If ever there was a drama series that captures a slice of my own adolescence, or some dramatic interpretation of it anyway, it’s My So-Called Life. The Sundance Channel is set to bring the series back starting with the pilot episode, which airs this Monday night.
Maybe I didn’t have Angela’s bottle-red hair or newly acquired cool but troubled friends, but watching the show as a teen when it originally aired, there was definitely an easy connection with her introspective thought process. What teenage girl couldn’t relate to Angela Chase on some level? Focusing on a girl who’s unsure of herself or her place in the world, her school, her family and among her friends, My So-Called Life is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of the life of a teenage girl TV has ever seen. Of course, the show only lasted a season before it was axed.
Those of us who watched Angela pine over the dreamy, though somewhat emotionally vacant (aside from the occasional frustrated outburst) Jordan Catalano, were left to wonder whether or not they were meant to be. At the time the series aired, I believed she just had to be with him, but looking back it’s hard not to see Brian as the better match for her. We’ll never know. That’s sort of the beauty of an unfinished story.
Unfinished or not, My So-Called Life is still worth revisiting. I also believe kids today will be able to get past the dated outfits and teenage vernacular enough to relate to the characters. I’m sure kids are still struggling with trying to fit in (or stand out), and feel loved, appreciated and understood. And who knows, maybe loose-fitting flannel dresses and like… long pauses will make a comeback… or whatever.
The pilot episode of My So-Called Life will air Monday, April 25 at 11PM ET/PT on Sundance.
Sundance’s listings for the show throughout the end of the month and May is here.
