Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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66 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Know You Love Me, XOXO Gossip Girl, 21 May 2008
There are 18 episodes in total that make up GGs first season, there would have been 22 episodes overall but the Writers Guild Strike in America this year crippled much of the TV industry, and GG therefore was interrupted in production and had to have its episode order shortened. The post strike episodes (episode 14 onwards) were very good albeit slightly rushed as Josh Schwartz, the showrunner and head writer, had to condense what would have spanned nine episodes into five.
GG was based on a series of books which I have some limited knowledge of but have never read. I don't think it's a good idea to come into the TV version of GG expecting an adaption of the books because that's most certainly not what one will get -- indeed, they are at this point two disparate entities. The show, in essence, takes the characters from the books along with the setting and then creates its own storylines. As a result it's a catty, glossy and just plain fantastic ride. A lot of shows based around teenagers seem to be pretty mindless but GG is actually very well written and there's always interesting psychological depth to the story and characters. In a nutshell GG is set in the glamorous Upper East Side of New York, and is depicting the scandalous lives of Manhattans elite. Gossip Girl is a mysterious blogger who basically enjoys exposing these rich inhabitants secrets.
Now, I was a huge Veronica Mars fan so I only watched this show initially because the wonderful Kristen Bell is acting as the voice of Gossip Girl. So I came for KB (not expecting much in the way of good plot etc.) but ended up staying for the awesome writing, acting and colourful characters. When I first saw the Pilot I was rolling my eyes a great deal and nearly did not come back to watch the next episode; I'm glad I gave the show another chance because I would have been missing out. The Pilot is literally the worst episode of the season and the whole show improves leaps and bounds from thereon in. Really, the Pilot doesn't make much sense in context of the rest of the show -- there's a lot of contiunity errors and characters like Chuck act out of character, as they decided after the Pilot to go in a different direction with his character. So, it's best to ignore the events of the Pilot. Apparently the Pilot would have been re-shot if the CW had more money.
My favourite characters by a huge mile are the two fan favourites Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf. I have to give the writers huge kudos for putting them together in the middle of the season, I always thought they would be an interesting pairing but never thought they would actually get together. Chuck and Blair's immense popularity as a couple and as individual characters is a testament to the excellent acting of English actor Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester -- who literally always steal any scene they appear in. Westwick and Meester also have the most explosive and heated chemistry of any of the cast. Blair is at first presented as a nasty, vindictive girl, although it's this ruthless mean side to her is part of what makes her lovable; her scheming is particularly brilliant in episodes like The Roman Holiday. You can't help but root for her. Blair is truly the shows real protagonist.
'I'm Chuck Bass' Chuck is wonderful, the sexually promiscuous and a somewhat nasty person. He is even more vindictive and scheming than Blair. He's a Machiavellian figure but as he falls in love with Blair the audience is shown with some fantastic writing/acting that he's far more complex than he first appeared to be; of course Chuck would not be half as interesting without Westwicks charisma and acting nuance, indeed it's a testament to his skill that someone as vile as Chuck in the Pilot could become the most popular male character of the show. Together Chuck and Blair are a post modern Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.
The other characters Gossip Girl focuses on are Nate Archibald, Serena Van Der Woodsen, Dan Humphrey, Jenny Humphrey, and various other secondary characters. Dan and Serena's not so torrid relationship is the focal point of the season along with the Nate/Blair/Chuck love triangle, which is pretty much taken from Chucks perspective throughout. As the triangle culminates in episode thirteen a new arc begins with guest star Michelle Trachtenburg, who is evil to delicious degrees. The first thirteen episodes of the season are well written, acted and all the episodes tend to contain various amounts of symmetry and subtext, particularly episodes like Hi-Society which exposes the weaknesses in Chucks character in a very Shakespearian manner. The post strike episodes are well conceived but some plotlines are rushed and lacked cohesion.
When all is said and done the most stabilising relationship of the show is between Blair and Serena, without it the show would be the poorer. The familial bonds and friendships are often touching and a key component of GG, particularly C's friendship with N -- indeed I think Nate will always love Chuck more than any other person in his life. The season finale 'Much I Do About Nothing' is great fun albeit slightly rushed. It centers around a wedding which involves all the regular characters. Gossip Girl is a fantastic show which I would highly recommend to anyone, it's most certainly a step above the average teenage drama.
Extras: Deleted scenes, gag reel, a fantastic featurette about the making of Gossip Girl from page to screen. There's no commentaries unfortunately, but I think said featurette more than makes up for that.
Highlight episodes include: The Wild Brunch, Victor Victrola, The Roman Holiday, A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate and Much I Do About Nothing.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gossip Girl- A must have!, 1 Jan 2009
For those of you who haven't added this box set to your girly collection do it now! I bought this on a whim when i saw it whilst shopping as i'd heard it get good reviews, so i am spreading the good news.
In order to get into the stories and characters you need to watch the first episode carefully, there are what seems afew too many characters to keep up with at first but persevere as you begin to love or hate them all in no time! With a hot cast to keep any girl/ guy interested what more could you ask for! It's teamed full of scandal that will have you cringing, emotional times that you can relate to and an unbelieveable sense of style and fashion that makes us all wish for our own stylist! This truely is an amazing dvd and will have you wishing life away until the second season is released! Go get it!
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gossip Girl, 8 Sep 2008
I first come across Gossip Girl when I saw a trailer on you tube! The first thing that made want to tune in from the trailer was the fact the show was created by Joel Schwarz - The man behind The OC and I'm totally obsessed with The OC and miss it so much!
The second reason was I read that the show was narrated by Kristen Bell my favourite TV actress! For those who don't who is Kristen Bell is! She is the lead character on Veronica Mars! And I loved Veronica Mars so much too!
Veronica Mars & The OC where both axed at the same time so I really had nothing to look forward to in the 2007-2008 season until I stumble across this! It was like having my 2 favourite shows in 1 show!
So as soon as the pilot aired I was not left disappointed! For fans of The OC you will love this show as it pretty much the same concept but instead of a bunch of rich kids in Orange County we have a bunch of rich kids in New York!
- No Spoilers -
For those who are fans of The OC and think this maybe just an OC rip-off it really isn't as the characters are completely different even though the same concept might be there the storylines are totally different!
For one the characters compare to The OC are much more loveable and just as funny! The main character Serena is a less depressing Marissa! And even though I love The OC I did find it could become depressing and dark at sometimes! I love the fact this maybe this is the 1st teen show that deals with depressing issue but is never depressing! If just pure fun and addictive to watch!
This show if you haven't seen it is like a teen version of Sex & The City! I have to admit it is completely girlie but I have no shame! I love it - the fashion, the scenery and the storylines are some of the reason make this show a must watch!
The actors are brilliant especially the main characters! Serena the loveable party girl who always looks great and Blair the queen bee of the high school! Who comes across as a b!tch but as the shows progress you see the deeper layers of Blair that makes her more loveable! And both portrayed by both actress brilliantly!
Without giving the plot away the storylines are wonderful and make each episode addictive and the dialogue is so good there is some really witty one-liners! And each of the teen subjects dealt with in the show such as drug abuse, eating disorders etc are dealt with the greatest care and really well done by the producers and creators!
The show is basically about a group of troubled teenagers of the upper east side of Manhattan basically the highest society in New York! The show is narrated through a internet blogger only known as Gossip Girl (hence the title)! But die fans will know that Gossip Girl is narrated by Veronica Mars - Kristen Bell! As far as the character of Gossip Girl goes we never see her or has yet to be reveal who she is!
As far narrating goes Kristen Bell is absolutely brilliant! Kristen Bell voice is one of the most pleasurable to listen to! Gossip Girl apart from Desperate Housewives & Veronica Mars narrating has to be the best in TV history!! I love the witty one-liners & catchphrases like "You Know You Love Me" & "XOXO" etc
Even though I get the pleasure of Kristen Bell narration it makes me really miss Veronica Mars as this show maybe be as good as the OC it's no Veronica Mars and it's not as clever and witty as Veronica Mars! Seriously Veronica will always be my favourite teen show and is the most intelligent! So this is why I get sad because I get to hear but not see Kristen Bell! Good thing she is in Heroes now!
The other highlight in the show for me is the guest appearance of Michelle Trachtenberg. who played Dawn Summers - Buffy's little sister! And she is brilliant in the show! I really loved Buffy too! This show real fills The OC-Buffy-Veronica Mars hole for me! And like those 3 shows this has to go alongside it as one of the best teen shows!
The other thing that I loved about this show it is like the TV version of Mean Girls! And I loved Mean Girls too! If you are a fan of TV Shows and Teen Movies this will be right up your street and easily a classic! But if you're not a fan of teen shows but like good shows like SATC & Housewives I would recommend this as well! You know you will love it, till next time xoxo!
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