Good Gossip

At any given time in a TV season there is a teen-soap that gets everyone hooked. This year that show HAS to be "Gossip Girl". It is my new addiction. Admittedly I watch it on broadband rather than cable but I still hate to miss it. In fact, this week I began to crave it and couldn't wait until Wednesday morning when the episode was available online. So I'm sure you're thinking - what's the deal? Well, to begin you have to let loose any TV-snobbery about the teen-soap genre and you have to be willing to embrace the ludricracy of rich kids acting like adults. (This should not be so hard for any 90210 or OC fans of the past.)

The show is based on a series of books - the first of which was called Gossip Girl - published in 2002 and spawning 11 sequels (so far). Since then the books have been criticized for their decadence and potential inappropriateness for a young audience and the TV show appears to follow the same thread as CTV posts a mature audience warning on the episodes. So maybe it is not the best show for the age it portrays - but for the rest of us the decadence, deceipt, and debauchery make for perfect pulp viewing.

The show centers around Serena Van der Woodsen (the charming Blake Lively from the Sisterhood films) as a rich girl recently returned from boarding school after an abrupt departure. Her best friend - Blair Waldorf - is not so enthused to have her back particularly because Blair's boyfriend - Nate Archibald - seems a little too enthused. Enter into the mix Nate's smarmy friend Chuck and the requisite poor kids - Dan & Jenny Humphrey and the school shenanigans begin. Personally I am loving the budding relationship between Dan and Serena - portrayed by two winning young actors. And I am enjoying Jenny's challenge to the status system while still managing to play the game. And of course I like the fashion.

Also on the scene are the parents with histories, secrets and romances of their own to occupy their time (leaving more room for 'the kids' to run wild!) Notably the show brings Kelly Rutherford (ex-Melrose vixen) and Matthew Settle (ex-eye candy from a I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel - and still hot!) into their new station as TV parents of precocious teens. So the show is soapy and stylish and smart and even sweet at times. Narrated by the wonderful Kristen Bell (go V. Mars!) the show offers a fluffy respite from anything important. Can't wait to see what happens next. XOXO