MSCL.com

What do you guys think?How does Tino look like?Is he cooler than Jordan?

duh...hello, tino is totally older- he would look sort of intimidating, like tall and dark and with facial hair
he is much more pittsburgh than the rest of them- sort of hair metal early nineties while the others are on to grunge...

I think Tino is a lot like Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey) from "Dazed and Confused". If Jordan's been "left back twice" and he looks up to Tino, then Tino must be older and is probably a drop out. And in the high school world, he's supercool and goodlooking, especially because we only see him through Rayanne and Jordan's eyes. But if we the viewers ever got to see him, we'd probably see that he's pretty pathetic; in the same way Wooderson ultimately is. We'd probably see a 21 year old who hangs out with high school kids and has no plans beyond the next weekend party.

One of the strengths of the show is it's refusal to romanticize it's characters. As beloved a character as Jordan is, we see that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed and has some boneheaded views as in thinking Angela is "not normal" because she won't have sex with him. And he doesn't seem to care about his future, whether or not he gets kicked out of school and such, because "whatever happens, happens."

But we also see some very noble characteristics. He states in that same scene from Pressure where he suggests Angela's "not normal" that he's "never lied to her", which is true.

He's also not homophobic; not shying away from talking to Rickie freely in the corridor no matter who might be looking. He even warns him away from the bleachers on Halloween night, knowing his friends won't feel the same way. And he doesn't regard Brian as beneath him because he's one those brainy nerds.

I know I've gotten off topic about Tino, but if we did get to see him, I don't think we'd see an MSCL version of Dillon from 90210, I think we'd see a vacuous young man going nowhere fast.

And THAT, is what makes MSCL a unique and special show.

Jack

Jack wrote;

One of the strengths of the show is it's refusal to romanticize it's characters. As beloved a character as Jordan is, we see that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed and has some boneheaded views as in thinking Angela is "not normal" because she won't have sex with him. And he doesn't seem to care about his future, whether or not he gets kicked out of school and such, because "whatever happens, happens."

I agree on everything you said about Jordan.Howewer, I think he does care about his future.I mean, c'mon who doesn't!? I think he pulled out "whatever happens,happens" because he figures he's a loser( Halloween) and nothing good ever happens to him,so what does it matter what happens,right? [/b]

Jack wrote:

He's also not homophobic; not shying away from talking to Rickie freely in the corridor no matter who might be looking. He even warns him away from the bleachers on Halloween night, knowing his friends won't feel the same way. And he doesn't regard Brian as beneath him because he's one those brainy nerds.

Yeah,but he does think that Angela is beneath him( Self esteem)

Shane : Catalano, you down here?
Jordan : Shh. The fact that we come here -- let's keep it like -- our
secret.
Angela : Why?
Jordan : No reason.
Shane : Catalano -- what are you doing?
Jordan : Nothing
[Jordan meets him at the top
of the stairs] Who you got in there?
Jordan : Uh, just -- just a girl.
Shane : Yeah?
Jordan : Yeah. [The friend starts boxing with him] Get off!
Shane : So, nobody?
Jordan : Shut up.

my view of Tino is similar to some of the others. I think that he is definitely older than the other characters. they obviously idolize him. I agree that he is probably tall and dark with facial hair. but he has this amazing confidence that makes him intimidating. he's the guy that knows everyone and can get anything.

I don't agree that he is pathetic because he hangs out with high schoolers. because obviously he doesn't hang out with them. how many times does he ditch Rayanne and Jordan? he is on an entirely different plane of cool. but they still idolize him and continue to depend on him.



emmie

First off, I'm a technologically challenged buffoon and I can't figure out how to use the "quote thingy", so I'll just write the darned thing out; it was so much easier in the old days. Anyways, Guest wrote:

Yeah, but he thinks that Angela is beneath him (Self Esteem)

Now, IMHO, I don't think he really does. He's responding to peer pressure because of Shane. Later in Self Esteem when Angela, Rayanne and Sharon show up at Pike Street, Shane says to Jordan, "There's Rayanne and that weird girl she hangs out with."

If my memory is correct, Shane seems to be around at the wrong time when Jordan is trying to interact with Angela. In Why Jordan Can't Read, Angela is sortof asking Jordan out, when Shane is pressuring Jordan to come along.

Then there's the scene you mention in Self Esteem when Shane shows up at the top of the boiler room steps and the one I mention at Pike Street.

So I think it's just peer pressure. Nonetheless, he deals with it, and though we can't hear the dialogue, he lets Shane know he likes her and walks off with her in full view of everyone including Shane. And a point is made of holding a shot on Shane as he watches them walk away.

To Emmie:

It's good to see a post from you. I knew some of the old crowd was still around.

Jack

About Tino:

Good looking;long hair,dark eyes,always dressed in one shade,dark colours.I agree with people above;he's into metal and hard rock,grunge just isn't working for him.

Intelligance:street wise,knows exactly when,where and how something's gonna happen.He's soooo not into school,but definately reads a lot.His best book;Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse.
Definately involved in some illegal activity; fake IDs, selling"pharmaceuti-
cals" but not really into that s**t himself.Pack of smokes,couple of joints sure,but that stupid s**t no way.

He's maybe around twenty,already has a criminal record,been busted a couple of times, no big deal.

Social life:parties,drinking,screwing.The usual stuff.
I think he does hang out with highschool kids, but hell,he knows so many people he just doesn't have the time to deal with all of them at once.So he says he'll show, but he doesn't because he had to be somewhere else.

In the end there are thousands of guys like Tino.People who are really not going anywhere with their lives under the pretense that world sucks(which is true),or that nobody'll give them the chance when in actuality they are either to lazy to achieve something or so low on self esteem and scared shitless that everybody'll see what kind of failures they really are.Or they are so afraid of getting hurt that they simply avoid any kind of "emotional activity" like Mr.Catalano for example.
That's how people like Tino or Rayanne,people with potential, end up in a can or dead,IMHO.

So,yeah I agree with Jack,Tino is definately a young man goin' nowhere fast.Or just going nowhere.

isn't it funny how we continue to analyze every aspect and each little detail of this wonderful show? or should I say, isn't it great that we can? how many shows have 3-dimensional characters that are never seen? just another testament to the great writing. with their subtle clues, the audience gains so much.

jack: yeah, I've been around, mostly lurking in the DVD threads. but those are so depressing and full of anger. I was surprised to visit this thread and see so many new posts. always good to discuss MSCL!

emmie wrote:isn't it funny how we continue to analyze every aspect and each little detail of this wonderful show? or should I say, isn't it great that we can? how many shows have 3-dimensional characters that are never seen? just another testament to the great writing. with their subtle clues, the audience gains so much.

I agree! I was actually sitting here thinking how awesome it is that the show has been off the air for so long ( ) yet we can still discuss it. It had a profound impact on television (IMHO)!

This has probably been raised before, but, do Tino and Rayanne sleep together on occasion? I like to think that they do, you know, just for fun; I do not feel, however, that their being together at the abandoned house is evidence enough to prove that they definitely were.