MSCL.com

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But Holzman, who went on to garner a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk award for writing the book of the Broadway hit "Wicked," sees only the sweet and not the bitter.

"It's nothing but sweet for me," she says. "The show makes me very proud and gratified, and I'm touched that people are still interested. I still have such a fondness and deep love for Claire and the other actors on the show.

"We did our show and we did the best we could. We weren't able to control whether the network believed in it or didn't believe in it. In the end, it didn't matter. What was important is that we made the show that we wanted to make and we made the effect that we made."
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But those who did watch loved it. In fact, "My So-Called Life" is such an emotional touchstone that certain fans might find themselves moved to tears while reading the brochure accompanying the complete-series DVD set that will be released Tuesday. A single clause in the episode descriptions that reads ". . . Sharon and Angela begin to mend their friendship" could evoke a flood, for instance. Or, in another tear-jerking example, its creator, Winnie Holzman, paraphrases the final lines of the "My So-Called Life" pilot episode to express her lack of regret about its quick cancellation. "We had a time," Holzman writes at the end of a short essay. "And I am still having one."
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Without My So-Called Life, there might well have been no Felicity, no Beverly Hills 90210, or even Buffy, the Vampire slayer. That’s a pretty big statement, but even Joss Whedon [creator of Buffy] acknowledges the possibility in his introduction to this lovely set from shout! Factory.
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Grade: My So-Called Life – A+
Grade: Features – A+
Final Grade: A+

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Which cuts to what was so amazing about the show in the first place. It was a series about teenagers that was, above all else, honest about teenagers. And in that honesty was true beauty, even if you couldn’t always see it at first.
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As for the series itself, it still holds up quite well, dated fashions and hairstyles aside. The writing is crisp, the then-young cast is terrific, and the characters are richly drawn, though the show’s irony-free earnestness did result in some cringe-inducing hours, most notably a Christmas episode in which Angela receives a heavenly assist when she tries to get Rickie off the streets. Still, at its best, Life tackled the big issues with a grace and sophistication that’s still uncommon among contemporary teen dramas. It’s one of the few ’90s relics that’s actually worth getting nostalgic about.
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I was a big fan of "My So-Called Life" during its short run. The Herskovitz-Ed Zwick producing team was the initial draw for me (you've heard the phrase, "I'd watch so-and-so read the phone book"? Well, I'd watch a Herskovitz and Zwick production of the phone book), but I was quickly sucked in by Holzman's wonderful writing, the pitch-perfect atmosphere and Danes' amazing performance as Angela Chase.
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The irony is that "MSCL," which always preferred grit over glamour and mood over melodrama, actually played to substantially more viewers than "Gossip Girl" (nearly 10 million compared to just under 3 million). But "MSCL" had the misfortune to arrive before networks began aggressively marketing to teens and before TV fragmentation enabled niche channels to thrive with smaller audiences.

But some things never change in the TV teen world. Just like the pampered princesses of "Gossip Girl," Angela Chase coped with relationship issues and struggled to find herself. She took her licks on the battlefield that is high school, rebelled against Mom and Dad, and confronted the temptations of sex and illegal substances.

The difference is that she did so in a kind of witty, captivating and emotionally engaging style that may never be found on television again.
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In all, this is the collection for My So-Called Life fans, as it not only contains all of the original, excellent episodes, but also a ton of extra goodies sure to entertain for years to come.

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Considering how much DVD collections for a single season of a television show cost, I cannot believe what a great bargain this complete set is. And I think of it as owning a small cornerstone of TV history.

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Two shows - My So-Called Life and Veronica Mars - have themes and idioms that could easily fit into one's own catalog of pop culture. Both have unique followings and were ahead of the curve in content and originality.
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If you were a fan of the show or a fan of quality television this is the box set for you.

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I was just starting my first year of high school when ABC aired My So-Called Life—set during a turbulent sophomore year at Pittsburgh's fictional Liberty High—so I was probably, like, morally obligated to revere it. What's surprising, watching the series again 13 years later, is that it was worth the adoration.
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