My So-Called Life to Quarterlife

Since I went on about entertainment yesterday, and I was entertained again last night, and yet again did not run, I thought I’d go on about entertainment again.

Firstly, I’ve been re-watching the amazing series My So-Called Life. It’s so shockingly accurate. It’s Freaks & Geeks and UnDeclared (a la Judd Apatow) before their (his) time. Among other things, I keep noticing the clothes. Unfortunately it’s true that we did dress like that. There’s one large flannel shirt that Angela wears all the time, it’s red, and I have documentation of myself wearing the exact same flannel shirt only in orange dancing with a boy at my first co-ed basement party. I find it hilarious. I don’t remember so many of the floral prints, but still, I remember the overly large grunge flannels over tight tank-tops and white-washed jeans. My mom also noted that they wear the same clothes all the time, which of course just makes it seem that much more true to life.
Anyways, beyond the fashion, it’s still so great. So well written, so well acted. It takes the nerd, the cheerleader, the bad-girl, the gay kid, the kid-sister, the out of reach crush, the bad-boy, the parents, everyone, it takes everyone and makes them relatable, all of them. It’s so genius. It’s so real. And of course, just like Freaks & Geeks and UnDeclared that would come later and seem familar, it was too good for television and only lasted one season.

From the writers, directors, producers, who-ever that created MSCL is now Quarterlife, which is going to air on television on the 26th. But before it does, it’s also airing on NBCs website. I’m not the best for getting my e-news online, like I said before –I go read the magazines at Borders and then try to remember to look it up later – so I don’t know the whole story about this show. But apparently it started on myspace, then became its own thing on its own website, quarterlife.com.
I don’t know about all that, but I watched the network pilot on NBC. For the most part, I liked it. Although it drives me nuts when shows try to cast themselves about every day people that all look like models, just without so much make-up (but that should just be assumed, I mean really, show me any television program with normal looking people. Even MSCL, besides Brian’s afro, were all pretty). Plus, why is it that they put glasses on a girl, and she’s supposed to be not as pretty or something. It’s like glasses are the “we’re trying to make this girl not look like a super model” go-to prop. Or the go-to prop for making anyone seem more alternative. One more thing about the physical look of the show – there are two characters, Lisa and Jed, who are the type of people that when I see them I think “They look like someone I know” but can’t quite actually figure out who that is.
Anyways, it was ok, good-looking twenty-somethings having un-requited love and not knowing how to handle life, basically MSCL only older. A line that may sum it up from the show was from that character Lisa I mentioned said: “You know what I hate about you? You act like such a victim and you’ve never had anything done to you.”
It’s in the middle of a monologue of the main character, Dylan, which Lisa is talking to that caught my attention:
Dylan: You’re lucky.
Lisa: I am? Why?
D: You just are. You’re lucky you don’t have a job, and smoking is bad for you.
L: I do have a job and shut up.
D. No, you have a place where they pay you for honest work, that’s not a job. A job is where you check your soul at the door and spend the day doing the bidding of others trying to exploit humanity.
L: Say that again?
D: Where you give up your dignity in order to help strip others of theirs. And where your biggest assist is being expendable. That’s a job.

I find this to be somewhat accurate, except that I think by 25 you know that going in. I don’t think the character would be so shocked to find that out. It’s television; good looking people speaking much deeper, truer, and wittier than anyone actually sounds. But it’s by the same group that brought us MSCL, I think Jed is cute, and I can watch it whenever I want on the computer, so I’m in and I'm telling you about it.