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"My So-Called Life" finds new life in a new box set

by
Dorothy Snarker

The long lusted-after, dreamed-about and angsted-over My So-Called Life: The Complete Series DVD box set is here. It’s finally here. I think Rickie’s World Happiness Dance is in order here. Who knows the steps? Geez, where are all the gay boys when you need them?

The deluxe set by Shout! Factory includes all 19 episodes from the much-loved landmark show’s one and only season, as well as a slew of extras. It’s an upgrade and then some from the first box set, released in 2002. Which, of course, I also own. But don’t think I haven’t hinted profusely to all my family, friends and assorted passersby about this new set, since, well, my birthday is coming right up. What? I’m just being helpful.

Among the box set goodies are a full disc of extras, including episode commentaries by the cast and crew, an interview with Claire Danes, behind-the-scene featurettes about the show’s origins, characters, music and more, and a full-color book with artwork and linear notes written by series creator Winnie Holzman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and comic firebrand Janeane Garofalo. Attention assorted loved ones: If you are reading, I was not kidding about those hints.

Other than the new features, what excites me most about the new set is the chance for well-worded nostalgia by the press who, by and large, embraced the short-lived show with open, flannel-covered arms. Critics from The New York Times to the Los Angeles Times wrote glowing pieces praising the series and set.

But in an interview with New York magazine, series coproducer Marshall Herskovitz dropped a near bombshell about our beloved Angela Chase. Apparently, he and coproducer Ed Zwick were thisclose to picking Alicia Silverstone for the role instead. Now, no offense to Alicia, but thank God.

Luckily, Herskovitz spotted exactly what made Claire perfect for the role from the start:

“Ed wanted (Alicia), and I said, ‘This girl is absolutely beautiful, but the Angela I see shivers back and forth between being beautiful and being really' — I mean, Alicia, you know, this is a girl who has been told she’s beautiful since she’s 5 years old! I just don’t think Angela’s that girl. Then in walks Claire Danes. And at 13, you know: From one angle, she’s breathtaking; from another, she’s awkward. We were all terrified of her. She was very quiet and reserved, and half the things she said were utterly brilliant and half the things sounded like a 13-year-old.”

Which cuts to what was so amazing about the show in the first place. It was a series about teenagers that was, above all else, honest about teenagers. And in that honesty was true beauty, even if you couldn’t always see it at first. To quote Angela:

“Sometimes, it seems like we’re all living in, like, some kind of prison, and the crime is how much we hate ourselves. It’s good to get really dressed up once in a while and admit the truth: that when you look closely, people are so strange and so complicated that they're actually beautiful — possibly even me.”

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    • Submitted by
    Dorothy Snarker
    on October 30, 2007 - 2:00pm.
    TAGS :: 
    megsaintg's picture

    Actually Beautiful

    Submitted by
    megsaintg (15 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 2:45pm.

    I loved this show.... thanks for the info on the box set 

    Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there

    Nea's picture

    Loved this show SO

    Submitted by
    Nea (198 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 3:03pm.

    Loved this show SO much!

     

    ::grabby hands:: Must get that dvd, even if it's just for old times' sake!

    lunakiss's picture

    Yes!

    Submitted by
    Miss Ketina (1037 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 3:12pm.

    My-So-Called-Life was the first show I actually became addicted to.  What a great holiday gift for me from me. Thanks dorothy snarker.

    Peace! 

    abzug's picture

    Count me in

    Submitted by
    abzug (87 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 3:12pm.

    as another MSCL fan who bought the dvd set back in 2002 and is going to buy this one as well.  I absolutely adore(d) this show, and I can't get enough of any of the episodes.  To see them with commentary will be worth the price, whatever it is.  Given that there's only 19 hours, I gotta milk each one for all it's worth!

    --abzug

    Visit http://www.badgirlsannex.com!

    Kaytiana's picture

    I love this show!!  After

    Submitted by
    Kaytiana (184 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 3:13pm.
    I love this show!!  After looking for ages to buy it from the States they finally released it over here in the UK, but unfortunately I am short of pennies, or maybe fortunately because now I can save up and get this shiny new edition!!  YAY!!!!
    narcolepsy_slds's picture

    I loved this show so much,

    Submitted by
    narcolepsy_slds (14 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 3:19pm.

    I loved this show so much, and had a huge crush on Jared Leto... still have.

    anyway, I really felt represented for the first time, it hit close to home and was real (unlike Beverly Hills for example).

    Now I just have to wait until Relativity gets a DVD release.

    mo cuishle's picture

    YAY!!!

    Submitted by
    mo cuishle (not verified)
    on October 30, 2007 - 4:15pm.
    I am rushing out to buy this now! I loved Claire Danes and Jared Leto (still like him too, 30 Seconds to Mars are not bad). I was a teenager when this show was on and it was like, my god someone gets me! The show didn't last long enough. I dyed my hair the same color as Angela and wanted to be her. I'm glad MSCL finally received the special DVD treatment it deserved, unlike the overly expensive earlier release.
    The Hearer's picture

    I could have sworn

    Submitted by
    The Hearer (not verified)
    on October 30, 2007 - 5:19pm.

    that I had read ""My So-Called Wife" finds new life in a new box set" and I wondered whether there was an animal in the box set.

    The tricks one´s mind can play sometimes (it´s late where I am and it´s been a terribly long day for my eyes and brain ... and me).

    Great, another show that is liked by so many people here and I can´t see it.

    And I wished that "Young Americans" were made available on DVD.

    audurem's picture

    I want that!

    Submitted by
    rudua (62 posts)
    on October 30, 2007 - 7:46pm.

    Oh, I had the biggest crush on Claire Danes. Only, I didn't realize it back then. I didn't understand why all of my friends were so in love with Jared Leto.

    I even begged my mom to buy me checkered shirts and then I leaned against the walls in the hallway at school, like Angela. Sigh.

    dypole's picture

    I wish more people saw in

    Submitted by
    dypole (240 posts)
    on October 31, 2007 - 4:03pm.

    I wish more people saw in Claire Danes what Marshall Herskovitz saw, because I truly believe she is one of the most underappreciated actresses of her generation.

    "Out of the box is where I live." -Starbuck

    Molly Bolt's picture

    Amen to that! Her

    Submitted by
    Molly Bolt (173 posts)
    on November 1, 2007 - 8:16am.
    Amen to that! Her performance in Shopgirl was outstanding. And she's such a cutie.
    new_dawn's picture

    I love this show!!

    Submitted by
    new_dawn (36 posts)
    on October 31, 2007 - 6:28pm.

    Finally, you can get it on dvd here in Germany, too. I still own all 19 episodes on video tape;)

    Gosh, the show is so brilliant. I first saw one episode of it while on a student exchange in the UK. I was hooked right away. Angela was just like me. I had thought about coloring my hair red for ages and actually did it that very winter to the shock of my family. The always nice and sweet girl finally started to grow up and had a huge, rather public crush on one of the coolest guys in school, a taller and blonder version of Jared Leto. And a more secret one on Winona Ryder in Reality bites;)

    When the show finally reached Germany I made my sister and friends watch it. But nobody got as obsessed with it as I had...

    -judy-'s picture

    one of my all-time-favourite shows!

    Submitted by
    -judy- (7 posts)
    on November 8, 2007 - 2:54pm.

    I'm also waiting to get my hands on the German version they finally released. When the show was aired so long ago, I was totally hooked. I was so in love with Angela... And I still like Claire Danes a lot, although I haven't seen much of her recently. I also liked the feel of the series, that it was so sad and moving, but also funny and touching.

    One of my favourite scenes by the way was the one with Angela and Rickie standing on a wet street at night with "Everybody hurts" by REM playing. This song always makes me cry as I have to think of this sad scene. *sob*


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