First Impressions

chocolateboy · Post by **chocolateboy** » Jun 1st 2003, 8:38 pm

Anonymous wrote:Chocolateboy I was just wondering what sparked your interest in buying/watching the dvds???

Hi there.

I just saw/heard it mentioned (in hushed, "holy grail" tones) in lots of places I respect.

Television Without Pity bigs it up all the time. In particular it crops up a couple of times on the reviewers' lists of their favourite shows.

Marti Noxon says on the commentary to one of the Buffy Season 6 eps that she thinks of the show as "My So-Called Life with vampires". And I've heard that line before.

Plus, I went through a huge long-term relationship with Jerry Maguire, which has a whole lotta Winnie in it - although I didn't realize at the time that she was literally in it as well as one of its muses! Maybe I heard Cameron Crowe namecheck it somewhere.

All this meant I was googling around to see if there was a DVD at roughly the same time AU first announced it, although I wanted to wait till it was released before ponying up any cash. When it finally did show, I think it was TV Shows On DVD that gave me the heads-up about this site, thanks to whom I managed to avoid the whole rip-off thing. Ended up getting it from Amazon. I even wrote play.com (big online UK DVD vendor) to scold them for not stocking it - something they quickly rectified. So anyone who's bought the DVD from them has me to thank

I worship at the shrine of the "The Great American TV Show", of which there have been many in the past decade (in my fanboy opinion); on top of which, I have a long-standing teen angst habit I have absolutely no intention of getting rid of

so there was never any chance I would remain ignorant of MSCL forever!

love,
chocolateboy.

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jun 1st 2003, 11:31 pm

chocolateboy wrote:Marti Noxon says on the commentary to one of the Buffy Season 6 eps that she thinks of the show as "My So-Called Life with vampires".

Joss Whedon himself said during S1 that BtVS is My So-Called Life meets the X-Files (as quoted at Zap2It). To that end, he says, "When I get together with my writing team, I ask them, 'What is your favorite horror movie? What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? Now, how can we combine the two?'...In the series, we have taken real-life situations that reflect a grotesque parody. And most people remember high school very clearly, so they understand how horrific it all can be."

MSCL also captured that feeling (although without the actual monsters and demons) - it makes me remember what it was like when figuring out how to cross paths with someone I liked was the most important thing in my day, instead of worrying about how to come up with enough money to pay the bills. It reminds me what it's like to feel alone, even when surrounded by people. The show also reminds me of that giddy feeling when I finally talked to a guy that I liked, the high of getting away with doing something silly, and the warmth of being with my friends.

The fact that ME was emulating MSCL to an extent explains part of the reason why I love BtVS!

chocolateboy · Post by **chocolateboy** » Jun 2nd 2003, 4:38 pm

candygirl wrote:Joss Whedon himself said during S1 that BtVS is My So-Called Life meets the X-Files (as quoted at Zap2It)

Yup, that's exactly the quote I was thinking of! Blame Joss

MSCL also captured that feeling (although without the actual monsters and demons) - it makes me remember what it was like when figuring out how to cross paths with someone I liked was the most important thing in my day, instead of worrying about how to come up with enough money to pay the bills. It reminds me what it's like to feel alone, even when surrounded by people. The show also reminds me of that giddy feeling when I finally talked to a guy that I liked, the high of getting away with doing something silly, and the warmth of being with my friends.

Perhaps the only good point about being... ahem... a romantically retarded mumble-something as I am is that those high school humiliations, passions and obsessions never quite go away. Unfortunately, neither do the bills!

love,
chocolateboy.

The Talented Krakow · Post by **The Talented Krakow** » Jun 24th 2003, 11:01 am

As some of you maybe already read in the Newbie topic in the Your So-Called Life forum, I'm new to the serie.

I don't know where to start, but let's say this serie showed up in my life at the perfect time. When I saw the first episode I was totally amazed. I can't explain what happened, but it hit me right in my heart, and I never ever felt so emotional about something like this in my entire life. Like magic.

I love almost every single character in the show: Angela most of all, but also Rickie, Jordan, Brian, Danielle, Rayanne, Katimsky, Sharon, Graham and even Patty. I'm not sure what to think about Kyle though, he seems like a jerk to me.. Never before did I see such warm and realistic characters on a TV show or movie, and that was truly amazing. I just started to care about them or even love them, feeling sorry for them whenever something terrible happened, understanding their problems, and wishing that I could just step into the show to help them.

I watched the last episode yesterday, and I don't know how to feel. It was the most amazing end I could hope for. I actually expected it to end with Angela forgiving Rayanne and that they became friends again, but I bet they wanted to let that open for a second season. The way it did end however, was so incredibly beautiful. For about the first time in his life someone respected Brian, and though he could never be Angela's boyfriend, it must have made him feel really good.

About the other First Impression topic: I can't really relate to what chocolate boy describes in the end:

Now that it's over I want to commit suicide or fall in love. Perhaps both at the same time. I know that things can't be the same because I'm not the same.

Yeah, I'd like to fall in love, but I don't want to commit suicide at all. On the contrary, it feels as if MSCL has opened my eyes (like it sais on the DVD cover), and I feel more alive then ever before. Nothing's more true however then "I know that things can't be the same because I'm not the same."

So now I'm here. I can't get MSCL off my mind, and really wanted to tell someone my thoughts and feelings, so that's why I created this post. Feel free to reply anything you want.

The Talented Krakow · Post by **The Talented Krakow** » Jul 9th 2003, 9:55 am

Seems that nobody's interested in my story.. Oh well, nevermind..

Megs · Post by **Megs** » Jul 9th 2003, 11:59 am

I read it, and I found it very interesting. It's just slow on the boards these days. It's always great to hear what drew someone to the show.

I also didn't feel like (figuratively) committing suicide after watching the last episode in full for the first time when I got my DVDs. I think that it was poetic justice that the show ended like it did. I think it was the perfect ending. Would I have loved to see more seasons? Yes, but typically, shows that start out brilliantly lose their luster. If MSCL had been on for more seasons and lost it's luster, then I would've felt like (figuratively) committing suicide.

It was a beautiful sentiment chocolateboy had.

The Talented Krakow · Post by **The Talented Krakow** » Jul 10th 2003, 4:51 am

Thanks for your reply. I absolutely agree. It's better that there was one great season, then when there were more seasons that sucked.

What I meant in the committing suicide part was actually that chocolateboy seemed to be kind of somber after watching the last episode, and that I didn't really feel that way. I mean, it was very emotional and all, but also very beautiful. And that made me feel good.

It's weird because I thought I could completely relate to what he said after I had watched the first six episodes. But after the last one, I had kind of peace with the idea that it ended there, and would never go on.

Megs · Post by **Megs** » Jul 10th 2003, 9:07 am

The Talented Krakow wrote:It's weird because I thought I could completely relate to what he said after I had watched the first six episodes. But after the last one, I had kind of peace with the idea that it ended there, and would never go on.

Exactly.

dTheater · Post by **dTheater** » Jul 10th 2003, 11:11 pm

Are you new to the forum or new to MSCL? I'm curious how new fans stumble onto MSCL after all these years.

The Talented Krakow · Post by **The Talented Krakow** » Jul 11th 2003, 5:47 am

dTheater wrote:Are you new to the forum or new to MSCL? I'm curious how new fans stumble onto MSCL after all these years.

To both. I copy from my introduction post in the your so-called life forum:

The Talented Krakow wrote:Hi, another newbie here. Not just to this forums, also to the series. For too long this serie was unknown for me, but I finally discovered it. I never saw it on television, and untill a month ago I never heard of it, but then I read some things about it on websites about Claire Danes (I just love Romeo and Juliet), and read some more about it on the internet, and downloaded some clips. It got me interested, and I decided to order the DVD box with all 19 episodes, and it totally blew me away.

Emeralduk · Post by **Emeralduk** » Aug 15th 2003, 7:12 am

I'm completely new to all things MSCL too. As I live in the UK, and spent my money on other things, it took me a while to get a multi-region DVD player. I had MSCL in the back of my head for about a year until I finally signed up for paypal and was able to buy the DVD box set off of Ebay from a US seller.
I agree with 'The Talented Krakow' that in a way it's good that MSCL didn't run for years and years, as like most shows do, they run out of good ideas. Egs: Dawson's Creek - good up to season 3, Buffy - good up to season 5. But that's just my opinion.

*~Emerald~*

The Talented Krakow · Post by **The Talented Krakow** » Aug 15th 2003, 10:47 am

Nice to hear there are more people that didn't know the show before. Like somebody posted in Chocolateboy's First Impressions topic it's amazing that after all these years still new people discover it. That shows the true quality of it.

Nostradamus · Post by **Nostradamus** » Aug 17th 2003, 6:53 am

With the new generation of younger fans (welcome to the forum, BTW

) MSCL is moving closer to a true "cult" following, like Monty Python or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If we ever get around to having that mini-convention, maybe we can dress up like the characters and shout back at the screen...

"Just suck it up and TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL!"

"No! Don't scalp the Dead tickets!" --she does-- "D'oh!"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Aug 17th 2003, 6:22 pm

Nostradamus wrote:With the new generation of younger fans (welcome to the forum, BTW ) MSCL is moving closer to a true "cult" following, like Monty Python or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If we ever get around to having that mini-convention, maybe we can dress up like the characters and shout back at the screen...

"Just suck it up and TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL!"

"No! Don't scalp the Dead tickets!" --she does-- "D'oh!"

great thinking, i think i'll go as Ricki dressed up as Brian at halloween.
"Brian shut up and take Delia to the dance you bastard!"

Oldguyy · Post by **Oldguyy** » Aug 24th 2003, 5:39 pm

Hi ---- I'm glad to see MSCL is still popular after all these years. I was really blown away by the show during it's original run and I used to post a lot on this site a few years ago. This is my first time back in a long while (I forgot my old password and email address, so I just registered new!).

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