Reviews/mentions of the set in the media

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Reviews/mentions of the set in the media

Post by Sascha » Oct 23rd 2007, 5:33 am

The "List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago" blog mentions the upcoming DVD release and calls MSCL the "the most important TV show of the past 15-20 years".

And Alan Sepinwall (of the NJ Star-Ledger) mentions in the comments that he'll maybe write a review of the set too.

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Review in L.A. Times

Post by Sascha » Oct 26th 2007, 6:48 pm

Huge article in Sunday's L.A. Times: "'My So-Called Life' stands the test of teenagers -- and time".
In its parts it may have resembled things that came before, but in its sum it was unique, as one would say every life is unique, and yet part of some universal chord. A nonjudgmental mix of journalistic and spiritual attitudes, "My So-Called Life" at once romanticized and accurately portrayed what it is to be young and changing, to be elevated and wrecked by the same powerful emotions, and it did it without descending into melodrama or selling soap. It was, in fact, a quiet show, devoted to long takes, long looks, long silences. But constantly . . . vibrating.
The set will be released offically next week (October 30th), but we heard that amazon.com has already started shipping the pre-orders on Thursday! :-). Watch out for many more reviews in the media in the next days.

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The New York Times: A Teenager in Love (So-Called)

Post by Sascha » Oct 28th 2007, 1:08 pm

Another full page article about "My So-Called Life", this time in Sunday's New York Times (by Ginia Bellafante):
[..]To claim that “My So-Called Life” is great, watershed television is to say something so firmly ingrained in the conventional wisdom that it hardly bears repeating. The series brought us the experience of adolescence outside the bounds of artifice, peril and pathology that had provided the context for nearly every other depiction of teenagers on television. Here what it meant to be 15 was not to discover that you suddenly had to raise your 6-year-old sister or that you might be pregnant with twins but merely that you suffered everyday indignities: overhearing people talk behind your back, the plop of a grim-looking lump of mashed potatoes on a pallid cafeteria tray.[..]

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Post by Sascha » Oct 28th 2007, 1:16 pm

Jonathan Storm from the Philadelphia Inquirer also has only good things to say about "My So-Called Life" and the new DVD set:
[..]It set a bar that, no matter what their tone, none of the high school shows that came after could clear. Not one, from the popular Dawson's Creek to the current god-awful Gossip Girl, not even the similarly ignored yet exquisite Freaks and Geeks nor Veronica Mars, measured up.[..]

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Boston Globe

Post by Sascha » Oct 28th 2007, 1:21 pm

Tom Russo from The Boston Globe:
[..]Still, there's no question that a fan campaign to save the show from cancellation would've been more visible - and maybe even successful - had Internet culture been what it is today.[..]

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Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)

Post by Sascha » Oct 28th 2007, 1:26 pm

Rich Heldenfels from The Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio interviewed Winnie Holzman for an article about the MSCL DVD release: Cult hit 'My So-Called Life' back on disc.

Winnie Holzman wants to write for television again. Television has not been so welcoming.

[..]But even as she is beginning work on a theater piece, she wants to write for television, too.

''I've written many pilots that have never been produced,'' she said. And if they were, she said that her TV-writer friends say the business has changed considerably in the last decade.'[..]

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Philadelphia Daily News

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:09 am

The MSCL DVD will be released officially in stores today so there'll be a lot of reviews. Let's start with Ellen Gray from the Philadelphia Daily News: 'My Life' wears well.
[..]Bad enough that my own 20th reunion was already in sight when "MSCL" first went on the air, how would a mid-'90s story hold up in 2007?

Surprisingly well, it turns out.

Oh, 21st-century Angela's voiceover might've come from her blog if the show were done today (and you can bet she and all the other characters would have their own MySpace pages to interact with fans).

There'd be a lot of texting and IMing. And the clothes would certainly be different.

But while I found myself wincing when "the year 2000" was chosen as the theme for yearbook - as in what it might be like - the cultural references hold up better than you'd expect.[..]

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AllYourTV.com

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:12 am

AllYourTV.com also highly recommends the set (no I'm not just selecting only the good reviews -- I haven't found any bad ones yet ;-)):
DVD Review: My So-Called Life
[..]
"My So-Called Life: The Complete Series" is a must for anyone who has ever seen the show. Just seeing the episodes again brings back memories and watching the bonus disc was fantastic. I'm glad everyone involved with the show, especially Claire Danes, was so willing to participate in the extras.
[..]

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IGN

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:18 am

Eric Goldman from IGN does the first "real" review of the DVD with an analysis of the video/audio quality and the extras. The set gets 9 out of 10 points.
Buffy, Freaks and Geeks and too many WB and CW series to name owe a debt to My So-Called Life. It's a terrific show that finally is getting the DVD fans have long hoped for.
The only downside according to Eric is the video quality:
[..]The Video
My So-Called Life is presented in a non-anamorphic full screen (1.33:1) aspect ratio, as it originally aired. This is a 12 year old series, so perfection isn't expected in this regard, but still, this is a fairly poor transfer and the only real downside to this DVD set. There is notable grain in the image that is a bit more obvious in some scenes compared to others, and occasionally some fairly blatant scratches and imperfections in the picture. It doesn't look like much work was done at all to restore the image quality, which is a shame for a series this acclaimed.[..]
They also have screenshots of the DVD menu.

Read the complete review here: My So-Called Life - The Complete Series - Angela Chase finally gets, like, a great DVD.

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DVD Talk

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:22 am

Randy Miller III from DVDTalk also gives the set a "Highly Recommended" grade: My So-Called Life: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, 2007). Check his review for many screenshots and a picture of the packaging.
[..]
Short-lived but memorable, My So-Called Life has aged quite well and remains as compelling and honest as ever. The breakout performances by Claire Danes and Jared Leto will draw in new fans, but there's strong showings all around...paired smartly with solid writing and great music, of course. Fans who couldn't afford BMG's long out-of-print boxed set will find Shout Factory's six-disc collection worth every penny: boasting a mildly-improved technical presentation, strong bonus features and great packaging, there's plenty to dig through. From top to bottom, it's one of the year's best TV-on-DVD releases and comes Highly Recommended. Enjoy it!
[..]

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Denver Post

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:51 am

Joanne Ostrow from the Denver Post praises "My So-Called Life" and the new DVD set:
"My So-Called Life" DVD collection is a keeper
[..]
Rather than harboring anger at ABC for canceling the show too soon, Holzman maintains she is grateful the thing got on the air at all. On the plus side, it left us with one of the all-time great cliffhanging series finales - one that still bears repeat screenings.
[..]
Mostly, though, it's the lines of dialogue that so perfectly capture the minute-to-minute pain of living inside teen bodies that captured a time and that still ring true.
[..]

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New Jersey Star-Ledger

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 4:54 am

Alan Sepinwall from the Star-Ledger mentions the show in his column: 'So-Called' brilliance
[..]
Two signs of how much the business has changed in the dozen years since "MSCL" ended: 1) Each episode runs close to 47 minutes without commercials, while the average network drama today runs between 41 and 42; and 2 )Then-ABC president Ted Harbert canceled the show because he didn't feel he could support a show that averaged only 10 million viewers (almost all of them demographically fabulous), where today that number would signal the start of a five- year-run, easy.[..]

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MSCL DVD set giveaway at TVSquad

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 9:46 am

TVSquad.com (owned by AOL) has a "My So-Called Life" giveaway for three DVD sets (until Nov 5th) -- you just have to leave a comment on their website.

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Re: Reviews/mentions of the set in the media

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 2:30 pm

Another piece from Robert Lloyd from the Los Angeles Times, reprinted in the Sun-Sentinel: An ode to My So-Called Life: Go. Now. Go! (This is a condensed version of the original Los Angeles Times article which I've linked a few postings above)
[..]
At the same time, she's full of love, of life, possessed of a radiance and centeredness that is certainly Danes' own. She was 13 when the pilot was shot, and turned 15 during production, and there is no argument among her peers, as interviewed for the new DVD, that she is some sort of unaccountable genius. ("An old soul," an adult colleague calls her.) It's not right to say that My So-Called Life owes everything to Danes, or to let her brilliance obscure her cast mates, all of whom were equally right for their roles. But it's hard to say what it would have been without her.
[..]

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DVD review at monstersandcritics.com

Post by Sascha » Oct 30th 2007, 2:34 pm

MonsterAndCritics.com reviews the set (and the show): DVD Review: My So Called Life – The Complete Series
[..]
These episodes are so well written, so adroitly acted, that the viewer cringes suffering with Angela and the others through memories of one’s own youth.
[..]

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