Last night’s much-hyped ’80s spinoff episode of “Gossip Girl” didn’t exactly take my breath away.
Sure, it had a great vintage soundtrack (Freur’s “Doot Doot”? Really? Nice touch!) and former Brat Pack icon Andrew McCarthy in a scene-stealing role he was born to play. And Brittany Snow was good as young Lily. But the flashback storyline was sooooo cliche, and the connection between past and present was a pretty weak. Some of the ’80s references seemed forced (the Rubik’s Cube in the backseat) and almost none of the hairstyles were accurate (feathering, people, feathering!). The timeline was completely off too, almost to a “Star Wars” degree of implausibility (Lily was 19 when she gave up her and Rufus’ baby in 1990, yet she was 17 or so in 1983?).
No Doubt made a nice, if brief, guest appearance, performing as a band called Snowed Out, which was a kinda brilliant name.
We did get to meet Keith van der Woodsen (Serena’s future father?), playing the typical ’80s villain that James Spader perfected. And we met Lily’s sister, Carol, who’s never before been mentioned in the series. Which is odd, considering how well the sisters seemed to get along (and both not get along with their mother). Owen, the Robert Pattinson wannabe/greaser guy Lily fell for, kinda skeeved me out; he looked more like a date rapist than a good kid from the wrong side of the tracks. And it was a bit of a trip to see Carol’s (not)boyfriend Shep, played by Ryan Hansen, in the first role where I’ve seen him with his hair combed back.
But the biggest problem was how disjointed the episode was. The cuts between past and present were too jarring, and edited together poorly. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by the multitude of seamless flashbacks on “Lost,” but there seemed to be zero continuity. Really, both storylines deserved a whole episide — the flashback was a mismash that ended just as it was getting interesting, and in the present, the prom got totally shortchanged. OK, maybe if you’re jetting off to Spain and hobnobbing with socialites on a regular basis the prom isn’t as special as it might otherwise be. But still, for a show like this, it should have gotten more than about 10 minutes of plot. I wanted more on the Nelly Yuki for Prom Queen scheme, for one. Nice use of a Fountains of Wayne song as the last dance though.
From what it sounds like, the spinoff might be dead in the water anyway. Reports came out last week that The CW was going to pass on the series in favor of a Mischa Barton drama and a teen vampire drama. The network has denied any decision has been made yet, but I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting it to air. Who knows, it might always be made into a mid-season replacement, it’s not like The CW is overflowing with quality shows.
