Week 2 Schedule

Please note, the syllabus had multiple readings/viewings TBA, this week.  Updates are posted below.

Week 2 (January 10-16)

Monday
Class Activity:
History of Television Studies
Assignments:
Zynda – “The Metaphoric Vision of Hill Street Blues” (emailed)

Wednesday
Class Activity:
Screening – The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Assignments:
Blog post
Crozier – “Making It After All ” (e-reserve)

Friday
Class Activity:
MTM/Crozier discussion
Writing about visual media
Assignments:
Burton – “Critical Approaches to Television Studies” (e-reserve)

Blog 1: Felicity

Felicity is a television series romantic drama that aired on American television from 1998-2002, and earned many awards such as the Teen Choice Awards, Golden Globes, an Emmy, and an ALMA Award over the course of its appearance. It went on to air in a variety of other countries as well, including Brazil, Switzerland, and even Spain, just to name a few. The show was produced by Touchstone Television and created by J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves (iMDb). Although Felicity is a recognized and award-winning show that appealed to the masses, it should not be considered an American Classic, as its running time was only for four years, and the plot and story line mostly attracted a teenage crowd that could find familiarity in the drama of the transition from high school to college and the bustling hormones of a recent female graduate.

The show starred Kerri Russell, who played Felicity Porter, the lead role. The plot revolved around Felicity’s decision to pursue a romantic decision over an educational one in her attempt to find love with Ben Covington, played by Scott Speedman. She finds herself in unexpected drama and confusion when things with her resident advisor spiral into a love affair. Her advisor, Noel Crane, played by Scott Foley, allows Felicity to see the different aspects of independence, love, and growth in her college adventures at New York University. Throughout their daily lives, Felicity and her friends transition into adulthood and undergo the necessary transformations to deal with the changes, battles, and charged emotions of young adults (IMDb).

The most important and famous episodes involve those in which Felicity Porter made the life-changing decision to go to New York University rather than Stanford University to pursue a boy that she thought she might have a future with. This pivotal decision charges the show with raging emotions and brilliant drama. This show was an excellent window into young adult and college life, and thus appealed mostly to people in their late teenage years. The drama and romance have earned Felicity the title of “one of WBs best shows,” even though it stopped airing in 2002 (TV.com). The real life happening of a girl that is fresh out of high school serve to familiarize the audience with some of the situations that Felicity encounters in college life and while living in the dorms with a random room mate. Her journey into independence and into finding out more about herself makes for a show that audiences in high school and starting college can both relate to and potentially learn from.

After watching the last episode, I found myself confused at the mention of time travel and witchcraft, but I can see that the show has evolved over the four seasons that it has aired since 1998. In order to keep it interesting and novel, the producers introduced new characters and new situations to keep it exciting and have the audience engaged. The cliffhangers and drama keep the people watching waiting for the next episode, ready to indulge themselves in Felicity’s life once again.

Works Cited

“Felicity: Felicity Interrupted Episode Recap on TV.com.” TV.com – Free Full Episodes & Clips, Show Info and TV Listings Guide. Web. 06 Jan. 2011. <http://www.tv.com/felicity/felicity-interrupted/episode/119774/recap.html?tag=episode_recap;recap&gt;.

“Felicity (TV Series 1998–2002) – IMDb.” The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 06 Jan. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134247/&gt;.

Blog 1: Gilmore Girls

The American classic, Gilmore Girls, was first aired at the turn of the millennium, in October 2000. The series, created by Amy Sherman, enjoyed a successful run on the air until May 2007, despite almost being cancelled in its first season. The show tells the story of a middle aged single mother, played by Lauren Graham, and her relationship with her daughter, portrayed by Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls). The show explores the hardships and consequences of living as a single young mother and raising her daughter on her own.

Gilmore Girls, is considered to be a classic because its characters depict wholesome, decent values that many viewers hold near and dear. The small, fictional town of Star Hollow, all rallies behind the mother, Lorelai Gilmore, in her efforts to raise her teenage daughter, Rory. The series creates a New England utopia, full of warm-hearted people and the show provided Americans with the kind of peaceful world that they craved. In our society, which is so full of corruption, violence and general loss of human morality, Gilmore Girls gave viewers an escape to a place without these problems (Gilmore Girls).

According to critics of the A.V Club, one of the most memorable episodes is  “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”. The episode starts full of life as the town prepares for the 24 Hour Dance Marathon. After her partner bails, Lorelai is determined to find an appropriate replacement and recruits Rory. However, during the marathon, Lorelai’s shoe breaks which left her daughter without her partner. Rory and her boyfriend, Dean, who she has been having problems with, must then dance so that they can continue to participate and possibly win the marathon. Unfortunately, they end up fighting and ending their relationship, as well as dropping out of the competition. The heartbreak mixed with comedy is what drew viewers in and lead them to fall in love with the simplicity of the episode. Viewers across the nation empathized with Lorelai’s dream to win the competition as well as the struggle in the love triangle between Rory, Dean and the other woman, Jess.

The show has influenced many other new series’, such as One Tree Hill and The OC. The series showed television executives that Americans enjoy watching shows that could potentially be occurring in their own homes and backyards. We all like to be able to relate to the dreams, pitfalls and comebacks of the characters we watch on TV (10 TV Shows).

Gilmore Girls appeals to mainly women, but can be enjoyed by all age groups. Young girls, teenagers, adolescents as well as mothers can all relate to the stories in the episodes. Though it could be labeled as a “chick flick” sort of show, males that are able to look past that stereotype would be able to relate to the male characters and their stories as well. I have never personally become a fan of the TV series; however, after the few shows I have seen and realizing it is labeled a classic, I would like to watch a few more episodes to see if I fall in love with it like many people seem to do.

Work Cited

“10 TV Shows That Were Ripped Off By Other Shows”. Campus Squeeze. 2001. 6 Jan 2011.  http://www.campussqueeze.com/post/10-Shows-That-Were-Ripped-Off-By-Other-Shows.aspx

“Gilmore Girls”. The Internet Movie Database. 2011. 6 Jan 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238784/

“The best TV episodes of the decade (from shows not on any of our other lists)”. A.V Club. 2011. 6 Jan 2011.  http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-tv-episodes-of-the-decade-from-shows-not,35282/