10 Christmas TV chestnuts

[Sascha]

MSCL is among Neal Justin's 10 Christmas TV chestnuts:

"My So-Called Life: So-Called Angels" (1994): When Angela (Claire Danes) goes searching for Rickie (Wilson Cruz) she discovers an abandoned building full of homeless children, including an angelic Juliana Hatfield. This is a tough hour that deals with death, suicide and child abuse, but it's as powerful and as moving as TV has ever been. Whoever canceled this gem deserves a flaming hot coal in his stocking.

See the other nine here: http://www.startribune.com/stories/1706/5148243.html

[Crescendo]

Wow, that's great quote. Cool person wrote that, but

call me crazy...

and i swear i've watched this episode many times...

but which character tried or hinted at committing suicide?

[SanDeE*]

Perhaps that person doesn't have the dvd box set, and can't check for sure.

[toolostinyou]

and they sure as hell weren't staying up till 4AM to see the episode again on noggin!!!

[Nostradamus]

Didn't Jimmy Stewart's character attempt suicide in It's a Wonderful Life, the movie which was often seen playing in the background (and from which the MSCL production company drew its name)?

[TooCool4Skool]

Didn't Jimmy Stewart's character attempt suicide in It's a Wonderful Life, the movie which was often seen playing in the background (and from which the MSCL production company drew its name)?

That's a really good point. I never really thought about it...

[TomSpeed]

You could say that the So-Called Angel commits suicide by running away from home and freezing to death. Patty fears that the same fate with befall Angela.

[emmie]

it's been a long time since I've seen this episode. but could they be referring to Rickie? I mean, he did leave the Chase's. I've never thought of this episode as having a suicide theme, but maybe to someone who is new might think of it that way if they hadn't seen many eps.

I don't know...I'm reaching... LOL

[Jody Barsch*]

Ok, I randomly originally posted this in another thread, but here it is again:

There is no direct reference to suicide in this episode. The author may have been referencing Brian's call to the Teen Helpline, thinking that it was instead a Suicide Helpline. Or, the author may have been confused about the cause of death for Juliana's character or the other voices of the lost children -- thinking it was suicide rather than freezing or hunger. While Rickie certainly feels misplaced and forsaken, there is no evidence that he was contemplating suicide.

And yes, George Bailey does almost attempt a suicide in It's a Wonderful Life - prompted by the Bailey's Building & Loan's missing money, and the cold fact that strictly monetarily speaking, he is worth more dead than alive - which is when Clarence the angel intervenes. Juliana's intervention in So-Called Angels is certainly reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life.