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August 21, 2005
Those meddling kids!
Another genre that I have great fondness for is the dorky, formulaic teen sleuth drama. Who doesn't love Scooby Doo?
Last night I was disappointed to discover that my local Cool Video Store Chain doesn't have The Transporter so I got Nancy Drew instead.
I don't remember watching this when it was on tv. I ripped through every Nancy Drew book I could find as a kid; maybe by 1977 I had outgrown them and had no interest in the show. I imagine the Hardy Boys may have held more fascination for me by then. Yes— I had a crush on Parker Stevenson.
The Nancy Drew tv show is quite different from the books (as I recall them). Bess is not in the show. Ned isn't really Nancy's boyfriend. George, while still a tomboy, doesn't have a boyfriend and has been reduced to the role of Nancy's dorky, stupid, un-sexy sidekick, who never does anything but act distressed and surprised.
While in Indy, Steph and I discussed the new Battlestar Galactica, including some ruminations on how cool the new Starbuck character is— a woman who is pretty damn butch, straight, very sexy, and who actually has sex on screen. Starbuck circa 2005 and George circa 1977 represent the opposite ends of the onscreen tomboy spectrum. I'm with Steph on this one; I like the Starbuck version a hell of a lot better.
The Nancy Drew tv show also has a very, very odd take on alchoholism in one episode. Nancy goes to stay with her elderly maiden aunts, one of whom has a pretty healthy addiction to something that she calls her "cough tonic". The other aunt is clearly disapproving of this habit, but never does anything about it except grumble. There's lots of screen time devoted to the watching the "coughing" aunt fondle her porcelain "tonic" bottle, and in the final scene of the episode, she gives a little fake cough, asks someone to hand her her tonic, and everyone gives a little rueful, knowing smile. Jigga-wha??? Everyone in the family, including Ned and George totally get what's happening, and just play along? Ok, nice message to send all the kids...
That episode is also a little bothersome in that the aunts are shown as sharing a bed, although the house is apparently big enough that Nancy and George get separate bedrooms. I imagine this might have been confusing to any kids who picked up on it; were the aunts supposed to be gay? If so, then congrats to the show, but it would be more helpful if that relationship were clear. And define George's sexuality while you're at it... especially if Nancy's flirting with every single, handsome man in sight...
And yes, for those wondering-- the word "meddling" is used in almost every episode to describe Nancy or her actions.
Now I want to rent some Hardy Boys! I'm sure the writing is just as bad.
Posted by lisa at August 21, 2005 11:18 AM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.