Groose Pointe: The first nine
For the fun of it, I've decided to provide a mini-review of this show. So far I've gone through the first 9 episodes, which is all the episodes on the first DVD. I haven't gone through the extras yet.
Well, let's start with the bottom line: This is an excellent, excellent show that is reliably funny and sometimes hilarious.
The first question is... why did I give up on this show in the first place? I saw the first four episodes in their original run, but didn't watch any of the others. I thought it was great at the time, so that's not a factor. Maybe I was busy during the time slots (Fridays & Sundays were hectic for me). Maybe I could never get back into rhythm after being derailed once. Or maybe I thought it would always be on so I could catch the reruns. None of this matters now, but for a long time this was the DVD I wanted more than anything else.
A couple of reasons for its appeal to me (and part of why it got canceled, IMO):
1) It poked a lot of fun at the WB. Never mind that Darren & Co. were really parodying FOX (which was in much the same position in '90-'92 that the WB was during 2000-01), the constant jabs at the network couldn't have made them very happy. I can almost forgive them for wanting to put on another show that didn't take such digs at them. ALMOST.
2) This is probably the most challenging sitcom since
Police Squad, but in a different way. PS was challenging because there was something happening (or could happen) throughout the show, from open to close - and sometimes several things at once. GP isn't like that (though it does move at a fast pace), but it does require its viewers to know a lot.
Let's take as an example GP's resident queen bee, who happens to be my favorite among many good ones on the show. In order to get the most out of thngs, you have to know about:
a) Hunter Fallow, the character on the show;
b) Becky Johnson, Hunter's character on the show-within-a-show;
c) Shannen Doherty, the person that Hunter is parodying; and
d) Brenda Walsh, the 90210 character that Becky resembles more than a little.
It also helps to know about Irene Molloy (who played Hunter & Becky) and the other details about other divas on the other teen/20something soaps of the '90s.
This can get a little exhausting at times, but like most challenging things, it's worthwhile in the end.
Yes, it's true that the theme song "Sex Bomb" is only on the first track of each DVD, but I missed it less than I thought I would.
I'd like to conclude by saying thank you to all those involved in bringing
Grosse Pointe to my television.
P.S. Amazon.co.uk is listing release dates for season two of both
90210 and
Melrose
as May 14, 2007. I have no idea how reliable those dates are, but I wouldn't put a lot of stock in them. BTW, I was tipped off from a post in a different forum.
