a REAL revival...

Discussion on bringing the show back on tv. Is "My So-Called Life" going to be shown in your country? Note: See international airdates from the last years here.
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Krakolano
Overlooked Sibling
Posts: 47
Joined: Mar 4th 2001, 4:10 pm

a REAL revival...

Post by Krakolano » Mar 4th 2001, 6:05 pm

i read all this stuff about revival and its not what revival is to me. i love My So-Called Life...i watch my boxed sets all the time. i want the fabled "Lost 7" in the series. i too wish it hadn't ended the way it did.

but if it was still on TV its mystical quality i think would be absent. why are we so enamored? yes, it was probably the best written show on TV, and yes it was so close to life we could almost taste it. but i'm guessing most of us here are 20somethings and we love MSCL because it is a remnant of our childhood...preserved in amber by its cancellation. i think it would have lost its magic for us had it continued. granted i would've love to watch more episodes, but i think our eyes are bigger than our stomachs sometimes.

it really was an incredible thing...but look at where we are today..socially and culturally. looking back on MSCL even six years later, and it seems different. its nostalgic. in a word, its grunge. yes, it may only be a stylistic difference, but its what made the dichotomy of highschool in that era. what is funny to me is to see a show like MTV's Daria still in existence, based somewhat on ins and outs of our teenage lives that MSCL fleshed out so perfectly. i think Daria is great...but its still running on that mid 90's culture that is now defunct. it seems kind of funny.

of course, MSCL is for all people and all time. and the reason it achieved maximum realism is because it was written so well. the reason it was written so well is because it understood what teens were at that time. how they talk, how they dress, what they thought about...it was pretty authentic.

so how about a revival? maybe, but revival to me conotes something different. it is the old thing, yes, but it is made new. continuing MSCL in the same way shape and form just wouldn't do. it wouldn't be relavent enough, which is why the video and dvd sales of the series are poor -- as time goes by its writing remains incredible, but its icons aren't relevent. so what can we hope for? here are some thoughts that might be interesting:

-------------a new series with new characters, set in a highschool in 2001.
-------------a new series with a couple of the old supporting cast set in 2001
-------------a movie with the original cast set after highschool, possibly even leaving room for sequels.
-------------i'm not a big fan of "unauthorized books" like the one that just came a while ago, but it would be an interesting idea to start a franchise under the MSCL name, using different characters, locations, etc. (the problem with that is that there's isn't a person who owns all MSCL rights who can edit out the stuff that strays from the spirit of MSCL, like george lucas does with star wars)
------------i think it would be intersting if, in ten years, they had a revival of MSCL in which the original cast was the adult cast, and there was a new young cast.
------------also, if i can get into the school i want to and hook up with people i hope i can hook up with, i think it would be great to do independant episodes of MSCL...it would be easy enough to do, especially with the advent of digital filming which makes things a LOT cheaper because there is no expensive film to deal with. it might be cool to take some fanfic and film it independantly.

i think these are the kinds of things we need to think about or focus on if we want MSCL to live...to thrive. this would be a true revival.


---------------------------
i don't believe in making plans...whatever happens... happens.

Joanna
Angela's best friend
Posts: 229
Joined: Jun 23rd 2001, 2:50 am
Location: England, UK

Re: a REAL revival...

Post by Joanna » Jan 8th 2002, 1:56 pm

Not only do I totally agree with what you say (I have written it myself in a thread in the main forum) but I just love your ID name! When I was a teenager I would have one for Lano but now that I am a twenty-something I would go for Krakow instead!

Jo x

"And dance by the light of the moon!"

AlwaysOnDisplay
Frozen Embryo
Posts: 2
Joined: Jun 15th 2007, 2:11 pm
Location: Ireland

i realise this was posted 6 years ago but..

Post by AlwaysOnDisplay » Jun 15th 2007, 4:17 pm

i think it would be a great idea to get a new cast and base it in 2007.
how would you start a petition or something to send Buena Vista to get their attention?
-AlwaysOnDisplay-

Krys
Tino
Posts: 9
Joined: Oct 25th 2008, 2:34 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: a REAL revival...

Post by Krys » Jun 25th 2009, 6:53 am

I think it would be a horrible idea to recast. Bringing back a few members of the old cast would be the only interesting thing about it, like they did on the new 90210. But then they risk damaging the characters we love from the original show with faulty writing, and then the new show wouldn't be as easy to pass off if it ends up being a disaster.

They're also remaking 10 Things I Hate About You into a series, and it looks absolutely dreadful. I don't think the actors could compare to the original cast (and I'm not just saying that because Heath died). So I'm worried that if they did ever remake MSCL, it would just take away some of the magic that made it so great.

Like the original poster said, MSCL was very early-mid-90s. Very grunge. It reflected the attitudes and politics and fashion and speech patterns and music and culture of that time period. If it was remade today, you just know they would try to turn it into a Gossip Girl/OC/One Tree Hill hybrid where:

-the characters would never wear the same clothes twice
-they'd be rich or at the very least, upper-middle-class
-there'd be soap-opera-esque drama, including a fist fight and bed-hopping every episode

And don't get me wrong, I love The OC and Gossip Girl. Guilty pleasures about pretty people with problems we wished we had. They serve their purpose. But it's just not real like MSCL was, and I think that is what (partly) lead to its demise. So naturally, with the success of those teen soaps nowadays, they'd try and remake MSCL into that, or else it'd get the ax again.

It wouldn't have any magic the original did, and still does. Not even the best actors could compare to the original. While I understand loving the show so badly that you want to see it go on, I think the way it was left was perfect. Even though the end was written with the hope that there'd be more episodes, I like how nothing was really resolved or tied up into a neat package, very much like life. We got a glimpse of these people in a particular time and place in their lives, and they'll forever stay that way in our minds and hearts. It burned out in its prime rather than fading away after 8 seasons with recycled storylines and mediocre plots and character replacements like other shows we all know.

And really, it wouldn't be like Claire Danes and Jared Leto would come back to the show anyway. The only original actors I can see coming back would be the ones who played insignificant characters, and whose career isn't going as well.

shanna-irl
Tino
Posts: 7
Joined: Aug 14th 2009, 6:43 pm

Re: a REAL revival...

Post by shanna-irl » Aug 14th 2009, 7:21 pm

I think it would be a terrible idea to remake it. I'm not a fan of remakes in general, or even cover versions in music. Anyone who watched MSCL in the early 90's witnessed the original "teen drama".
What would a remake include? A thousand gadgets for a start. Angela would probably be recording all her thoughts on a laptop and phoning Rayanne on an iphone, while Sharon would no doubt be clad head-to-toe in designer labels. One of the reasons I love watching this show now is that it WAS the 90's. It was simple. You made plans face-to-face. You wrote notes to each other. You wore the same shirt for days on end just because you wanted to. You waited around anxiously, in the hope of catching a glimpse of someone.
It was about feelings, emotions, awkward teen situations. It was perfect, because it was so imperfect. You could identify with the characters. In my humble opinion, it's one of the greats that just shouldn't be touched. Leave it as it was, a beautiful, innocent, honest portrayal of teenage life in the 90's. There's enough image-obsessive, designer-clad, sex-driven muck on TV without turning a classic into yet another crass attempt to portray "how it really is."

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