Oh, Angela Chase. No one — truly, no one — has been able to wear the scrunchy-faced angst of teenage girlhood quite like her. With her philosophizing voiceovers that constantly walked the line between profoundness and self-absorption, the too-believable My So-Called Life star and her arguably even more lovable cast of friends, enemies, and, well, Brian Krakows were some of the ’90s finest creations. Sure, sometimes MSCL got a little preachy, but the beauty of the show is that it was unafraid to just do high school: no exuberant wealth, no too-attractive 30-year-old stars, no tiptoeing around ugliness. The gang was made of living, breathing high schoolers we could identify with.
The cult favorite was canceled after just 19 episodes, and we doting fans never got to know what happened to our friends over at Liberty High when they finally grew up. But the injustice ends here: check out where we think they’d be today below.
Last week, The Daily Beast counted down 12 hot new baby names inspired by celebrities and fictional characters, including Hillary (you know, the the Secretary of State) and Draco (as in Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy). While we hope we don’t see too many baby Dracos out there, it’s true that lots of us were named not for saints or family members or even songs, but for beloved television characters. So what, exactly, are today’s parents thinking? Has there ever been a nice Blair on a TV show? A Bobby who isn’t hapless? For your pop culture naming pleasure, we reveal what your name means according to television stereotypes, after the jump.
We’ve known for a while now that the ’90s are back in a big way. But as we followed the new, fall 2011 collections from New York Fashion Week, references to the decade were inescapable: plaid, lace, layers, maxi skirts. They were so ubiquitous, in fact, that many of them conjured images of our favorite grunge-era icons, from Courtney Love and Björk to Kelly Bundy and Rayanne Graff. After the jump, we pair ten looks from Fashion Week with the ’90s stars and characters who were born to wear them.
Rebellious and delinquent teens are among TV’s favorite tropes. They’re dangerous, romantic, and compelling all at once — and they get away with antics that aren’t so attractive on older characters. Of course, compared to the wild things who populate Skins, the British series whose American version debuts Monday on MTV, many of our favorite out-of-control teens look like honor students. So, we’re paying them tribute one last time, before they become obsolete. (Note: If you’re the kind of person who gets upset about seeing years-old plot points revealed in print, consider yourself spoiler-alerted.)
Out of all of the best parts about the holiday season — eggnog, 24 hours of A Christmas Story, debaucherous holiday media parties — our favorite has to be the slew of very special Christmas episodes. From Urkel to The Office, here are some of our favorite storylines featuring the magic of Christmas, proving year after year that sitcoms may come and go, but cliche-ridden holiday plots last a lifetime.
So your husband has been lying to you for years about his identity, your dad just died, and a man who isn’t your husband just proposed to you. Oh, and did we mention that someone shot Kennedy? Yes, Betty Draper, you are living proof that sometimes it really is hard being so beautiful. Luckily for you, however, you’re not alone. More endorphin-deprived housewives after the jump. Interestingly, most of them come from HBO series.
