If adult life is REALLY a replay of high school, this guy would not be the least bit happy. Even though there are some high-school-like-moments in every day adult life, I’d like to think we have progressed somewhat.
One of my honest-to-God theories of TV script writing and creation is that really good writers are still trying to figure out high school and/or they were the geeks or outliers who never were accepted in the upper clique/caste system.
In fact, I think some of the greatest TV shows in my lifetime ARE shows based on high school, many of which totally jumped the shark when the kids went to college.
Witness: Freaks and Geeks – an INCREDIBLE show which practically proves my TV theory all by itself, In fact it was so damn good, that it, like Arrested Development, drew few viewers, proving that the great American public (unlike readers of this and other fine blogs) is somewhat moronic.
My current frame of reference is ‘Friday Night Lights‘. I hadn’t paid much attention to this show until the other night when NBC ran a ‘FNL’ marathon. Holy acne-cream, that show is GOOD. The writers clearly understand high school boys: somewhat neanderthal wanna-be hunters and collector warriors who respond chiefly to two primal forces: sex and meat. The dialogue is pitch-perfect and the writers don’t skimp on the female high-school world either.
Other Hall of Fame High School Shows: Happy Days, Beverly Hills 90210, Buffy, Dawson’s Creek, DeGrassi Junior High (ok, i’m stretching the years a bit) and Veronica Mars. So far, Veronica Mars hasn’t been destroyed by her collegiate days, but I do think the show is a little weaker.
I don’t think the TV writing world can even grasp college…I mean, how many GOOD college shows have there been? Does Felicity even count?
5 Comments
December 29, 2006 at 9:41 am
Freaks and Geeks was one of the very most awesome shows EVER. And that DVD set may well be what I spent part of that Amazon loot I got for Christmas on, even though I still have all the episodes on VHS. I hear the DVD set has some sweet extras!
And Paul Feig (one of the creators) was, not surprisingly, an admitted megageek in high school. He interacted with fans on the F&G website during the show’s original airing and was just so much fun and such a great guy.
December 29, 2006 at 9:43 am
(Oh, and the F&G creators’ followup effort about college, Undeclared, was pretty good… but it didn’t really hold a candle to F&G and didn’t last long…)
December 29, 2006 at 10:06 am
I must admit that I never got around to watching F&G, although I’m SURE I would have loved it.
90% of all great accomplishments spring from an “I’ll show them!” attitude – in modern society, that springs from high school.
Square Pegs, though short-lived, was my favorite.
December 29, 2006 at 10:28 am
Oh, I forgot one more:
I was totally smitten with Joan of Arcadia.
Of course, it was cancelled.
December 30, 2006 at 10:37 am
I’ve been reviewing my Buffy DVDs the past few months and I’ve got to say–man I miss Joss Whedon working on TV.
Also, welcome to the Friday Night Lights bandwagon.