When Your Town Becomes a TV Set

My local diner. (c)PipPepPop

Sometimes I'm sitting on the couch watching TV and you vaguely think, "Hmm, that  location in a TV show looks familiar..."
Is it deja vu? Is it a rerun? Or more than likely, I've been to this spot IRL. TV shows such as

• Blindspot
• Quantico,
• YOU
• The Sinner
• Billions
•  Forever
•  Law and Order
•  The Blacklist
•  The Good Wife
•  Girls
• Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and even ED (that was back in 2000, but it was the first show) have used my quaint NYC-adjacent suburb for location shoots.

 For the particular location on the left, a 2018  NBC Superbowl preview blew my mind. Not only was the plot of the show familiar (if you've seen Glee), but the locations or Rise were eerily close to home. Literally, they were a five to 10 minute drive from my house. There have been several times over the last few years when I would see the police roping off  my local coffee shop with cameras in the middle of the night or on afternoons after they close. Rise used locations including our local coffee shop, Sparkys.  the power plant, the old village downtown by my mechanic, the old dye factory that now houses a brewery and artist space. Rise is the story of a frustrated English teacher (Josh Radnor) that convinces the popular school quarterback, Robbie, to join the school musical.  This production of Spring Awakening rubs the downtrodden mining community the wrong way.  This town is not as free-wheeling as Beverly Hills in the NEW 90210. It sends shock waves through the athletic community and shakes up the theatre club, run by the touchy Ms. Wolfe (Rosie Perez).
The central romance that begins between Robbie (Damon J Gillespie)  and the waitress wallflower and new leading lady Lillette (Auli'li Cravalho) causes tons of teenage drama, when the group is not dealing with divorce, teen pregnancy, gender and sexual  identity, and alcoholism.



Where does my local diner fit into the story? Lillette and her mom are waitresses at the diner. She and Robbie practice their lines in between serving pancakes coffee. It blows my mind every time I visit the diner because I can''t believe it's been on TV and in movies (see Brad Pitt's 'True Story' movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Yes, this is the same place my friends and I would meet for the occasional breakfast in high school! It guess it's out version of  The Max, or The Peach Pit.

The restaurant is small, but there are always about 15 cars parked outside. It's impossible to find a spot at 11 AM on a weekend, so you'll park on the nearby residential street and walk over. There can be a wait, but they turn the tables over quickly. The big banners tied up outside (taken down for filming) congratulate the town on the recent 400th anniversary (back in 2016) and champion the high school's sports teams, promising that all of our all athletes are winners. Across the street, there are two strip malls with a deli, nail salon etc... but the diner looks more isolated.

The narrow, rectangular room has big windows with  puffy curtains next to each of the booths.The walls are adorned with local memorabilia, news clippings, and tributes to victims of 9/11.  Regular patrons help themselves to coffee behind the counter. There are about 20 personal mugs that hang on the wall, mostly for the retiree crowd that holds court in there every morning. Weekends have families coming in from soccer practice or little league, and the juice comes in tine 8 oz. glasses. They only take cash, but there's an ATM in the entrance. Nothing on the menu is over $10.00, even the specials with coffee, eggs and toast. It feels like home, and it is my home.

It's a surreal feeling, seeing my hometown on T.V. It's even worse when your town is shown as a  falling apart town in the heart of former mining country. After talking to other kids that grew up here, we sympathized that our town looked pretty bad. Here are some truths and falsehoods.

• Yes, the power plant in the promo is our power plant. It's by the by the town pool, and it's not really operational anymore. They show alleged that shutting down the wines ruined the town and made everyone poor.  This story is slightly different; shutting down the plant increased the school taxes a ton.
• The abandoned factory where the kids hung out was abandoned, but in  the 1930's when the town stopped being the brick-making capitol of the world. It had been operational since the civil war. It was used to make solider uniforms.  It's been revitalized over the last 15 years and rebuilt after hurricane Sandy damage. The building houses restaurants, artist studios, a brewery, a yoga studio, and some industrial design showrooms.
• The downtown street, called 'the village' and the school front they show do not represent the decor of the whole town. This particular section of town is down by the river and has a few blocks of old, cute (brick) historical buildings. Down the street from the village, from there are high-rise condos and the majority of the houses in the town were built post 1970. The middle school building has been around since the early 1900's and used to  be the only school in town, but we have about 8 schools in the district now.

Same Stars Hollow, Different Gilmores

(c) PipPepPop
X-mas present- Luke's shirt

     I watched the Netflix original revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life  5 months ago. I have written about it for days at a time. I have lost a little bit of sleep over it. I have read all of the fan theories.  I have had endless conversations with my mom, out of the blue, about the final 4 words. TV critic Michael Ausiello loved the ending. I differ in opinion. We do both agree the show reached a natural conclusion (see below) that a 2nd season would be overkill. It would take away from this gift season. We both agree that the story reached a natural conclusion, as I will outline below. In brief, I didn't love it. While I (and apparently Rory herself) didn't hate it, but I'm somewhere in the middle. One thing is clear, all 3 generations of Gilmore Girls are going through some growing pains, as seen in the trailer.



    At least I am relieved not hear  "Who is Rory (Alexis Bledel) going to end up with? theories anymore. This issue was resolved in a way, but also not resolved. On an episode of "The Shipping Room"podcast, Will Choi (co-host of another podcast with Gilmore Girls actress Keiko Agnea) remarked that Rory should choose books! I'd be happy if Rory would choose something, a home, a career etc... While there was closure to her relationship with Dean (Jared Padadecki), she had odd interactions with Jess and Logan. I was originally on "Team Dean" back when I had my first Baby-G watch like Rory. Once that ship sailed (and Dean cheated on his wife with Rory), it was time to move on. I always disliked Jess. He is rude. Despite his emotional growth (off-screen) in the later seasons, he is not right for Rory. People have called him the Luke of this relationship, but I feel like he is more of a young Christopher. Jess knows Rory so well, but in the long-term they're not compatible. Maybe it's due to timing, but they're never been in the same place emotionally at the same time. In the words of Joey Tribbani, it's a moo point.

Rory lamenting to Jess about Logan
Gif from Celebuzz

     I have a severe problem with Jess and Rory being together and Lorelei and Luke being together. The only relationship I dislike more than this on the show (and I really love the townspeople and their quirky relationships like Babette and Morty) is Lane and Zach. All I'm going to say about them is that I feel bad for Lane. She's trapped (my opinion but I'm not alone)  in a marriage with Zach and they have twin boys and she just didn't measure up to her greatest potential. I blame Dave Rygalski's (Adam Brody) leaving in season 3 for all of it. But, let's get back to the potential kissing cousins. (SPOILER- Lorelei and Luke got married, and with their marriage, Rory and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) are cousins. Jess's uncle married Rory's mom and they're cousins through marriage. The two couples being together would be some serious backwoods stuff. IT'S CREEPY!! They cannot date without a whole lot of weirdness, if they were to ever date again. It's already been weird enough having a family dinner with Emily, Lorelei, Rory and Luke. If we throw Jess in there, it's going to go from a Neil Simon play to a Chekhov play. This is another reason I'm on team Logan.

     I have a lot of problems with present Rory as a character. She is extremely entitled most Yale grads. Old Rory never smelled of privilege, always remaining humble and classy. There is a complete lack of responsibility for present Rory. She's unmotivated and she doesn't want to get a real job like any other respectable 30+ year old. In sharp contrast to this, Lorelei at the same age was working full time, dating, working on her relationship with her parents, and raising a teenager. I'll get to her in a bit, though. Where did she go wrong with Rory? Rory went to great schools and had amazing opportunities. She wrote one amazing article a ways back, and the only gainful employment she can muster up is to be the unpaid editor of the local town paper. She blows her meeting with Conde Nast, as well as her interview with website Sandee Says. Rory expects that Sandee will hand her a desk. ll she prepares is her lucky outfit, which she spends months looking for in various cities. Rory cannot find any of her clothes because they are in NYC with Paris, in Stars Hollow with mom or with Lane, at her grandmother's in Connecticut, and in London with Logan. I'm all for living a multi-city life, but Rory is literally running from one town to another. She is throwing up major flares,  making a desperate attempt not to put down roots. It's downright embarrassing.

     In a long list of embarrassing things Rory is doing, she is still sleeping with Logan Huntsberger (Matt Czuchry). I may be on team Logan, but it's got it's flaws. Rory and Logan are not in a relationship. She has a oft-forgot (and joked to death) boyfriend, Paul.  He seems like a nice guy, so he is clearly wrong fro Rory. She doesn't deserve a nice guy. Logan has an absent fiancee and is based out of London. When Rory is there, they adapt a French casual "what happens in London stays in London" attitude. Give me a break! Does Rory have so little self-respect that she would continue shacking up her playboy college boyfriend? Maybe you do this for a couple of years in your early 20's and you convince yourself it's NBD. Now it's just pathetic. Logan still calls her "Ace" like they're in a 1940's detective movie. It's wrong. as much as I want to hate him, they're equally to blame for this bad behavior. Logan's parents never thought highly of Rory, despite her attending the best schools in Connecticut and being the granddaughter of the Hartford Gilmores. Mr. Huntsberger offered Rory a job on his newspaper in college,  warning that she might not be able to cut it as a reporter. It's almost as if he had a crystal ball, because she seems to really suck at it now. When researching lines in NYC, Rory fell asleep, ditched her mom in line, and slept with a guy dressed like Chewbacca.

Gif from Buzzfeed

     Rory was always hungry for knowledge, strong-willed and optimistic, but her greatest accomplishment in the first two episodes was sleeping with a guy in a Wookie (yes, a Chewbacca) costume while researching a story about lines. Which brings us to the final four words: "Mom, I'm pregnant." Rory ended up in the same spot as her mom, an unwed mother with an unsettled life. But as mentioned before, Lorelei pushed away her boyfriend Christopher. She got a job and supported a child without help from her parents. She was strong enough to raise a kid by herself. I'm not sure Rory can handle it. She's been coddled most of her life, and everyone is telling her how great she is. Logan and his merry band of Life-and-Death Brigade buddies were bid a fond farewell by Rory. It seems clear she doesn't want him involved in the child's life. Let's push aside all of the crazy theories (it's the Wookie's baby, it's Jess's baby, it's Luke and Lorelei's surrogate baby) and face some cold hard facts. This had to be Logan's baby and after talking to her dad, Rory seemed convinced she could do this alone.  Rory now has to make some choices. She needs in this order: a steady job, a permanent home, and a partner.

     Compared to per best buddy Paris (MD, JD and mother of 2), Rory is a fast food employee. At Chilton career day, Rory was offered a teaching position by the headmaster. I think that was a perfect option, but Rory shrugged it off. It would mean going back to school for a masters, and we know Rory is allergic to responsibility. Rory seemed skilled enough to excite her teenage charges, and she really thrived when she went to Chilton. They all thought she walked on water when she went there. In comparison, Paris Gellar McMaster (Liza Weil) is falling apart at career day. She may have peaked too soon and passed her mania about the real world to the Chilton students. Paris had it all, but her kids were a little uptight and being raised by a nanny they may love more than mom. Paris seems dangerously close to turning into her own absentee parents.  The only thing working against the nanny is that she hated the 5 flights of stairs in their brownstone. Paris is also on the brink of divorce with her husband Doyle, who sold a screenplay and became a West Coast duchebag. Nobody is perfect, but Paris represents a completely different take on the 30-something life than Rory.

Image from Tumblr

I'm going to switch gears to discuss the aforementioned Lorelei (nee Gilmore) Danes. We pick up with her and  Luke where we left them 8 years ago, just hanging out. They're in their late 40's and they don't want to be married. they don't want a baby (After Paris's scary fertility clinic pitch, it's clear they don't want to raise a baby together either. A third option they also turn down is Emily's offer to pay to expand  Luke's small hometown diner. This almost ends their relationship because Luke keeps the offer a secret from Lorelei. The couple reverts back to the same communication problems they had the last time, together but they're not committed, feeling things, but not sharing them with their partner. We also can all admit that it's taken years for Luke to get over his gruff old-man way of communicating with people (still giving out a fake Wifi password for the diner to people that linger like it's Starbucks). So they're chugging along with their quiet life in Stars Hollow, attending town meetings, movie nights, and the occasional secret speakeasy. With the passing of Lorelei's beloved father Richard, she begins to reassess their situation. Lorelei selfishly lashes out at her mom, Rory and "her guy" about the stupidest things, refusing to let Rory write a book about their life as a mother-daughter duo.  Both members of the couple are restless in this current state, both scaredy cats, for lack of a better word (thanks Rugrats) to pull the trigger and make a commitment.
 
     What's going to give them pair a push to move on? I had to remind myself the pair were engaged once before.  Lorelei reminded us they both have taken the plunge (she with Christopher and he with Nicole) with other people. It didn't last for either couple. Are they so emotionally damaged that they can't function? No, I think the problem is rooted in each of their fears. Lorelei loves so openly and freely that love seems to scare her. Her parents never seems to return her affection, and people always leave. Her best friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) went away for a short class and ditched her husband and kids to study roots in Vermont. What kind of friend and business partner does that? Lorelei is trapped professionally too. She has to keep breaking in new chefs at the Inn, and the threat of her front desk manager Michele leaving is all too real. She couldn't expand the inn, but they desperately needed more space so they could continue to do business. If she could raise the money to buy an abandoned convent (just go with it), she could expand the inn and do something professionally stimulating.

     On a "Wild" themed hiking trip, Lorelei remembered a story about her dad. She never shared it at the funeral, and it almost ruined her relationship with Emily. She calls her mom to share the story, and in that moment, Lorelei realized her dad did love her. She's ready to move forward with Luke and she knows that love is real. She needs that official recognition of them as a couple and she even wants to have the same love her parents had.  She finally makes peace with Emily,and I think this is the crucial step for Lorelei to move forward. It takes the breakthrough about her dad to give Lorelei the courage to ask her mother for a loan. She promises more Friday night dinners with her and Luke in exchange for the money to buy the convent. In the end, like the beginning, the Gilmores take a small step toward being a family.

     On the other hand, Luke is still working on trying to verbally identify his feelings. They have to meet in the middle to progress. As an example, Lorelei offers Luke money for his daughter April's summer trip to Europe and he turns her down. He hasn't reached that level of their relationship that it's okay to share stuff, money, kids etc..  In the past, he shut out Lorelei from getting to know his daughter, which drove a wedge between them. It takes several encounters with Emily to make Luke (a) extremely uncomfortable and (b) desperate to make Lorelei happy. He may never be Mr. Happy, but he can handle being Mr. dinner with the in-laws.

Emily talking smack. Gif from Celebuzz.

     Emily (Kelly Bishop) is the final Gilmore Girl and had the most dramatic journey of the series. She commented when Richard had one of his heart attacks that she only knew how to be Richard Gilmore's wife. While she was not as stuffy as Richard's mother, her place was clearly established from the day she said "I do." It was full of work dinners, yelling at the maids, galas, DAR meetings, garden clubs and grand European vacations. She may have come from a plain background like Rory, but Emily became someone who mattered. She became so self-important she was downright rude. She definitely could have gone easier on Lorelei as a kid. That could have changed a lot of things. When Richard passed away, Emily was lost. She lashed out at Lorelei way more than she should have, but she literally didn't know what to do because she had been operating the same way for over 50 years. I was so satisfied when Emily told off the DAR after they humored a trophy wife with an interview. She used her tenacity to finally stick it to people that deserved it for once, instead of the maids, the caterers, and her family.

     I was heartened to see Emily trying to find her bliss, which seems be be working as a museum guide at a whaling museum. Emily's little cottage up in Rhode Island was adorable. She seemed at home for once, surrounded by her maid's various family members and children. Emily even seemed to find a companion in Richard's old friend, Jack Smith (Ray Wise).  This seemed to be brewing as early as Richard's funeral (they move fast here), Jack was there to lend a shoulder, and Emily was not quite interested at the time. This really set of Lorelei and led to the rift-inciting bad funeral story. I'm not saying they need to marry again, but she found someone to  keep her company.  Emily almost didn't need Jack. It was gratifying to see her passing off his briefcase and shooing him away from the cottage when he had to unexpectedly to go back to work. The only thing I cannot wrap my head around is how Lorelei could decide to get married the night before the wedding (because she was so excited/nervous). There was no way Emily could make it there in time from Rhode Island, and I think that was the idea. I also think it was insensitive. Emily has had one hope in her motherly bones, and it's to marry off her daughter to a nice man. It finally was about to happen and she was sitting at home, drinking wine. I'm going to assume Rory, Michele, Kirk, Lane and the town reverend pretended it didn't happen, and woke up the next day to do it all over again. The end!

The ACM Awards: Like the High School of Country Music

Imgur GIF from "Not Another Teen Movie" 

   Sometimes the adult world feels a lot like high school. Award shows are no exception to this rule. Tonight we're exploring the stars of the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) and comparing them to characters from teen shows and movies. Get those tropes ready, we're going to see them in full force. Consult the below dictionary for you favorite country star. * These titles are all bestowed with Love!


Brett Eldredge
A true showman who, will run rhoguh the audience and serenade showgirls during his song.  Brett has the soulful eyes of a heart breaker and the deep emotions of a guy that will do anything for love. Character: Patrick  (Heath Ledger) from 10 Things I Hate About You

Brothers Osborne
I love brothers Osborne. They have a great album of songs that are great for chilling, like Rum. They have a great band energy as well because they're brothers. I'm bestowing on them a double teen movie honor: best bad comprised of the same guys in multiple movies. In Can't Hardly Wait, both Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison are in the band playing at the big party. In Josie and the Pussycats, the same two are in the boy band DuJour, along with CHW cast member Seth Green. I love that there is an unofficial band reunion for these guys in multiple movies!

Carrie Underwood
Carrie is one of America's literal idols. She sings sweetly, but if you get on her bad side, she's going to bash in your car (Before He Cheats) or possible murder you with poison (Church Bells). Part of me really wanted to bring Carrie together with vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caufield) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I considered it again, and Anya starts out as a villain and becomes endearing to the audience (fear of bunnies and all). But Carrie is on another level, so I have selected Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Rachel Bloom's Rebecca charms us with every song she sings, even if she's plotting unspeakable revenge. She says, "She's just a girl in love and can't be held responsible for her actions, (faking a pregnancy, faking a break-in, faking a relationship)  and the creepy Josh drawer that played The Entertainer.

Darius Rucker
I feel like Darius Rucker is the cool teacher in this scenario for a variety of reasons. He already had his first career as a touring pop band vocalist, then reinvented himself as a country star. Since then, he has won Grammys and become one of the most active members of the Grand Old Opry. His teacher spirit would be like Mr. Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn) on Boy Meets World.

Dierks Bentley
He's always up for helping out a buddy. Dierks performed his own song, sang with Cole Swindell and co-hosted the show with Luke Bryan. When does this guy sleep? When he's not getting Drunk on a Plane, Bentley is serenading his wife Katie in the sultry song Black. Dierks is a lot like Lucas Scott in One Tree Hill, a jack of all trades. Chad Michael Murray's Lucas plays varsity basketball, writes a novel, helps his mom run a cafe and later also a music venue, and manages to be everyone's best friend before gradating Tree Hill High.

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
They just put a new duet out this week, and they've been been married for 21 years. The McGraw-Hill group's (publishing joke) idea of a good family adventure is going out on tour for a year together. These two are just like Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Kelsea Ballerini
The girl next door that's starting to show her true feelings. Ballerini is the female vocalist of the year! Her cute and flirty songs like Dibs and  Yeah Boy reminds me of  Joey Potter ( Katie Holmes) singing All By Myself, knowing that she has feelings for Pacey on Dawson's Creek.

Jason Aldean
He's quite the opposite on stage from the persona in his party anthems. Aldean is a sensitive soul buried under a scowl and a wounded soul. He is the essence of the Friday Night Lights troubled footballer Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), who falls in love with his paralyzed best friend's girlfriend.

Keith Urban 
As an Aussie, I would love to put Urban in the "cool foreign guy" category, but I would probably have to go back to Saved by the Bell to find a cool foreign guy. Scratch that, Screech once pretended to be a Russian chess player, so this category is not going to work. I think Urban is best suited as the cool actor guy, like Josh Duhmael's Tad in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. As soon as he shows up in a small town, all the girls are falling over him.

Kacey Musgraves
Mentioned for her nomination, but not shown during the show, Kacey is no stranger to being an outcast. She last won an ACM in 2014 for best album, The also nabbed countless wards and a Best New artist Grammy. Musgraves has lost a lot of radio support for just being herself. I love her desire not to be part of The Old Boy's Club and she has earned the title of Veronica Mars. Kristen Bell's likable loner was misunderstood by her peers, but she solved more mysteries than the town sheriff's department and she always got the last laugh.

Florida Georgia Line
FGL 's Tyler and Brian represent the bro-iest bros around. But they're definitely the little brother  in this situation looking for some camaraderie with their older brothers. FGL and the Backstreet Boys united together for their new single God, Your Mama and Me, then brought down the house with Backstreet's Back. Stay tuned this week for my review of #BSBVegas, because it was epic. I'm going to honor this southern brotherhood with the Brothers of Kappa Tau (honorable mention to Scott Michael Foster as leader Cappie) on the show Greek.

Little Big Town
This band represents the  rock-solid couple from freshman year. They are as sweet to each other as they are to everyone around them. They even show up in coordinated outfits, which looks great in their Group of the Year winner photo. I'm going to give them Murray (Donald Faison) and Dionne (Stacey Dash) from Clueless, minus the fighting.

Luke Bryan
Bryan is the All-American boy. He can sing, dance, host, cry, laugh, and pose with a Chippendale dancer all in the same night. Luke is well liked, but she is completely approachable. He has a huge heart, looking after his orphaned nieces and nephew. Luke is like Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Zack in She's All That. Everyone loves Zack as the soccer team captain, head of the class and student body president. He can look past the shy girl and see the hotness beneath. As a bonus, Zack's hackey sac performance art reminds me of Bryan's recent soul-bearing Tonight Show song about how to pronounce  the Greek delicacy Gyro.

Maren Morris
This girl's got edge, and I'm not just talking about her Joan Jett-inspired wavy bob and nose ring. He breakout single last year My Church likened Johnny Cash to a spiritual awakening. Her most recent hit 80's Merdeces is light and breezy. I think Morris is best repented by Oscar Winner Emma Stone's Olive in Easy A. She may seem pretty tough on the outside, but she's just a bit misunderstood and she runs with it.

Miranda Lambert
This album of the year winner wrote a double album about her divorce, titled "The Heart" and "The Nerve." She's no stranger to falling apart (Mama's Broken Heart, Vice), and she's trying to dig herself our of a hole from a very messy public divorce from Blake Shelton. She's a dark horse, a Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) in Gossip Girl. Stay on her good side, or you might find your house doused in Kerosene.

Old Dominion
Their addictive hit from last spring Break Up with Him was Back to the Future themed! This is just another teen drama fact. I'm going to classify these guys as Josie and the Pussycats (movie version) because they are always checking pop culture and other music in their songs, like in Song for Another Time.

Reba
Reba is the fairy godmother of country music. She looks down on everyone offering motherly advice, and now she sings gospel songs. I'm going to credit Reba as the wise Iona, played by Annie Potts in Pretty in Pink. Iona offered Andie guidance while she tried to work out her feelings for Blaine, although she should have stepped in when Andie created that monstrous pink prom dress.

Sam Hunt
Mr. Hunt has become well known for his sexy sing/talk mix, called "sam hunting" by some radio DJ's. He wrote an album of  breakup songs about a girl, and now they're engaged. Tonight during his Body Like a Back Road, Hunt sat in the audience with his arm around Hanna Lee, serenading her as he described how well he knew her curves. Hunt is totally Dan Humphrey (Penn Bagley, aka Gossip Girl), who pines after Serena van der Woodsen for years. While publicly pursing Serena, Dan  almost destroys the lives of all their friends and family on their way to eventual marriage.

Taylor Swift
She's not at the awards in person tonight, but it's like she almost was there. She's like that girl that moved away to another school that you still think about. Even though she's off in a new scene, she's still sending songs like "Better Man" to Little Big Town, cinching their Group of the Year award win. I would say she is similar to Amy Jo Johnson's character Julie on Felicity. She became friends with Felicity, made the Felicity-Ben-Noel triangle into a rhombus, wrote some songs, and then split before college was over.

Thomas Rhett
This guy doesn't do anything halfway. He set the world record for largest twister game for the release of his 2015 Tangled Up album.  He sings that he would die a happy man just holding his wife Lauren's hand, then he announces his wife is having a baby and they're adopting a child from Africa. This family has been taken to another level! Rhett is the ultimate romantic, which is why he is the boombox guy,  Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) from Say Anything.

Happy 90210 Day!

Image courtesy of Tumblr.

Today is the 26th anniversary of the first airing of FOX's seminal teen drama,  Beverly  Hills, 90210. Teen twins Brenda (Shannen Doherty) and Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly) were forced to move from boring old Minneapolis to West Beverly, where they clearly did not fit in. But as most adaptable teens, they "kaught up with the Kardashians*" pretty quickly. Like two frenemies showing up to the formal with the same velvet cocktail dress or a pal stealing your boyfriend, the sun-soaked 10-season show has many memories a-flowing. It also sparked a lifetime movie about the behind the scenes gossip.  In honor, I will be reliving and live blogging the premiere episode later this week.
Stay Tuned!

Image courtesy of TV Guide article. 

* In the 90's, one would have said "kept up with the Joneses".

Before Dan Humphrey, Penn Bagley Wrote 'The Bedford Diaries'

Image from Clevvr

     It's the start of a brand new school year, so it's time to reflect on a teen drama from yesteryear. About 10 years ago, the WB premiered The Bedford Diaries, a soapy drama about students in a sexuality seminar at a Columbia-like University. I haven't been able to find the 8-episode series anywhere online, but I'm pushing to get it on the CW Seed. The show was scandalous and provocative by 2006 standards, but fairly tame to what kind of dialogue passes on TV today.

     In typical WB fashion, this show launched the careers of Penn Badgley, who was cast the following year in/as the CW's Gossip Girl and Scott Porter, who went on to play Jason Streets in Friday Night Lights, and later, George Tucker on the CW's Hart of Dixie.  The show continued the career of Gilmore Girls bad boy, Milo Ventimiglia. The students were led by their wily professor, played by Matthew Modine, and the delightful Audra McDonald played another professor at Bedford College. If anyone knows where to watch this, please let me know!

A Note About The Vaguely Familiar Circle

Is it me or does everyone in the cast of The Secret Circle resemble other more famous people? Let's take a closer look while I share the nicknames I've developed to keep each of the characters straight:

1. Cassie (Brit Robertson)
Kate Bosworth Eyes
I wish I could find a better picture to capture this, but it seems to only appear on film. Her eyes are light.

2. Adam (Thomas Dekker)
Little Lonely Boy
Spotted: this kid is a chip off the 'ol Penn Bagley, but he carries a deeper sadness in his face. #GossipGirl

3. Faye (Phoebe Tonkin)
Little Lucy Hale
Now this is downright uncanny. I keep having to remind myself I'm not watching Pretty Little Liars.

4. Diana (Shelley Meade)
Little Elena
I know this show was created by the Vampire Diaries people, and this girl must have been used as a stunt double for Elena. In fact, she could play Elena's lookalike ancestor Katherine.

5. Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy)
Vampire Anna
I am shocked to find out this girl isn't Anna from the Vampire Diaries. I was super convinced from episode one that she was..... and I learned her name was Melissa as of episode 3.

6. Nick (Louis Armstrong)
Leo Dude
If his stage name didn't get you laughing, then this name explanation will. He not only looks like a young Leo DiCaprio type, but he reminds me of little Henry, the fragile kid Jen dated for a while on Dawson's Creek.

7. Diana's Dad (Gale Harold)
Castle's Brother
Need I say more? This guy is a total Nathan Fillion ringer. Haha, RINGER is a new show on CW. Laugh with me people. ROTFL.

A Note About Ripping Off Other Shows: Witchy style

As I am watching the second episode of The Secret Circle, I heard one of the kids utter "The Book of Shadows," which is the magical book on Charmed. If the frizzy haired grandma and 20's style house weren't enough of a Charmed ripoff, the streak continues..

CW Exclusive Premieres Scoop!

I had the delight of attending the Paley Center's exclusive preview of CW's new shows last night (yes, I willingly chose to go to the CW one, I had the options of attending ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS as well, but I love myself a good teen drama). When the emcee asked what we were most excited about this fall, an excited fan yelled, "Ringer, because Buffy is back." True that, my friend. True that!

I saw the highly anticipated (and that anticipation was well-worth it) debut of Ringer, with all of its Sarah Michelle Gellar-ness, two hours before its world premiere! I am so pumped for the next episode of this murder/deception mystery (film noir, as they used to call it in the days of Bogie and Bacall), which focuses on a pair of estranged twins.

The Cliff's Notes:
If you can't catch the re-broadcast on Friday night, Bridget is a down-on her luck recovering drug addict and former dancer. Six years ago, she ruined her relationship with her twin, Sibbohan, and it had something to do with an accident to a toddler boy. Sibbohan flees from Wyoming instead of testifying in a murder trial,m and goes top visit her well-off married sister, who has finally forgiven her. They take a boat trip, Bridget wakes up to find her sister apparently having committed suicide via drowning, and nothing but an engagement ring a purse. Bridget escapes her life by becoming her sister (nobody knows Sibbohan had a twin), and finds herself in more trouble than before. She's now got a cold husband, druggie teen stepdaughter, suspicious best friend, and lover (husband of suspicious best friend). And the doctor called to tell her (sister) she's pregnant. Someone's trying to kill her new persona, the feds are after her old one, and guess what? Sibbohan is alive and well, and living in Paris. There ends episode 1.

The more easy-paced Hart of Dixie marked the return of OC's Rachel Bilson to TV. Typical hotshot is exiled from the city and takes refuge as a doctor in a small town (reminds me vaguely of the setup to USA's Royal Pains). Dr. Zoe Hart (funny, I kept wanting to call her Roxie, damn that Chicago), accepts a GP position in Bluebell, Alabama, after half of a practice is left to her. I enjoyed how many times Bluebell was said during the episode and only wish I'd had a drink handy so we could play a little game to go along with the count. She's out of place and out of soul. her dreams of being a cardiothorasic surgeon are slipping (she got passed over for poor bedside manner, a chip off the old Cristina Yang) and she needs to learn some general skill before being considered for next year;s fellowship. She's got three possible love interests: a pretty southern gent George (lawyer be trade, savior by action, engaged to a girl named Lemon), football star turned mayor Lavon (apparently a former secret lover of Lemon, but her family would disapprove of him because of Jim Crow laws), and a rude but vaguely hot, Dixie-loving caretaker, Wade.

Plus, Zoe finds out she was left the practice because the strange old man who kept courting her was really her dad, and her "real" father has been pulling distance for years because he couldn't deal with his wife's indiscretion. There's some Gilmore Girls-esque potential in the small town if they spend a little less time focusing on the differences between Yankees and the other folk.

The Secret Circle recycles Britt Robertson from last year's Life Unexpected, and throws a whole bunch of Charmed-ish witchery with some Twilight. There's six founding families (if you're getting whiffs of Vampire Diaries, you're not far off, its from the same producers), and each generation's got witches, (I'm guessing all these kids are only children to keep this idea less complicated). The witches form this coven, the circle, and Cassie seems to be the key and the most powerful . Cassie is lured to town to live with her grandma after her mom is killed in a violent magic fire, and it seems like some bad voodoo went down to kill her dad when she was infantile, forcing her mom to run in the first place. Cassie suddenly is told by the other kids she's a witch.
Here I must interject: the magic on this show has been super lame for starters, it was all manipulations of the elements, fire, water etc... But I'm hoping it will get better. The Charmed angle mostly came from feel, the house Casie lives in in very "manor"-esque: Tiffany lamps, dark paneling, fireplaces, cute porch, doting curly haired grandma.

As for the Twilight element- there was some definite running through woods, keeping supernatural elements a secret, the setting of Washington, and some longing stares from the brunette guy that had the whole crowd laughing. Cassie is destined to be with brunette guy, according to his drunk father, just like her mom was destined to be with this guy, before she chose Cassie's dad and apparently threw off fate. And Cassie is befriended by a mean girl, Faye, a selfish *itch, and a nice girl, Diana who is dating brunette guy, which will only lead to trouble. Ah, now here's the plot twist, the parents, who must have sworn off magic after some bad voodoo that killed Cassie's dad and others, they know their kids have discovered their coven. And Diana's dad and Faye's mom are up to no good and plan to use Cassie in their evil voodoo magic plan. Interest in the show- I'll watch episode 2, and begin to make Dawson's Creek connections!

A Note about Pretty Sexy Liars

Yes, Pretty Little Liars at times is a silly show. That I do agree. But lets face it, all those secrets lead to some serious hot sexual tension. And as I'm nearly a month behind and struggling to catch up (see episode 20) I'm like, "Damn are these girls supposed to be 16? They are getting some serious action." Here are the heart melters...

The men:
Toby- Ever sinc he got over that whole 'I was wrongly accused of murdering Alison' thing, hes been really hot. And when he took off his shirt during a stakeout with Spencer- IT WAS 100% hot. (Sidenote- how does Spencer get so much action?)
Ezra- The teacher everyone wants to be detained by. Hot- wow did whiny Aira land him?
Sean- Poor Shawnie. He's a totally golden boy and Hannah treated him like crap. Let's get him back in the show.
Noel Kahn- Such a creeper, but he totally was hot when he played the guitar for Aria during the school blackout.
Mike- Aria's little brother, that despite having a creepy friendship with Noel could be a future hottie.
Ian- Yeah he's a total bad guy. He slept with Alison. He hit on Spencer. But he's kinda hot?
Caleb- He's a criminal, a homeless teen, and still a totally sexy hottie. Refer to him ans Hannah getting stuck in the shower together.... and him asking if they should share a towel. What an intense kisser!

A Note About Post-Teen Dramas

The more I watch OTH, the more I find myself thinking to the 2008 web/tv hybrid "Quarterlife." Like a much better and "real" version of My Generation (really??!!- that show only lasted three episodes?- shocker!- I was bored 45 minutes into the first of the one and a half episodes I watched.)

Back from that sideline, Quarterlife was one of those great shows about post-teen life that never got the potential to thrive. There was a scary sense of reality to that show that was so relate-able for me even though I was several years shy of the true quarterlife. AND it was created by the people who created Thirtysomething, which was in the 80s and was about people in a slightly older age bracket- but tackled the same themes and identity.

Now we don't all have those high and mighty One Tree Hill problems, like giving up a career in basketball or having your second kid at 24/25, trying to save your fashion empire, a parent that was sent to jail for corporate fraud, or recovering from a fatal shooting, but then again OTH has always taken the everyday problems and stretched them a little (Lucas's dad blackmailing him to move in because he has to lie to him mom about heart problems, Peyton dating Pete from Fall Out Boy, Uncle Keith getting shot by his brother, Brooke's parent moving out to Cali, starting Clothes over Bros- and really aside from Dan, Karen, and Deb, were anyone's parents really ever around)? But nonetheless, the issues deep down: love-sense of identity-family-friendships-and basketball, have always been relate-able.

Strangely, I've noticed the plots of Mouth and chase both being very real. Mouth losing his job and doing his sports podcast (like from treehillhoops.com back in high school), and Chase managing the bar and his relationships with Alex and Mia (it used to be an all ages club when Peyton started it). And Haley dealing with the death of her mom has also been real- for me- it got a little too real-(see the episode where she jumped in the pool- she was so out of character I thought she was being called Peyton!).

So the quarterlife crisis is alive and well . . .
And Thirtysomething was really the grandmother of all post-teen angsty drama (see example: Garden State)

A Note About Faith

In a GLEE episode directed the themes of religion and prayer, it was natural to expect songs such as "Losing My Religion" and "What If God was One of Us" (shout-out to the great show that was Joan of Arcadia). And of course there was the delightful version of Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young," sung by Puck (Mark Salling), who has been pretty quiet this season.

But in a crucial mistake, GLEE missed the most important song of all. Any guesses. Well, if the episode is all about faith, it might be a good idea to include a song by George Michael.

Any guesses now? No, not his delightful Wham! classics :Careless Whisper" or Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Not the sweet songs of "Last Christmas." Not "Freedom" or "Father Figure," although you are guessing closer.

Drum roll please.......

FAITH. Remember Faith? The song was even redone by Limp Bizkit, and is one of the few Fred-Durst songs I can tolerate listening to today. And yes, the verses have little to do with someone being in the hospital, but the central message of the song is "I Gotta Have Faith." Kinda sings to the theme of the show, doesn't it?

A Note About I-Raining....

Again, I cannot believe I'm watching 90210. This epic episode has stolen cheesy plots from everything. and the dialogue?? appalling.

HERE IS THE WORST OF THE EPISODE:

NEWSFLASH: Teddy is gay.

OTH Boy Auction flashback: guys in fire uniforms dancing and being sold off to their classmates. Well, I think they wore basketball uniforms on One Tree hill, but close enough. They looked like they were posing for a 98 degrees poster circa 1999.

Liam has a half-black brother? Please no! No more fake half-siblings allowed.

Adrianna is still selfish? Nothing new here.

Fight in the school! Really? Saved By the Bell.

Teens selling their eggs for money cause mom is broke.

Creepy older women stalking high school boys.

The spread of the HIV.

At least the teacher is still somewhat hot..........

A Note About Pregnant Teens on TV

I'm so done with seeing pregnant teens on television, but since I've been reading more glee scoop, I can't help but think of the comical pregnancy of McKinley's former head cheerleader, Quinn Fabray. Here is list of the best pregnant teens on TV:

10. Amy Jurgens (Secret Life) The only reason Shailene Woodley's whiny and obnoxious is on this list is because her hysterics are so dramatic it's to the point of comedy. Next time the drummer in the school band hits on you, follow Nancy Reagan's advice and JUST SAY NO!

9. Adrianna Tate-Duncan (90210) Jessica Lowndes' trampy Beverly Hills teen might be the worst teen mom ever. she was taking tons of drugs during her pregnancy, drinking, and wasn't sure who the daddy was. By the time she got her life together and found sweet Navid, she was considering not giving up the baby for adoption. Looks like she's lost a lot of sleep over not keeping her kid since then. (NOT!)

8. Corey Conway (7th Heaven) Alicia Leigh Willis, known as Courtney from General Hospital, first brought attention to the plight of pregnant teen athletes when she befriended Mary Camden. Plus she married teen father Wilson much later on in the series.

7. Cordelia Chase (Angel) Not only was Cordy pregnant at 18 after a one night stand with a demon, but a few years later she gave birth to one of the ultimate evils and paid the ultimate price, slipping into a coma she never recovered from.

6. Jen Linley (Dawson's Creek) It happened in the five year forward jump of the last episode, but Jen finally completed Gram's worst nightmare, getting pregnant and left by some horrible dirtbag. Of course, BFF Jack was there to step in and help raise the baby.

5. Tess Harding (Roswell) Long before she played pregnant Aussie Claire on lost, Emilie de Ravin was ruining relationships by secluding alien leader (and apparently her husband/alien king from a previous life) Max. One night yielded baby Zan, and finally sent Tess out of Max's life and back to the home planet.

4. Andrea Zuckerman (Beverly Hills 90210) The original teen mom, played by Gabrielle Carteris, was top of the class at West Bev. College came, she got a little irresponsible, and she had to leave the show (and the Bev Hills area) after getting pregnant and married. She ended up divorced :-(

3. Quinn Fabray (Glee) Dianna Aragon's pregnant cheerleader continued to make quippy comebacks until her water broke at regionals. Plus she pitted babydaddy and bad boy Puck against her dumb but sweet boyfriend Finn.

2. Lane Kim (Gilmore Girls) Keiko Agnea's lovable Lane Kim showed that you can be a rock and rolling teen (ok, maybe 21-year old) and still be a parent. It took moving into a house with her bandmates to get Lane to break her mother's tight control over her life. Soon after falling in love with bandmate Zach, three wedding ceremonies and twin baby boys followed.

1. Haley James Scott (One Tree Hill) After a season-long romance with the star of the basketball team,"tutor girl"became "tutor wife" then by graduation she was married "tutor mom". Seven seasons later, she and Nathan are still together and expecting a second child.

A Note About The Greatness of 90's Teen Idols

After rehashing the differences of 90's pop culture memories between 90's between 20-somethings and 30-somethings, I felt a deep sense of nostalgia. Someone mentioned Luke Parry and I flashed back to an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 I saw recently. Yes, the original, glorious, sometimes hokey original teen drama.

Something was so innocent, so perfect about those kids, its a quality that isn't there now in today's teen drama where everyone is texting and blackmailing. It was a much simpler time. Yes, those kids drove Ferrari's and probably had large, cumbersome early 90's versions of cell phones, but it wasn't the same.

The episode I saw recently was a classic: All-American Brandon Walsh falls for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. His parents agree to lie for her so she can attend their school, and of course he thinks the worst of her.

But in the end, it turns out she witnessed gang/mafia violence and was put in some kind of witness protection. She wasn't from the wrong side of the tracks, but the lived very far away, and alas it would never work out.

But the thing that really stood out to me in this episode was the look Brandon gave. He drove up to her in his classy station wagon, while she waited for the bus back to east L.A., and looked at her with a look that said: I'm just a harmless boy who has fallen in love with you in a few short hours, and I'll be heartbroken for a day or so (or into the opening of the next episode) after things don't work out, but always carry that secret pain inside.

In other words, he gave the "Careless Whisperer" look. You know the look I'm talking about, it says "I'm never gonna dance again . . . the way I danced with you."

Yes, I am referring to "Careless Whisper" a 1984 song by Wham!, and yes it can sound a bit corny. But the emotion in that song is real, as real as the emotion in those innocent, young Jason Priestly eyes. And boy could those other guys (Luke Perry in particular) pull of that heartbreaking stare. It's that emotion that rests at the pinnacle of the 90's teen drama. And those West Bev kids were great at this look. I miss those days.

A Note About Teen Dramas

Take this with a grain of salt, it's not intended as a rant against these shows . . .

I'll be the first to admit, my guilty pleasure is teen dramas. There's something about watching them that makes me think, "I wish that had been my high school experience", and other times when I'm relieved it wasn't.

I'm also guilty of being a viewer of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Why, you may ask? Simple. I was looking for a new show to watch that fateful summer it premiered. And I couldn't stop. It was addictive like a drug, the all-too familiar 7th Heaven producing team, complete with the same high school set, same hangouts, same corny music, and same didactic lessons. but yes, I got sucked into the teen life of Amy Juergens, pregnant at 15. At times, it's kept me entertained, although I stand by my belief that the only character without fault is Tom, but that is another story.

So, I confess, less horrifyingly, that I also watch 90210, the re-launch of the popular 90's teen drama that started it all, Beverly Hills, 90210. Same music, same eerily familiar plot lines, a new generation of kids tainted by popularity and money. And occassionally, guest starring roles by former West Bev alums. Somewhat against my better judgment, and after almost two seasons, I cannot stop watching this show. Even if I miss an episode, I keep right on watching.

I guess I'm a creature of habit. I follow shows like they're children of a person I admire, hoping the same qualities have rubbed off. But recently remarking about my addiction to these stepchildren of formerly glorious teen shows to my mother I put it like this, "The more I watch Secret Life, the more classy 90210 gets."

Watch them for yourself. . .