Is the lack of a designated brainy girl a curse or a blessing?

OK, I promised myself I'd write every weekday (I would say for a month, but I won't during my vacation, I don't think), and even though I still am not feeling like it, I'm gonna do it anyhow. I do need to remember to post before I read commentary on my shows, as I have nothing new to say about Ugly Betty or The Fashion Show. It's tempting to totally detox from TV this summer, but aside from finishing my Rhoda DVD (one disk left with 5 episodes plus a special feature doc) and The Sopranos (I have four seasons left I'm just getting them through Netflix), I'm sure I'll end up watching the final season of Monk, Psych, the new Mark Feuerstein show on USA, the rest of In Plain Sight, Secret Life of the American Teenager, probably at least the pilot of 10 Things I Hate About You (sooner or later I'm going to have to draw the line and not watch every teen show), the rest of The Fashion Show, and Project Runway, which doesn't come back until August, plus of course Jeopardy, and the Daily Show/Colbert Report (which are both dark next week). In other words, nearly as much as I watch during the year, but nothing that isn't reaired 6-10 times a week, so I won't even care that my TiVo is on its last legs and frequently either freezes up in the middle of a show, or drops out the sound, or, a first the other day, freezes the picture but keeps the sound going (but I will replace it before September). I definitely will declare at least a few nights a week reading night, although I'm a little stimeyed in that as the library thinks I didn't return a book that I know I did.

So anyhow, the stealth smart girl idea. A friend and mentor (thanks Peggy!) had a sort of a different take on this idea than my initial thoughts. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the geeky type brainy girl is gone, replaced by the girl who is simultaneously smart, beautiful, attractive to boys, and popular with other girls? Her take was that this puts a lot of pressure on girls, and that girls put pressure on each other, to be all of those things. Rather than thinking that smartness has been integrated and isn't something to be concealed and erased as the girl gets popular and loved, as in the older shows, it's something to be flaunted, but in equal measures to the other characteristics.

Certainly that was the case for Veronica Mars once she was done being the outcast--she was up for valedictorian, she had two rich boys, and every other boy in school (plus another guy in college), interested in her, and tons of tertiary characters praising her beauty, sexiness, niceness, and coolness.

It's definitely true of Blair Waldorf who, while one would never call her nice in general, is always there for her friends, ready to pull some elaborate scheme. No matter how often she and Serena stop speaking to each other, they always get back together with avowals of eternal friendship, and she and Chuck have followed a two season long come closer/go away/come closer pattern that I'm sure will continue into next season. She also demonstrates extreme power over the other girls, who want her approval, even as she treats them like dirt.

90210 is my problem. It's too muddy to even deal with yet, only I need to. The only attention we've seen paid to academics at all is Naomi trying to get out of writing papers (and having her parents back her up on this), and Silver going overboard with her assignment for the English teacher and making a borderline pornographic film. Annie and Adrianna seem only to care about drama class. Each girl is considered extremely desirable from the start. Part of the reason the original was good was that we had to see Brenda and Andrea learning to fit in with the rich and troubled crowd, while Annie just did, pretty much right away. Add to that, there being no "crowd as such"--the episode before the finale suddenly had all the girls at a baby shower, and all the boys at a bachelor party, seemingly having been best buddies forever, even though we never really saw Adrianna and Annie together much, and especially since we never even saw Liam and Naveed speak before--and it's just hard to read the interactions. Supposedly, Naomi, Silver, and Adrianna were all best friends at some point, hence the matching tattoos, but mostly we've seen every pair of characters off in their own storyline. It makes it easy to ask questions like what was up with Annie's totally non-promlike short ugly dress, and hard to ask who the stealth smart girl/perfect girl is in this scenario. Odd, as we've seen a lot more scenes in actually classrooms--given the co-star status of the principal, a teacher, and the guidance counselor--than we have on Gossip Girl, where all action happens in the hallways/courtyard/out in the city/in private homes, bars, or hotels.

The other way to look at it is that no one really cares if the girls are smart on these two shows because in this society, money talks. Naomi's dad tries to convince her teacher to change her grade due to his money and clout. Although no one in Blair's family seemingly can get her back into Yale once her detention for bad mouthing a teacher (who was sleeping with a student), gets her offer rescinded, Nate's grandfather offers to get her into Columbia if she will only convince Nate to go there, instead of Berkeley (I think--too lazy to look all this up for now), and her lawyer stepfather knows a friend on the board of NYU, which is how she gets acceptance there, despite not applying. Serena gets into Brown because she frequently appears on Page 6, with other socialites, and despite her mediocre grades, and apparent lack of concern about academics.

That might be why this show doesn't have smart girls, while Secret Life of the American Teenager does. Everyone on that show is similarly middle class, except possibly for Adrian who I guess is supposed to be poorer (but still has her own convertible). No one can pull strings because of all their money. Grace's dad is a doctor, and Lauren's dad is a psychologist, who you think would have more money than a furniture store owner, but it's hard to tell. It's a measure of how retro this show is that I do not know what either of the mothers do, and it's a plot point that Molly Ringwald's character Anne (this show is big on A names for women) dropped out of college to stay home and raise Amy and her sister Ashley and is only now trying to have a career. I believe Adrian's mother is a flight attendant. Other than 15 year olds getting pregnant, and plot points that sometimes revolve around cell phones, and a fixation with sex, for the most part this show could easily have taken place in pretty much any decade. There's absolutely nothing forward thinking here. Adrian is free with her sexuality, but is essentially punished for it by having the boys leave her for "nicer" girls. Minor character Alice can talk a good game about sex, but ends up having it and not much liking it.

Well, clearly this migraine isn't helping my thought process much. I'll think more about this next week.

Identity through Identification

First of all, 90210. I thought parts of last night's episode were really laughable, and am quite relieved to have a reprieve until September. Yet the people on Television Without Pity seemed to like it. I'm guessing that's because most viewers, especially those who are older, bailed long ago, but as an academic doing TV, I am in for the duration. It's work, right? But several scenes made me giggle for about five minutes each. One--after Liam realizes that Naomi's sister lied to him to get him to sleep with her and just looks at her and announces "You are a bitch!" I don't know if it was the delivery or just how very "duh" that line was. It's not shocking anymore, even if it's un-PC. Then Annie screaming "Screw all of you" to the entire sophomore class. When she left the house, I seriously thought she was having an asthma attack and was expecting her to pull an inhaler out of her purse, not her phone she used to narc on the party (which indicated she was supposed to be playing anger). Add to that Lori Loughlin pretty clearly having never been stoned before (and Rob Estes seemingly having a better idea of how to play it, yet still not pulling it off) and Kelly, ex-drug addict with drug-addict mother, brother, and bipolar sister, being so nonchalant about the whole thing, that at least it has the makings of a train wreck, rather than the total bore it's been.

By the way, in the zap2itphotos, everyone on the new CBS shows is white except for LL Cool J of NCIS: Los Angeles, but they don't even have those big cast photos, they only have 1-2 people in each picture, and they've got Medium there which has been canceled, so it's not quite right, anyhow. Blows that theory, but I'll check the CBS site. Oh, wait, it's canceled on NBC, now alive on CBS. I've never seen it, and having it on CBS won't make that any likelier. Anyhow, the CBS site doesn't even have the new shows up. Maybe tomorrow (it was just announced this morning).

But what I'm thinking about/working on today is identity and identification. I am running a workshop for our Women's Studies Residency called "Rhoda Morgenstern Made Me What I am Today: What Television Characters Teach us about Ourselves" next Friday. So I need to plan that, and it seems like a good idea to start with a blog post and then make PowerPoint if need be. I know I'll start off with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyaaSm-3G90&feature=related. Frankly, that's not even close to my story, but Rhoda's deadpan, self-deprecating sense of humor was influential, I think. I felt a huge sense of recognition when I watched the first four seasons of the MTM show again last summer, at least.

Then I'd like to show a scene between Mary and Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I can only find one short one I don't like! They've all been pulled from YouTube, I guess. So I either have to get the DVD, or get there early and cue up a Hulu video (which is free but awkward). In fact, nearly any TV show I looked for simply didn't have a short or easily editable clip to go with it, which is a bummer, but it's easier to use photos anyhow. Anyway, I'll start off talking about what characters have influenced me, and what changes in thought or behavior they might (or might not) have given me. Then I'll talk about identity and the process of identification and how it relates to TV and feminism. Then I'll open it up to discussion. I might talk about my smart girl characters, but they really came about too late to have much impact on me as a teen.


I think maybe the first media character that I looked at and said "hey, she's like me" was Quinn Cummings of The Goodbye Girl. We were both 10 in 1977 when the movie came out. She also played Annie on the last two seasons of Family, from 1978-1980. She was a Jewish bookworm, very different from the tomboyish Buddy or the elegant Nancy on that show. These episodes are simply unavailable, and I don't remember if I watched regularly or not. It may have been on too late for me to stay up, which seems weird for a family show. Yup, according to a schedule on Wikipedia, it was on at 10PM, first on Tuesdays, then on Thursdays. So no, given an 8:30 bedtime on weekdays, I wouldn't have actually seen it much (though on school holidays and the summers I could and did stay up much later). And even the Library of Congress only has the first season or two, so unless hulu picks it up, there's not much chance.

I have seen the similar Danielle Brisbois character Stephanie on the latter seasons of All in the Family and spinoff Archie Bunker's Place, and she was annoying, but I suspect I identified back then. I remember she sang and danced a lot, which I also did whenever anyone would listen.



Being an actor was no doubt why I loved Gilda Radner





and Carol Burnett so much.





Other characters that I can say were influential in some way include Mallory Keaton of Family Ties--who is only influential because we were the same age, and looked a tiny bit alike (and she even had one of my sweaters). I know she's considered by some to be the anti-smart girl, and indeed she is, but I always watched.





Too bad Square Pegs couldn't have a. been better and b. stayed on.




Not all my influences have been TV related.



One thing that was really influential in 1980, when I was about 12, was a movie, not a TV show, Fame. Since I wanted to be an actor, and wanted to live in New York, and would have killed to go to the High School of Performing Arts, Fame looked just great to me, despite the trials and tribulations. There was a television show, but I guess I didn't care for it, because I didn't watch it much. Anyhow, Doris was probably the character I identified with most, as she was an actress (not a dancer or musician like most of the others), and Jewish to boot. I cannot explain by process of identification why I also saw Grease four times in the theater.


Barbie was important. I'm a feminist, and I love Barbie. I don't think any part of my body image comes from Barbie (though I could cite various other influences), and all of mine (I had 11, though a few were technically Skipper, PJ, or Kelley) were in hugely successful careers, went to a lot of balls, and had tons of cool clothes. I only had one Ken, though. He mostly wore a white tuxedo everywhere since his only other garment, a brown checked sports jacket was u-gly. I had at least two of these "Quick Curl" ones, but they rarely wore their gingham dresses as my grandmother made me ball gowns. I went to one formal, but I've still never been to a ball, and don't see it on the horizon. But I now have the original Barbie and box that lived at my grandmother's house through my whole childhood. They're in my office at work. Sometimes I get bored, you know.

Amy March of Little Women. Yes Amy. I know we're all supposed to want to be Jo, but I wanted to be Amy--successful artistically and gets the cute, rich guy. I've seen at least four versions of the movie and none of the actors cast look anything like the Laurie in my head (a very young Robert Downey Jr., before the drugs). I looked and looked for the cover of the copy I checked out of the library in second grade and wasn't quite ready for, and then again a year or two later when I was, but can't find that. This is one of the two copies I have now. I've read it at least ten times.

Later influences included Audrey Hepburn and Andy Warhol, but I was pretty old before I identified them. I'll also introduce my smart girl characters as part of the presentation, and show pictures of at least some of them, but this has literally taken hours (every time I put a photo in, the whole layout moves), and I've got photos of them in presentations already, so I can do some cutting and pasting there.

The Stealth Smart Girl

OK, so I've been very lax about keeping this blog, but now that it's summer (though you would never guess it since it's about 50 degrees outside), and I'm not teaching, I'm determined to do it more often. Not only can I get some thoughts out, but hopefully I can work on ideas that will become either an article or the revised conclusion of my book.



Normally I'd start out writing about last night's shows, but the less said about Desperate Housewives' season finale, the better. That was dead boring. Although yay, Chuck has been renewed! Only for 13 episodes, but hey, that has helped a lot of shows really focus, and I don't know what the budget cuts will do, but it's all better than not having the show.

I've written, as anyone reading this blog or who knows me in general may know about the Smart Girl character on television. I've tried to set a boundary between teen shows that took place between 1990 (when Beverly Hills, 90210 began) and 2006, when Gilmore Girls ended. In my dissertation I proclaimed the end of the teen show era after that, but I suppose I was premature.

What may have died out, however, was the brainy girl archetype. Neither Gossip Girl nor the revived 90210 has an Andrea Zuckerman, or even a Rory Gilmore type--driven, book obsessed, school oriented. Useless Vanessa on Gossip Girl is supposed to be a filmmaker, and is clearly intelligent, but is being home schooled (without actually living at home, so it's unclear how that works or actually where she lives at all) so definitely isn't the standard type. She's significantly less well fleshed out as a character than Blair, Serena, or even Jenny. Her job seems to be, for the most part, to be judgmental and to be "good" in the way Dan is. Unlike Blair and Serena, she hasn't mentioned college, so it's not even clear what year she would be if she were in school, or if she already graduated and just plans to make films or what (how's that for ringing academic prose?).














Blair, on the other hand, is what someone I know--and actually I'm sad to say I cannot recall who, so if you are reading this, please speak up,--called a "stealth smart girl." Although the most popular, best dressed, and one of the richer girls in school, she has had perfect grades (although I don't believe we've ever seen her study), and a high (if unmentioned) SAT score and earned entry into Yale. She isn't going to Yale, due to some bad actions on her part and because of ifwesendourcharactersawayhowwilltheshowcontinueitis, and may end up at NYU. Still a good school. Like Rory Gilmore, getting into the Ivy League (in the pilot Rory says Harvard, but later obsesses over Yale, which is much closer to Stars Hollow and from which she graduates), has been presented as Blair's be all and end all, along with becoming Audrey Hepburn (a goal after my own heart). It will remain to be seen how the story treats her at NYU, or whether it becomes Columbia after all (it would have made more sense to send Nate to NYU and Blair to Columbia), but it will be interesting to see if they have school challenge Blair.

The season finale is tonight and I'm "unspoiled" but I'm guessing Serena's recent arrest is what will torpedo her going to Brown. She's never been school oriented and it wouldn't be surprising or terrible if next year she didn't go to college but modelled or something instead. The final girl on that show is Jenny, who won't be ready for college for at least one more year (maybe two--these shows are so vague). As a fashion designer she is outside the realm of the "smart girl" no matter what her grades, which have never been mentioned--she is instead an artsy girl.

90210 also didn't include such a character. Andrea Zuckerman's daughter Hannah was introduced in the pilot as the anchor for the school TV news show Navid runs, but was barely seen and has never been mentioned again. Annie is the good girl, and the actress, but is much more Brenda than Andrea, only tons more annoying. Even when the world hated Brenda, Shannen Doherty was tons more convincing and good in the role than Shenae Grimes. Anyhow, as PK (Principal's kid), it seems likely Annie gets good grades, but we've seen no evidence of her stressing over anything other than boys and whether she's the lead in the school show or not. Silver is the blogger (like all smart people are), but mostly the rebel with problems and actress and druggie Adrianna and popular/bitchy Naomi are far from school oriented. So far no one is a stealth smart girl, but any of them could turn out to be a genius.

Friday Night Lights also didn't have such a character. Coach's daughter Julie is shyer than the other girls, but not flamboyantly brainy. Lyla got into Duke, but was more into cheerleading, then Christianity, and later boyfriend Tim than school while Tyra was the classic underachiever who ultimately did get into college, but through a great deal of struggle.


Finally, there is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Unfortunately for me, despite having just completed a season, this will be back in July and I'm sure I will watch every minute of the total train wreck this show is. This show alone might include the brainy girl in the lead, Amy. She plays the French horn and, until shortly before the show began was of the "never been kissed" variety of girl I discuss in my sex chapter. However, by the time the show starts, not only has she been kissed, she is pregnant. Although frequently referred to by the actual words "smart girl" we never see her do anything particularly brainy, and in fact she, and most of the cast, come off as quite dim. An interesting character, however, is Adrian, a very stealth smart girl. Although clearly the sex pot (she sleeps with the father of the baby, another girl's boyfriend, and her new stepbrother), she is also determined to do well in school. She will admit it, but even her friends (and she starts off wanting few) are surprised to discover her devotion to school.

So, what does the stealth smart girl mean? Does this mean that braininess is now a less outsider characteristic? Given that some of these shows actually have characters of color (though Gossip Girl only does as recurring characters, including an Asian girl with gigantic glasses, and 90210 and Friday Night Lights have had only boys of color), is that enough? Are we supposed to see all the characters as so well integrated that they don't need obvious signs of smartness as glasses or huge piles of books around them? I'm not sure, but it's something I want to think about this week.

Something is Not Right

Ah, I've always looked better in black.

90210 was . . . itself last night, which was to say not at all very good and not even laughably bad, just sort of dull and pointless. Brenda and Kelly still look weird, though when I thought Brenda might be dying I'll admit to a pang (she wasn't), and announced to the cats that they couldn't kill off Brenda, of all people. Somehow that would ruin the canon of the original show. I've been having a lot of the reruns lately on in the background while I work at home, and it's funny how it just doesn't matter what season it is, I know what's happened and what's about to happen within minutes. But the weekday shows are in the 7th or 8th season when the show got really dark and sort of dull and Donna with the mocha colored hair and Kelly spent a lot of time bleating, so it's not as big a contrast between the original and the new as it could be. Anyhow on the new show Annie is still incredibly annoying and should probably switch places with the younger sister on Secret Life of the American Teenager, the only one on that show I actually like.

Annie had INTUITION, which they learned about in school (who needs to learn that in school?), and squinted, as Daniel Drennan, the original BH90210 recapper would have written, real hard, while figuring out ,and then letting her folks in on the fact that, "something is not right" (as Madeline's headmistress, Miss Clavel, would have said) with the mysterious new son her dad never knew he had who took off with $200,000 of Naomi's mom's money, which she can ill afford now that she's getting divorced. Adrianna might have gotten AIDS while she was using, but was given a clean bill of health--do they no longer tell you about the ten year incubation period, and retesting and all that? But she is pregnant--and Brenda can't have children and wants to adopt . . . gee, I wonder what will happen. And the worst part is that Grandma Bluth said she wanted to go back to work, which I fear means we'll have a lot less Jessica Walter, who I know has been domoted and is one of the few things that makes this show tolerable.

I don't love Scrubs, and from all accounts Zach Braff is a big ass, but the critic I read was right and they really did seem to have a new vitality on the two episodes last night on their new network ABC. The caustic new intern "Jo" is fun, and it was very sweet to see JD and Turk usher Glynn Turman's character into death. Even if it meant they missed steak night, which sounded pretty fun. Courteney Cox, however, looks way to skinny, her hair is stringy, and she wasn't very funny. I don't think she's permanent though, as Ken Jenkins is still on the show.

I've also been watching, from Netflix, original SNLs. I still love Gilda Radner, but the shows vary a lot based on the hosts. Candice Bergen--funny. Lily Tomlin--funny. Robert Klein, not so much. They're getting into a groove, but are still trying things like having the hosts interact a bunch with the musical guests which I'm glad they haven't done since. ABBA lipsyncing on the deck of the Titanic was mildly funny. Loudon Wainright lookedawfully young and I've seen the first two "Land Shark" sketches, which hold up well, and the first appearance of Emily Littella. Of course, I don't think it really gets good until they get rid of Chevy Chase, who Jane Curtin once said was "probably out kicking a puppy or something," and bring in coolest man on the planet Bill Murray, but that will take a lot more disks and I have lots of other stuff to see first.

Hi, I'm Kelly Taylor and I have the perfect anecdote for your problem

Last night's 90210 was somewhat better, if only because of the increased Brenda. I'm surprised I missed the news she was back for two more episodes, but am glad she is. I thought she insisted she and Kelly not fight about men, though?

I have to say though, if I'm Kelly Taylor and I'm trying to get Annie and Naomi, who have just found out they have a long lost brother in common, and who hate each other because Annie is dating Naomi's ex despite the fact Naomi asked Annie not to while they were friends, I really have my choice of stories:

1. My mother married the father of a geek from this very school with a giant crush on me. It was initally icky, but I learned to love him. And of course this relationship ended up with Silver, who you both like.

2. My dad invited me for dinner but didn't show up. In his place was the grown up sister I never knew I had. I learned to love her. Until she disappeared after two episodes and was never spoken of again.

3. I slept with Brenda's boyfriend while she was in France for the summer. When she came back, we told her and she stomped away, informing us we should "never speak to me again." Eventually, we all became friends again until later tonight when she will break up with me and tell me she slept with my potential boyfriend, who has temporarily disappeared for no reason.

But now, she gave some lame story about plants v. flowers. C'mon show, you can do better. Please do.

I really have to start watching Privileged, because that spot is a dead zone now. I hope they show reruns while 90210 is in almost two months of reruns. I'll have to get to the big stack of movies I got from Netflix during those nights, too.

I guess I missed a day in there, due to three meetings yesterday and a few minor but annoying health issues. Tomorrow I need to plan for a presentation about my work for our annual All Area of Studies meeting. I'm not sure what I'll say yet, but I guess I'll backtrack all the way to the beginning, and talk about my dissertation, and then what little I've been doing since.

Anyhow, TV Tuesday was 90210--or as I like to call it, the city of Jessicas--I think there are at least four on the show right now--and House. Kelly was back, but 90210 was pretty bad, what with the over-emoting by Annie and Naomi. Naomi only think she's Blair Waldorf, she ain't even close. Nor is she pretty. However, having them as enemies makes for a better storyline than having them as friends, I suppose. Ho hum. I did enjoy Adrianna and Navid--and whoever did the production design on Navid's house did a great job--and it's interesting that more than half the teenage cast (Navid, Silver, Dixon, and Annie but not Naomi, Ethan, or Adrianna) are admitted virgins. I guess that's actually only slightly less than the ratio on the original show when it started (David, Scott, Andrea and Donna, with Brandon having sex the first time in the first few episodes, and Brenda by the winter dance), but surprising for this day and age and the style of show. I can't imagine that will last long as several couples seem on the way, if they don't break up first. Which I imagine Silver and Dixon will soon do, as they've been happy for weeks now. Thank God Brenda's back next week. Boo on demoting grandma Bluth to occasional player, though. Thinking about what her casting indicates the show was supposed to be, given the Freaks and Geeks pedigree of the showrunners makes me sad.

I watched two reruns of House because my students just love it. I could see some of the allure, but to me a good mystery means that I can assemble the clues myself and at least get part of it right. On a show like this, with my (and I assume most viewers') basic lack of medical knowledge, it's not even close. Anyhow, both episodes seemed to follow the same trajectory--in one a Mafia guy going into Witness Protection falls into an unexplained coma, in another Samatha Mathis's husband turns blue and can't breath while having kinky sex with her, in a much more disturbing and gross episode. There's a lot of writing on a flip chart. How retro. No one ever consults a computer, say, (or any books or medical journals even,) they just sit around and toss ideas around, or stare into the air and think. And House is completely right both times, and the others are wrong. I don't know if every episode is like that or not, but I assume so. I have always liked Lisa Edelstein, but that was a fantastic episode, and I didn't even recognize Chi McBride for a while--he's so much better as Emerson Cod. I may watch again, though not only has it been on the same time as my must watch for work 90210, but now they're moving it into the Monday night clusterfuck slot, against Gossip Girl, Chuck, and How I Met Your Mother, so I definitely won't watch in first run. But Tuesdays at 9 are a gaping hole unless I catch up with Privileged, so I may check it out in reruns.

Last night Pushing Daisies, and Dirty, Sexy Money, neither of which are long for this world evidently, (sob for PD, at least), were preempted, so it was once again all reality, all the time. The last interesting one of the Top Models was kicked off last night after drinking a lot of wine, so my money's on McKey but really it's just a buncha boring white girls. Stylista, same train wreck and I hope the fact that two dull people were sent home last night means it will be even shorter than planned. Top Chef seems almost exactly the same, and no one impressed me much--not surprising as I can't keep 17 people straight--although it's nice that none of the brown or black people were sent home in this first round. Just two very young white folks who knew each other from the CIA, and not the fun Chuck one.

President Obama!! It's a beautiful day!!

I was struck by a posting the other day and had a few thoughts. I never realized just how class-based my television decisions may be. I thought about all the television I watch on a weekly basis and nearly all of it is about the lives of upper-middle or upper class people, or those who aspire to be in those classes. Gossip Girl, 90210, Dirty, Sexy Money, Entourage, and 30 Rock are mostly about rich people. Everyone on Mad Men does quite well, even with income disparity. Desperate Housewives has a blend, but even when they struggle, they never lose their large homes in a well-manicured neighborhood or seem to be wearing old clothes (uglier, but not old). Project Runway, Top Design, Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, and the new Stylista are all about people who work in creative industries where there are a lot of people struggling, but where the best/luckiest can make tons of money. Pushing Daisies is in a universe of its own, as are Heroes and Lost, but none has its characters worrying about money. We are meant to believe that Chuck is slumming it, working at a big box store, but his sister, with whom he lives, is a doctor, and he works with spies who are certainly paid well. Only The Office and Life on Mars are about people who would seem to be solidly middle class.

There's a whole world of TV about lower middle and working class people too, of course. I loved Roseanne, and Grace Under Fire, but don't find any sitcom on these days really has that sort of powerful message about working people. I got sick of My Name is Earl, which makes fun of its trashy characters. I have a feeling that most of the working class people on TV are on reality shows I do not enjoy watching and actual poor people have never been anything but victims or criminals on any show, I don't think.

Anyhow, as I've mentioned, there's so much TV out there that it's really easy to find niches, whether in fiction, reality, or news, that reinforces our own sense of our selves, and the identity we've constructed, and only watch those shows and those channels.

Lighten Up, It's Just a Fashion Magazine

Last night I forewent the Obama thing in favor of Pushing Daisies, a show that's just really enjoyable. Although it's about death, and about a relationship that can never be consummated, it's also relentlessly cheery in a way we need today. Or at least I do. I seem to be the only one and the show is on the cancellation block. That will make me sad. Even if it stays on we haven't seen the aunts for three weeks. Are they trying to save money by not having to pay the whole cast? I know that's how the CW seems to work, which is why there is a b or c tier cast member (Vanessa, one of the parents, Erik, who really should be main cast) missing from most episodes, and Greek seems to have this issue too, but I don't think it's common for major network shows. Anyhow, I hope last night's ratings are either really great because people are sick of politics and watched the only other thing available on a major network, or don't really count.

Anyhow, I'm not sure if the whole Chinese restaurant/Chinese mafia thing was racist or not, and it sort of might undo a little the goodwill I had for them not even questioning the fact that white Debra Mooney was very dark Chi McBride's mom, but on the other hand I really want to play Dim Sum poker. And Ned's brothers are cute, even if magic is goofy.

I'm way behind on Dirty, Sexy Money (they don't use that serial comma that I would), but finally watched the one from 3 weeks ago that I fell asleep during (and I fall asleep in front of the TV, like once a year). It's an OK show, but somehow when they made it dirtier, sexier and monier as I asked for, they removed something. Or maybe it's just in really bad taste to be watching rich adults right now. Teenagers, like the ones on Gossip Girl and 90210 are supposed to live in a bubble comprised of their own friends, lovelives, and plans for the mythical future and don't have to understand the economy, but the youngest Darling is at least 20, so they really should be more careful about conspicuous consumption. But with Mad Men, Greek, Project Runway, Top Design, and I assume Entourage soon out of the picture for a while, unless I want to find something else to do, I'll keep watching I guess. I need something fictional to enjoy.

Top Design got it right, I think, but the only one I really liked was Ondine. I liked her home as well and am jealous of her modern design classics. She won't win, though. Nathan or Preston will. I imagine Nathan will do something really clever and pull it out. But between this and Stylista, a real train wreck, and not necessarily in a good way, I'm just sick of watching people be mean about petty shit. So Preston doesn't drink. So what? Speaking of Stylista, Kate may be very dislikable, but anyone who doesn't know that bubble tea is so 5 years ago is lame, and she was right. And I'm sure a panic attack is no fun at all and I'm sorry for that guy I guess, but seriously, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's just TV. It's only the second week, if he can't take that little amount of pressure, he can't work at a magazine, or really any other workplace.

Where's Andrea Zuckerman when you need her?

Only 6 days to the election, and I'm with Wyatt Cenac--let's just get this the fuck over already! Good news or bad, I just wanna know.

As I write this, a fourth season episode of the original 90210 is on. I've been watching the old shows once or twice a week lately, and it's really amazing to me just how much I believe those people are friends and that they are exactly who they say they are. I'm pretty sure I believed it within a few episodes.

The new show, however, oy gevult. As I suspected, without Kelly or Brenda, it's a worse dog than ever. I still enjoy Silver, and Dixon is OK but otherwise really really don't care about Annie or Naomi or Annie's parents or the so-called hot teacher or Annie's so-called love interest. The only person is intriguing, and in part that's because they clearly don't know what to do with him. He says he's been in love with Adrianna since the third grade, and mentions he wants to ask Annie out in an earlier episode but holds himself and dresses like a ballet dancer. I hate to say "he's so gay" but "he's so gay." Whether it is Michael Steger who is gay, and Navid is not, or whether Michael Steger is playing Navid gay, I don't know but the actor doesn't choose his own clothes, I suspect. Skinny jeans and a deep v-neck top on that tall willowy body with the long hair just reads gay to me. Anyhow, it came even more out of nowhere than Jenny and Nate did. I don't know why Gossip Girl can get it so right generally, and this show can get it so wrong generally. Of course, Kelly is still coming back, and I do still study teen TV, so it's staying on my season pass, but I just really don't care, and I truly don't believe these people like each other or know who the hell they are supposed to be.

Greek ended well, I guess. I read that Michael Rady is coming back so it's not a surprise that he and Casey will be together next year, (or at least in the same storyline), but I still liked seeing a girl on TV realize her future work life may be more important than a guy, even if that's a pretty cool one. I guess the idea of rival sorority is OK, but I'd rather have Casey a lot less interested in the house, and more interested in school or causes or something. We really don't know if any of those girls are smart and playing vacuous, or actually not all that bright but it would be nice to see it since I think Spencer Grammer really does come off as pretty smart. The woman who plays Rebecca too. Anyhow, with the next season coming in January, it's not the same sort of cliffhanger as Mad Men, where we have to wait 9 months.

I enjoyed the brawl between the two fraternities more than I would think, in part because I was wondering how they choreographed it. I'm sure Rusty will move into the house and realize he can't study amidst the noise and the dirt and the general busybodyness of Cappie and the gang, and will be back with Dale before long.

I don't much care, but it beats the hell out of Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Monday night is cluster&6%$ night.

Heroes almost made sense to me last night--there must be something wrong with me. I still watch mostly for Hiro and Ando's scenes, which I think are intriguing because they're funny, but we're reading subtitles. I really don't know where they are going with all this though, or why I care. I'd love it if they'd move Chuck to that time slot, so I could watch it in real time, but since they're both on NBC, that won't happen. I'm only caught up until last week on that show and How I Met Your Mother, so later this week I want to get to last night's episode. I hate Monday night at 8 for being so good.

Gossip Girl is still great, though I didn't love last night's episode. I promised myself I'd write this blog before I read any other commentary and forgot and already read the recap on http://www.zap2it.com/. The reviewer and I both agree Vanessa is pointless. As I said to emily the other day (and I don't know if that's one of the two emilies I know, or one I don't), I love GG, but if I had teenagers, I sure wouldn't want them watching it to learn about love but the Blair/Chuck scenes are definitely the hottest things I'm watching these days--not that there's much competition as most shows are more like Pushing Daisies, where no one actually touches or Chuck, where they can only have a fake relationship. I'm not sure that the portrayal of Lily as a totally neglectful mother holds true to what we know about her, but it does explain some of Serena's wild child rep that we also haven't seen much in evidence and maybe more of why Erik tried to commit suicide. But Vanessa and Nate and Jenny are all pretty boring characters--they need to spice someone up. But they're all more interesting than Annie on 90210--I'm not the least bit sad that's in reruns for the second week in a row.

This week three shows I watch come to an end for the season, Mad Men, Greek, and The Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency (which I don't watch on purpose, yet have managed to catch every sordid episode--and it's been much trashier this season in the model house). I assumed there would be a Project Runway reunion tomorrow, but it doesn't look like it, so I don't know if that's next week or never. I could then replace those shows with Privileged, Fringe, or My Own Worst Enemy, (I have episodes of the latter two on TiVo but haven't watched them) but Stylista is looking like it's going to make the cut instead. I need something that doesn't require constant attention. One of the reasons I like Greek, despite it being about fraternity/sorority people, who never interested me before, is that it's so relentlessly lighthearted. I don't think most TV is like that--nearly all hour-long series tend to get darker as they get older. The ads for Privileged make it look pretty sunny, though, and a friend at the conference I was just at said I'd really like it, so maybe next week I'll try catching up in the middle (something I hate doing) since that space will be empty, and that's right after 90210, which I'd have to keep watching even if I didn't know I'm unable to look away. Anyhow, god forbid I could pick a weeknight and say "that's my reading night." There's really no law that I have to watch things the night of and I could use my TiVo to better effect, particulary if I dropped a slot or two.

If I were a really good teacher, I'd check out shows my students watch--House, Fringe, John and Kate Plus 8, The Biggest Loser, Intervention, and Little People, Big World seem to be the leaders there. But I can't bring myself to do it, especially those last four. Drippy/Sentimental is just not in my vocabulary, and I hope I'm not coming off as too judgmental. Mostly I just ask those students questions. A lot of my students seem to exist entirely on reality shows and seem to think that only older sitcoms are any good, but not so old as to be in black and white (a few were shocked to actually love Lucy). I try to make it clear that I know that there's a lot of crap out there, but that there's good stuff too. But I don't think I'm going to have a lot of luck getting working adults who are going to college on top of it (which is most of my students) to invest the mindwork it takes for Mad Men and Lost, though I'm shocked none seem to love The Office. Too real maybe?

First post

I thought if I started a blog, it would get me writing about televison and television issues. Right now my dissertation is in strong consideration for being published as a book and I've been keeping myself sort of "on deck" for that as when they get back to me I assume I'll really have to hustle, but in the meantime I have all these thoughts about TV and nowhere really to talk about them. So I am.

For anyone reading this who doesn't already know me, my dissertation was called "Girls Who (Don't) Wear Glasses: The Performativity of Smart Girls on Teen Television" and dealt with the brainy type of character starting with Father Knows Best, and moving forward through the TV decades, but concentrating predominantly on Andrea Zuckerman on Beverly Hills, 90210, Angela Chase on My So-Called Life, Willow Rosenberg on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lindsay Weir of Freaks and Geeks, and Rory Gilmore, Paris Geller, and Lane Kim of Gilmore Girls.

I finished that and am now an assistant professor of Media Studies and Communications, and am teaching my own course in Television and Culture online, and am planning to develop a course in Women, Girls, and the Media for next fall.

I'm still watching teen shows, particularly Gossip Girl (thanks to Emily for letting me know I missed the most important one!) CW's new 90210, ABC Family's Greek (technically a college show and hence outside the parameters I set for myself), the BBC's Skins, THEN's Degrassi: The Next Generation and over the summer the appalling Secret Life of the American Teenager. I'm also paying attention to teen girls on shows like Heroes, and . . . I don't think there are any on other shows I watch since they fast forwarded the ones on Desperate Housewives.

I also watch The Office, Mad Men, Lost, Ugly Betty, Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Weeds, Project Runway, and usually watch ER though, since it's so depressing and boring, I'm just as happy when there's something else in that timeslot and, as such, have seen the first two episodes of Life on Mars. I don't really like cop shows, but enjoy period pieces. We'll see if I keep it up. It's pretty violent. I also never miss The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which I usually watch the next morning since I don't like politics at night, and Jeopardy.

Yes--that's too much TV. I'm supposed to be working very hard. I spend a lot of time reading about TV when I'm not watching it. Which is why I feel like I need to write about the television rather than just consume.