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Introducing...another fandom of one! :D
My life has been chaos these last couple of weeks, so what do I do? Mainline an entirely new (to me) show, because obviously instead of working on the zillion projects I'm in the middle of, what I need to do is find inspiration for yet another one, LOL.
Square Pegs was a coming-of-age teen comedy that (sadly) only ran for one season in 1982. It's basically the story of two awkward teenagers and their quest to fit in with the "in crowd" of their freshman class in high school. It sounds like a very run-of-the-mill show, but it's honestly anything *but* ~ it was created by Anne Beatts, who cut her teeth by writing for Saturday Night Live, which in the 70s was actually very cool and edgy. Her writing staff was made up of women (and "the one token male writer"), also SNL veterans, which was also a first for network TV.
The characters are very sharply drawn, from front-and-center best friends Lauren and Patty to their oddball companions Marshall and ~Johnny Slash~, to the cool kids' clique, centered around the original valley girl :P The show was very musically conscious, too, focusing on the so-called New Wave that had been birthed from 70s punk. The Waitresses ("I Know What Boys Like") did the theme song, and Devo made a cameo appearance in one of the episodes! Other notable guest stars included Bill Murray, Martin Mull, Johnny and the Mustangs, and John Densmore, the original drummer from the Doors.
The show is quintessential 80s, but it aged very well. It has a cult following to this day, and was finally released on DVD in 2008 to coincide with Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex and the City movie. I bought the DVDs last year on impulse, as I'd seen an episode or two in passing before, but this weekend was the first time I really sat down at watched it - and loved it =) There's something for everyone.
Lauren and Patty, the main characters, reminded me so much of Kristy and Mary Anne from the Baby-sitters Club (and Amy Linker, who plays Lauren, could be a ringer for TV!Kristy). Those inclined towards femmeslash would have a field day with these two, and the looser social mores of the early 80s :P Personally, I liked both of Patty's would-be beaus (the incredibly unique Johnny Slash and the dreamily handsome Larry Simpson), and might possibly attempt to explore that UST someday. Marshall quite early on confesses his love for Lauren, and it's a running joke in the series that she finds the would-be comedian painfully unfunny. The four oddballs form something of a united front against the cool kids they so desperately want to be acknowledged by, and the weirdly peppy Muffy Tepperman, herself a square peg in a completely different way.
It's a really cool series (and, with 20 episodes, very easy to glom over the course of a few days). Judge for yourself ~ the pilot episode is under the cut:
Square Pegs was a coming-of-age teen comedy that (sadly) only ran for one season in 1982. It's basically the story of two awkward teenagers and their quest to fit in with the "in crowd" of their freshman class in high school. It sounds like a very run-of-the-mill show, but it's honestly anything *but* ~ it was created by Anne Beatts, who cut her teeth by writing for Saturday Night Live, which in the 70s was actually very cool and edgy. Her writing staff was made up of women (and "the one token male writer"), also SNL veterans, which was also a first for network TV.
The characters are very sharply drawn, from front-and-center best friends Lauren and Patty to their oddball companions Marshall and ~Johnny Slash~, to the cool kids' clique, centered around the original valley girl :P The show was very musically conscious, too, focusing on the so-called New Wave that had been birthed from 70s punk. The Waitresses ("I Know What Boys Like") did the theme song, and Devo made a cameo appearance in one of the episodes! Other notable guest stars included Bill Murray, Martin Mull, Johnny and the Mustangs, and John Densmore, the original drummer from the Doors.
The show is quintessential 80s, but it aged very well. It has a cult following to this day, and was finally released on DVD in 2008 to coincide with Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex and the City movie. I bought the DVDs last year on impulse, as I'd seen an episode or two in passing before, but this weekend was the first time I really sat down at watched it - and loved it =) There's something for everyone.
Lauren and Patty, the main characters, reminded me so much of Kristy and Mary Anne from the Baby-sitters Club (and Amy Linker, who plays Lauren, could be a ringer for TV!Kristy). Those inclined towards femmeslash would have a field day with these two, and the looser social mores of the early 80s :P Personally, I liked both of Patty's would-be beaus (the incredibly unique Johnny Slash and the dreamily handsome Larry Simpson), and might possibly attempt to explore that UST someday. Marshall quite early on confesses his love for Lauren, and it's a running joke in the series that she finds the would-be comedian painfully unfunny. The four oddballs form something of a united front against the cool kids they so desperately want to be acknowledged by, and the weirdly peppy Muffy Tepperman, herself a square peg in a completely different way.
It's a really cool series (and, with 20 episodes, very easy to glom over the course of a few days). Judge for yourself ~ the pilot episode is under the cut:
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It certainly broke ground for a realistic portrayal of high school and outsider status, paving the way for a whole slew of John Hughes movies. Square Pegs was slightly before my high school years, but Pink in Pink, Breakfast Club, etc defined them.
I didn't even know it was on DVD--glad you are enjoying it!
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It certainly broke ground for a realistic portrayal of high school and outsider status, paving the way for a whole slew of John Hughes movies. Square Pegs was slightly before my high school years, but Pink in Pink, Breakfast Club, etc defined them.
It's very Degrassi-like, only not quite as melodramatic. I can definitely understand why it has such a cult following :D and do wish it could've been around for another couple of years, to follow these characters as they made their way through high school.
And I've always been a fan of the John Hughes movies ♥ I don't think you have to be a child of the 80s to love them, but it certainly helps!
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