Customer Reviews

My So-Called Life (Box Set 1) [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I found out Fox Family channel was showing My So Called Life again I was thrilled, until I saw their HIGHLY edited episodes. Fox cut the heart out of the show by "censoring" important dialouge. Buy it on tape and skip Fox's reruns.

.. This amazingly crafted show was brillant. I don't know asingle person who wasn't completely in love with it. (makes you wonderwhy they cancelled it) We all could see ourlselves as Angela, Brian,Rayann, Ricky, or Jordan. It covered every emotion and problem that a teenager could face. And, the beautiful thing about this show was that it wasn't limited to "teeny-boppers"....20's and 30 somethings loved it too... Now, I don't have to keep watching my dubbed copies from MTV re-runs,... and can have them all, to keep forever. This is a fabulous collection for anyone.

I remember when I first read about this new show called My So-Called Life. I thought to myself, great another show that thinks it knows what it's like to be a teenager. So I tuned in that first night just to prove myself right. Instead of a sugar coated rendition of growing up, aka The Wonder Years, I was drawn in almost immediately by this story that could have so easily been my own life and I tuned in faithfully every single week after. I was almost brought to tears when the show was cancelled so intense was my devotion. In hindsight though, the few episodes that do exist will stand the test of time, while the hundreds of other teen drama will all be a distant memory after the last credits role. Long live My So-Called Life!

I have never felt so hurt and let down as on that ill-fated Thursday evening at eight o'clock, when I saw a rerun of Matlock,instead of my favorite t.v. drama, MSCL. I thought maybe it would be back the next week, but it wasnt. What kind of world do we live in, when 90210 is worshipped and a real original teen drama like MSCL is cancelled? I don't know about anyone else, but, I could relate much more to Angela Chase's life than any of those spoiled rich kids in Beverly Hills, I think everyone could. Am I wrong? I love every episode of this drama. The cast was extraordinary, especially Claire Danes as Angela. I am so glad that they were made into videos because now I can watch the best teen drama ever, over and over again.

Just within the first few moments that I saw this show, I was hooked. I had never fully believed that there could be a show where the characters were so much like.....me. I could relate to just about every episode and every emotion that Angela was feeling. At the end of the season, when they cancelled it, I was unbelievably mad for two reasons: why do editors have the right to say that this show has gotten "too intense and too real", that is why I liked it so much. The other reason, they didn't even end the show, they just left it as a cliff hanger. Couldn't they have at least been able to finish what they started? It will always be the best show and I will always remember it because it had such a strong impact on life, so it is now unforgettable.

There's a reason every review on this site (thus far) has given the show 5 stars. There's a reason MTV picked up the re-runs and kept showing them over and over. There's a reason the Fox Family Channel has just started showing them - 5 years after this short-lived series was canceled! There's a reason E!Online just named it the #1 best show canceled before it's time. There's a reason multiple episodes of the same show competed for prestigious Awards. There's a reason Claire Danes (then unknown) won the Golden Globe.

The reason is... This is one of the best shows network television has ever seen. It is well written, directed, and acted. It is so moving - you'll laugh, you'll cry (especially when you find out there are only about 18 episodes).

I think many of the posts talking about how "real" the show is are not quite accurate. It is much like real life but seen in a more perceptive and poetic fashion than we see our own lives. The teens are are all very real - nary a 90210 personality among them. The adults are equally well-painted. The relationship between the lead character's parents is realistic and complicated and messy, but not in a contrived way. It shows their close moments, but also the times when mis-communication or temptation threatens them. You really feel for all the characters and become invested in the choices they make in life. When you don't agree, you understand.

The show is just brilliant. Buy it now!

Not to say this box set wouldn't enrich the life of males and females of all ages, but the heartfelt plot and honest themes will definetely hit home with teenage girls. I am 16 myself, and had been suffering from severe "My So Called Life" withdrawl... in my opinion, it was one of the most honest, inspirational, and intelligent shows to come out of the '90s. The writers ingeniously convey the relationship between a young woman and her mother, as well as the trials and tribulations of high school life. Adults might find it interesting to view the world through the eyes of a young girl. I highly recommend it!

Why was this show ever cancelled? I lived every moment with this girl, and I was 10 years older than her at its airing. It crushed me to see its departure. When MTV picked it up, I got to enjoy it all over again, and more. Now, I'm a wife and mother, and I still have the episodes that I taped ten years ago. It is truly a work of amazing talent. I hope to aquire the complete series on DVD soon.

This 'sleeper' show captures the melodrama of teenage day to day angst with a warmth, humor and quality of presentation unmatched before or since. Doomed by its Thursday night time slot on ABC (when the young audience was watching Friends and Seinfeld on NBC) the show survives through reruns on MTV and now in this video set. The excellent writing, strong cast and intimacy of presentation are endearing, and set My So Called Life up there with MASH, St Elsewhere, and the handful of other shows that have become TV legends.

You can watch My So Called Life by renting it on Netflicks. It costs something like fifteen dollars a month, and you can rent all you want. Just a good deal.