I've been watching Popular, a TV show that is a bit hard to define. It lasted only two seasons, but what fun they were!
The Plot:
High School. Brooke McQueen is the popular crowd; Samantha McPherson is with the quirky crowd. They hate each other, their parents fall in love, drama and comedy ensue.
The Good:
While called 'popular,' by the second season the lines between Brooke's and Sam's crowds have blurred; together they are the popular crowd, with a bunch of oddball unpopular characters such as Emory Dick and April Tuna. A better one-word description of the show may be power; the power shifting between the characters, the power people have over each other. Nicole, as the mean girl/popular girl, is really looking for the power popularity can give her.
Ahem. But that makes it sound so, well, serious. This is a comedy/drama/satire, and when it works, it works. It takes on a whole range of issues, with both love and humor. The transgendered teacher first season? The mean girls turn out to be mean because they don't like her fashion choice and perform an emergency makeover.
The actors take their work seriously, even when it's over the top, such as the cheerleader Glamazons having a Prada allowance. Or Bobby Glass's finger getting eaten by a pet cat. Or Josh's mullet. Or Mary Cherry and her mother, Cherry Cherry, who marries ErikEstrada.
Plus: songs! A great all musical episode the first season, and some music bits include a Cabaret-tribute about STDs.
I know, it's hard to explain.
5 comments:
I remember this show and was a fan, too! And I think it kinda left the viewers hangin' too. There was never any closure.
This was an awesome show! I tried looking for free downloads on the internet, but couldn't find any. Did you buy the first two seasons?
Popular was by far my favorite show in high school! Tammy Lynn Michaels was perfection but the way they ended the show was a smack in the face to the viewers. I know there was talk about doing a wrap up movie but unfortunately that never came to pass. I did read that the writer intended to make Sam gay. The best thing about this show was the way they handled GLBTQ issues, albeit in their own inimitably quirky way, far before it became the norm. Geez now I want to dust off my dvds! :-)
I lurrrrved Popular. It was one show that my husband and I watched faithfully. That and Freaks and Geeks.
I was so upset when I found out the show wasn't coming back...with that cliffhanger...I'm still upset...now that I think about it.
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