Admit it. With the recent invasion of Koreanovelas and sad fated Philippine Teleseryes these days, it's hard to find good quality TV programming. No wonder cable was invented! If I have to rely on the cheap TV programs being aired on the local channels today, I'd be dead by now out of sheer boredom. Good thing that I haven't forgotten the joy of watching cable and surfing the net for the best series to follow.
It has been a year since I got hooked on Gossip Girl . At first I was thinking this might be another teen show with lots of love-sick heroes and people singing all the way through the end of the show (sorry, I was never a fan of High School Musical wannabes like Glee). But all that changed when I saw the first episode of Season 1. For those who haven't watched a single episode of GG, and has no idea what I'm talking about, here's the gist of the series:
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| Gossip Girl: (Top: Chuck Bass, Jenny Humphrey, Dan Humphrey & Vanessa Abrams. Below: Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen & Nate Archibald) |
WHAT IS GOSSIP GIRL ALL ABOUT?
Gossip Girl is an American drama series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The story is mainly focused on the lives of 6 young people (later became 7 in Seasons 2-4) in the Upper East Side and the controversies and scandals that follow them. Gossip Girl is a blog website so it basically posts the day by day activities of these young Upper East Siders who happens to belong to the top families in New York.
THE CAST AND CHARACTERS OF GOSSIP GIRL:
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| Serena van der Woodsen |
Serena van der Woodsen is the "it girl" of the Upper East Side. She returned from Knightley Boarding school in Connecticut to rebuild her life back in the UES after escaping there to get away from a scandal. She's the modern day version of Barbie and is one of the sought after girls in New York A Paparazzi-favorite, Serena struggles to reform her life from the "girl in the spotlight" to just having a normal life.
Serena's best friends with Blair Waldorf and is Dan Humphrey's constant on-and-off girlfriend. She attended Constance Billard High School and went off to attend Columbia in college after taking a year off from college to decide what she's going to do with her life.
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| Blair Waldorf |
Blair Waldorf is the "Queen Bee" of the social scene of Manhattan and Constance Billard High School. A top achiever, she is the only child of a famous fashion designer in New York. She's the first girlfriend of Nate Archibald but is Chuck Bass' true love.
Blair is often portrayed as haughty, shallow, scheming but intelligent. Despite of her uptight and frivolous nature, she is in contrast with her best friend Serena. Despite her snobbish ways as well, she is a good loyal friend who takes care and constantly looks out for those she cares about.
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| Dan Humphrey |
Dan Humphrey is considered a loner. The son of a rock musician turned art gallery owner, Dan is well known for his wit and sarcastic responses. He doesn't live on the Upper East Side like everybody else but he sure has a way with women on the A-List.
He is Serena's on-and-off boyfriend in the series and one of the brightest kids in St. Jude High School. He attends NYU after being turned down by Yale due to financial reasons but still managed to shine as one of the gifted writers in this generation.
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| Nate Archibald |
Nate Archibald is the so called "golden boy" on the Upper East Side. Initially torn between Serena and Blair, Nate finds himself frequently making life decisions throughout the series. The son of a wealthy business magnate and closely related to the Vanderbilts, Nate is one of the most sought out bachelors in New York.
Nate is best friends with Chuck and a constant confidant of Dan Humphrey. He has dated all the women in the A-Listers circle (Serena, Blair, Jenny & Vanessa) but managed to be friends with them after their affairs ended. This golden boy can be seen as dependable and a good shoulder to lean on. He attends Columbia University.
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| Jenny Humphrey |
Jenny Hummphrey was introduced as a freshman at Constance Billard with a desire to carve her own place with the in-crowd. She is Dan's little sister and often in trouble with her dad. She's ambitious and often referred to as a social climber. She has tight relations with Blair who she used to idolize and later on with Serena after her attempt to break Serena and Nate's relationship.
Jenny has made her mark in the series from becoming an upstanding socialite to falling from grace and later becoming the most hated character. She managed to ruin relationships all for wanting to achieve "Queen" status. Her social climbing days on the UES ended when she went to boarding school in Hudson at the end of Season 3.
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| Chuck Bass |
Chuck Bass is the only son of the wealthiest man on the Upper East Side. Cynical, world-weary, suave and goodlooking, Chuck has no qualms about living life on the edge. Best friends with Nate. He is the most connected kid on the Upper East Side. He is madly inlove with Blair despite his womanizing.
Chuck's character has evolved all throughout the series; from being the anti-hero in Season 1 to becoming a well loved character in Season 2 onwards. His devotion for Blair has almost severed his friendship with Nate, but sacrificed his feelings for her so Nate and Blair can be happy together. He ended up being Blair's boyfriend in Season 3 but their relationship came to a halt at the end of the season after he slept with little J.
THE VIEW OF THE UPPER EAST SIDE
A friend of mine once told me she doesn't like Gossip Girl because of the issues it brings up and the influence it has on people. I asked her if she has ever watched a single episode of the series and she said "No. Why would I watch a series that is all about gossip?" Well, here's my response to you: If you haven't watched a single episode of Gossip Girl then you have no right to judge what it's all about and to say even the least that you don't approve of it's morale. You don't know what you're talking about because you have no idea what it's all about in the first place! I watched a few episodes of Glee and decided I hated it; but I didn't just go off saying I loath it without knowing what it was about. If you want people to listen to you, you must have your facts straight first. That's what I learned from Gossip Girl and you had to admit I was right and within reason.
The life on the Upper East Side is far from perfect but it brings reality to a new level of awareness. Behind the facade of the lavish life in New York lies a story about people... real people- not like the soap operas and telenovelas with surreal story plots you can watch on the local tube. Relations are the center point of this TV-series with conflicts, back stabbings, secrets and feuds many people can relate to regarding relationships with partners, friends, family, and best friends. If Gossip Girl was a cake, the base would be 7th heaven. The berries would be Sunset Beach and the glazing on top would be O.C. No surprise there because Gossip Girl's producer is Josh Schwartz who happens to be the brain behind O.C. (and you would know that if you stop watching cheap filipino telenovelas and koreanovelas).
GOSSIP GIRL'S FASHION INFLUENCE
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| The New OLPMC Uniform |
Since New York is the fashion capital of the world, we can definitely learn a thing or two about fashion with the likes of Serena, Blair, Dan, Nate, Chuck, Jenny & Vanessa.
Gossip Girl has widely influenced the world and there's no denying that. The school that I went to in High School has just recently updated their uniforms to a similar match with Constance Billard & St. Judes Academy. Not to mention that a lot of people nowadays are beginning to dress up just like the cast of the show. How "in" is that?
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| Gossip Girl: Constance Billard & St. Jude High School |
The craze doesn't stop there- even the ladies would have to agree that headbands became an "in" thing this season because it has been a staple accesorry for Blair Waldorf and her mean girls. Jennifer Behr has widely produced this trend by copying her styles with the ones on the show.
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| Blair Bands On Gossip Girl |
Even the men was not able to escape the Gossip Girl influence. Several websites and blogs can be found on the net today gicing advices on how to dress like Chuck, Nate & Dan.
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| St. Jude Wannabes |
The Gossip Girl hype is all over the world. It's either people are blind or they just wouldn't admit it. What better way to be fashionable anyway than be just like an Upper East Sider?
So before you start judging me and my passion for Gossip Girl, look deep into yourself. You know you have more issues to deal with rather than my fascination with the UES. Some of just know how to handle life in style- while some don't.
You know you love me...
XoXo
Chuck Bass
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