BC Review

Gossip Girl: CW
September 19, 2007

This formula has worked only sporadically in the nine years since Dawson first paddled up that creek, and "Gossip Girl" hardly breaks any new ground. Still, with soaps, timing and intangibles can be everything, so as GG would say, "We're all just dying to see what happens next." (Variety) "It seems preposterous even to type the following sentence: The television version of “Gossip Girl” on CW tonight does not quite live up to the novels." (NY Times) "Gossip Girl is as laser-targeted as Saturday morning cartoons. The CW drama is geared almost solely toward a specific demographic — teens and young adults. It's hard to imagine very many viewers outside the culture which texts as much as it talks being drawn to the latest saga of youthful angst, first love and fitting in...That said, the series based on popular Gossip Girl novels by Cecily von Ziegesar could pull in enough of the target audience to make reaching beyond this demographic unnecessary" (Sun-Sentinel) "I'll play geezer worrywart and wonder whether young viewers really need a show in which teens swill martinis, talk breezily of recreational Viagra, and use ''tap that ass'' as a term of fond feeling…The GG brand may have peaked. Whatever. The cast is as good as the pilot script, and I may not be its target demo, but I admire its fleet pace and sly craft." (Entertainment Weekly) "In short, the premiere episode of "Gossip Girl" is a fairly faithful adaptation of the first book in the series and may have improved on it. Instead of an inconsistent, slapdash affair, it's slick, well produced and fast-paced." (Zap2It) "Gossip Girl" actually isn't bad by the standards of the medium - with "The Hills"pretty much being the standard - and it's even surprisingly competent…."Gossip Girl" fails, instead, in its depiction of alcohol consumption, and, because kids are the ones who will be watching this, that's a pretty serious failing." (Newsday) "The show could do with an even stronger sense of humor as it goes on, but for now, Gossip Girl at least hits the right notes, and should strike a cord with the young demographic it's going for." (IGN) "Though "Gossip Girl" might not be in your demographic wheelhouse, and so its stories may probably seem mundane and, well, soap-filled, this series nails what it sets out to do for the CW and a certain segment of the audience. It may not be weighty and important television, but it was never intended to be (and it does its job better than its older counterparts on other networks)." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted by BC Review on September 19, 2007 | Comments (2)