Greetings,
As some of you may recall, I have lived in a few places in my life, all of which were coincidentally named "little town just outside of Pittsburgh". Now I have done some complaining about how living in this area as an artist is a bit difficult, since it's more focused on sports than the arts. But I do get a bit excited when this place gets attention. One of those times was when a new show came along that was set in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season, so, therefore, it is time for another installment of The One Seasoner's Club as we discuss My So-Called Life.
There have been many shows that have lasted a mere one season, but only some of them have inspired fans to fight for the show's survival. My So-Called Life was one of those shows. Fans got very upset when it was reported that it was getting cancelled, so they started a huge letter writing campaign, because in 1995, people still wrote letters. Despite their passionate efforts, the show did not survive. And yet, somehow, it managed to leave a lasting impression on pop culture. So let's talk about what made this show so enjoyable.
My So-Called Life was centered around the, I guess, life of a 15-year-old girl named Angela Chase, who was played by 15-year-old Claire Danes. What? WHAT! A teenager actually playing a teenager on a TV show. Relax, though. All of her high school character counterparts are played by people well above the drinking age. So, anyway, Angela is your typical teenage girl, who lives her life, while giving a voice-over narration of how she's feeling. Don't we all do that. Actually, that was a big part of the show, those voice-overs. Angela was the supplier of them in every episode, since every episode was from her point of view, save two, where other characters took over. I'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, let us first discuss Angela's home life.
Angela has one of those bizarre families with a mom and a dad who are married and who seem to kind of like each other. Weird, right? She has a good, but sometimes strained relationship with her mother Patty (Bess Armstrong). When it comes to her dad, Graham (Tom Irwin), Angela seems closer to him, though they do have their moments of distance. And then we have a little sister, Danielle (Lisa Wilhoit), who fronts that she isn't crazy about her big sister, but who secretly wants to be just like her and have the same "exciting" life. That's something we find out in the episode "Weekend", where Danielle becomes one of the two characters who takes the voice-over duties from Angela. Well, that's home. Time for school.
In the pilot, we see that Angela has begun to hang around with some new friends, while becoming distant from an old one. The new friends are Rayanne and Rickie. Rayanne (A.J. Langer)is a bit of a wild child, to say the least, who we eventually find out comes from a single parent home and has some substance abuse problems, but she still seems to have a good heart. Rickie (Wilson Cruz)is a boy who likes to wear eyeliner and hang out in the girls room, and Angela's mom referred to him a being "very confused". Seriously, though, the kid was gay, but I don't recall anyone ever actually using that word on him. Maybe I missed it or maybe no one wanted to state the obvious. Now, the old friend and current neighbor of Angela's was Sharon (Devon Odessa). These two girls had been total BFF's, but, as it often happens when people begin to grow up, they grew apart. It stayed that way with them for awhile, but eventually they were able to be close again. Speaking of people who fill the role of both schoolmate and neighbor, we next have Brian (Devon Gummersall), the token geek who has an "obvious to everyone but her" crush on Angela. Also, in the episode "Life of Brian", he becomes the other character who gets to have his P.O.V. be ours for awhile. And then we have Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), the crush of our protagonist. Just the protagonist. Not me. Not at all. Anywho, he's a good-looking, quiet loner who has a learning disability and can barely read. Say it with me - project! Of course, eventually, Angela got to have a "relationship" with Jordan, but it was a little... I guess 'awkward' would be the best word, in my opinion anyway. Maybe I was preoccupied with the fact that Claire Danes was 15 and Jared Leto was, like, 21 or 22 or something. Supposed felonies can be very distracting.
I should also give some shout-outs to people who were on the show more sporadically. We got Mary Kay Place as Sharon's mom, Camille, Patti D'Arbanville as Rayanne's mom, Amber, and Jeff Perry as Mr. Katimski, a teacher that showed up and helped Rickie out in the last few episodes. And there were several great guest stars, like Roger Rees, Laura Innes, Tracy Melchior, Paul Dooley and I think even Jared Leto's brother, Shannon, had a bit part a couple of times. Well, that's what IMBD told me, and they are never wrong. Like, ever.
Now sometimes, when shows like this last only one year, it can actually make the time almost stretch out. That one year, to me, seems like about three. Well, a lot did happen in this short time. We got good times, bad times, romances, betrayals, parties, even an overdose and a heart attack. That's a lot. But it was all done quite well. Actually, to this day, I have no idea why this show got cancelled. Obviously, it had a strong fan base, and it was critically acclaimed. I guess you just never know what the networks want. Apparently, they did not want this show. Sadly.
So what has happened to the cast of My So-Called Life since the mid-90's? I think we all know what has happened to Claire Danes. She's had a pretty good career, as has Jared Leto. Yeah, I love when those Tiger Beat-style, teen heart throbs can make their way to being legitimate and well-respected actors. It's rare, but it happens. I saw both Devon Gummersall and Tom Irwin on episodes of CSI, and I have heard some work from Lisa Wilhoit. I say "heard" because she has apparently done a voice on Family Guy for some time. All I know about A.J. Langer now is that she has become a Lady. Like she's an actual Lady, because she is married to a Lord, son of the Earl of Devon, to be precise. I am not making this up. As far as the rest of the cast goes, I really don't know what they're up to. I just hope they're doing well with whatever they're doing.
Besides location, there is another reason why I liked this show so much. I was 14 when it started, and it made me really anticipate turning 15. The show gave me the impression that a lot can happen in that particular year of someone's life. They weren't wrong, at least, not as far as I was concerned. The year I turned 15 was truly a milestone one for me, and I look back on it with much fondness, even reverence. It was a year that changed my life, in the best possible way. I did not, however, get to make out with Jared Leto. All in good time.
So did it deserve a second season? Of course, it did. I know some of the people on the show have gone on to other things, but the finale was so open ended, I would have liked to see what would have happened with the characters. And since the twentieth (wow!) anniversary of the show will be happening in 2014, I'm hoping for a reunion or even a movie based on it. I'm hoping very much actually. It's probably false hope, but I am a dreamer.
Now if you haven't seen this show and would like to, it is available on DVD for purchase or rental, by way of Netlix. They are so good to us, aren't they? There are only nineteen episodes, so it shouldn't take long to get through them. But you might enjoy them quite a bit. I know I still do.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
