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| TV Reviews | |
we always suspected It's classic Bravo: A series based on 'Gossip Girl' Jun 23, 2009
Much in the same way that Bravo transformed two scripted shows, “The O.C.” and “Desperate Housewives,” into “The Real Housewives of Orange County” (kicking off what may turn out to be an endless line of sequels set in other locations), the channel has now taken The CW’s drama “Gossip Girl” and created a reality equivalent. (The genealogy of “NYC Prep” is even more complex, come to think of it: “The O.C.” also inspired MTV’s reality series “Laguna Beach,” which pioneered the use of dinner dates, phone calls and obviously set-up meetings to dramatize the messy lives of wealthy people, a technique that has been exploited both in the “Real Housewives” series and in “NYC Prep.” What’s more, the creator and executive producer of “The O.C.,” Josh Schwartz, went on to co-create and executive-produce “Gossip Girl.”) Like “Gossip Girl,” “NYC Prep,” which premieres tonight at 10, is set among the mostly affluent teenagers attending New York City’s elite schools. In the opening scenes of the premiere, the main participants say in voice-over that people have misperceptions of that social group. The rest of the show basically proves those misperceptions to be true. The participants are largely callow, obsessed with money and status, and inept (even by teenage standards) at forming personal relationships. This portrait of a generation may be skewed by casting. For example, the producers were clearly looking for a stand-in for Chuck Bass of “Gossip Girl,” a selfish, manipulative lothario with a superiority complex. They actually found two young men who add up to one Chuck. First is PC, a nattily dressed 18-year-old who is now “just friends” with his onetime girlfriend, Jessie, 17, although they spend most of their onscreen time fighting (just like Chuck and Blair!). PC is a little world-weary. “I don’t want to see anyone anymore,” he says in an interview. Being a senior, he can’t relate to relatively unsophisticated juniors. He also can’t understand why Jessie is offended when he throws a water bottle at her in a restaurant, and he refers to her with an obscenity after she storms out. (Hey, the cap was on!) Chuck’s womanizing side is represented by Sebastian, a 16-year-old with a fluffy hairdo and a Eurotrash vibe (he speaks fluent French). “I hook up a lot,” he tells the camera. “I hook up with like two or three girls a night. Maybe more. I don’t know….Why date one girl when you can, like, hook up with a bunch?” The girls on the show come off a little better. The closest equivalent of the always-in-control Blair from “Gossip Girl” is Camille, a junior who already has her life mapped out. “First, I will go to Harvard,” she tells the camera. “Then I will be the business head of a genetics firm. Then when I’m 40 I will have a husband and two girls.” In order to give middle-class viewers someone to identify with, the producers cast Taylor, a 15-year-old sophomore who attends one of New York’s elite public schools. (To protect the not-so-innocent, the show doesn’t divulge the names of their schools.) In the premiere, a rough cut of which was made available for review, a love triangle starts to form: Taylor has a party in a restaurant and invites Camille and Kelli, a 16-year-old private-school student who lives a curfew-free life in the city with her older brother. (Their parents spend most of the week in the Hamptons). Kelli brings along Sebastian, who proceeds to charm Taylor. Later, we see just how much trouble Taylor may be in: Sebastian double-dates two girls with his “wingman,” Gabe. Half-jokingly, Gabe has told Sebastian to flip his long hair toward the girl he wants to take home. Sure enough, after working his French to soften the girls up, Sebastian starts pushing his hair toward one of them. Saying goodnight, Sebastian tells the girls that he doesn’t think 16 is a good age for being in a relationship. “I feel like it’s for when you’re older,” he says. “Like when you’re 25. When you’re all partied out.” Later, Sebastian says to the camera, “Maybe when I’m 60 I’ll be in love. Maybe.” Maybe when they’re 25, or 60, Sebastian and PC and Camille and Taylor will be embarrassed by the things they did and said on camera. As much as viewers may enjoy disliking the boys and pitying the girls, it’s an open question whether it’s ethical to get such young people to sign up for something like “NYC Prep.” Then again, the “Laguna Beach” kids mostly seem to be doing just fine. The YouTube-Facebook generation doesn’t seem to recognize a point where self-exposure becomes indecent.
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