My So-Called Life
This show only aired for about six months in 1994-1995, and consists of a grand total of 19 episodes, but it has achieved legendary status for being one of the only shows to get adolescence right.
Claire Danes was just 15 when she began working on the show, and the fact that she and most of the rest of the cast were actually in their teens was a huge reason why their characters felt so genuine.
The show focuses on Angela Chase, a high-school sophomore, who is just at the brink of redefining herself and her relationships. She pulls away from her childhood friends Brian and Sharon, and instead befriends the wild Rayanne and her friend Rickie, who is gay and being raised by his abusive uncle. She also has a serious crush on a good-looking, rebellious, garage-band-belonging boy named Jordan Catalano, which naturally leads to a lot of angst.
I was a little bit too young to watch this when it was first on TV, but I’ve been hearing about it forever as one of those shows that was just too good to last. Last year I took it home from the library, and I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. Angela reminded me so much of myself at her age, and everything happening in her life was so familiar, so real, and a lot like my own memories of fifteen. Everything is so small and yet so big, every setback a tragedy and every success a triumph. I’ll even admit, here in the public realm, that more than once I got all wistful and misty-eyed while watching. The teenagers here are as real as they get on TV – they look young, they have questionable dress sense, and they’re not being played by 30-year-olds.
It’s such a shame that My So-Called Life didn’t go on longer, but then again I suppose that the best shows are the ones that end when they’re still in their prime.
Posted by Kayleigh, Desk clerk
