XoXo Gossip Girl

Alright, it's weird and I can admit it. I think I like Gossip Girl. I've been warned that strange TV addictions like this can happen, but I was fairly convinced (after watching the pilot more than a year ago) that this would be the last show I would watch. My wife, Mimi, suggested we rent it so we could be up to speed with what my former youth group kids were watching. Sounds good right? Educator keeping up with kids.

The first disc went by uneventfully. I kept thinking to myself: "Man these girls are just snobs. Phhh! Like I'd want to live on 'upper-east side.'"

But by the end of disc two, something scary happened. I began to have different sorts of thoughts: "Man, Jenny really is an up-and-comer. Blair better watch out, or the princess will lose her throne," "Gossip Girl is always open on Jenny's computer...could she be...no!
Too easy. They won't introduce her until, like the LAST episode. And
it'll be Serena," and "Chuck Bass!? What is Blair thinking? Spotted: Total idiot!"

So in true form, I have decided to outline the factors that have led to this:

(1) Catfights- Catfights are like car accidents. You don't want to look, because you know what you'll see. But you have to look anyway. Blair says something to Serena. Then Serena lets it slip to Jenny then it makes it back to Blair and it is on. The cruelty and meanness of these fights makes you want hide under the couch, hoping not to incur the wrath waiting for the characters, but you have to watch it happen.

(2) Guys you can cheer for- in some shows, the guys are so ridiculously portrayed, you wonder if the writers have ever actually had a conversation with some one of the opposite sex. But in Gossip Girl, you find yourself thinking: "you know, Dan's just a pretty cool guy. I would have totally punched Chuck Bass for that," or "Rufus may not be the most successful musician, but he's living the dream."

(3) Alien Culture- coming from the guy who did a stint in a trailer park during college, this is a completely different world. The riches of course are beyond my comprehension, ("Oh sure, let's just ride the limo around New York until we see someone we know!)  but I feel like I'm understanding my wife to a much better extent.

When we reached the "Masked Ball" episode, I told Mimi: "Masked Balls are only cool if the Phantom of the Opera shows up. This is just going to be the classic case of mistaken identity because someone will switch masks."

To which Mimi responded, "Oh this is so fun!"

(4) Gossip Girl's Got Sass- At first, I thought the narrator (the mysterious Gossip Girl blogger) was really annoying, but what can I say, she's got attitude. I find myself waiting to hear what she says. "Spotted: Friendship in flames! Looks like things are going a little heated in the upper-east side."