Customer Reviews

Popular - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Welcome to Kennedy High. To your right you have the Popular crowd which is headed by Brooke McQueen (head cheerleader), her boyfriend Josh Ford (Star Quarterback), best friend Nicole (biggiest bitch in school), and Merry Cherry (Richiest teenager on the west coast). To your left you have the un-popular crowd with Sam McFerson (reporter at large), her guy-friend Harrison (typical outcast), Carman (larger girl with a heart of gold), and Lilly (the boyish activist).

Through all the years they have attend school together, they have always wondered what it would be like to be in the others shoes, but still keeping a safe distance from each other. But then their world is turned upside down, when the head liners of both groups: Sam and Brooke find out that in a little less than 9 months, they will be more than rivals... they will be sisters.

What can be said for Popular, that hasn't already. It was the freshiest, brilliantly written, and witty show that aired for the two years that it was on the air. All the characters will be remembered, because they were so unique. It sad to think that the ratings for the show went from 3 million to 900,000. But now people will finally have a chance to see what they missed.

I loved this show because It was a spoof on all the other "Teen Soaps" out their. There hasn't really been anything like popular before, nor will there be anything like it again... Hopefully with the DVD sales Buena Vista will realize that they need to make a movie to tie up all the loose ends.

Okay, I'm a male in my 30s and when this show first hit the air, I just happened to catch the first episode and I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen! The show moved with sharp wit. Fantastic, sharp and hilarious characters that blend into a collage of colorful entertainment.

I actually recorded every episode, commerical free, onto video tapes... and now I can trash them for the real thing!! DVDs!!!!

The shows are each in their own right, kooky and zany and just down right fun as heck! Each episode has a sort of flash and sass to it, it's addictive.

There is absolutely no question, each episode of POPULAR was WRITTEN with care. Picking the absolute right times to make us laugh and the absolute right times to pull our heart strings. Singing, dancing, laughing and crying... all in one show.

Like I said, I'm a male in my thirties, and I'm proof that you don't have to be a teenager to enjoy this show. This show is excellent because it has excellent WRITING!!

If you're looking for a show to pick your spirits up and see some of the best young talents of the future flesh out some wonderful characters, give POPULAR a shot. I can't wait to get the DVDs in the mail!! September 21st!! Hurry up and get here!

Then I'll just cross my fingers that the second season comes available sometime!! I only got to see the first 5 or 6 episodes when it aired...!!

In autumn of 1999, The WB network debuted the TV series "Popular," a refreshingly clever dramedy set in high school about two girls from opposite social spheres forced into sisterhood when their parents make a love connection. Saturated with scathing humor, pop culture references and social angst, "Popular" explored e-generation ambition and the teen crusade for popularity, acceptance and clear skin among the two girls and their feuding cliques.

In 2001, The WB unceremoniously truncated the show's two-year run after falsely leading the producers and fans to believe the show would be returning for another season. Much to everyone's chagrin, the final image of the series was a disturbing and violent cliffhanger which would never be resolved. However, fans can now relive the first season thanks to Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

I was one of the 3 million folks who caught the initial run of "Popular" on the WB network.

I never watched the upstart network. I only tuned in for "Buffy". I saw the commercials for "Popular" and did not know what to make of it. It just looked stupid, and the one scene where main characters Sam and Brooke fought and Sam said "Cancel My Subscription, I'm Through With Your Issues" just made me think "Ugh.... Sweet Valley Crap."

But then one day my brother was supposed to record something for me on TV, and mistakenly recorded the pilot episode of "Popular". Figuring it couldn't hurt too much, I watched and was immediately hooked by this funny and often times obsurd teen comedy-drama-satire hybrid.

Popular was the pure escapism that teenagers needed at that time. When "Dawson's Creek" kids were spitting out 50 SAT words a minute in their hyperbabble filled storylines. "Popular" was the perfect satire of the melodramatic dramas the WB was known for. "Popular" was about 2 girls on opposite sides of the social scene who are forced together by their parent's sudden engagement. While it was supposed to be serious, at it's core it was a comedy. And a funny one at that. And seeing that the comedy worked more than the drama, the producers went more and more in that direction as the show progressed.

"Popular" touched on taboo subjects of sex, sexual harrassment, homosexuality, teenager's obsession with body image, and talked about these things with a sense of humor that disarmed it's audience.

During the series 2nd season, the show lost a bit of it's focus. I think that network meddling with the storylines and it's timeslot led to it's untimely demise. What makes matter's worst is that the show left it's audience with a dark cliffhanger that would never be resolved. Hopefully if there are strong DVD sales for the First Season, the cast would be able assemble for a reunion to tie up all the loose ends.

But the show's brilliant first season is what the fans have been waiting to see on DVD for years now. It was refreshing to see a show that did not have too much continuity, kind of like a live action version of "The Simpsons". The girls would get a mohawk one episode and the next episode had long hair again. It was funny.

The show also spawned 2 of TV's most memorable Mean Girls, Mary Cherry and Nicole Julian. Before Lindsay Lohan was tormented on the big screen by Rachel MacAdams, Leslie Grossman and Tammy Lynn Michaels were doing it to Carly Pope, Sara Rue, and Tamara Mello on a weekly basis.

You just gotta love a show where the southern belle Mary Cherry responds to a challenge to a fight after school by saying "Bring it on Lilly, I know Tae-Bo".

September 21st can't come soon enough.

Stand out episodes include;

The Phantom Menace
Mo Menace, Mo Problems
Queen B.
Tonights The Night
Caged
Booty Camp
Two Weddings and a Funeral

This is one of those shows that was killed off the air sooner than it should've been. Just like My So Called Life, Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared etc. (incidentally all four shows are about young people told in either very realistic way or in an over the top way, in short so different from the formula of teen dramas), they were not given a chance to develop a bigger audience. We can only wonder how those series would've turned out if it was given the chance to have a longer run.

Even though a bulk of the episodes satirizes/spoofs the popular culture conventions and clichés, the repercussions of the engagement of two single parents who happen to have daughters in the opposite social hierarchy drove the season along. The conflicts between the unpopular group headed by Sam (Carly Pope) and the popular group headed by Brooke (Leslie Bibb) provide the groundwork for the satire. This is not exactly a story arc driven series since most of the episodes can be considered "self contained' or "stand alone" episodes.

My favorite character in the show is hands down, Mary Cherry. She is hilarious, edgy, caricature, over the top, and I LOVE IT! Everything about the character, the exaggerated accent, the over the top outfits, the 2 digit IQ, you name it, she's a riot! And huge credit should be given to Leslie Grossman, she is brave for doing what she did since this is the kind of role that would persistently be associated with someone, and Mary Cherry is not exactly the most lovable character.

Another fascinating character is Nicole, she gets to say the one-liners and the sarcastic lines but through some episodes, we were shown a bit of humanity in her character. Even though the storylines of Carmen was almost always veering towards melodrama, some of the really moving scenes revolve around her ("I'm so tired of being the girl with the personality")

Some notable episodes are: "Slumber Party Massacre" (Carmen was heartbreaking as she willingly subscribe to humiliating herself for the sake of being accepted in the popular group), "Queen B" (a hilarious episode about the Homecoming Queen campaign), "Fall on Your Knees" (A Nicole-centric episode that showed the not always obvious complexity of the character), "Hope in a Jar" (a great episode about teenagers even the most perfect looking are conscious about their bodies), "Hard on the Outside, Soft on the Inside" (blonds vs. brunettes, plus watch out for Mary Cherry's visually hilarious story with the lobster), "Caged!" (a stylish episode), "Booty Camp" (it was funny, satirical, dramatic, and even political), "Ch Ch Changes" (A really moving episode. The scene where the "Popular" gang cross-dressed was a visual highlight), and "Two Weddings and A Funeral" (A really great season ender that satirizes every known convention regarding television sweep stunts and finales that ranges from cliffhangers to stunt casting) The wealth of episodes that I mentioned shows how great the first season was.

This is really a one of kind series that that can make viewers laugh like there's no tomorrow but can also move the viewers into tears. Subtlety is often regarded as a virtue, and rightfully so. But "Popular" proves that over the top and campy when done right can be commendable just the same.

Grade: A

I loved Popular when it was on The WB. It's too bad that this show went the same route as Murder One did on ABC - too intelligent for its own good at the time (Murder One incidentally is now available from Amazon.UK for import if you have can play Region 2 discs.) Shows like 24 and Alias owe much to Murder One, which explored a single trial over an entire season. Popular also has a lot in common with another great series from the same era - Freaks And Geeks, which is also available on DVD.

Both seasons of Popular start off a little too much on the 'dramatic side,' particularity the subplot with Carmen's mom that pervaded much of the opening of season 2 or the fake dramatic tension of the Brooke and Sam stories from the beginning of season one could be done without. As the network became less involved in each season as the year wore on, it meant that more MARY CHERRY and outrageous Bio Glass storylines could develop!

Also, not all the music has been replaced in this series. The production team was able to get the rights to a number of important songs, including "Rock Lobster" for the classic episode "Hard on the Outside, Soft in the Middle;" the song "Freedom" by George Michael for the episode "Caged," and also two Madonna songs "Ray of Light" and "Lucky Star." Madonna was a huge fan of this show and I suspect she gave the rights to her songs for free! In Season 2, there is a big production number to her hit "Music," which I'm sure will remain intact as well.

Speaking of season 2 of Popular, it has been mentioned by Buena Vista as being "in the works" for first or second quarter 2005.

Even though I only caught the second season of this show when it originally aired on The WB, I immediately fell in love with it. There's so much good to say about it that it would really probably bore anyone who's never seen the show.

When I heard it was coming out on DVD, I honestly wanted to cry. I thought for sure it had disappeared forever (kind of like another show I loved from around the same time period, "Cupid" on ABC).

At any rate, the DVD has arrived, and, since I have never seen the first season, it's a whole rediscovery of the show for me. And all I can say is "Wow."

I praise Buena Vista for finding the courage to release this on DVD. I say that only because I'm sure while there's a lot of people out there who are familiar with the show, there are even more who aren't. So they had to risk not making money on this release.

Apparently though, one way they did "cover themselves" was to not pay to have the original songs as heard in the show. The songs we know and love (except for the Title Song and End Credits song, which the latter was apparently going to be the Title Song at one point) have been replaced with Cover Versions of the songs (a generic studio band) or different versions entirely. It's cheaper to buy the rights to a "song" instead of "the song as sung by the original artist."

Having not ever seen season one, it doesn't bother me too much. What will bother me is when I don't hear "Abracadbra" ever time Michelle Lee is on during Season Two, or hearing "True" as sung by Spandeau Ballet.

But if it's not having original songs or not having the DVD's at all, I'll have to choose the former instead of the latter.

*EDIT*

Having seen a comment from another reviewer and having listened more carefully to the songs in the show, I have to say that I am indeed wrong in my above statements about "song replacements." Indeed, most of the original songs are intact. In fact I just watched the BRILLIANT episode "Ch-ch Changes" and there is no doubt in my mind that it was David Bowie singing his heart out.

On the surface, Popular was everything I hate - a cheesy teenage-targeted melodrama featuring 30-somethings pretending to be ten years younger, with beautiful women imitating ugly and awkward teens, ridiculously overblown romantic storylines and the usual drug/pregnancy/popular battles.

But secretly Popular was a satire of the above, a wonderfully self-aware show which constantly mocked itself and the genre it represented. It was deliciously camp, featured the greatest character in television history - Mary Cherry - and various close contenders, from Delta Burke as the rich Texan Cherry Cherry, to the wickedly evil Nicole Julian or the crossdressing science teacher Miss Glass. The storylines were ridiculous, and any "sensible" plots were deliberatley overdone and often descended into stupid, but wonderful chaos. Liberally peppered with pop culture references, Popular was sly, wicked, clever, sarcastic, and often sick and twisted.

Sadly by the second season, the WB had cottoned on to the subversive tactics of the writing team and network interference ruined almost all of the following episodes, insuring that fans fled, ratings plummetted, and cancellation was inevitable. Still, even if you've never seen a single episode, if you like Freaks and Geeks or the writing of Ryan "Nip/Tuck" Murphy, buy the first season. It's wonderful.

The subject title says it all. This show is amazing! It's one of the best shows that ever aired on the WB, so naturally they cancel it! But I'm so happy that someone realized that there IS a very loyal cult following to this show and that by releasing this show on DVD would = $$$

Some people don't like this show because they think it's unrealistic and they are right, but that's not the objective of the show. The people are over-the-top versions of people who most likely grew up in high school with (EX: the southern belle, football jock, evil blonde bombshell, rebels, nerds etc.).

The great thing about this show is that it's very funny and very sad at the same time, just like life is sometimes and I think that what's realistic about the show.

Anyways, it's a complete dream come true that this is going to be released on DVD (It hasn't even been released yet and it has made EW's Must List) and now I can get rid of all those old VHS tapes of the show, which I taped off TV! Now I can REALLY get my Mary Cherry fix!!!

It's a shame that the WB seems to have given up on shows that are actually good. Shows like Popular, Angel, and Grosse Pointe all deserved much better.

I have recieved my Season on DVD and I have to warn you guys that the DVD cases suck! They are very thin and can hardly keep the DVD inplace when you have the cases closed. Even when you open the cases DVDs sometimes come flying out. And alot of the original music is missing and they have put very crappy music in it's place, but none of this can rain on my parade!

I just finished watching the complete first season of this show, and I have to say, I'm just down right shocked that it didn't last longer. This show was campy, mean, funny, and original. Yes, it started like a normal teen drama, but after a while you could see that the writers, and the cast just wanted to have more fun with everything. It also helps that most of the actors in the series do a steller job with their characters, and really try, and succed, at making the show something more than just a chessy WB dramedy.

The set is very well done, with all twenty two episodes on six discs. The video and audio quality are great. Extra wise things are a bit scarce, but there are a few episode commentaries with the creators.

The series is well worth the money. I can see this being a cult favorite for years to come.