high school, and, following in the footsteps of our friends at Dawson’s, 9-0, and, even Saved by the Bell…they went to college. Dum dum duuuuuummmmmm..\ Shouldn’t this be the nail in the coffin for a show about high school students? Now, with the right writing, and casting changes, some shows can survive this massive transition, and in the fall, when GG returned for season 3, I initially thought that the show was better without the constraints of high school….plus with Chuck Bass drinking martinis every week, it was finally at least somewhat believable. There were a few little things that were bothering me though…namely the casting of Hillary Duff as Dan’s love interest who is a Mary-Kate Olsen type character -- a movie star who attends NYU to try to be “normal.” Plain and simple, she’s annoying…and not even that hot! I mean, it was hardly plausible when Nate and Dan were basically swooning over her…they are prettier than she is! Anyway, I made it through the first half of season three, and when it went on hiatus over the winter I was satisfied…
But then, last night happened. At 9pm Gossip Girl returned for the second half of its third season, and I was honestly so excited. I wanted to see some drama. I was ready for it. But about twenty minutes in, I found myself looking at the clock. What was once one of the most dramatic and controversial shows on TV was, dare I say….BORING! Here are my complaints:
- EVERYONE is the village bicycle. Seriously….it’s only the third season, and already everyone has slept with (or at least hooked up) with everyone else. Nate has basically been with every female character on the show. Chuck has hooked up with everyone but Serena (who is his half-sister….so that would be gross), he had a quasi-fling with Vanessa (even though it was to trick her…or something), and remember in episode 1 when he tried to make out with Jenny on the roof? Dan has been with everyone but Blair (they would kill each other) and Jenny (sister…gross)….I mean it’s really is getting a bit ridiculous. I think that the moment in last night’s episode that highlighted it best was when Dan and Nate were sharing tips about hooking up with Vanessa and Serena, while Blair and Serena were simultaneously having the same conversation about Nate.
- Chuck and Blair are actually a happy couple! To that I say…how annoying! I mean, when they initially got together, I was ecstatic…after two seasons of playing mind games with one another, the two least likely to settle down characters finally, well, settled down…with each other! But it seems as if it’s all going a bit too well….so much so that I am not even interested in their story line anymore. Chuck’s whole searching for his mother thing pales in comparison to Jenny’s new stint as a drug dealer! Which brings me to my next point…
- The most interesting story line on the whole show is that Jenny is a drug dealer. Who would have thought that Little J would steal the spotlight from her former mentor (and tormentor….see what I did there?) the Queen B herself. But again, to this I say, who cares? I could write this story myself! Jenny deals drugs for sleazy short guy with overly gelled quaff, whose father is some Belgian ambassador or something important and stupid; Jenny sleeps with sleazy short guy; Jenny gets caught dealing drugs and/or sleeping with sleazy short guy by either a) her father, b) Dan, or c) Lilly; Jenny rebels against her family and runs away, or at least tries to, and then we find her dancing topless in some apartment somewhere….oh, wait, didn’t that happen already?
Exactly my point. I’m sorry to say it GG fans, but I think that our beloved show has jumped the shark and is about to see it demise. Either that or it will just continue on without a following…you know, like One Tree Hill. Which just goes to show that you can’t send high school kids to college…except for real high school kids….they should definitely go to college, otherwise they could end up like Dylan McKay, and we all know how that turns out.
You should take the lack of comments as a sign that your topic, writing, and article suck.
ReplyDeleteDS
Love the topic, writing, and article! However, one correction: Serena and Chuck are not half-siblings. Chuck's father, Bart, married Eric and Serena's mother, Lilly, thus making them temporary step-siblings. No blood relation means hook-ups would not be particularly gross (note: it happened in Clueless). :)
ReplyDeleteWell, Daniel, you are more than welcome to submit your own article, with your own topic and writing (which I'm sure is stellar), for our review. Probably a better solution than just trolling.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, it is a little ironic that you commented about the lack of comments. Props to Hallie for inspiring our readers to comment!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kotick! I will admit that it wasn't my best work, but for my first blog out of the gate, I'm satisfied :).
ReplyDeleteAmanda...Good point! I almost forgot about Cher and Josh (Wait....I love Josh!)