Test Pilot: Gossip Girl
The CW / Timothy White
Test Pilot is a semiregular feature this summer sharing my first impressions of the pilots for next fall's shows. These aren't reviews, since these pilots may be rewritten, recast and reshot before airing, and end up much better or worse. But, premature opinions are why God invented the Internet, so let's get on with...
The Show: Gossip Girl, The CW
The Premise: Welcome to the UES, bitch. Manhattan's Upper East Side gets the O.C. treatment in this prep-school soap, exec-produced by The O.C.'s Josh Schwartz, and based on a series of books apparently quite popular with persons much younger and with different chromosomes than mine. Serena (Blake Lively) has come back from a year at boarding school, shaking up the social world at her old school, where her best frenemy Blair (Leighton Meester) has become queen bee in her absence. Alliances are formed, outcasts become incast and in the tradition of The O.C., someone gets punched. The action is narrated through the omniscient blog posts of the unseen title character (voiced by Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell).
First Impressions: The trailer at The CW's upfront had underwhelmed me, so I was really pleasantly surprised with this pilot. Like The O.C., the show has a quick wit and doesn't take itself too seriously--except when it takes itself totally, totally seriously. I didn't think the writing and the characters quite matched up to Schwartz's previous work, but I may be romanticizing The O.C. a little; most of the characters in that show were pretty flat in the pilot as well. Apparently some of the TV critics at the show's press tour session were weirdly scandalized at the content--there's sex, an attempted date rape, and doobies are smoked--which is either a sign that TV Is Finally Going Too Far, or that there should be more 17-year-olds on the TV beat.
Do I Want to Watch Another One? My inner 14-year-old girl has a free hour on her weekly schedule.
-
1
Well, count me in for this one. I am one of 14 people on the planet who stuck w/ The OC until the bitter end, and this sounds right up my alley.
My current Tivo lineup for the Fall has a lot of dark dramas on it (Lost, Heroes, etc.) and it could use a little mindless fluff. This will do nicely.
-
2
Whoever employs Kristen Bell, in any context whatsoever, has earned my TiVo loyalty.
(Honestly, if Grey's was looking to up the sexy quotient with its new interns, Bell is the hire they should make...she's honestly one of the best actresses on television - well, until CW cancelled Veronica, that is. Further proof I should run a TV network, or even produce a show - Kristen Bell on Grey's Anatomy would be the shot in the arm this show needs after its lagging last half of last season)
-
3
I approve of this show.
-
4
Will someone please tell me what was so great about Veronica Mars? I don't get it. It sounds like Nancy Drew with a push up bra to me.
-
5
@ C. Brown - You couldn't be more wrong. I know this advice is never taken, but rent/Netflix the first disc of Season 1, and you'll see why Veronica Mars is absolutely NOTHING like Nancy Drew.
Veronica Mars is noir set in the context of a high school. She's a character who, we find out in the first episode: 1) has had her best friend killed, 2) had her father fired from his job as sheriff because he refused to give up the investigation of the murder when a patsy suspect turned up, and is now working as a P.I., 3) had her mother walk out on her and her father because of the public storm of that incident, 4) lost her boyfriend (the dead friend's older brother) and social status in the wealthy community her high school is a part of because of the murder, and 5) oh yeah, was drugged and raped at a party the previous year.
VM is an outcast dealing with a lot of demons, and she DOES NOT play nice - she's perfectly willing to get her hands dirty and seek revenge when she needs it. She's, in short, empowered, and all the more interesting (and, in my opinion, sexy) because of it. Throw in other side stories (her wonderful relationship with her father, her inability to trust people, her friendship with other outcasts like Wallace and Mac) and you have a SERIOUSLY underrated and tragically prematurely cancelled show.
-
6
I'm watching.
The most important question is, Mr. Poniewozik, have you read the books?
-
7
@Bianca: Nope. My inner 14-year-old girl doesn't have THAT much time on her hands.
- poniewozik Good news: Jamie Oliver's Revolution to be Re-Televised. http://bit.ly/9WDgXv - 46 minutes ago
- poniewozik Why @moryan says bringing @neilhimself's 'Sandman' to TV is probably a bad idea. http://bit.ly/9Rvmxh - 1 hour ago
- poniewozik New post: The Discovery Gunman: TV as the Enemy, and as the Weapon. http://bit.ly/dreevK - 5 hours ago
Most Popular »
- The Crimes and Misdemeanors of Meghan McCain
- The Discovery Gunman: TV as the Enemy, and as the Weapon
- A Few Thoughts on the God-Awful State of Customer Service
- Is red-hot India too hot?
- Hits and Misses from Today's Apple Announcement
- 18 Android Apps To Get You Started
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer Offers Theater Mode, Wagering and More
- The 10 Tiny Details that Made Star Wars Matter
- Health Reform is Good for Small Business Employees
- The Obama Speech
- Tony Blair in 'A Journey': On U.S. Leaders Bush, Clinton
- Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers, Study Finds
- Why Israelis Don't Care About Peace with Palestinians
- How Barack Obama Became Mr. Unpopular
- Study: Young, Single, Childless Women Earn More Than Men
- The Science of Ambition: How Genes, Family Affect Success
- Arizona's Anti-Immigration Firebrands: Fueled by Out-of-Staters
- Cause of Death: Sloppy Doctors
- Why France Is Deporting 700 Roma, or Gypsies, to Romania
- How Can a Democracy Solve Tough Problems?
Quotes of the Day »
RSS
