MEREDITH ANDERSON | senior staff writer
Every Monday night I burst through the door of my apartment no later then 7:58 p.m.—no matter what is happening in the world. My boyfriend knows to never, under any circum-stance, call me between the hours of eight and nine on Monday nights. If it is an emergency, text me. I will promptly call back once I hear those bittersweet words—‘You know you love me. Xoxo, Gossip Girl.’
I, of course, scoffed at the ridiculously repetitive ads that aired on practically every commercial break back in fall 2007. Eventually their persistent questions sparked an insatiable curiosity in my mind: Where has Serena been? And where is she now? And who am I? That’s a secret I’ll never tell.
Who was this gossip girl? And where in heaven’s name has Serena been? I couldn’t take the curiosity and found myself anxiously awaiting the premier—hoping for some answers. Thus began a phenomenon, and my obsession.
For the recently converted WB, the less traveled CW has found a lifeline in this drama-saturated hour of guilty pleasure television.
According to the U.S. Nielsen ratings, Gossip Girl, now in its second season, currently averages 3.1 million viewers a week.
“The show is pure garbage. But, it’s garbage that my roommates and I all consume and watch together. We talk about it when it’s not even on—look to it for fashion tips. We like to think that somewhere in New York the characters really exist,” sophomore communications major Hilary Van Messel said.
According to Gossip Girl herself, “You’re nobody until you’re talked about.” S and B are certainly not nobodies as Gossip Girl’s controversial attitude has been widely noticed and mentioned.
The buzz over the scandalous lives of the rich and wickedly attractive did not come without concern from parents who were apprehensive—even outraged—by the wild lives of the supposed high schoolers.
I’ll admit my favorite Upper East Siders probably aren’t the best role models for those impressionable tweens whose parents are outraged over the less-than-modest ads and plot lines.
The Parents Television Council, who gives Gossip Girl a no-nonsense red light on their ratings website, issued a statement calling the show “mind-blowingly inappropriate.”
Not ones to avoid juicy controversy, Gossip Girl fired back with suggestive ads for its second season broadcasting in bold print the Parents Television Council’s condemnation.
Despite the show’s run-ins with concerned parents, in 2008 the growing hit won six Teen Choice Awards and was nominated for Favorite New TV Drama at the People’s Choice Awards. Ratings have risen steadily over the course of its first season and have modestly maintained a core fan base in year two, according to U.S. Nielsen ratings.
The stars of the show, who rose from relative anonymity, have skyrocketed to young Hollywood bombshell status, avoiding tabloid scandal thus far. Fueling the flame of intrigue is the real-life romance between co-stars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, who play the central star-crossed-lovers who can’t manage to stay together.
From the ruggedly handsome yet charmingly sensitive Chace Crawford, to the conniving self proclaimed Queen Bee Leighton Meester, and the enigmatically tragic playboy Ed Westwick—each contribute to the addictive saga Gossip Girl narrates into my home once a week. Truly, this glittering cast allows the often laughable plot lines to easily be forgiven.
The fact that my newfound friends are constantly vying for their social status—or against it as the case may be—in the latest and greatest fashion world, only leaves me drooling for more.
Every scene puts my modest closet to shame as my eyes feast on the array of delightful heels, delicious boots, trendy skinny jeans, silk blouses, elegant cocktail dresses and classic outerwear for New York nights on the town—none of which congregated in my high school drawers.
But here on the Upper East Side, my reality is suspended and I believe every bit of it. My high school days, too, must have been filled with hosting parties, sabotaging reputations and doing all I could to stay out of Gossip Girl’s radar and into Yale. You know you love it!
Xoxo, Gossip Girl
