Felicity

MSCL may be gone from the tv screen, but there are lots of good (and bad) new productions airing each week. Talk with other MSCL fans about your favorite shows or the shows you hate. Of course you can also discuss TV show DVD releases here.
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Post by mwb » Nov 8th 2002, 10:22 am

Okay , I never watched Felicity or Once and Again, ever. Not one minutes worth. Which is better to get on DVD?
I personally love both shows, and both of the DVD sets ended up on my doorstep at the same time. And I chose to open up Felicity first. As far as "which is better?", I think it depends on what you're looking for.

Much like MSCL, both shows have excellent character development, are completely honest in the portrayal of the characters, and the acting is top-notch. Also, one of the great things about all three shows was that the characters were flawed - they were real. The final similarity between MSCL, Felicity, and O&A is the "inner voice." Through her voice-overs, we learned what Angela was thinking and feeling. Through her tapes to Sally, we knew Felicity’s inner thoughts and desires. Through the use of black and white confessionals, we were able to see inside all of the characters of Once and Again.

Felicity is centered around a group of college-aged kids. It was entirely told through the eyes of our heroine, Felicity. Love, friendship, turmoil, life-changing decisions, etc. It’s pretty much about what college is supposed to be. When the show first aired, I was one year out of college and very much able to relate to the character of Felicity, much as I was able to relate to the character of Angela Chase four years earlier.

Once and Again is more about the relationships of families than friendships. It started out being told through the eyes of Lily, divorced mother of two. But it ended up being told through the eyes of almost every main character (Lily, her love interest Rick, her daughters, her ex-husband Jake, her sister Judy, Rick’s ex-wife Karen, their two children). Some of the storylines focused on the relationships of the adults, some focused on the relationships of the teenagers, some focused on the relationships between the adults and children. For me, Once and Again provided many more tear-jerking episodes than Felicity.

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Post by fnordboy » Nov 8th 2002, 12:21 pm

I'll probably get mauled here, but i HATE that show with a passion. Bad acting, horrible storyline, unlikable characters....

but that is me

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Post by Double Espresso » Nov 8th 2002, 12:52 pm

Ha, typical the one person who replies gives it a bad review. Nevermind, I read some more stuff about it, sounds like it'll probably do for me, and I can get it from http://www.play.com for £40 so that'll do for me. We'll wait and see if I like or dislike it :)

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Post by fnordboy » Nov 8th 2002, 1:11 pm

Double Espresso wrote:Ha, typical the one person who replies gives it a bad review. Nevermind, I read some more stuff about it, sounds like it'll probably do for me, and I can get it from http://www.play.com for £40 so that'll do for me. We'll wait and see if I like or dislike it :)
Isn't that the way it always goes. Though actually i think the majority of people on here like that show so what do i know... :wink:

It just always has boggled my mind how people got so into that show. But I just have a different taste than alot of people here, like Buffy seems popular here and once again it makes no sense to me at all how that show is that popular.

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Post by K-man » Nov 8th 2002, 1:36 pm

I have never seen Felicity. The problem I had with that show was it replaced a show I used to love on the WB (Jack and Jill) and on principal I refuse to watch it. Yeah...Yeah man...I'll show the WB by God! :twisted: But with all the Felicity positives posted here I may give it a look. Time heals all I guess. Even old grudges against networks. And I have stated this before here in the forum but I agree with fnordboy about Buffy. It just never worked for me. But I do watch Angel religiuosly. I know....I'm an anomaly. :wink:
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Post by fnordboy » Nov 8th 2002, 1:43 pm

I always did like BtVS the movie.

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Post by smidge » Nov 8th 2002, 3:29 pm

Felicity has been, and I think still is airing in the UK. I believe it's on ITV2. A friend in England says she'd been watching season 4 recently.
I have never seen Felicity. The problem I had with that show was it replaced a show I used to love on the WB (Jack and Jill) and on principal I refuse to watch it. Yeah...Yeah man...I'll show the WB by God! But with all the Felicity positives posted here I may give it a look. Time heals all I guess. Even old grudges against networks.
Hee! I'm like that with "network grudges" too. Not that it does anything, but it makes me feel better. But just have to say that Felicity did not really replace Jack and Jill. Felicity had been on the air for two seasons before Jack and Jill even premiered. But Felicity and Jack and Jill were getting bad ratings, so they decided to put both Jack and Jill and Felicity on half-seasons, and see which did better. Felicity ran for 11 episodes in the fall of 2000, and Jack and Jill had 13 episodes in winter 2001. In the spring, Felicity came back, and in the fall they renewed Felicity and cancelled J&J. I read that if both had done very well in their half seasons, then the WB probably would have renewed both.

But I've got say I think Felicity was an excellent show. It got a bit raggedy by its fourth season, but if you were an MSCL fan, then you would probably like Felicity too.

Double Espresso, Felicity ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2002. It follows Felicity Porter, an Angela-Chase-ish college freshman who impulsively follows her high school crush Ben Covington to his college in New York, and jettisons all the plans her heart-surgeon father and overprotective mother had for her to attend Stanford in her hometown of Palo Alto, California, and to become a doctor. But along the way Felicity realizes she didn't really follow Ben because of a crush, she did it because as she says in the pilot, she feels like she's never made an important decision for herself before in her life, and following Ben was actually her heart and head telling her to be independent and see what life holds for her away from her family. Later on in the series, you learn more about her family life, and why she needed to be away from her parents. In the early seasons, there's a love triangle between Felicity, Ben and Noel. Noel is an earnest resident advisor in Felicity's dorm who develops a crush on her right away. So, for Felicity, it becomes a long-standing struggle between these two guys, the good-for-her, perfect boyfriend material Noel, and the hard-to-get Ben, who Felicity admits she always has this very strong emotional connection. The season one cliffhanger was a great one, and kept fans talking all summer about whether she picks Ben or Noel. Along with this romance stuff, Felicity had a great cast of supporting characters -- Felicity's gay coffee shop manager Javier (so funny!), her roommates and friends at college, her overbearing parents, and all these other interesting characters that she encounters as she goes through college and grows up a long the way.

Sigh, I loved this show as much as MSCL. I really did. Buy the DVD or catch it on ITV2. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Nov 8th 2002, 5:56 pm

fnordboy wrote:I always did like BtVS the movie.
One of my friends has NEVER watched the Buffy series because he said it could never top the movie. I thought he was kidding when he said that, but he was totally serious.

I, on the other hand, have never seen the movie, but I love the show.

Whenever I need a laugh, I go to imdb.com and look at the "memorable quotes" link for the show and I start cracking up.

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Re: "Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears,

Post by fnordboy » Nov 8th 2002, 6:05 pm

candygirl wrote:
fnordboy wrote:I always did like BtVS the movie.
I, on the other hand, have never seen the movie, but I love the show.
You need to see the movie. I would be really interested in your opinion of it since i know very few people that have not seen the movie but have seen the show.

The movie has Mr. Pee Wee Herman in it (not as pee wee though). You can not go wrong with that. And he has one of my most memorable scenes in the film.

The show could never top the movie...ever...atleast in my eyes. Besides Kristy Swanson is a lot better on the eyes than Sarah Michelle Gellar <shudder> what number nose job is she on now?

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Nov 8th 2002, 9:10 pm

My friend did cite Pee Wee as one of the things he really liked about the movie. I guess I will have to put it on my Netflix list!

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Post by Guest » Nov 11th 2002, 1:45 am

Well, I've seen both BTVS: the movie and BTVS: the series, so here's my take.

(Presented for your reading convenience in the form of a rambling diatribe.)

Paul Reubens' improvised death scene was a classic, no one can dispute that. The movie started it all, and is definitely worth seeing for anyone who likes the series.

Having said that, it is apparent that most, not all, but most fans, critics, and even Buffy's own creators, prefer the TV series.

According to the AMC Backstory of the BTVS movie, inexperienced director (and later TV Buffy exec. producer) Fran Rubel Kuzui had trouble leading the younger actors and wrangling in Donald Sutherland. The movie wandered away from creator Joss Whedon's original vision, and flopped at the box office. A few years later, Joss took a second chance with Buffy on the WB network, and the rest is history. In that Backstory, several of the show's creators said that the mistakes made and lessons learned during the movie helped them to make the TV series a winner. Finally, the movie has enjoyed cult status on VHS and DVD, and has been especially popular since the series renewed interest in Buffy's origins.

That was, as best as I can recall, the AMC version. Now I'll give you some more of own humble opinions.

I rented the movie when it first came out on VHS; it had some fresh ideas, but gave mixed performances. I enjoyed it as campy teen-slasher fare, and didn't give it a second thought. The premiere of the series drew little attention from me because, A: I didn't get the WB on basic cable, and B: between the WB's poor reputation and my memory of the movie I really didn't see much hope for a new Buffy. A friend of mine, however, was able to catch it and became an instant fan. After years of bugging from him I watched a few episodes and got hooked circa the season four finale, catching up with reruns on FX. I've since rented the movie again, and though I still don't think it a masterpiece, it was fascinating to see the parallels with TV Buffy. (The plot of the series, BTW, picks up where the movie left off.)

With 20/20 hindsight I now believe the movie was a kind of sacrificial pancake, which must be made first, even though no one will eat it, to insure the remainder of the batch is light and fluffy.

For anyone who liked the movie but is skeptical of the show: Like many hit TV series, it took a while for the cast and crew to find "the zone". Consequently, the first season is a bit awkward. You might find some episodes from the second or third seasons more to your liking.

I'll conclude my diatribe with a Slayer trait that didn't carry over from the movie to the show: Buffy sensed Vampires via precognitive PMS cramps. May I say... EEEEWWWWW!!!

:wink:

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Post by Nostradamus » Nov 11th 2002, 1:49 am

Oh, no. I hope the log-in problems aren't back. That was my diatribe.

P.S. I rather like Ms. Gellar's nose! :P
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Post by So-Called Loon » Nov 11th 2002, 2:04 am

Been a member since sometime BR (before Ross)

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Post by fnordboy » Nov 11th 2002, 4:09 am

Nostradamus wrote:Oh, no. I hope the log-in problems aren't back. That was my diatribe.

P.S. I rather like Ms. Gellar's nose! :P
Which version? :wink:

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Post by Nostradamus » Nov 11th 2002, 7:41 am

fnordboy wrote:
Nostradamus wrote:Oh, no. I hope the log-in problems aren't back. That was my diatribe.

P.S. I rather like Ms. Gellar's nose! :P
Which version? :wink:
Heh heh, um, all of them? :lol:
I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.
-- Clarence Darrow

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
-- Mark Twain

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