My So-Called Life - TV-PG

Mature teen angst at its best.

TV Rating: TV-PG Network: The N Cast: Claire Danes, Jared Leto, Devon Odessa Genre: Drama
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this classic teen series tackles mature topics including casual sex, homosexuality (including a teen who struggles with coming out), drinking, drugs, child abuse, young love, infidelity, divorce, death, homelessness, and manipulation. Each storyline is handled in detail, delicately, and often with parental involvement.

Families can talk about a wide range of issues, including fitting in at school, divorce, first crushes, homosexuality, drugs, parties, drinking, and dating. Each episode presents an opportunity to have a dialogue with your teen. Does making new friends mean losing your old ones? What are some unexpected things your teen has experienced in high school? Parents might use the series as an entry point to set some ground rules about curfew, sneaking out, and dating.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Jill Hipps

Only 19 episodes ever aired of the 1994 cult favorite MY SO-CALLED LIFE, but those same 19 episodes are still airing in reruns, entrancing a whole new generation of teenagers with their realism and intensity.

For teens Angela Chase (Claire Danes), Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), Rickie Vasquez (Wilson Cruz), Brian Krakow (Devon Gummersall), Sharon Cherski (Devon Odessa), and Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer), life in high school is, like, hard -- or whatever.

My So-Called Life is Angela's story, evoking the true transition of a suburban girl from a middle-class family as she breaks off from her best friend from junior high (Sharon) and the geek next door (Brian) and begins to discover herself in high school. Angela dyes her hair, befriends the school tramp (Rayanne) and her gay best friend (Rickie), and falls for the epitome of the dumb, hot upperclassman, Jordan Catalano (his first name is rarely spoken without his last name following).

Angela's social behavior may be questionable, but she is usually the first to acknowledge her bad choices -- and, more importantly, to learn from them. Angela is more self-aware than the average teen, but this quality is admirable.

My So-Called Life handles standard high school woes with delicate insight, covering everything from zits, a gun at school, and the cool kid who can't read to censorship in the classroom, best friends' betrayal, a teen boy's struggle to come out, and other situations that run the sexual gamut.

My So-Called Life made TV history by being the first show to include "like" and "ya know" in its teen characters' dialogue. Unfortunate as that may be, it is relatable for the average American high school student -- My So-Called Life is a show that actually speaks their language. Also, the series' topics (and the maturity with which they were handled) put My So-Called Life ahead of its mid-'90s time -- which ultimately may have been part of the reason for its quick demise. But it has rarely left the airwaves since, airing over and over in repeats, a fact that speaks to its lasting quality and ability to deliver both entertainment and conversation for teens and their parents.

If teens are looking for something similar with a modern premise, they might enjoy Everwood and Gilmore Girls.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Casual sex, comments about having sex ("it will help [with schoolwork] if you have sex with me"), horny teenagers, a girl uses her boyfriend for sex but wants to break up with him, a daughter finds porn video in her parents' room, sex in a parked car is caught on tape.
Violence One character is physically abused; a gun is found in a school locker.
Language Very mild ("damn").
Message
	Social Behavior Characters are fairly typical and relatable teens: They sneak out of the house, throw a party when parents are gone, date the "bad boy," try to mend old friendships and create new ones.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Drinking and smoking. One character has an overdose.