One of the greatest gifts I got this holiday was the My So-Called Life complete box set. In case you weren’t part of the show’s demographic during its unjustly short lifespan (one amazing, wonderful season), here’s a synopsis: the show follows 15-year old Angela Chase as she tries to make it through life at her suburban high school, hanging out with her new “rebellious” friends Rayanne (the drunk) and Rickie (the gay), barely able to stand her parents Patty and Graham, and falling head over heels for bad boy (and totally illiterate!) heartthrob Jordan Catalano. So MSCL was hands down my favorite TV show ever and I, like many girls I know, so empathized with Angela’s character — the writers did a stupendous job capturing the teen angst meets boy crazy obsession that makes teen girls so….hard to understand, usually. Anyway, I kind of wondered whether the show would still resonate with me though I’m now older, much less angsty, and a whole lot less boy crazy. For example, would I wisely now see the appeal of Angela’s nerdy neighbor Brian Krakow over the insanely gorgeous, but also rude and dumb-as-rocks Jordan? Um, yeah. No. Brian, while used and abused by Angela still seems totally….deserving of her contempt 14 years later while Jordan’s silent but deadly indifference still is the stuff that drives girls, and apparently women, wild. Not to get all cerebral about a TV show, but does this prove that bad boys still finish first and nice guys will always finish last? [Amazon.com]
