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fandomhigh_ooc2008-10-26 08:13 pm
gameknowsgame.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh_ooc2008-10-26 08:13 pm
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Spotlight on Fandoms: Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl Spotlight
You like catfights? You like people being rich and fabulous? You like teen soaps? Then Gossip Girl is the show for you! Created by the same dude who made the O.C. and based off the popular book series of the same name, Gossip Girl follows the lives of the young and wealthy living in New York City's Upper East Side. The show stars with the homecoming of Serena van der Woodsen, a bad girl gone good, and her presence sets off a chain reaction of drama and fabulous clothes. Well. The drama is there anyways.
Characters
Serena van der Woodsen:
"Oh! I forgot to put on underwear!"
Serena is the 'it' girl of the Upper East Side. In many ways she leads a charmed life, in that if she tripped on the sidewalk it would only be to fall into the arms of a producer who immediately casts her as the lead in his next movie. Serena's primary objectives are to relax and have fun. Of course some of her ideas of fun are a bit out there, which is why she's also known as the drunken slutty one of their little group of friends. (Chuck would simply be the slutty one, no booze required).
For all that she can be flighty and get herself into trouble, she can also be very caring and devoted to those she's close to. Though she fled Manhattan after hitting bottom (sleeping with Nate and stumbling into a worse incident that is one of the plot twists of season 1) she returned to be with her little brother after his suicide attempt. She tries to be good, she's also a little bad, and you love her and hate her when she's at both extremes.
Blair Waldorf
"I'm in a good mood. It happens. Sometimes because I increase my Lexapro, sometimes because my dad's in town."
Blair Waldorf is BFFs with Serena. To some that's hard to believe considering how vicious they can be to each other when they fight but perhaps that's only because some do not know or remember what it's like to be a teenaged girl. Blair is the Queen B of their school with her own little wanna-Bs, but this is in part due to Serena having left town. When she's around Serena tends to grab the spotlight without even intending to. This leaves the very insecure Blair off in the shadows watching everyone, including her own mother, rave about how wonderful Serena is. Though Blair was born to wealth she's had to fight and claw to hold on to any respect and status she's had and she doesn't let it go without a very nasty fight.
That being said, she's definitely one to have on your side. As Gossip Girl says, with friends like these who needs armies?
Jenny Humphrey
"Ugh for once in your life, stop judging everyone!"
Little sister of Dan, Jenny is an agressive social climber. You either love her or hate her for the way she goes all out to get what she wants. In season 1 it's to usurp Blair Waldorf, in season 2 it's to break into the fashion industry. What she really needs is a good parent who's not afraid to set proper boundaries, but sadly she's got Rufus so what can you do?
Vanessa Abrams
"I didn't sign up for some creepy love triangle with you and someone's mom!"
Speaking of people you either admire or hate, there's Vanessa. Dan's BFF since forever, Vanessa's the epitome of Brooklyn boho style, or perhaps she likes to think she is. Vanessa is perhaps best known forher god-awful hair seeing no problem with cheerfully walking in to situations - Constance, people's apartments, their bedroom windows - without an invitation or wondering if she's welcome there, but perhaps this is due to all the free time she has since she's homeschooled. By herself. Of COURSE she is.
Lily van der Woodsen
"Chuck may be eccentric, but I doubt he's diabolical."
Mother of Serena and Eric, Lily was much like Serena in her day and has now morphed into the stunningly awesome slightly older version. Though Lily does make mistakes, particularly when it comes to the many, many men she dates and marries, her heart is in the right place and she tries to keep her kids from screwing up like she did.
Gossip Girl
"Cheer up Little J. The sun will come out tomorrow but tonight your boyfriend did."
Appearing in voiceovers by Kristen Bell, Gossip Girl is the one behind a website of the exact same name. Nobody knows who Gossip Girl is - she may not even be a girl - though she claims to be a part of the Upper East Side and in the midst of all the goings-on without anyone realizing she's there.
Gossip Girl keeps track of all the titilating goings on of the Upper East Side and reports on it via updates to the website and text blasts to all her subscribers. She also gets information from the people themselves as they can text her with updates and incriminating snapshots courtesy of their camera phones. It's sort of like Fandom Radio, but with less squirrels.
Dan Humphrey
I've been dreaming of Dartmouth for years. And I haven't asked Dartmouth...but I think she's been dreaming of me too.
Ah, Lonely Boy. Sister of Jenny and the son of Rufus, Dan is the hero of our show. He's from Brooklyn and only in the illustrious St. Jude's school for boys because he has a scholarship. Dan has had a huge thing for Serena even before she left for boarding school and only now, when she's trying to be good, does he have a shot with her. Dan's judgmental ways can drive you up the wall but you really do feel for the big dork sometimes. He's a Milkbone in a dog-eat-dog world.
Nate Archibald
I organized everything the way she likes it. I mean, I even made sure my bow tie matched her dress.
Nate Archibald is the golden boy of the Upper East Side. Good looking, smart and he has the pleasure of dating both Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass (well, okay, Chuck's just his BFF). Nate thinks there's more to life than being really, really ridiculously good looking and shuns a lot of the things his privledged life has given him. Despite being able to have it all, the man has made some serious missteps. Sleeping with Serena while dating Blair is only the start of his problems.
Chuck Bass
Why don't I turn that one-piece into a no-piece?
Chuck Bass. The resident bad boy of the Upper East Side, Chuck cares about three things: money, the pleasures money can give him and his best friend, Nate. The boy is practically living on his own in his father's hotel and thinks nothing of buying women, booze and burlesque clubs. Chuck turns out to be the anti-hero of the show. This bad boy turns out not only to be a romantic but a good brother as well. Don't let it fool you, however. He can be a real bitch when he wants to be and when he's teamed up with Blair? People should hide.
Eric van der Woodsen
Yeah... 'How Well Do You Know Blair Waldorf' is a little boring to those of us who actually know Blair Waldorf.
Eric is Serena's little brother and it's his suicide attempt that brings Serena out of hiding and back to NYC. Sometimes Eric is the most mature and logical out of everyone on the show and he's remarkably stable for someone with his upbringing and past. And he puts up with Jenny somehow. Clearly the boy is magical.
Rufus Humphrey
So, you're not overreacting per se. You're just having a reaction that is so above and beyond what is appropriate.
Rufus is a former rockstar and father to Jenny and Dan. He's just a guy doing the best he can for his kids in Brooklyn. And when one of your kids is Jenny? It can be kind of hard. He has a past with Lily van der Woodsen that is cute despite the 'ew' factor that comes up when their kids are dating each other. Rufus is also pretty damn hot in an old-dude type of way. It must be the rockstar thing.
Why should you watch?
Bare minimum if you like the 90210/Sweet Valley High/The OC style of soap opera drama, this show is for you. It's one of the best in terms of fun and twists and turns.
But beyond that, the show is actually pretty good. Especially when it comes to its female characters. Amazingly enough GG passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. Yes, there are romances and storylines about who is hooking up with whom, but that is not the be all and end all of the characters' lives. Blair wants to get into Yale and be the best at everything, Serena wants to have fun and make up for her past, Jenny wants to get into fashion - they are more than pretty things waiting for a man to come along.
Perhaps the best example of this is Serena and Blair's reconciliation in season 1. Serena had run off without telling anyone. When she returned Blair found out that before leaving Serena had slept with Nate, Blair's boyfriend "since kindergarten" and the person Blair was saving her virginity for. On any other show Nate would be the center of the hurt and betrayal. On this show it's only a small part. The far larger part was that Blair was having a horrible time - her parents divorcing, her boyfriend acting strange - and her best friend had abandoned her. It was the friendship itself that mattered most, and this shows again and again both when the girls support each other, and when they lash out because only someone you really care about could hurt you that badly.
Chuck Bass' fabulous (and sometimes scary) wardrobe
One of the greatest parts of the show is the clothes. And the greatest part of that greatest part? Chuck's clothes. The boy loves ascots, bow ties, argyle and really bright colors that don't really match. He wears the most ridiculous crap and yet PULLS THEM OFF. Why? Because he's Chuck Bass.
Some examples:
And sometimes he and Blair match for no reason whatsoever! It's really freaking weird. Seriously. In every example I linked their characters are fighting. It's not liked they called each other up and planned it.
Youtube clips!
Good ol' fashioned bitchery from Blair Waldorf
Serena and Blair's reconciliation...one of them
Dan asks Chuck if he can join in on a night of badassery
Blair/Chuck cuteness...sort of
...He's Chuck Bass
And if you're still doubting by now I think you should look around at all the people in the game that have been successfully corrupted into watching the show in the last few months.You all should raise your hands. It's like an epidemic.
And there we are! This was, of course, co-written with the ever awesome![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rocksthescarf. Comments? Questions?
You like catfights? You like people being rich and fabulous? You like teen soaps? Then Gossip Girl is the show for you! Created by the same dude who made the O.C. and based off the popular book series of the same name, Gossip Girl follows the lives of the young and wealthy living in New York City's Upper East Side. The show stars with the homecoming of Serena van der Woodsen, a bad girl gone good, and her presence sets off a chain reaction of drama and fabulous clothes. Well. The drama is there anyways.
Characters
Serena van der Woodsen:
"Oh! I forgot to put on underwear!"
Serena is the 'it' girl of the Upper East Side. In many ways she leads a charmed life, in that if she tripped on the sidewalk it would only be to fall into the arms of a producer who immediately casts her as the lead in his next movie. Serena's primary objectives are to relax and have fun. Of course some of her ideas of fun are a bit out there, which is why she's also known as the drunken slutty one of their little group of friends. (Chuck would simply be the slutty one, no booze required).
For all that she can be flighty and get herself into trouble, she can also be very caring and devoted to those she's close to. Though she fled Manhattan after hitting bottom (sleeping with Nate and stumbling into a worse incident that is one of the plot twists of season 1) she returned to be with her little brother after his suicide attempt. She tries to be good, she's also a little bad, and you love her and hate her when she's at both extremes.
Blair Waldorf
"I'm in a good mood. It happens. Sometimes because I increase my Lexapro, sometimes because my dad's in town."
Blair Waldorf is BFFs with Serena. To some that's hard to believe considering how vicious they can be to each other when they fight but perhaps that's only because some do not know or remember what it's like to be a teenaged girl. Blair is the Queen B of their school with her own little wanna-Bs, but this is in part due to Serena having left town. When she's around Serena tends to grab the spotlight without even intending to. This leaves the very insecure Blair off in the shadows watching everyone, including her own mother, rave about how wonderful Serena is. Though Blair was born to wealth she's had to fight and claw to hold on to any respect and status she's had and she doesn't let it go without a very nasty fight.
That being said, she's definitely one to have on your side. As Gossip Girl says, with friends like these who needs armies?
Jenny Humphrey
"Ugh for once in your life, stop judging everyone!"
Little sister of Dan, Jenny is an agressive social climber. You either love her or hate her for the way she goes all out to get what she wants. In season 1 it's to usurp Blair Waldorf, in season 2 it's to break into the fashion industry. What she really needs is a good parent who's not afraid to set proper boundaries, but sadly she's got Rufus so what can you do?
Vanessa Abrams
"I didn't sign up for some creepy love triangle with you and someone's mom!"
Speaking of people you either admire or hate, there's Vanessa. Dan's BFF since forever, Vanessa's the epitome of Brooklyn boho style, or perhaps she likes to think she is. Vanessa is perhaps best known for
Lily van der Woodsen
"Chuck may be eccentric, but I doubt he's diabolical."
Mother of Serena and Eric, Lily was much like Serena in her day and has now morphed into the stunningly awesome slightly older version. Though Lily does make mistakes, particularly when it comes to the many, many men she dates and marries, her heart is in the right place and she tries to keep her kids from screwing up like she did.
Gossip Girl
"Cheer up Little J. The sun will come out tomorrow but tonight your boyfriend did."
Appearing in voiceovers by Kristen Bell, Gossip Girl is the one behind a website of the exact same name. Nobody knows who Gossip Girl is - she may not even be a girl - though she claims to be a part of the Upper East Side and in the midst of all the goings-on without anyone realizing she's there.
Gossip Girl keeps track of all the titilating goings on of the Upper East Side and reports on it via updates to the website and text blasts to all her subscribers. She also gets information from the people themselves as they can text her with updates and incriminating snapshots courtesy of their camera phones. It's sort of like Fandom Radio, but with less squirrels.
Dan Humphrey
I've been dreaming of Dartmouth for years. And I haven't asked Dartmouth...but I think she's been dreaming of me too.
Ah, Lonely Boy. Sister of Jenny and the son of Rufus, Dan is the hero of our show. He's from Brooklyn and only in the illustrious St. Jude's school for boys because he has a scholarship. Dan has had a huge thing for Serena even before she left for boarding school and only now, when she's trying to be good, does he have a shot with her. Dan's judgmental ways can drive you up the wall but you really do feel for the big dork sometimes. He's a Milkbone in a dog-eat-dog world.
Nate Archibald
I organized everything the way she likes it. I mean, I even made sure my bow tie matched her dress.
Nate Archibald is the golden boy of the Upper East Side. Good looking, smart and he has the pleasure of dating both Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass (well, okay, Chuck's just his BFF). Nate thinks there's more to life than being really, really ridiculously good looking and shuns a lot of the things his privledged life has given him. Despite being able to have it all, the man has made some serious missteps. Sleeping with Serena while dating Blair is only the start of his problems.
Chuck Bass
Why don't I turn that one-piece into a no-piece?
Chuck Bass. The resident bad boy of the Upper East Side, Chuck cares about three things: money, the pleasures money can give him and his best friend, Nate. The boy is practically living on his own in his father's hotel and thinks nothing of buying women, booze and burlesque clubs. Chuck turns out to be the anti-hero of the show. This bad boy turns out not only to be a romantic but a good brother as well. Don't let it fool you, however. He can be a real bitch when he wants to be and when he's teamed up with Blair? People should hide.
Eric van der Woodsen
Yeah... 'How Well Do You Know Blair Waldorf' is a little boring to those of us who actually know Blair Waldorf.
Eric is Serena's little brother and it's his suicide attempt that brings Serena out of hiding and back to NYC. Sometimes Eric is the most mature and logical out of everyone on the show and he's remarkably stable for someone with his upbringing and past. And he puts up with Jenny somehow. Clearly the boy is magical.
Rufus Humphrey
So, you're not overreacting per se. You're just having a reaction that is so above and beyond what is appropriate.
Rufus is a former rockstar and father to Jenny and Dan. He's just a guy doing the best he can for his kids in Brooklyn. And when one of your kids is Jenny? It can be kind of hard. He has a past with Lily van der Woodsen that is cute despite the 'ew' factor that comes up when their kids are dating each other. Rufus is also pretty damn hot in an old-dude type of way. It must be the rockstar thing.
Why should you watch?
Bare minimum if you like the 90210/Sweet Valley High/The OC style of soap opera drama, this show is for you. It's one of the best in terms of fun and twists and turns.
But beyond that, the show is actually pretty good. Especially when it comes to its female characters. Amazingly enough GG passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. Yes, there are romances and storylines about who is hooking up with whom, but that is not the be all and end all of the characters' lives. Blair wants to get into Yale and be the best at everything, Serena wants to have fun and make up for her past, Jenny wants to get into fashion - they are more than pretty things waiting for a man to come along.
Perhaps the best example of this is Serena and Blair's reconciliation in season 1. Serena had run off without telling anyone. When she returned Blair found out that before leaving Serena had slept with Nate, Blair's boyfriend "since kindergarten" and the person Blair was saving her virginity for. On any other show Nate would be the center of the hurt and betrayal. On this show it's only a small part. The far larger part was that Blair was having a horrible time - her parents divorcing, her boyfriend acting strange - and her best friend had abandoned her. It was the friendship itself that mattered most, and this shows again and again both when the girls support each other, and when they lash out because only someone you really care about could hurt you that badly.
Chuck Bass' fabulous (and sometimes scary) wardrobe
One of the greatest parts of the show is the clothes. And the greatest part of that greatest part? Chuck's clothes. The boy loves ascots, bow ties, argyle and really bright colors that don't really match. He wears the most ridiculous crap and yet PULLS THEM OFF. Why? Because he's Chuck Bass.
Some examples:
And sometimes he and Blair match for no reason whatsoever! It's really freaking weird. Seriously. In every example I linked their characters are fighting. It's not liked they called each other up and planned it.
Youtube clips!
Good ol' fashioned bitchery from Blair Waldorf
Serena and Blair's reconciliation...one of them
Dan asks Chuck if he can join in on a night of badassery
Blair/Chuck cuteness...sort of
...He's Chuck Bass
And if you're still doubting by now I think you should look around at all the people in the game that have been successfully corrupted into watching the show in the last few months.You all should raise your hands. It's like an epidemic.
And there we are! This was, of course, co-written with the ever awesome
rocksthescarf. Comments? Questions?