Gossip Girl - The Complete First Season DVD Review

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DVD Release Date - August 19, 2008
Description:

At an exclusive prep school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, students addictively follow text-messaged scoops on scandals and heartache among their peers as reported by Gossip Girl, a shadowy presence whose identity is known to no one. Gossip Girl’s dispatches kick into high gear as Serena Van Der Woodsen ends her self-imposed boarding school exile and returns to Manhattan, surprising even her closest friend, Blair. As Gossip Girl continues to stir the pot and feed any potential scandals, student buzz sifts through any available clues to the hottest topic of all: Who is Gossip Girl, anyway?

Review

This type of show does not appeal to me. I cannot relate to it, and I have no real interest in its premise. However, I do have interest in Josh Schwartz, who created The O.C., he also made this. That was enough to get me to give this show a try. I didn’t watch it when it aired, I didn’t even know it was on, the only show I watch on The CW is Smallville, and I quickly fast-forward through the commercials.

Even though this show does not appeal to me in the least, I was sucked in within 15 minutes. I don’t know what happened. I figured I might watch 2-3 episodes and end up hating it and giving the dvd away. That did not happen, I started to enjoy this show. I watched all but the last 3 episodes in one day. The show is shot beautifully, the writing is witty the story lines are decadent, and the actors are very good.

The show covers the lives of several upper class New York girls and guys. It’s basically a Teen soap opera. I hate to say it, but I did get drawn in, but near the end I started to loose interest. The main male character, Dan, started to become incredibly one-dimensional, this caused me to start questioning the other characters, and loosing touch with the reality created by the show.

The reason the show is called Gossip Girl, is because there is this blogger who (I think she is voiced by Kristen Bell, from Veronica Mars) she sends out text messages, and updates her blog about who is sleeping with who, or who got dissed by who, etc, etc. Everyone at the private school views Gossip Girl, and some people send in tips.

The Music Selection is good, there are plenty of good songs spread out throughout this dvd series.

The show is good, If you liked The O.C., which I did, you may like this. It’s different, but similar. Maybe more grown up, in some ways, but more shallow in other ways.

I will not be viewing season 2 when it airs, but I will check out the dvds. If they are good I will keep it up, I have a lot of faith in Josh Schwartz, and I’m sure he will do a good job.

Video - 5/5

Good video, strong, vibrant, and looks very good, very stylish.

Audio - 5/5

Great sound, and I love the music. The OC introduced me to new music bands, Gossip Girl is doing the same.

Supplements - 4/5

Pretty good amount of extras here, you get some deleted scenes, and some music videos. A few of the more interesting features are, “The Beginning” which is almost a half hour, and talks about the books, how they came up with the series, and talking about shooting the show in NYC, “Gossip Girl Couture” talks about the designs that show up on the show (one of the characters mom’s is a fashion designer, as is one of the characters), and likely the Coolest feature (though I have not listened to it yet) is “The Gossip Girl Audio Book” which is almost 2 and a half hours long, and is read by Christina Ricci, this is the first Gossip Girl book, and I think it is VERY cool that this was included.

Overall - 4/5

Good introduction, I’m glad Josh is writing a new series, this one is fun, light, and you do fall in love with some of the characters, its sad that the show became shallow near the end, or maybe my initial spell wore off when I took a break. I will give it another shot next season, and hope for the best. I know Josh will do a great job, and I do await the next season. Thankfully this season does not leave cliffhangers in the air, but does provide some resolution, whilst keeping you waiting for the next season.

Overall Rating - 4/5 Stars

Video - 5/5
Audio - 5/5
Bonus - 4/5
Story - 4/5

Fun show, entertaining, defiantly a guilty pleasure I recommend it

Bottom Line?
Buy it if you liked the OC, the show is interesting, but somewhat shallow. The show was VERY strong for me until the last few episodes, when some of the characters became somewhat one dimensional, I will chalk this up to the strike, and give the show another chance next season.

Want to buy this or other seasons? Please click one of the links below (the best price you can find).