Gossip Girl Rewatch: Once upon a time when this show was truly great… (My thoughts on episode 1x01 “Pilot”)

Let me start out this post by explaining why I decided to review an episode of Gossip Girl even though the show’s been off the air since December of 2012. For starters, as random as this will probably sound, reading Fifty Shades of Grey has really gotten me thinking about Gossip Girl again, and not necessarily entirely in a good way. As I’ve read Fifty Shades of Grey, I keep finding myself thinking about how sick and toxic Chuck and Blair’s relationship ended up becoming as the series progressed. Despite the fact that Chuck and Blair’s relationship became increasingly toxic as the series continued, both the writers for the show and what I always felt was a huge chunk of the show’s audience seem to view Chuck and Blair’s relationship as a fairytale romance, much like so many women out there seem to view Christian Grey as a romantic hero despite the fact that he treats Ana like shit throughout the course of the entire Fifty Shades trilogy.

For the record, I was originally a huge fan of Chuck and Blair’s relationship, but I stopped being a Chair shipper once Chuck tried to pimp Blair out to his Uncle Jack in an attempt to keep his hotel in season three. That being said, I haven’t just been thinking about Gossip Girl in a negative way though. I’ve found myself genuinely missing the show lately, so I’ve decided to revisit the show and watch some episodes again, blogging about them in the process.

Deciding to revisit Gossip Girl again feels very nostalgic for me personally since watching the season four episode “Empire of the Son” back when it first aired is what prompted me to decide to start blogging about Gossip Girl and TV shows in general. I’m just going to go right ahead and say that I’m going to start out by blogging about my Gossip Girl “Rewatch” simply on a trial basis since it’s a show that’s been off the air since 2012, I have no idea what the level of interest in reviews of episodes of Gossip Girl will be. Sure, Gossip Girl was perhaps the most popular show that I blogged about back when it was on the air, but that might have changed since the show has been off the air for several years now. I’d also like to clarify that if my Gossip Girl “Rewatch” reviews end up becoming an ongoing thing, I’m not going to watch and review all of the episodes in order. There are simply some episodes that I’m more interested in watching in the immediate future than others. I don’t really want to watch all of the episodes leading up to the episodes that I’m most excited to watch again. However, I thought that watching and reviewing the first episode of Gossip Girl would be a good place to start my “Rewatch”; that being said, here are my thoughts on the first episode.

Personally, I’ve always felt that this episode was a great start to the series. I know that some shows like to start off with their first episode diving right into the action as if the viewers are already familiar with the characters and the plot of the show. However, in most cases I prefer it when TV shows begin with some kind of event or several events to start things off, and I think that Serena returning to the Upper East Side under somewhat mysterious circumstances was a great way for the show to begin. I’ve also always thought that the first episode of Gossip Girl did everything the first episode of a TV should do. It did a good job of introducing all of the characters; the premise of the show, establishing various conflicts between the characters and it was simply a great episode.

Bared to You: Is it just me, or is everybody in this book fifty different kinds of screwed up? (My thoughts on Book #1 in the Crossfire book series by Sylvia Day)

Let me start out by saying that the main reason why I decided to read and review Bared to You is because I’ve encountered a lot of people who’ve compared the Crossfire book series to the Fifty Shades trilogy. In most cases, I’ve seen people say that the Crossfire series is significantly better than the Fifty Shades trilogy, which has mostly been attributed to Sylvia Day being a much more experienced writer compared to E.L. James. Although, I’ve also seen people say that they like the Fifty Shades trilogy more than they liked Bared to You. After reading Bared to You, I’m absolutely baffled by the fact that anybody would think that the Fifty Shades trilogy is better than the Crossfire series since it’s pretty clear to me that Sylvia Day’s writing ability is definitely completely superior to E.L. James’ writing.

That being said, I realize that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and when I think about how there are some people who like the Fifty Shades trilogy more than the Crossfire series, I’m reminded of the fact that I like 90210 a lot more than Gossip Girl. While I do like both 90210 and Gossip Girl, I’m also not blinded by the fact that in terms of the quality of the writing for the two shows, the writing for Gossip Girl is definitely superior to the quality of the writing for 90210. At the risk of seeming like I’m going to far off topic, one of the main reasons why I like 90210 more is because anybody with even just a small shred of maturity can see that the relationship between Chuck and Blair, who are arguably the main romantic pairing on the show, is incredibly toxic and abusive. The sad thing about that is the way the producers always talked about Chuck and Blair’s relationship, it’s as if they view that relationship as some epic fairytale romance when it really did end up being a very toxic and abusive relationship. I feel I should mention that I was originally a major Chuck and Blair shipper, it was only when their relationship became truly abusive at some point during season three that I stopped being a fan of that relationship.

While 90210 didn’t have much of a clearly defined endgame couple, the closest 90210 had to an endgame couple was Liam and Annie. Liam and Annie’s relationship wasn’t necessarily handled all that well when it came to them frequently getting together only to almost immediately breakup with little to no buildup or development to them either getting together or breaking up. What I think made Liam and Annie’s relationship better is that at least it wasn’t sick and abusive with them constantly treating each other like crap or either of them trying to sabotage the other’s happiness when they weren’t together like Chuck and Blair constantly did. They definitely handled things between them with a lot more maturity, which is one of the reasons why I liked them as a couple as much as I did, but I digress.

90210: Grab some tissues, everybody, because it’s time to say goodbye to TV’s most famous zip code (My thoughts on the series finale: Episode 5x22 “We All Fall Down”)

After taking a couple weeks to reflect on the series finale, I have to say that it definitely turned out a lot better than I was expecting it to be. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but then again the producers weren’t exactly given much warning by the network that 90210 wasn’t going to be renewed for a sixth and final season. Plus, it sounds like most of what ended up being the series finale had already been filmed by the time they found out that the show was canceled, so the producers did the best they could given the circumstances. If I haven’t already made it clear in my previous reviews for 90210, I’ve always been somewhat willing to cut the show some slack given the number of times the show changed showrunners over the years, which is something that started way back when the show was merely in the development stage.

That being said, I definitely think the writers should have seen the writing on the wall and planned this episode as an episode that could serve as a season finale if the show were to have been renewed for a sixth season, but at the same time give the viewers enough closure if the show were to be canceled, which is what ended up being the case. For the most part, I’m okay with how things ended for most of the characters. The thing that I’m happiest about is the fact that the series ended with Liam and Annie not only getting back together, but also getting engaged. Personally, I would have liked the series to have ended with them getting married, but having them get engaged at the end of the series is definitely the next best thing. The other thing that I’m very happy about is the fact that the series ended with Adrianna and Navid getting back together, which if I’m being honest isn’t something that I viewed as being one of my biggest hopes for the end of the series until a few episodes ago when Adrianna and Navid once again hooked up.

As for the things that disappointed me about the finale, one the things that I found a little disappointing is the fact Adrianna and Navid spent most of the episode buried under a pile of rubble from the explosion in the previous episode waiting to be rescued. However, the episode began with Adrianna being the only who was trapped under all the debris, but once Navid realized that she was still in the room where the roof essentially collapsed on her and that it would be a while before the rescue workers would be able to see if she was okay, he went to find her on his own.

Navid found Adrianna, and in typical 90210 fashion, she was okay with the exception of her leg suffering from a minor injury. Although, they both ended up becoming trapped in some of the debris after the debris shifted, which led to them talking about their relationship. Adrianna initially told Navid that she views him as being the guy that she’s meant to spend the rest of her life with, and that she wanted to take things slow this time around, which Navid agreed was a good idea. However, after they found out that there was a gas leak, she said that she didn’t want to take things slow if they survived their current predicament. Navid once again instantly agreed with Adrianna saying that they would get a place right away and not waste any more time. Good, god! Is the word “slow” even in the writers’ vocabulary? Are they at all familiar with the concept of taking things slowly? They’ve always done everything way too quickly on this show, especially when it comes to the pacing of relationships and storylines in general, and that’s definitely always been one of the show’s biggest flaws. Perhaps nobody ever told the writers about the expression “Slow and steady wins the race”.

90210: Silver related behind the scenes scoop on the series finale from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

Here's some scoop on 90210 from this week's (Posted on 5/15/13) Ask Ausiello column.

Question: 90210 pretty much wrapped up everyone’s storyline with the exception of Silver’s. It was kind of cruel just to leave things hanging on that cancer diagnosis. Was there supposed to be more to the story? —Tammy
Ausiello: Yes, but the 11th hour cancellation precluded the show’s brass from telling it. “It was a bit of a struggle not knowing where the series was headed,” admits co-showrunner Patti Carr. “We thought we would have more time to tell the end of it. It’s our apology to the fans if some of the storylines feel like they weren’t where you thought [they'd] end up — and I think Silver’s is one of them.”

Link to the full article:‘Law & Order: SVU’ Finale Death Spoilers in Ask Ausiello: Will Olivia Die? - TVLine

90210: Episode 5x22 "We All Fall Down" Promo (HD) (Series Finale)

Here's a promo for next week's series finale, episode 5x22 "We All Fall Down". It looks like this is going to be a very emotional episode. I'm feeling really sad about 90210 ending. :(

90210: Are the writers even trying to have things make sense on this show any more? (My thoughts on episode 5x19 “The Empire State Strikes Back”)

Let me start off by saying that I apologize for taking so long to get this review written and posted. I had to work quite a bit this week, and I also had a lot of other projects that I was working on throughout the week. I’m going to try my absolute best to get my reviews for the remaining episodes of the series written and posted before the episode following it airs; that being said, here are my thoughts on this episode.

After thoroughly enjoying the previous episode, I have to say that I found this episode rather dull, and I frequently found my attention wandering as I was watching it. To be fair though, this episode wasn’t even close to being as boring as the first nine episodes of Gossip Girl’s final season were, and I still stand by my opinion that 90210’s final season is better than Gossip Girl’s final season was. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that everything about this episode was boring, because it definitely had some good things about it, and admittedly this episode has grown on me after having watched it several more times.

For starters, I would say that I found Annie’s storyline to be the most interesting storyline in this episode. The episode picked up right where the previous episode ended, which would be Patrick showing up at Annie and Liam’s house in order to confront her about her book. Patrick was furious with Annie for writing a book that was inspired by their relationship, and he was worried that people, namely his wife, would figure out that he was the inspiration for the character Patterson. Apparently, his wife’s book club was reading Undressed, and he told Annie that his wife would divorce him and take a lot of his money if she found out about his relationship with Annie. Before Patrick left Annie and Liam’s place, he threatened to hurt her family if she went on Entertainment Tonight for an interview with Nancy O’Dell in order to publically reveal that she is Author X, but Annie simply shrugged off his threats.

I have to say that I thought Patrick’s reaction to this whole situation was beyond dumb. After all, Annie didn’t use his real name in the book, and his wife never even met Annie, so how would she know that most of the book was inspired by Annie’s life? He never even told Annie that he was married. Besides, it’s not like he’s the only person on earth named Patrick. I just don’t understand how the writers expect viewers to believe that his wife would automatically realize that Patrick was the inspiration for the character Paterson in Undressed. Although, this is 90210 where 98% of the writing for the show is absolutely ridiculous and contrived, so I suppose she could figure things out by reading Annie’s book.

Annie finally came clean to Dixon about the fact that she is Author X and that she paid for his rehab by briefly working as an escort. Dixon was initially furious with Annie, but he forgave her for working as an escort to pay for his rehab treatment and not telling him about it by the end of the episode. Annie also ended up going on Entertainment Tonight for an interview with Nancy O’Dell and revealed that she was Author X like she said was going to.

90210: Scoop on the possibility of former cast members returning and more on the series finale from E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos

Here's some scoop on 90210 from Kristin Dos Santos' Spoiler Chat for Tuesday 4/30/13.

Ann: Can we expect any familiar faces to return in the 90210 series finale?
Sadly, longtime fans won't be seeing characters such as Ethan, Ryan, the Wilson parentals return for the swan song. Consolation prize: At least two fan-favorite couples will end up together!

Link to the full article:Spoiler Chat: Scoop on The Following, New Girl, Homeland, Beauty and the Beast and More! | E! Online

90210: Episode 5x21 "Scandal Royale" Promo (HD)

Here's a promo for next week's episode, episode 5x21 "Scandal Royale". It looks like this is going to be a really fun episode. :)

90210: Wow! It really sucks to be…well…pretty much everybody on this show right now (My thoughts on episode 5x18 "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Call Girl")

It’s been a while since I’ve written any reviews for 90210, and that’s partly because I found the past several episodes rather boring, but it’s mainly because I’ve been getting a ton of traffic for my posts related to the show New Girl, so I decided to focus on that show for a while. Plus, I’ve been working on a couple more long-term and elaborate posts for other shows as well as some writing not related to my blog. Anyway, given the fact that there are only a few episodes left of the series, I’ve decided to get back to writing reviews for the show every week; that being said, here are my thoughts on this episode.

I have to say that my thoughts on this episode as well as the past several episodes have been very mixed. They’ve also caused me to once again think a lot about why I like 90210 more than Gossip Girl, but at the same time I’ve also been thinking about some things that I think both the writers and the cast of Gossip Girl did a better job of compared to the cast and crew of 90210.

One thing that I’ve almost never been able to stop doing whenever I’m watching 90210 would be that I’ve constantly found myself comparing the character Naomi to Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, and this would definitely be example of something that I liked more about Gossip Girl. Both Naomi and Blair are similar to each other in terms of the type of the character that they are: the “bitch” of the show, who’s rich, ambitious and is constantly seeking to elevate their social status. Don’t get me wrong, I like Naomi and I think that AnnaLynne McCord is one of the stronger actresses from the cast of 90210. However, I definitely like Blair more than Naomi, and I like Leighton Meester more than AnnaLynne when it comes to their acting.

When it comes to why I like Blair more, most of it has to do with the writing. To me, Blair has much more depth as a character than Naomi does. To me, a kiddy pool has more depth than Naomi does as a character, and I think the same can be said of the storylines that Blair had throughout Gossip Girl’s run compared to Naomi’s, which often lacked depth and just came across as a lackluster variation of quite a few of Blair’s storylines. For example, the rivalries that Naomi has had throughout 90210’s run have often felt very reminiscent of not only Blair’s storylines, but sometimes Serena’s as well, but where the storylines that revolved around Naomi dealing with a rival usually suffer is the motivation behind the rivalry, which have often been rather shallow and petty, making it hard for me to care that someone was causing problems for Naomi.

The writers for Gossip Girl on the other hand often gave enough depth and proper motivation and reasons for the viewers to get invested in storylines like that. For example, there were times where Naomi’s rivalry with Holly in season four reminded me a lot of Juliet’s vendetta against Serena throughout the first half of Gossip Girl’s fourth season, which I couldn’t help but get emotionally involved in as I was watching that storyline. Sure, I pretty much spent the whole storyline cheering Juliet on as she did everything in her power to ruin Serena’s life, mainly because I hate the character Serena, but at least the writers made me feel something. When it came to Naomi’s feud with Holly, I couldn’t have cared less about it and thought that their whole rivalry was beyond lame. 

90210: Episode 5x20 "You Can't Win 'Em All" Promo (HD)

Here's a promo for next week's episode, episode 5x20 "You Can't Win 'Em All". It looks like this is going to be another great episode. :)

90210: Scoop on Olly Murs' appearance on the show and scoop on the series finale from E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos

Here's some scoop on 90210 from Kristin Dos Santos' Spoiler Chat for Wednesday 4/17/13.

Deidra: Any 90210 scoop you'd care to share?
How about an exclusive first look at Olly Murs performing on the CW soap?  The pop star comes to America's most famous zip code when Liam and Navid ask him to do a special performance for the teen pro surfer they are trying to get as their first sponsored athlete. As for the series finale, we're happy to report there are no deaths. Phew!

Link to the full article:Spoiler Chat: Scoop on Vampire Diaries, True Blood, 90210, Teen Wolf, Parks and Rec and More! | E! Online

90210: Episode 5x19 "The Empire State Strikes Back" Promo [HD]

Here's a promo for next week's episode, episode 5x19 "The Empire State Strikes Back". It looks like this is going to be a good episode. :)

90210: Scoop on the end of the series from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

Here's some scoop on 90210 from this week's (Posted on 4/2/13) Ask Ausiello column.

Question: So… 90210 is ending. Can you give us any sneak peeks as to what’s going to happen? —Sanjana
Ausiello: A major character will be diagnosed with the Big C (and I’m not talking about chlamydia.)

Link to the full article:‘Sons of Anarchy’ Season 6 Spoilers: Clay in Prison — Ask Ausiello - TVLine

90210: Liam and Annie related scoop on the series finale from E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos

Here's some scoop on 90210 from Kristin Dos Santos' Spoiler Chat for Friday 3/29/13.

Jenna: What's happening with Liam and Annie in the 90210 finale?!
We'd never want to spoil the CW soap's series finale for you all, but let's just say long-suffering Lannie shippers will not want to miss it. In a good way. Trust us.

Link to the full article:Spoiler Chat: Scoop on Glee, Game of Thrones, New Girl, Suits, 90210 and More! | E! Online

90210: Relationship related scoop and more on the series finale from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

Here's some scoop on 90210 from this week's (Posted on 3/26/13) Ask Ausiello column.

Question: I’m crushed about 90210 being cancelled, and the only thing that would mend my broken heart is a Silver and Dixon reunion. Will my heart be forever broken, or is it a possibility that these two find their way back in the end? —Natalie
Ausiello: All I’ll say is that at least two of the show’s star-crossed duos will reunite in the May 13 series finale — with one of those couples getting full-on engaged. Also, rumor has it much of the swan song revolves around the aftermath of an explosion.

Link to the full article:Glee Season 5 Spoilers — Plus Scoop on Scandal Death in Ask Ausiello - TVLine

90210: Episode 5x18 "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Call Girl" Extended Promo

Here's an extended promo for the next episode, episode 5x18 "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Call Girl". It looks like this is going to be a great episode. :)

90210: Episode 5x18 "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Call Girl" Promo (HD)

Here's a promo for the next episode, episode 5x18 "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Call Girl". It looks like this episode is going to be awesome. :)

90210: Episode 5x17 "Dude, Where's My Husband" Extended Promo (HD)

Here's an extended promo for next week's episode, episode 5x17 "Dude, Where's My Husband".

90210: Scoop on the series finale from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

Here's some scoop on 90210 from this week's (Posted on 3/5/13) Ask Ausiello column.

Question: I can live with 90210 ending this season. But I can’t live without knowing whether we’ll get closure. Can you confirm if we’re in for a good ending? –Jarrod
Ausiello: I can confirm that producers had time to prep a series finale, so yes, you’ll get closure. Whether or not it’ll be any good depends on what your definition of good is. (And they say I can’t be diplomatic!)

Link to the full article:‘Glee’ Spoilers: Rachel Pregnant — Plus ‘Scandal,’ ‘Revenge’ in Ask Ausiello - TVLine

90210: Episode 5x17 "Dude, Where's My Husband" Promo (HD)

Here's the promo for next week's episode, episode 5x17 "Dude, Where's My Husband".