Teen Drama: A Comparison

The Teen drama has long been a staple of weekly television. From the early days of Melrose, Teen drama has repeated the same stories of lost love, teen substance abuse and overbearing parents but how have they stayed popular and relevant? My answer is in the "how". It's not what you say but how you say it.

The way which different show's decide to explore teen issues, each have their own positives and negatives and can leave you detached or with a weird "what's going on, can they do that?" feeling.

The OC

This show was massive, I remember being at uni and everyone would gather around to watch and wonder whether summer and seth would ever hook up. Gripping stuff. The reason people liked this was because it's setting was surreal in that Marissa strutted the halls of high school with a chanel tote (I know what that is because of the OC) but in spite of this setting of unattainable wealth (for most) the characters were still so relatable. I think thanks largely to the Cohen's sense of Humour and overall kind philosophy. Man Marissa got annoying though. Awkward moments came when the "kids" would be at the night club, and you were never really sure if they were drinking. The downfall of the OC was an age old one. The climax of the end of high school coincided with the death of the main character. No one really cares what summer does at college! So the OC was gone and I have nothing to show for it but a knowledge of designer handbags, and what a Christmukkah miracle is.

The OC- Caleb Dies and a cool song plays I loved that OC had great climatic moments Set to some great music. This one by Imogen Heap is awesome.



Gossip Girl

Done by the same people as the OC, and it seems like they are trying to start the whole thing over. The character equivalents are blatant and obvious but there are a few changes. The gimmick of Gossip Girl pisses me off. Am I supposed to believe a blog about NYC teenagers is more popular than this blog, the Train? I think not. This time round however they did heighten the average class of the characters but we remain too distant since the characters are missing the Cohen charm. Easy choice to set it in New York, in an attempt to distance itself from it's east coast cousin. What's the deal with all of them drinking freely at New York Night club's? It makes me uncomfrotable! Gossip Girl does have potential for continuing passed high school, through their character of little J who's fashion career was fun, and they've set it up so most of the characters will be at Yale together. Same Same but different. Serena is just as annoying as marissa. Chuck is way cooler than Ryan. Seth Cohen is way better than lonely boy's dad the musician. I don't even know his name.

Unfortunately Gossip Girl lacks the climatic moments of the OC and couldn't think of a clip worth watching. Here's a clip using the Imogen Heap song parodying the OC's drama. It's pretty funny.

Andy Samberg et al- An SNL digital Short


Skins

Through a change of continent, Skins, from the BBC uses design features such as fashion sense, lighting and mis-en-scene (look it up) create an environment that is a departure from the overtly functional basis for the OC or Gossip girl. This quirky environment allows the writers to use unconventional plot and make it seem believable. The School trip to Russia is a great example. Could you imagine Seth and Ryan sneaking into a Russian man's house to rescue his enslaved daughter? wouldn't think so! Skins doesn't look into the parents lives unless it's through the kids perspectives which I appreciate as in other Teen drama's the storylines of the older people often got boring and unrelatable. With a broad cross-section of characters (homosexual, eatingdisodrered, Indian,) A wider variety of issues can be looked into and makes a complex intertwining as the characters interact. Skins is great!

Skins- Party trailer, watch this and you'll be hooked