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Post by sparklymouse on Jul 7, 2020 18:12:24 GMT -5
Now that you've had the opportunity to watch the whole season, what worked for you and what didn't?
My likes:
The girls. No one's winning an Emmy for this thing, but they were all serviceable in their performances. My favs were Kristy and Claudia.
The voiceovers. They obviously add details that they didn't have time to show. They also gave the girls the opportunity to show their personalities more, and they all had nice speaking voices.
The parents were around and not just used as props for the girls. They had their own scenes and storylines.
Karen! Who knew? I liked the ominous music that started playing every time she told a story.
Claudia's bedroom. That is a beautiful room. It was obviously laid out to get everyone in the camera shots, but still. Compare it to the cave that Janine lived in.
I, for the most part, liked the stories that they chose. I didn't really need a 2-part Camp Mohawk Moosehead, but thank goodness they didn't pick the cruise super special after all the nightmares with them this spring.
I liked that they flipped the order of some of the books and pushed the wedding further back a little. It gave Kristy a little bit longer in her "old" life.
Dislikes:
Janine. She was straight up unlikeable for 95% of her screen time.
Mrs. Barrett. I said it in the episode thread, but what a downgrade from the books. She didn't even look like she liked her kids.
The episode lengths. Some of these felt like blink and you miss the whole thing. Even ten more minutes would have helped for some of the more action packed books.
There was surprisingly little baby-sitting. I'm not sure that was a bad thing as the little actors weren't the greatest. I didn't like that they made up a new character for Mary Anne's big baby-sitting storyline. Jenny could have been trans.
Claudia's outfits were cute and not all weird. I liked them, but I wanted funnier stuff. This is a minor nitpick.
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Post by bsc4ever on Oct 23, 2020 21:11:30 GMT -5
I was VERY wary of the new series. My sister and my students really encouraged me to watch it, but told me a few things about it that made me NOT want to watch. I finally did and LOVED every episode! Some interesting changes were made, and I am a CRAZY BSC purist, but I didn’t mind them at all. Dawn still seems super “California” even without the yards and yards of “the palest blond hair you’ve ever seen”. Richard doesn’t seem AS overbearing as I would have imagined. I find myself now reading the books with the Netflix characters in mind - especially Claudia.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353 
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Post by andrew on Nov 1, 2020 22:53:12 GMT -5
The writing, acting of Kristy (although a little overdone), Claudia and Stacey were fine, although Claudia just looked a bit too young and small ... Mary Anne seemed to have a little too in common with the books, not really shy or reserved, tending to easily crying just in "Saves the Day", while in "Impossible Three" Dawn especially her narration seemed over-mature. The endings were too sugary especially that at the end of "Impossible Three" Kristy in her anger was doing pretty good acting but Dawn seemed too idealized messaging, also the end of "The Truth About Stacey" OK but too inconsistent in that earlier Maureen did seem too outright embarrassed about people learning about the diabetes.
Aside from Richard and Mimi the adults were all pretty annoying.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Apr 26, 2021 10:00:08 GMT -5
I finally watched the whole series this weekend (sat down to watch one and ended up binging the whole thing) and I LOVED it!! Some thoughts:
Dawn is my least favorite sitter in the books because I find her totally preachy and pretentious, even though we actually have a lot in common. Dawn on the show was adorable and sweet and definitely one of my favorite characters. I loved Sharon and appreciated that there was no Jeff, so the Schafers moving to Stoneybrook felt less like a family fracturing and more like a fresh start. I have no problem making Jack gay, but I think it would have been hilarious if the new partner was still named Carol/Karol. I don't think any character was cast poorly and I liked everyone, even people like Watson or Meany who were disliked by other characters.
I appreciated all the mature touches they added that the books wouldn't have approached with a ten-foot pole. The Manzanar conversation was heartbreaking. There has been some talk on the boards recently about Night by Elie Wiesel, and in school we read that and Farewell to Manzanar back to back, so both of those books have been on my mind recently. I wasn't crazy about Janine's characterization and she seemed so much older than Claudia, but I loved that she spoke Japanese with Mimi. Their relationship in the books wasn't as warm as Mimi's with Claudia, and I like that the series gave them their own thing to share. Kristy getting her period, the camp protest against inequity and comments about crossing the picket line, Mary Anne advocating for a trans child, the accusations that Stacey is on drugs, etc. - all so good and so nuanced.
The parents! In the books if we ever see parents, it's either a brief convo at the start of a sitting job or having dinner at home with their own family. We rarely see them interacting with other people's parents and the series did this so well! I loved the Richard-Stacey-Claudia makeover, Dawn on the phone with Richard pretending to be Sharon, the whole club seeing Elizabeth off at her wedding, etc. Even things like Stacey calling Mrs. Newton or standing up for herself in front of a room of parents were cool. I loved that the sitters had their own relationships with adults and didn't just experience adults through the lens of other kids. And it was awesome that they used first names for everybody.
Finally, some of the comments were SO funny. "Wine on the rocks" literally made me laugh out loud and rewind. Richard asking if Queer Eye was there was hilarious, and Mary Anne saying that all her friends were dead was one of my favorite moments.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Apr 26, 2021 11:55:13 GMT -5
Mary Anne saying that all her friends were dead was one of my favorite moments.
OMG! That must have been funny! I hope it comes out on DVD soon because I don't have Netflix.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Apr 26, 2021 12:02:34 GMT -5
^ Yeah, it was really funny and unexpected. I don't have netflix either (my sister let me log in to hers) and that's why I'm just now watching the show  |
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Post by booboobrewer on Apr 26, 2021 14:50:21 GMT -5
Love your review. There were so many cute and funny moments. What a treat that we got this, and will have a season 2.
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Post by thatssodibble on Sept 29, 2021 17:32:33 GMT -5
The girls. No one's winning an Emmy for this thing, but they were all serviceable in their performances. My favs were Kristy and Claudia. i love how you said that, and then sophie won an emmy XD My likes: Their outfits were pretty well adapted for a modern setting. I like Claudia’s style, it’s really cute. The parents! I love how Richard and Liz were Not Friends. Like, at all. Ed (stace’s dad) seemed nicer than in the books. I liked how Sharon and Morbidda were sisters, that was a nice reference. The diversity in the series is neat. Ann’s books were pretty progressive for the time but I like the updates. Another great thing was how they mixed series topics (like the Japanese internment camps) but it wasn’t all serious. There was a lot of humor too, and some really funny lines. “What are you gonna do, breastfeed him?” “Vaccum.” “Why don’t they just loiter at the mall like normal teenagers?” I liked the kids. The pikes seemed exactly how I imagined them. Fun fact: I’ve always imagined Charlotte as Asian despite her canonically being white, so it was nice to see her Chinese in the series. She was a bit too young but cute nonetheless. Karen my beloved!1! I loved her update! And obviously the girls. The actors were good and they did a good job capturing the character’s essence. Most specifically, I’d like to talk about Dawn. What an upgrade! I hated book Dawn with a passion, especially when I was younger. She seemed bossier than Kristy at points! Dislikes: Awww, did they have to replace Jenny? I’m all for making Jenny trans, they didn’t have to make a completely new character. Mrs. Barrett was such a downgrade! In the books she was understandable and had reasons for acting like she was. In the show, she’s just downright rude. Plus, I don’t like how the Barrets were never mentioned again, they were some of the most loyal clients in the books  Sea City was slightly disappointing. I guess I just expected it to have more of an upbeat vibe? Here it was pretty gloomy and the “town/boardwalk” was boring. I can sort of understand the town thing because of budget cuts, but why did the kids never wear swimsuits? :/ Meany was over the top with her meanness at times. Why did she blow off at Kristy for,,,playing archery? And then tell her to watch TV? What did she want her to do next, quarantine? There should have been more babysitting. This is more of a nitpick. |
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Post by sparklymouse on Sept 29, 2021 20:13:40 GMT -5
The girls. No one's winning an Emmy for this thing, but they were all serviceable in their performances. My favs were Kristy and Claudia. i love how you said that, and then sophie won an emmy XD Well, what do I know, lol. I wonder who she was up against. |
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Post by thatssodibble on Sept 29, 2021 20:22:55 GMT -5
 I don't know where to put this, so I'm putting it here. If you want me to move it I can: In Episode 4, Dawn was wearing an outfit similar to Claudia's from book 2 of the original series. Heres Dawn's outfit  And heres Claudia's outfit (description technically): [Claudia was] wearing a baggy yellow-and-black-checked shirt, black pants, red jazz shoes and a bracelet that looked like it was made from a telephone cord. Her earrings were dangling jointed skeletons that jumped around when she moved.
As you can see, Dawn is wearing black pants, and a yellow+black checked shirt under the blue one. I wonder if it was a reference or a coincidence, for some reason I believe its the later lol. |
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Sept 30, 2021 8:45:28 GMT -5
Most specifically, I’d like to talk about Dawn. What an upgrade! I hated book Dawn with a passion, especially when I was younger. 500% agree with you! I have voiced my Dawn dislike many times, but Dawn on the show was so great. This portrayal did justice to the character. It bummed me out when I saw she was recast for season 2 because I just loved her. |
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Post by sparklymouse on Sept 30, 2021 13:39:31 GMT -5
Most specifically, I’d like to talk about Dawn. What an upgrade! I hated book Dawn with a passion, especially when I was younger. 500% agree with you! I have voiced my Dawn dislike many times, but Dawn on the show was so great. This portrayal did justice to the character. It bummed me out when I saw she was recast for season 2 because I just loved her. I really liked the first actress. I think she has the sweetest face/smile. However, the character will never be Dawn to be. That outfit looks like something straight out of my 8th grade year! Button fly jeans, body suits, hello again 1995! |
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 21, 2022 20:17:32 GMT -5
I know not everyone sprung for Netflix to watch this. I've found 6 of 10 first season episodes uploaded onto the dailymotion website. It's a free website like YouTube. Unfortunately the person uploaded a few of the same episodes more than once, so when you click on a few of the titles you get the wrong one playing. They are missing episodes 1, 4, 5, and 7. They are good quality.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Nov 1, 2023 9:49:39 GMT -5
I have been rewatching season 1. Life is stressful and I needed something comfy to watch Original Dawn is still my favorite character by a landslide. I love her relationship with Sharon and how thoughtful she is (book Dawn isn't someone I would call thoughtful). I like that Mary Anne was more awkward than sensitive. Nobody was awkward in the books until Mallory came along, so it was good to have someone totally uncool. |
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Nov 4, 2023 15:24:05 GMT -5
The girls. No one's winning an Emmy for this thing, but they were all serviceable in their performances. My favs were Kristy and Claudia. i love how you said that, and then sophie won an emmy XD My likes: Their outfits were pretty well adapted for a modern setting. I like Claudia’s style, it’s really cute. Speaking of Sophie winning an Emmy for Season 2, and speaking of the outfits... the other Daytime Emmy that the show won for Season 2 was Outstanding Costume Design/Styling, won by costume designer Cynthia Ann Summers, assistant costume designer Kelsey Chobotar, and costumers Sanchia Wong, Anthony Lewis, and Daria Magnusson. Wow, they must have to make a lot of award statues for the Emmys, because everybody does get their own, of course. And for some of the other categories, there'll be a writing award for a large team of writers or a technical award for a large team of, um, people who do camera stuff. When a show wins Best Program in Some Specific Category (I made that one up; can you tell?) the entire producing team gets awards, and some of the producing teams are gigantic. Apparently executive producers, co-executive producers, series producers, editorial producers, senior producers, senior content producers, coordinating producers, creative producers, supervising producers, supervising story producers, producers, co-producers, senior segment producers, segment producers, line producers, contestant producers (for game shows), consultant producers, and assistant producers are all different things, and you can have multiple people with the same title, too. Not that you'd have people doing every single one of those things on one show. I was just kind of impressed with how many different types of jobs there theoretically can be on a production team. I'm sorry, that really got away from me there. |
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