Felicity

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Search for love and identity fits teens and older.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this teen/college drama, peopled with easy-on-the-eyes actors and actresses fumbling through life to a hip soundtrack, takes on mature themes, including everything from unwanted pregnancy to infidelity. Sex and relationships are a major theme, and drugs and alcohol make their presence known. College life may never be this tumultuous, but then again, this is TV.

  • It's a coming-of-age drama, and growing up isn't always pretty. A main character dabbles with drug use; friends betray each other; some get married impulsively and just as easily divorce.
  • Angst-ridden teens and twentysomethings are more likely to launch into angry tirades instead of shootouts and the like -- though some punches are thrown, and a gun is actually pulled once.
  • These are sometimes-amorous (read: horny) college kids, so adjust expectations accordingly. In fact, Felicity makes it a goal to lose her virginity in the first season. Nevertheless, the subject is treated with a certain girly romance, not Jackass-like crassness. Still, everyone seems to sleep with everybody else in an incestuous circle of friends, and issues like infidelity and unwanted pregnancy are addressed.
  • Mild (a few sprinklings of "hell," "damn," "jerk," etc.). The most overused word is the ubiquitous "hey," which fans tally for every episode.
  • No major sales push for labels, unless pop songs are the commodity, as the show's soundtrack is rife with chart-topping hits.
  • Given that the show takes place during the college years, a time of rife experimentation, alcohol and drugs do make an appearance. Occasionally they're the center of action, as when one of the characters drops out of school and chases a hard-partying lifestyle.

What's the story?

What happens when a young girl makes an all-important decision based on a crush? That's the premise behind the late-'90s college drama FELICITY. The series follows Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) as she chooses to go to college in New York City, thousands of miles away from her sunny California home, just to see what happens when she's in the same vicinity as Ben Covington (Scott Speedman), the soulful, though somewhat lost, boy she pines for. As fans of the show will attest to, this simple romantic plot is enough to propel the action for four seasons, as Felicity discovers that her feelings -- fervent as they are -- aren't enough to shape reality into the blissful scenario she may have dreamed it to be. Instead, it unfurls in all its glorious, sometimes ridiculous, messiness -- Ben does end up having feelings for her, but does she want him after all? What of Noel (Scott Foley), the hunky resident advisor she can't quite ignore?


Is it any good?

 

Anyone who's gone through college and lived to tell the tale will confirm that Felicity captures the roller-coaster nature of it all fairly well. (No wonder it engendered such deep loyalty -- and inspired various drinking games -- among its fans.) Friendships founder on the smallest disappointments -- though there are plenty of large transgressions, too -- and relationships (and, naturally, sex) are the source of constant analysis and scrutiny. New ones begin, and those that were once too intense cool off. And then there's the looming question of identity: After four years of learning how to grow up, who do you become?

In its final season, the show took on a decidedly metaphysical bent, with the suggestion of time travel thrown into the mix. (At this point, it also became a bit mawkishly soap-opera-like.) Did everything that happened over the series' run take place in real time, or can the whole mess be undone by going back in time? Confused? Join the club. Still, Felicity "graduated" its lead characters with their charm, if not their innocence, intact.


What families can talk about

Families can talk about how one decision -- where to go to college and why -- spins off hundreds of others. Does life really hinge on one choice? Is there a right or wrong answer to life's questions, or are there just different ones? Is there such a thing as a soul mate? Or are there just different romantic opportunities -- doors that open to myriad life directions? Families with teens can also discuss how the media portray college life. Do you think it's really this angsty all the time? Why is that angle exaggerated in the movies and on TV?


This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Adult
May 28, 2009
 
The BEST show ever
I am obsessed with felicity. unfortunately by the time it ended i was only ten so i didn't watch it the first go round, but i watched it on dvd two years ago and i am obsesses. It is so dam good. every girl over 13 should watch it. I wouldn't say that it is very inapropriate however most people under 13 probably wouldn't enjoy it very much

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This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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