DVD boxsets really are the lazy student's best friend. Although I have work to do, places to go and people to see, I always seem to find a lot of time for lying back in my room with a DVD or two, or even watching them while I'm doing something else, such as my hair or my nails. Whereas I love watching a good film as much as anyone (or maybe more), most of the time I find myself putting on a TV series when I'm in the mood for watching something, and so have built up quite a collection of DVD boxsets, though still borrow quite a few from my friends as they have lots of them too. I first discovered Gossip Girl when I borrowed the first series from my friend down the corridor, and after watching it and loving it, I decided to buy my own so I could watch it whenever I wanted to. Now that I've seen the series several times and am still obsessed with it, I decided that it was time to review it and share its greatness with all of you, while I wait for the second series to come out.
Gossip Girl is an American series based on the books of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, and is about a group of elite teenagers from the Upper East
Side in Manhattan. These teenagers are rich and practically royalty in the city, and attend exclusive private schools and aim to attend even more exclusive Ivy League colleges when they leave school. Their world is full of scandal and secrets, most of which are exposed on everyone's favourite website: Gossip Girl, where an unknown girl spreads information about these elite few so that everyone can see it. This leads to even more scandal, as well as a lot of bitching and fights, and lots more juicy secrets.
The main cast of characters includes Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Serena van der Woodson (Blake Lively), Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), and siblings Dan and Jenny Humphrey (Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen respectively). Blair is queen bee in this elite world, with her gorgeous boyfriend Nate Archibald by her side and many admirers and friends. Her best friend Serena, however, disappeared without a word six months ago, and has just returned to the city, sparking off interest anew as to why she left and why she has returned. Dan has always had a crush on Serena, though has never approached her as he is not in with her friends, due to being from Brooklyn and not being part of the Upper East Side elite. Dan's sister Jenny, however, is desperate to become one of the popular girls, and is willing to do almost anything to get there.
I reckon that lots of you will read that summary and think that it's not for you, but don't dismiss it yet! Although Gossip Girl sounds like a very teenage and very girly show, it's actually amazing, and appeals to a lot more people than would be expected. The reason why it's so good is that although it's based around the lives of Manhattan's elite, it feels like it was made for people who don't know that world, which is most of the population and so most of the viewers. The presence of two outsiders, Dan and Jenny, means that there is a good comparison between the ordinary people' and the upper class characters, which is interesting and enjoyable to watch. Gossip Girl feels like an insight into the lives of rich and elite teenagers and shows what it is really like in their world, while also showing that these characters are real people and not all plastic and perfect. Yes, some of the girls are very spoilt, and most of them are very bitchy, but then most teenage girls are bitchy and mean at times, and wealth or lack of it doesn't make a difference. The show includes many issues which are important to teenagers, such as love, fidelity, divorce, sex, getting into college, meeting parents' expectations et cetera, so it will appeal to most teenagers on this level if not others. Also, most of the main characters parents have large parts in the programme too, which is also interesting to watch, and means that it appeals more to adults as well.
In conclusion, Gossip Girl is an amazing TV show, and is currently one of my favourites. I love watching it for the bitchiness and the storylines, as well as for the amazing clothes and scenes of New York City. All of the actors are gorgeous, so there's lots of eye candy for everyone, and they're not bad at their jobs either. Series 2 is currently showing on ITV2 and the first half will be out on DVD in April, but until then, go out and buy Series One and prepare to get as addicted as I am.