US TV Series: Gossip Girl

Luis (C1):

Last summer, I had to look after an old relative (my aunt Mercedes, an 89-year-old woman), so I spent many hours in the Clinico Hospital. A friend recommended me the series ‘Gossip Girl’. What amused me was juggling my old aunt with the youth of the main characters in the series. What would my aunt have thought if she had realised how the young girls in the series have fun?

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama, set in New York City. Narrated by an omniscient blogger, known as ‘Gossip Girl’, the series is about the lives of privileged young people from NY’s Upper East Side. It’s said that it doesn’t live up to the hype, but there’s no doubt that Gossi Girl has influenced some of the tastes in fashion, music and culture of adolescents in the US.

Each episode begins with a page on the Gossip Girl’s blog. Then, a recap of events relevant to the upcoming narrative is shown and the plot of the current episode is developed.

This is a YouTube trailer from the serious:

Gossip Girl is now in its fourth season. I must reckon that I just saw the first one and part of the second, but I am hooked on it. So I hope to post another entry by May, with some additional comments about forthcoming seasons. Probably by then I won’t get on well with any of the characters and I’ll be more objective. The main ones are:

- Serena Van der Woodsen, a finely-modelled blonde whose return to NYC unleashes a storm of events and wakes some feelings that were previously slept; her scandalous past is always implicit in the plot.

- Blair Waldorf, a long-haired brunette with a cruel, inquisitive look, and Serena’s longtime friend turned rival.

- Chuck Bass, a textbook bad boy; a womanizer and a charming, privileged party animal who has reasons to be so bad: a tormentous past as well as a set of giant complexes he has to face with.

- Nate Archibald, the cute, perfect ‘Golden boy’ brought up in a wealthy family, which has driven his footsteps to a life he doesn’t like. Chuck’s best friend and Blair’s significant ex-boyfriend.

- Dan Humphrey, a sort of outsider in this context; a boy with ideals, a great heart and manners, in love with Serena.

Apart from these characters, there are some parents, brothers and sisters, which significantly influences the events occurring in the drama: a domineering, absent father, a brother coming "out of the closet", a rebellious sister, etc.

Like in other TV series set in NY (e.g. Sex and the City), the city itself has a prominent role. Its crowded streets, its superb boutiques, its charming cafes and the glamourous night parties show us the intimate side of such an apparently well-known city. The city that, as Sinatra used to sing, doesn’t sleep.

Well, I’m afraid I have no choice to say goodbye but with this quote from the series:

“You know you love me"
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Gossip Girl