Gossip Girl: Seventeen Candles

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Blair is 17 and things aren't so rosy. First off, her relationship with Nate has ended and although she's sort of still hoping they could get back together, she's immensely depressed that their 10+ year relationship is ending. Second, she slept with Chuck! In the back on a limo! After stripping in his burlesque club! Crazy! We all knew she was a bit of a hard ass and has no problem taking anyone on and making them feel like less than nothing. But a wild child? I thought that title went to Serena's pre-exodus from New York personality? Looks like she's taking a page out of Serena's well written book and throwing all caution as well as reason to the wind.

Unfortunately, in all of this Chuck as fallen for Blair. Who knew he could ever actually feel something for someone else? This guy is one of the worst people you could ever know, loves sleeping with loads of random women, and yet somehow he falls for Blair after one night? I somehow doubt this would be possible in real life, so I'm going to suspend my disbelief for the time being. I have been enjoying the quick retorts to Chucks advances by Blair. She's very witty and it's fun watching her put him down at every turn. I wonder if maybe this is just a rebound for her. I mean, she wanted nothing to do with him after that night until Nate never showed up at her birthday party and she started making out with Chuck again. If that's the case then good for her because Chuck is definitely not the best boyfriend to choose.

Speaking of messed up relationships, Alison (Rufus' wife) showed up with Jenny! She's beautiful but dangerous. This woman not only left him and the family but she also had an affair. It doesn't matter that she's telling the truth now or that it only happened once. The fact is that she did it and abandoned her family. I understand that Rufus is still in love with her but he needs to be more careful. He jumped headfirst back into the relationship in this episode without solving any of the problems that led to the current state of affairs. It's never good to ignore such major issues because they're just going to be there again when the euphoria of the moment wears off. At least there's one person happy in all of this - Jenny. This really just goes to show how immature she still is and how exposed she is to being hurt as she tries to immerse herself in the world of the rich.

As for Dan, his relationship with Serena seems to be the only normal one. They're really getting a lot closer despite some problems they're having; which by the way are totally normal. Vanessa is definitely a buzz kill and can totally ruin their relationship if she doesn't back off. At least her and Serena seem to be making an effort to get to know each other now. The Guitar Hero duel was awesome; Serena is pretty sick at that game. I think they could really be friends if not for the fact that they're in love with the same guy. By the way, it was totally fair of Serena to want to be Dan's go to girl. He can't be with her and still go to Vanessa all the time even if she's his best friend. He's walking a tricky line right now and he better watch out because before he knows it he could be left without any girls in his life.

Before I end tonight's review can I just say that Nate and Jenny are totally random and not at all a good couple. I don't see it at all and I'm a little disappointed in this story line. I guess it's sort of necessary in order to give Jenny her chance at the throne. Anyway, I'm sure you're all just as anxious to see the next episode after having the Thanksgiving Week off, so until then enjoy the review!

Gossip Girl: Victor, Victrola

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Let's start with our favorite Upper East Side couple, Dan and Serena. You can already see these two falling for each other and quick. They've had chemistry since the very beginning and now that they can finally express it what do they do? Yup, they try to find some alone time. Too bad this doesn't really work out well for them with constant interruptions from parents, life, and a best friend that happens to be both a girl and in love with Dan. Except we know that you can't keep teenagers down for too long and Serena and Dan finally have their magical night. Before we get to that we should talk about the biggest obstacle to their night, themselves.

We actually learned a lot about Serena in all of this. It turns out that although Serena has a checkered past with Nate and some other ways that we haven't been privy to yet, she's never had a real boyfriend. Personally, I was a bit surprised at this. Given their lifestyle and what we know about her past I would have thought there would be a couple boyfriends mixed in there somewhere. Anyway, Serena was entirely too aggressive in getting things to move forward with Dan and this probably has a lot to do with her former lifestyle and the limited knowledge she has about relationships. This ended up hampering their progress rather than pushing it forward. Dan also has his issues, mainly with his virginity and unrealistic expectations about what he needs to do to make Serena happy. It was absolutely hilarious that he felt it was necessary to research pornography in order to figure out a game plan and hone his skills. In the end, Dan may have thought all of this was necessary in order to be the guy Serena wanted and Serena may have thought she needed to be aggressive to get the guy she wanted but as it turns out, they just needed to be honest, slow down, and be themselves. When they did this they realized they weren't ready and would rather take the time to fall in love first. I think this was the right idea and I'm glad to see them growing much closer together and they didn't need sex to do it.

One person who knew how to make his girlfriend happy but couldn't give it to her was Nate. He knows all too well that if he committed absolutely to Blair, gave her the family ring, and slept with her that she would be happy and no one would every question him. The only problem was that he doesn't love her anymore. I doubt he truly loves Serena though; it would appear to be a temporary infatuation resulting from his desire to get away from Blair. At the same time he needs to figure all this out, he also needs to deal with his cocaine addict of a father. I have to give it to Nate though, his masterful attempt at getting his father the help he refuses by getting him arrested was brilliant. I never expected that from him but it was interesting to see what he can do when he puts his mind to something. Unfortunately for Nate his father was also embezzling money from his company and his legal troubles are only now beginning. With all this happening he finally admitted he didn't love Blair. The consequences of this decision may be catastrophic.

I'm a believer that things only happen for a reason and sometimes those reasons are hidden. The consequences, however, are never hidden; at least not for long. So what's the consequences of Nate's decision? For one, Blair has gone off the deep end and become the wild child Serena took the crown for earlier on. And her first act as queen was to strip in Chuck Bass's new burlesque club and then sleep with him in the limo on the way home. Apparently though this isn't the end. Next week it seems that Blair may continue her wild child ways. It also seems that Nate may have cost his father more than his freedom but also his biggest client, Blair's mother. Where the consequences end who knows, but I have to imagine we're going to be seeing the repercussions for a while to come.

As for the rest of the episode, I'm not sure where to begin. It was craziness in New York and we had bits and pieces of numerous other stories thrown at us. Foremost is the relationship between Rufus and Lilly. If we start there I think I can hit all the other side stories in one because their connections appears to be influencing most everything else. These two are totally in love with each other even if they could never admit it and even if Lilly could never see herself living in his lifestyle. The fact that she would go straight to him upon learning of Bart Bass's activities on the side means a lot and really shows that she's not over him. Speaking of Bart Bass, his son Chuck really screwed things up for him with Lilly. His immature attitudes clouded his perception and while he believed his father was also seeing a young woman on the side he was really meeting with her as a potential employee to help develop new investments. By the time Chuck figured this out he had already let slip to Lilly is original belief and she went straight into the arms of Rufus. I can see Lilly continuing to date Bart as she struggles with her desire to live the rich life while clearly wanting to be with Rufus instead. It could turn out that she chooses Rufus but Jenny may have a little wrench to throw in the story.

Apparently, Jenny believes it's finally time for her mother to come back home. Sadly, even if she does I don't think she'll be able to save her parents marriage. Their mother had an affair, the details of which are still hidden from us but if she truly comes back down to Brooklyn I have a feeling we're going to learn all the sordid details and it's going to wreak havoc on the family's life. It could even have effects on Dan and Serena's relationship. And let's not forget about Vanessa. She's not going anywhere at least for the time being and a personal problem of Dan's that she could understand and Serena never could may just be the opening she seizes to get back into Dan's life. We're already starting to see the tension develop between Serena and Vanessa. It won't be pretty when it erupts in Dan's face and if Vanessa doesn't chill out he may just be forced to choose. If that happens it's not looking good for Vanessa considering the bond developing between Serena and Dan.

I would mention the story about Chuck Bass and the burlesque club but to be honest it's not only boring but extremely generic. He wants to impress his father except deep down he'll always be a perverted, party-obsessed teenager. And now he's sleeping with his best friends very recent ex-girlfriend. He has a lot to fix in his life and unfortunately we have to watch it.

This was a great start to November Sweeps for Gossip Girl. I'd like to see the writers cut out a few of the side stories though as the episodes progress and give us time to digest the big ones. The episode was just slightly too over packed and split our focus a bit too much. I have no doubt things will be fine in the next few episodes and I can't wait to watch everything unfold. Until next week, enjoy the review!

Gossip Girl: The Handmaiden's Tale

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9 PM ON THE CW

As much as I've said this show is at best a guilty pleasure (and I'm still sticking to my guns about that one), tonight's episode was slightly more quality than I have given it credit for in the past. I think a few things contributed to this. First, as I pointed out a few times already the Dan and Serena relationship is the foundation of the show. These two actors have done an amazing job together and have that rare chemistry we don't often see between actors and it's only gotten better with each passing episode. Moreover, the writing for these two seems to be significantly better than for the other characters and that's contributed to the draw of this couple. Second, the addition of Vanessa to the cast creating a sort of love triangle between Dan, Serena, and Vanessa is an interesting and intelligent twist. It would be too easy for Dan and Serena to become friends without any bumps in the road. Plus, it gives us a chance to see a different side to Dan now that he'll have a friend around to chill with. Lastly, the creation of the Jenny-Blaire dynamic has surprised me. I didn't see this one coming but I'm actually enjoy the power struggle between the queen and the princess. I still think Jenny should rethink her aspirations but if she's going to go for this life at least its been interesting for us to watch.

Tonight everyone attended the Masquerede Ball, albeit not everyone with invitations. If you watched the episode you pretty much know what happened but I would like to talk about Dan. He finally gets Serena and they basically established a relationship last week and the guy has to go off and test its stability right off the bat. There's nothing wrong with having a girl friend (yes, those two words are separate as I'm referring to Vanessa) and there's nothing wrong with having a past with that friend, so long as it's in the past. So why he had to lie to Serena on the phone made no sense to me. There's no way it would have jeopardized his chances of Serena asking him to the Ball. This resulted in all the confusion, lies, and hurt feelings throughout the rest of the episode. Thankfully, Dan told Serena and Vanessa the truth when it came down to it and they both forgave him. However, don't be too quick to think everything's all cheery and calm just yet. There's no way this triangle is done and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of jealousy as Dan tries to balance his friendship and his girlfriend. What would be interesting would be if Serena and Vanessa became friends too...

I don't want to talk too much about Jenny yet except to repeat what I said above. I think he choice of lifestyle isn't the best and to emulate Blair is probably not the healthiest hobby. If she's going to do it though I don't mind as long as it stays as interesting as it has been the last couple episodes. As for Blair, she keeps preaching that she loves Nate yet she's so self-involved that she can't see he's struggling when it's staring her in the face. He's still a drag on the acting and pleasure of this show (as is Chuck for that matter) except his storyline is at least important to some other aspects of the show now that he's somewhat tolerable. I have a feeling that Nate's parents may send him to rehab before his father admits the drugs are his. This could end up being the end of the Blair-Nate relationship especially since he can't help going after Serena.

One last thing - I'm really starting to enjoy the Rufus and Lily relationship. They're actually pretty funny together. At first, I thought they were annoying and the situation was generic but it's actually turning out to be an interesting aspect of the show. Although, in the end I have to admit I'm rooting against them because it would be very weird to see Dan and Serena dating while their parents are dating at the same time. I don't know how much fun that would be.

So I guess I won't be seeing you again until the show comes back with a new episode on November 7th so leave some comments on what you think November Sweeps is going to bring for "Gossip Girl." With a full season pick up announced a couple weeks ago we can all sit back and enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous Upper East Sider's for the rest of the year. Until then, enjoy the review.

Gossip Girl: Dare Devil

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Last night we finally got a quality episode from the gang over at "Gossip Girl." I actually never thought I'd see the day when it would happen but it did and I think I know at least one of the reasons why; Chuck and Nate were no where to be found. These two characters were left out of the episode last night and we should all be thankful for that. An otherwise good show would have been ruined by their presence. This just goes to show, not only how terrible their acting has been, but how terrible the writing for their characters have been. Apparently, these two just are not interesting characters. Both of them are cliche's and the writers should find a way to get them off the show.

Another reason last night's show was much better was the fact that Dan and Serena spent a good portion of the night together. In my opinion, the success or failure of the show depends on these two actors and their characters. They're fun, interesting, and, above all else, dynamic. If you just watched last night's episode you could easily see that the most interesting aspects all dealt with their relationship. As for what actually took place, Dan made a big mistake when he decided to take Serena to a fancy restaurant. By now he should have realized she liked what he does and not her own life. She gets to go to fancy restaurants all the time; what she really wanted was a "Dan Humphrey date." Dan definitely did the right thing when he wasn't offended that she paid the bill for dinner. The two of them are really starting to open up to each other and because of that they ended up on a great date playing pool in a dive bar Dan knew about. And I have to props to Dan at the end of the night. That was one hell of a kiss with Serena and I have a feeling she won't be forgetting it for a long time.

As well as their date went it was almost ruined once again by Jenny. She accepted Blair's invitation to the sleepover which turned out to be a night of wild and crazy truth or dare. Not the truth or dare most people are know mind you, but one where they ruined strangers relationships, helped Erik escape from the hospital, and Jenny almost got arrested for robbing Blair's mom's store. Thankfully, everyone was alright and the date went on without a hitch. But Jenny man, is getting out of control. Many of the characters, and even Jenny herself, kept saying that she doesn't do anything she didn't want to do to begin. From my perspective though it seems like she's succumbing to peer pressure at every turn. No matter what happens Blair always manages to convince her to do that which it doesn't seem she would have done. She's entirely too caught up in the world of the rich and famous. I have the very distinct feeling that she's going to get a huge wake up call towards the end of the season or else end up sucked into that life with no way out.

As for Blair tonight was relatively low key. Well, low key in the sense that she didn't try to destroy any one's life completely. She did her best to get Jenny in trouble but that actually seemed to be more in good fun than anything else. Sadly Blair's idea of fun always involves mayhem. I'll give it to Blair though, she's very convincing as a drug addict. Her impression of one to help Erik escape from the hospital was excellent. The lipstick smeared all over her face was a good touch.

Let's hope Nate and Chuck somehow disappear from this show and never come back. Everyone will be much better off. I'll see ya'll next week.

Gossip Girl: Bad News Blair

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

The theme of this episode was friendship. Mostly we saw the inner workings of the Blair-Serena friendship with a side of the Chuck-Nate friendship. Although the episode was mildly humorous it was far from the fun we experienced in the prior episodes. Most of last night was dedicated to the new and peaceful Serena-Blair friendship. From what I can tell this episode was necessary in order to create a jumping off point for all the future story lines. For one, the two of them feuding week-in and week-out would get old quickly and so a cease-fire had to come soon. Plus, if there was ever going to be a chance for Dan and Serena, Blair would need to stop attacking him and tonight gave her just the reason to leave him alone.

Dan is simply a great guy. He might lead with his emotions and attribute to Serena judgments that he shouldn't make so quickly but in the end he's a decent person. After everything Blair has put him through he still sought her out to make her feel better when she thought Serena had betrayed her at the photo shoot. As we saw at the end of the episode, it seems that Blair finally accepted that Dan is going to be in Serena's life and that he's actually a good guy. I think their back and forth banter could turn out to be very funny, so I'm definitely on board with all of them being friends.

As for Serena and Blair it appears they finally reached a good place. Despite waiving the white flags last week, there was still some deep-seeded resentment on Blair's part toward Serena; a bit of jealousy actually. Serena is very perceptive and picked up on it early. It seems she's really changed and cares very much about the feelings of her friends and family. She was a bit naive when it came to Blair's mother though. Did she really think Mrs. Waldorf wasn't trying to play her? To add Serena into the photo shoot at the last minute is shady and she should have realized that. Thankfully Dan was there to help her out with Blair. I'm actually a fan of the new Blair. When she's not trying to destroy peoples lives she's actually kind of cool. I'm hoping we'll get to see a lot more of this side of her.

While all this was happening, we had to endure the less than enjoyable lockdown party that Chuck was throwing. His fighting with Nate and the ensuing poker debacle was predictable and boring. The two of them are awful actors and tend to bring me down. I just don't enjoy the show so much when the two of them are on screen. If their acting was halfway decent they could have made this work, too bad it wasn't close. On top of it, the writing was just terrible. The minute Nate's friend brought up the poker game in Brooklyn I knew he was just trying to screw him out of his money. The writer's need to work harder or else the show is going to turn into a predictable and boring hour of television.

All in all this episode didn't have too much going on. One thing I thought was interesting was that Serena's mother, Lillian, and Dan's mother apparently know each other. Maybe it was a love triangle with Rufus and he picked Dan's mother over Lillian. Hopefully next week we'll find out more on Rufus and Lillian's past and maybe get a little more excitement going on with the show. This week was pretty dull and if the show wants to keep up the good press it's getting the writers are going to have to do a much better job.

Gossip Girl: Poisen Ivy

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

I can't believe the schools choir sang "Glamorous." What is this place? Obviously you need to suspend your belief in reality a bit when watching this show but are we really expected to believe there could ever be a school where a sophisticated choir would be singing that song. That was a bit much for me and so was the rest of the opening. The field hockey scenes were severely lacking in quality. Most of this show isn't predicated on quality but this was even lower than you could expect from this show. The action shots were poor and the dialogue couldn't have been more pedestrian. Overall the opening scenes were atrocious.

The episode did get better from that point on though. Everyone was competing for the Usher/Representative roles for the Ivy League University dinner held at their school. Apparently, being one the select few means you have a very good shot at being accepted to the University. What Dan soon found out is that these positions go to those who can buy them. Thus, despite the fact that Dan is second in his class, Nate got the Usher spot for the Dartmouth Representative because his father is connected. Luckily, Dan's dad was able to get him into the dinner anyway which led to Dan meeting the Dartmouth Rep.

The dinner wasn't all that boring however. Blair decided to step up her espionage and found out that Serena was visiting the hospital. She decided to inform all the college rep's that Serena was a recovering alcoholic. Obviously she had no idea she was going to visit her brother who had tried to commit suicide. This was definitely one of the best scenes so far in the first three episodes. We learned a lot about Nate when he gave Dan a shot at meeting the Dartmouth Rep. We also learned how far Blair is willing to go to retain her spot at the top of the socialites. More importantly, we learned that Serena really has changed and was willing to sacrifice her future to protect her brother.

Despite the incredible destruction of her future, thanks to Blair, the two of them seem to be reaching out to each other by the end. How long this will last who knows, but I have a feeling Blair won't be caged for too long. She likes to be in control and this means she likes messing with peoples lives. Although, now that Serena knows about her father she might not be so willing to attack her anymore. This may be a bit selfish but I'm glad that Serena had so many problems at the dinner. This gave Dan a chance to see who she really is and apologize for being incredibly stupid last week. Personally I think their chemistry is a significant part of this show and will determine it success or failure. They have great chemistry and I their scenes together give the show much more depth.

In the end I think Dan is going to find life very hard because of his sister, Jenny. She's a good kid and means well but she's entirely too tied up in being like the rich kids. Her materialism will be both of their downfalls and I really hope she can change before that happens. In the meantime I'm looking forward to next week's episodes and I want to hear what you all think about the direction of the show so far.

Gossip Girl: The Wild Bunch

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Even though this episode was better than the series premiere I'm sticking to my guns and going with the label "Guilty Pleasure." In the last review I said that "Gossip Girl" was at best a guilty pleasure and nothing more. While this episode definitely stepped it up from last week I still think this holds true.

The episode starts almost where it left off last week with Dan and Serena's date. Apparently, Dan waved goodbye to her at the end of the night rather than walking her to the door and giving her a kiss. It was even worse seeing him wave after the awkward start-and-stop of the cab. I get that the guy is challenged in the suave department but he needs to kick it up a notch. Forget getting Serena, he won't get too many girls if he keeps waving at the end of dates. I do have to give Dan props for going back to the Palace to apologize and ask her out on a second date. This took guts. Too bad it all worked out so horribly when they ended up having to go to the brunch hosted by Chuck's father. The biggest problem for them right now is that Serena can't be honest. If she could tell him the truth, or at least part of it, about why she left then they could be together. Instead by hiding the truth she remains wrapped up in the drama surrounding it and I understand why he just can't be a part of that right now. Despite this though, I think Dan should have turned around at the end of the episode when Serena was opening herself up to him a bit. She deserved at least that much. He really can't hold her past against her; it had absolutely nothing to do with him. If Dan is in love with her as much as her seems he has got to give her the chance to show she changed.

Speaking of guys, Nate needs to chill. The guy already has Blair, one of the hottest girls ever and still can't stop going back to Serena. The problem is that he does it without breaking up with Blair. Pick one or the other. My biggest problem with Nate (Chace Crawford) is the acting. Chace so far is one of the most stoic actors ever and in a show centered around outrageousness he needs to speak up a bit. He's barely made an impression on me except for the fact that I remember he stands around a lot. When he does speak it seems like there's no emotion behind the words.

As for Blair, I can't decide if she is a good or a bad person. She clearly plays the bad person very well and knows how to control people. But at the same time it seems that she is very sensitive and when no one is looking it shows. The only person who can get to her is Serena but after learning about the affair not even Serena can reach her. Leighton Meester (Blair) has done a great job so far and hopefully can keep it up. Without her the only good acting in the show has come from Dan and Serena.

So Rufus and Lily dated? This I'm pretty sure everyone knew but they admitted it this week. My problem with this storyline is that it's been done before (Kirsten-Jimmy, The O.C., for example). To this point its a basic plot line with nothing very exciting about it. Even if they got together I don't think it would be all that great. The writer's also messed up big time with Lily's involvement with Chuck's dad. When Dan walked in on the two of them talking about their relationship Lily made it into a big secret. Except after watching the first two episodes the reason why its such a big deal is a mystery to anyone watching when it shouldn't be. The writer's should have given us some inside info on why the two of them getting together would be a bad idea while keeping their relationship a secret to everyone else.

I'm a bit concerned about Taylor's obsession with being in the "In-Crowd." It's kind of creepy how much she wants to be a part of their lives. It was terrible the way she sold out her brother with the cabbage patch info. She's way to trusting and is going to get stabbed in the back at some point. We'll just have to see how far it goes as the season moves on.

Keep watching and let me know what you think!

Gossip Girl: Pilot

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

From the second The O.C. aired its' first episode Josh Schwartz became one of my favorite creators on television. Now, he's come out with a new show "Gossip Girl" on The CW (as well as "Chuck" on NBC). So no matter what I thought of the promo's I had to check this show out if for nothing more than the simple fact that Josh gave me 4 seasons of fun with that other show (The O.C.).

Basically the show follows the lives of New York City's elite youth and to a small extent a couple of their parents. We see their social lives and soon, their school lives, as they unfold in massive amounts of money driven, popularity driven drama that only the rich could be involved in. It's "Cruel Intentions" five years later plus a couple likable characters. The pilot didn't offer too much in the way of quality writing or quality television even though it was somewhat enjoyable. This is definitely not an Emmy winner (at least not so far) and definitely not what you should be watching if you only want stellar creativity and writing. But as a guilty pleasure it's pretty good.

I do have to point something out, and feel free to disagree, but Blake Lively (Serena) reminds me of a young Kate Hudson. She has the blond hair and a kind face plus the smile is almost identical. Her acting was also by far the best of the entire cast. She brought some genuine emotion and struggle to her character whereas many of the other actors seemed to be trying entirely too hard and it just didn't work (a.k.a. Chuck [Ed Westwick]).

As for what this show is lacking, the main thing is a purpose. The obvious answer would be that its about the lives of our main characters and how their positions in New York City influence their behavior in addition to the mystery of who Gossip Girl is and how she gets all her information. Unfortunately this isn't enough. This is basically the background but the show needs more. With The O.C., Josh gave us Ryan who gave us the main storyline to begin the show - a gifted boy caught up in the messed up lives of his family comes to live with the warm and giving Cohens in Newport. But Gossip Girl touches upon a storyline we can grab onto with Serena coming home because her little brother tried to commit suicide yet fails to give us any more or follow through on it. Down the road I'm sure it'll be a focus but when you have a pilot you need to establish a purpose from the very beginning; this the showed failed to do. Granted the show is based off a book but Josh failed to translate a purpose to the pilot.

Now if you're a HUGE fan of this show, which many of you are already, you know that many websites already know who plays the voice of Gossip Girl (and I'm assuming will play her on the show as well when she's revealed). I will do my absolute best not to post the actresses name for those of you who want to be surprised but if you'd like to know e-mail me anytime or leave a comment asking me.

The bright spot of the show was the acting of Blake Lively (Serena) and actually Penn Bagley (Dan). Their chemistry was pretty decent and the storyline developing between them looks to be very interesting. I can see Dan being Serena's anchor in the turmoil that is her life; bringing them closer every episode. The best moment's involved the two of them on the screen together. Now Leighton Meester (Blair) was decent but she wasn't really nailing the facial expressions and seemed a bit too mechanical. She definitely has a lot of potential though. The friendship (or lack thereof) between Blair and Serena is interesting to watch. They seem to genuinely care for each other but at the same time Blair can't get over her own ego long enough to be happy for how her friend has changed her life. With the revelation about Serena and Nate I doubt things will change for a long time.

I'm not sure why Dan's Dad and Serena's Mom needed to be connected for this show to work but it was a bit of a shock actually. I really didn't see that one coming but I wonder how that will play out and how it will touch upon all their lives.

So as a guilty pleasure I give this one thumb up for now. I'll have to see how the next few episodes go before I make a final decision on this one. As always, tell me what you think.