To the Writers of Gossip Girl...

Dear Stephanie and Josh,

Hi! I want to begin by saying that I love your show, Gossip Girl. Or, rather, I really want to love it. I have tuned in, week after week, since the show began. In fact, before the show even began, I watched the promos and excitedly waited for it to start. I knew that I would love it. I wanted to love it, so much. And I did. The first season started off a bit slowly, but it takes many programs a season or two to find their grove. I was hopeful, despite the somewhat stale dialog and lack of character development. I stuck it out, and things seemed like they were getting better. The second season showed some real character growth and depth. Serena was more of a human being, as was Blair. Chuck became more of a focal point, rather than a wacky side villain. Things were looking up, and I became an even bigger fan. I blogged about the show, I waited patiently through the weird mid-season breaks. I was a fan.

And in many ways, I'm still a fan. But the time has come for me to face facts. The show needs some real work. I'm realizing now that I wanted it to be amazing, and so it was amazing. I OMG'd when Chuck and Blair finally got together even though I saw it coming. I ignored the plot lines that were brought up and then dropped before anything interesting could really happen. I can't ignore these things anymore. I want to love this show, I really do. But this season is really getting mediocre. However, I don't think that all hope is lost. I have some suggestions that I think you should listen to.

First, what's the deal with Jenny??? I thought she grew up last season. Why is she suddenly regressing? Her annoying, immature behavior might be interesting if there was some sort of reason behind it. But right now, it's just annoying. Jenny seems to have become more one-dimensional as the show goes on. That shouldn't happen.

Second, I'm tired of Rufus. I'm also tired of Dan. I also hate Vanessa. This brings me to my larger point: introduce new characters. 90210 realized that as much as we all love Brenda, we couldn't just watch her and Kelly be frienemies season after season. By the third season, there were some new, somewhat permanent characters. You sometimes introduce new characters, but then they go away before they have the chance to become part of the plot. In this season the kids went off to college--what better time to bring in new characters? And Georgina doesn't count. She's just a catalyst for the other characters, really. All the new characters are. Let them be real people, and let them stick around for awhile.

Let's go back to Dan and Rufus for a moment. They are terrible people. They are what I like to call the Brandon Walshes of the world. They are the douche bags who think that they are "good guys" and that everyone around them is a douche bag. They have a classic hero or "Dawson Leary" complex, and it's annoying. The frustrating thing (and this happens again and again in teen drama) is that everyone around them, the writers of the show included, also seems to think that they are "good guys." They aren't! Wake up! They're selfish. Once the writers realize that these characters are not good people, and once that is recognized within their fictional world in some way, they have the potential to be interesting characters. Embrace the fact that they are jerks and go with it--just be aware of it. As it stands, they're just annoying.

Now comes my third and final piece of advice. Please stop trying to work in a new crazy plot twist with each episode. Instead, take some time to develop the plots that you've already introduced. Your audience won't get bored, I promise. They'll thank you for building a real story. If you keep going the way you've been going, you'll run out of things to do. Take some time and think it through. There are others like me out there--and we want to love this show. We haven't given up on it, and you shouldn't either! You have at least one more season, so make it count.

Sincerely,
Brigitte

P.S. Stay tuned for more Avatar Fan Fiction next week!

This entry was posted by Brigitte, on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. You can leave your response.