meloframa

The surface pleasures of Gossip Girl

It seems fitting that, to go with the layout, the first post on this blog should be about Gossip Girl. A show about over-privileged rich kids on the Upper East Side of New York, dealing with the pressures of getting into Yale (even though your daddy can, and probably will, buy your way in) and finding the right guy to lose your virginity to, it’s hardly treading new ground as far as glossy teen shows go. However, what does feel fresh is how deliciously irreverent Gossip is in tone.

(Article contains spoilers up to the most recent episode, #1.10.)

Gossip Girl shares many of the fingerprints of The O.C. (although I suspect Josh Schwartz’s heart lies in his other new endeavour, the goofy spy show, Chuck). While the two shows have similar outsider perspectives (Dan, nicknamed “LonelyBoy15“, is Seth by another name), Gossip’s outsiders seem much more easily seduced by the glamour of high society. Marissa, with her alcoholism and petty shoplifting, never made being rich look all that desirable, while Blair and Serena, with their shopping sprees and fabulous shoes, make it seem very attractive indeed. Gossip has inherited The O.C.’s contrivance-of-the-week format, with a different shindig every episode (be it a champagne brunch or masquerade ball), but these set-pieces suit the knowing artificiality of the Gossip world much better.

I have yet to figure out if I find Gossip’s Upper East Side abhorrent or enticing. Perhaps part of the allure of the show is that you can feel morally superior to the characters whilst still indulging in fantasies about what it would be like to be a high-society princess. Cecily von Ziegesar’s book series, upon which the TV show is based, is notorious for the furore it caused among parents. The show shares much of von Ziegesar’s (nonexistent) value system, with underage drinking, smoking and sex permeating each episode. Yet after years of constrained teendom portrayed on television, it’s a relief to see kids acting like kids. I was initially shocked by the scene where 14-year-old Jenny is dared to kiss a random older man in a club. Then I remembered that when I was fourteen, I snuck into clubs with my friends, too. They were just significantly crappier clubs.

Female sexuality on Gossip is treated as natural, rather than something illicit, to be policed. The pattern for girls on teen shows is that they think about having sex and then they decide they’re “not ready” and their sexuality is carefully put back on the shelf. (A recent example is Julie on Friday Night Lights. In Schwartz’s own O.C., ostensibly sexually-liberated Summer was unrealistically revealed as a closet virgin.) On Gossip, Blair loses her virginity, whilst drunk, in the back of a limo – and she doesn’t regret it afterwards! The show’s feminism is hardly blemish-free, but it’s refreshing not to have the usual double standard for boys and girls when it comes to sex.

Among the characters and plotlines that inescapably feel like retreads of teen shows past, Gossip’s single original note comes in the form of its connection with youth culture. From the moment that a character busted out their Sidekick in the Pilot episode, I knew this was going to be an (almost obnoxiously) zeitgeisty show. That Gossip was the first of the US fall schedule to be picked up for a full season is as impressive as the fact that its full-season order was mainly due to its download success on iTunes. (Relevant to the WGA strike as well, hmmm?) This is a show that knows its core demographic of computer-literate, One-Point-Oh-thirsty young people. Just witness the Gossip Girl characters in Second Life.

Personally, I think Gossip would benefit from utilizing its youth-culture-relevance even more. I’d like to see the characters use the fictional Gossip Girl website more. I also think more “Spotted”s (even mundane ones) in the style of the books would increase the metatextual voyeurism of viewer-as-spy. Kristen Bell’s role in the show has always confused me. Does she just phone in her lines as narrator every week and then collect a paycheck? (Nice work if you can get it!) The identity of Gossip Girl on the show has the annoying air of a mystery that will never be revealed (yeah, yeah, that’s one secret she’ll never tell…). Yet I think this voyeur who is so obsessed with the Upper East Siders has the potential to be a very interesting character, should we ever be allowed to meet her. And let’s face it, Kristen Bell deserves a better gig than the trainwreck of Heroes season two.

Gossip is the ultimate pick-it-up-when-you-feel-like-it show. Emotional depths are rarely plumbed and plotlines are never so complex that the “previously…” montage won’t bring you up to speed. I would be inclined to agree with Popnography’s assessment: it’s difficult to tell if the show is improving or if, once sucked in, you develop an inability to tell so-bad-it’s-good from just-plain-bad. Yet the recent Blair/Chuck “love story” has undeniably elevated the show. The would-be date rapist and the Fifth Avenue princess: a match made in heaven? They bicker and they make out and then they bicker some more. They’re unable to deal with their feelings because their lives are so densely controlled (by their parents, by their inbred desire to be perfect), so they manipulate each other. It shouldn’t make for a compelling love story, but it does! Leighton Meester (Blair) has revealed herself to have killer comic timing (see: the video clips below), while Ed Westwick (Chuck) brings charm and pathos to an ostensibly wretched character.

Gossip Girl airs on the CW at 9pm Wednesdays. New episode December 19th. It starts in the UK on ITV2 in the new year.

Addendum #1:

I am a firm believer in the persuasive power of pretty pictures. All captures © the CW.

Addendum #2:

Test drive the show on youtube:

Glamorous. In a scene that must surely define “horrimusement”, Jenny and classmates perform a choral version of Fergie’s ‘Glamorous’. Awful! Yet awesome!

“Truthfully, I’m not even Catholic…”. WASP-y Blair seeks penance in the confessional. This has to be my personal favourite TV moment – not just of Gossip, but of the entire fall season. (Keep watching to see Blair spark deliciously with Chuck.)

Behind-the-scenes at the promo photo shoot. The sound quality is horrible and there are dull moments worth zipping past, but it’s nice to see that the cast has fun when the cameras aren’t rolling. Don’t miss Chace Crawford (Nate) and Ed Westwick (Chuck) singing ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’! (Fun fact: Ed is lead singer of a Libertines-esque band called the Filthy Youth. You can see them play this Christmas if you live in the London area.)

Addendum #3:

If you enjoy the show, you might be tempted to pick up von Ziegesar’s book series. My advice: don’t! In places they are admittedly hilariously bad, but quickly von Ziegesar’s hit-and-miss humour wears off and they’re revealed as simply bad. For your convenience, here are my five favourite elements from the books. Here’s hoping that some of them are written into the show.

5. Aaron Rose. Blair’s step-brother, Aaron is a dreadlocked vegan who wishes we could all just, you know, get along. In my opinion, he’s the single truly sympathetic character in the books. He and Blair also give off a bit of a Cruel Intentions vibe, if you know what I mean.

Aaron’s best moment comes when Blair spies his painted-black toenails. He reveals that it’s something he and the members of his band (yes, of course he’s in a band!) are doing as solidarity, since none of them have girlfriends. (Okay, so maybe Aaron is less in love with his stepsister than I thought…)

4. Vanessa, budding filmmaker and cutthroat bitch. The show’s reinterpretation of Vanessa as Dan’s low-key childhood friend drags the dull Dan/Serena plotline down even further. In the books, she’s bald, bawdy and better for it.

3. Dan is published in the New Yorker. This ludicrous twist is swiftly followed by a 90210-esque “over in the space of a week” descent into debauchery. He gets an agent, becomes the toast of the town and hooks up with a crazy and sexually uninhibited female writer. Then, of course, he promptly returns to reality (sort of).

2. Serena’s Tears. In just one example of Serena’s many forays into Accidental Stardom, her signature scent becomes a heavily-marketed perfume. Another time, she has an “intimate area” photographed and plastered across the city. (I’m referring to her asshole, in case that was too subtle for you!) In my opinion, Blake Lively’s Serena is entirely too constrained; I’d like to see more of the flaky party girl from the books.

1. Sweetie-the-monkey.. Sweetie is Chuck’s pet monkey. The rest of the cast of characters find him about as irritating as they find Chuck. (By contrast, I find him as hysterically funny as I find Chuck!)