Book Review: Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek

The modern television landscape is defined by influential and ambitious shows for and about teenagers. Groundbreaking series like Euphoria, Sex Education, and Pen15 dominate awards season and lead the way when it comes to progressive, diverse, and creative storytelling. So how did we get here from Beverly Hills, 90210?

In Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek, entertainment journalist Thea Glassman takes readers behind the scenes of seven of the most culturally significant series of the last three decades, drawing on dozens of new interviews with showrunners, cast, crewmembers, and more. These shows not only launched the careers of such superstars as Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Claire Danes, and Seth Rogen, but they also took young people seriously, proving that teen TV could be smart, revolutionary, and “important”—and stay firmly entrenched in pop culture long after it finished airing. And while many critics insist that prestige dramas like The Sopranos and Mad Men paved the way for television, some of the most groundbreaking work was actually happening inside the fictional hallways of high schools across America in teen shows whose impact remains visible on our screens today.

TV: Tuesday FOX Comedies (10/4/11)

Last night was week three of the Tuesday FOX comedy line up. We had new episodes of Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope to provide the fun.

Let's look at the shows. (warning: plot *spoilers* might be leaked out here)

TV: Tuesday FOX comedies (9/27/11)

Another Tuesday night at our house meant another round of FOX Tuesday comedies for me. All in all, a pretty decent night. Let's get to them:

TV: Fox Comedies (9/20/11)

So, last night Fox debuted their new Tuesday night comedy line up, with a bit of a musical theme running through all three shows. After a long, crazy day at work, a little comedy was just what I needed.

Let's look at the shows. (warning: plot *spoilers* might be leaked out here)

DVD: Glee (season 2)

This week, the complete season 2 of Glee was released on DVD (also season 2 volume 2 for those folks, like me, who bought the first half of season 2 on DVD back in January). The six disks contain all twenty-two episodes from the season in widescreen format. The extras are plentiful with behind the scenes info and more. My favorite part is the Glee Music Jukebox feature that allows you to jump to the musical performances within each episode, for when you want to hear that favorite song.

For me, the sophomore season of Glee was a mixed bag. There were aspects I loved and aspects that just didn't work for me. I thought I would take a few paragraphs, broken down by topic, to hit what I consider some of those highlights and lowlights of the season.

Is Glee Just Popluar (and vice versa)?

These past few weeks I've been devouring one of my Christmas presents - season one of Popular, a high school comedy-drama that ran for two seasons on the WB Network from 1999 to 2001. I watched a good bit of this show back then (though some of these episodes I had missed) and enjoyed it a lot. The dark comedy often shown on this show appeals to me greatly. No surprise as it was the brainchild of writer/producer Ryan Murphy, the mastermind behind FOX's very popular Glee. In watching these episodes, I can't help but draw some comparisons between the two shows.

Yes, I am proud to be a Gleek!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past eight months, it is hard to miss that FOX's Glee has become the smash breakout new show of the 2009/2010 television season. Created by Ryan Murphy (the man behind such shows as Nip and Tuck and another classic teen dramedy Popular), this show is full of snarky goodness, quick paced plots, and plenty of teen drama. The show is about a high school teacher who relaunches the school's glee club, and how the club is made up of a variety of kids from all the recognizable teen circles we know and love. You've got the drama kids, the AV guy, the cheerleaders, the jocks.

And, of course, you've got the music. Lots of wonderful music spanning all genres, performed with polish, production and coreography.

Is the show over the top? Yup. Can it be cheesey at times? Sure. Is it a bright spot in a sea of crime scene spin-offs? Absolutely.

The show is about different people trying to be something. And it makes me feel good every Tuesday night.

Yes, I am a Gleek - and proud of it.