Gossip Girl is adapted from a series of books by Cecily Von Ziegesar and was brought to the screens by one of the creators of THE OC, Josh Schwartz. As a result this is a show aimed at the teen audience but like most of these shows, anyone above the age of 19 tend to get sucked in to these shows too!
It follows the lives of those Elite teenagers in Manhattans Upper East Side and students at the most prestigious school in New York follow the scandal and gossip through the texts and blogging of "Gossip Girl", a girl who is never named but narrates all the way through the first Season of this series at least. Various scandals happen over the course of the series and we watch the how the other half live - even if they are only teenagers, what a life!
MAIN CHARACTERS:
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* Serena Van der Woodsen * (played by Blake Lively)
Serena returns to New York amongst much intrigue; from the first episode it is clear through Gossip Girls texts to those in their world that Serena was the one to know, she is referred to as the bad girl, a party girl but the issue as to why she left so suddenly is misty.
*Blair Waldorf *(played by Leighton Meester)
Blair is the poised elegant and beautiful daughter of a successful fashion designer and has claimed her thrown of "Queen B" after the disappearance of Serena, her best friend. Blair seems to be the only person not entirely happy with Serenas return, mainly because Serena disappeared without a word to Blair, but also there seems to be some underlying tension between the girls and Blairs boyfriend Nate. The girls relationship is tempestuous to say the least, flitting from loving "BFF" to outright hatred! (from Blair at least!)
*Nate Archibald* (played by Chase Crawford)
Also born into a priveledged lifestyle, the Archibalds are also an "IT" name in Upper East Side Manhattan. Impossibly attractive, he has been dating Blair for years but lately his feelings have changed and it becomes clear from the first episode that something happened between him and his girlfriends best friend, Serena. Feeling more and more that his parents want him to date Blaire more than he does, most of the first season is taken up with his indecision about his relationship with Blair and his feelings for Serena.
*Chuck Bass *(played by Ed Westwick)
Nate's best friend, his dad is a hotelier and one of the richest men in New York. Chuck is not entirely likeable through the first couple of episodes, drug smoking, whisky drinking and womanising, he has no morals and is ruthless when it comes to getting his own way. Something happens in the middle of the season to change that, its worth watching!
* Dan Humphrey *(played by Penn Badgely)
Dan, although not rich, won a scholarship to attend the private school where the rest of the gang go. He has had a crush on Serena for a long time, and we finally see them meet and fall in love throughout the series. Dan is the one that keeps Serena on track, hard working, loyal, loving and intelligent.
* Jenny Humphrey * (played by Taylor Momsen)
Dans little sister Jenny is only 14, but desperate to get in to the inner circle of girls at the school. She befriends Blair and jumps through to please her and gets herself in trouble in the process.
My Thoughts
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I absolutely loved this series, I bought it last week, started watching it Friday and could barely switch it off, only finishing it last night. It's like a wonderful mix of The OC and Cruel Intentions, a comparison that is really very easy to make.
Blair looks remarkably like Summer from the OC, has her softer side and her rich background, but she also has the conniving side of Kathryn in Cruel Intentions.
If Blair is Kathryn, then Chuck is definitely Sebastian. Cruel, sexy but with a soft side, I have to say that Chuck is my favourite character. He has a wicked glint in his eye and his chemistry with Blair is compelling viewing! He is much more interesting to watch than most of the wishy-washy characters that appear in this series. (Although I love them all!) I was even more shocked to read that he is an English Actor, only 21, but I think his performance in this (and his American accent!) is just perfect. The casing of him in this series is superb, he has that sexy but evil look down pat!
My only criticism is that it has all been seen before. Yes, everything is rehashed in TV land, but the sense of deja vu in this is really quite overwhelming. Serena is strangely like Mica Barton in The OC (But MUCH better at acting!) and Dan does seem to have that Ryan trait of being desperately poor by their standards but STILL winning the most popular girl in school. (and also being Seth-like goofy!) Even Serena's mother looks a bit like Kirsten Cohen from the OC. We even have a gorgeous brunette appear who has a past with Dan (dj vu moment, Ryan and Theresa from the OC?) This is hardly surprising when you consider Josh Shwartz' role in this production and that his co - writer for the OC was also brought in for this one!
However, It won't lose any marks from me for this. I loved the OC at the time, bu this is a sexier sassier production and the casting in my opinion is just superb.
I was totally gripped by the characters from the first episode, the only character that I didn't quite care about was Nate, but I have a feeling he will be playing a bigger role in series to come, and I imagine he is universally adored by teenage girls! Blair's wonderful mix of vulnerability and bitchiness was also enjoyable to watch and the slow burning relationship of Serena and Dan was also good viewing. There are other characters that also had very entertaining storylines interwoven with these characters, namely Serena's mum Lilly and Dans father Rufus.
I believe some critics have slated this because they do not think its suitable for teenagers. They believe the sex references (and everything else that is unsuitable) is not frankly discussed but is made glamorous. Well I have to say of course it is - it's an entertainment drama, teenagers aren't saints (but I doubt very much normal teenagers would do the amount of stuff these kids get up to!) and I have to say that there always seems to be a subtle moral or reminder of how things go wrong .