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My So-Called Life: Complete Series

Directed by: Various Starring: Claire Danes, Tom Irwin, Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Devon Gummersall, AJ Langer, Jared Leto, Devon Odessa, and Lisa Wilhoit

Synopsis: A beautiful repackaging of the 1994 series, which closely examined the life of a middle-class 15-year-old Pittsburgh teen, and that of her parents and friends. The box itself is very lovely, and comes with a booklet of information, including a forward by Joss Whedon, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, on the series influence on him and most "teen" television. The picture quality is better than any previously released. And to top it off, we finally have bonus features: Episode commentaries, Featurettes, Interviews, archival footage... It's fabulous.

Also see my review of the DVD set at chapters-indigo.com

Sample quotes

Episode 1 - Pilot:

Rayanne: "I am telling you, we had a time. Didn't we? Didn't we have a time?"

Angela: "We did. We had a time."

Episode 2 - Dancing in the Dark:

AngelaVO: "Neil is my father's younger brother. He isn't married. Every time he comes to dinner my parents give him all these leftovers to take home, like they don't have food where he lives."

Episode 3 - Guns'n'Gossip:

AngelaVO: "Grownups like to tell you where they were when President Kennedy was shot, which they all know to the exact second. Which makes me almost jealous. Like I should have something important enough to know where I was when it happened. But I don't yet." (1994, remember)

Episode 4 - Father Figures:

AngelaVO: "You know how sometimes the last sentence you said, like, echoes in your brain, and it just keeps sounding stupider? And you have to say something else, just to make it stop?"

Episode 5 - The Zit:

AngelaVO: "It's good to get really dressed up, once in a while. And admit the truth. That when you really look closely, people are so strange and so complicated that they're actually...beautiful. Possibly even me."

Episode 6 - The Substitute:

Angela's poem: "Once upon a time there lived a girl. She slept in a lovely cottage made of gingerbread and candy. She was always asleep. One morning she woke up.

She woke up."

Episode 7 - Why Jordan Can't Read:

Angela : "Something has happened...between Jordan Catalano and me...and I can't...I can't explain it, I, I seriously can't. Don't even ask me, but...I understand him...in this way...I didn't even know existed. And it has completely changed everything. Everything."

Episode 8 - Strangers in the House:

Graham : "When they told me, I don't know, it was like a, this moment because I had to admit that, I didn't want to land it. Because landing it means that, I'm really doing this. This is my job, this is my life, this is it! This is what I really..."

Episode 9 - Halloween

Graham: "Why did you tell Camille we were the Clintons?"
Patty: "I don't know. It just seemed easier. I mean, what is the deal with Rapunzel anyway? Is she a princess? Is she under a spell? What? I mean, all anyone ever remembers is that, that she has this really long hair and she was locked up in some kind of a..."
Graham: "Prison. She let her hair down, and he climbs, and climbs, and climbs..."
Patty: "This bodice is ripped."
Graham: "Wow. I did that?"

Episode 10 - Other Peoples' Daughters

Rayanne: "So, who's into the mustard?"
Angela: "Oh, my dad."
Rayanne: "Hmmm, well, you know what that's about...."
AngelaVO: "To Rayanne, everything is about..."
Rayanne: "Sex. I mean, All you really need to survive is mild yellow. All this other stuff is purely recreational."

Episode 11 - Life of Brian

BrianVO: "There's something about my life. It's just automatically true that nothing actually happens."

Episode 12 - Self Esteem

AngelaVO: "There's something about Sunday night that *really* makes you want to kill yourself, especially if you've just been totally made a fool of, by the only person you'll ever love, and you have a geometry midterm on Monday, which you still haven't studied for, because you can't, because Brian Krakow has your textbook, and you're too embarrassed to even deal with it. And your little sister's completely finished with *her* homework, which is just -- like so simple and mindless a child could do it."

Episode 13 - Pressure

AngelaVO: "Sometimes someone says something really small, and it just fits right into this empty place in your heart."

Episode 14 - On the Wagon

Rayanne: "I can't stand these looks anymore."
Angela: "What looks?"
Rayanne: "You and Rickie looking at me like I'm gonna lose control, like any minute I'm gonna go on some jag or something. I just can't stand knowing what you're thinking about me."
Angela: "What? What am I thinking?"
Rayanne: "I'm messed up. That I'm too messed up for you to be my friend anymore."
Angela: "Rayanne, that's not true. I never-- I'm still your friend. Nothing's changed."
AngelaVO: "But that wasn't completely true either. And we both, like, knew it."

Episode 15 - So-Called Angels

Danielle: "Do we have to keep talking about religion? It's Christmas!"

Episode 16 - Resolutions

Angela-VO : "What I was thinking, as like a New Year's resolution, is to stop getting so caught up in my own thoughts, 'cause I'm like way too introspective... I think.
"... but what if not thinking turns me into this shallow person? I better rethink this becoming less introspective thing.
"... OK, so I'll stay introspective. But I do resolve to stop doing Jordan Catalano's homework."

Episode 17 - Betrayal

Katimski: "Stop acting. There's really no need for it. You see, Emily is dead. The life she had is over. That's a pretty big deal. I mean...oh, gee whiz, she is just now realizing how precious every moment of that life really was. And that she never really appreciated what she had. Just imagine...what that must feel like, Rayanne."

Episode 18 - Weekend

DanielleVO: "My life is different people kicking me out of different rooms."

Episode 19 - In Dreams Being Responsibilities

Jordan Catalano: "It's like...you think you're safe, or something. 'Cause you can just...walk away anytime. Because you don't, like, need her. You don't need anyone. But the thing you didn't realize is... You're wrong."

Comment: What can I say? It's My So-Called Life, and it stands up remarkably well, even if the fashions are a little off and it's odd that no one has a cell phone. Certainly you can pick apart the few moments that don't quite work—the Angela/Jordan parallel plot in Halloween, the slightly too heavy-handed encounter between Patty and the Homeless Girl in So Called Angels -- but when you're compensated by a luscious Graham/Patty story--not to mention an awesome scene between Brian and Rayanne--in one case, and a completely humbling Rickie storyline in the other, who cares? The strong moments greatly outweigh the weak, all the way through every single episode.

And I hate the idea that this series is so praised, people are reluctant to even watch it--like it's now homework, like Citizen Kane, or something. It's important to know--it was very funny. It was sexy. The characters are terribly flawed, but you'll love them anyway. Just go for it; you'll be glad you did.

Rating: ****

The Extras: They are fairly plentiful. First of all, the packaging is gorgeous, and it includes a booklet with items such as:

Joss Whedon on My So-Called Life's influence on Buffy and other television programs.
Jeanine Garafollo on what the series meant to her as an artist and person.
Winnie Holzmann's ideas for the season 2 that never happened.
Synopses, quotes, and insider notes on each episode

Several episodes feature commentary tracks with Holzmann, various directors, and actors Devon Gummersall (Brian), Wilson Cruz (Rickie), Bess Armostrong (Patty), Lisa Wilhoit (Danielle), and Claire Danes (Angela). There is also a full disk of extras—looks back, where are they now's, and excerpts from the session of Museum of Radio and Television.

I've listened to all the commentary tracks, and they are a sobering reminder that fans know the series so much better than those who created it! Still, you do get some good insider information from them. Such as:

Jordan Catalano wasn't originally going to be a regular character, and the creators had a moment of panic after the Pilot when they realized they would need Jared Leto thereafter, and the actor wasn't yet signed...
Cute as Claire Danes is, she's not perfect. She required air-brushing in Self-Esteem to cover an intense acne breakout. (That was her kissing and kissing and kissing Jordan Catalone episode. Imagine.) And then she had a burst blood vessel in her eye (eww) during So-Called Angels.
Speaking of kissing and kissing Jordan Catalano... Claire was so young when cast (13), her first kisses really did occur on the show. (Guess you could do worse than Jared Leto as your first kiss, even if it isn't, like, for real.)
Jared had to explain to Claire some of the finer points of making out. He also really did give Devon ("Brian") tips on dealing with the opposite sex.
AJ Langer (Rayanne) is now a member of the British Royal family (through marriage).
AJ's original take on Rayanne, that she worked on with a coach, was completely not what the directors wanted, and had to be redirected in about 24 hours on the first episode.
AJ came down with chicken pox in the middle of Life of Brian, requiring on-the-spot rewrites of scenes that, basically, never happened on this show.
Wilson Cruz when through much the same thing his character did: when he came out to his parents, his father kicked him out of the house.
Wilson Cruz's father watched So-Called Angels, resulting in the two reconciling. Wilson told Winnie Holzmann this for the first time on the commentary track; it's a great moment!

Since they weren't all featured on the commentary tracks, it was a thrill to see that all cast members did retrospective interviews on the bonus disk--with the sad exception of Jared Leto ("Jordan Catalano"). They all still look great, really, and all remark on how much the series still seems to mean to people—how even someone like Claire Danes, who has gone on to a quite-successful movie career--still finds this first role of hers most affects people. Ms. Danes was quite giving of her time to this box set, appearing in all the featurettes, doing one commentary track, having a conversation with Winnie Holzmann, and another interview on her own. The warmth evident among all the cast and crew is nice to see as well.

The only thing perhaps a bit obvious from its absence is any discussion of the controversial point as to whether Claire Danes's desire to scale back her involvement with the show to have more time for movies sounded its death-knell. This point was fairly openly discussed on the first, limited-release DVD set. But if that was the "price" to pay for getting so much of her involvement, it's worth it.

Usability: No issues here. Each DVD begins with a little scene and sound bite from an episode on that DVD, which could get tiresome if you rewatch the same one a lot. Best to have a marathon of viewing!

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