For discussing spoilers, and the books.

I watched the Pilot on iTunes last night, and I thought it was pretty good. I thought the actors did a very good job, and everyone was very charismatic. I'm particularly charmed by Serena, though, and her relationship with her brother. Also, Kristen Bell rocks the narration.

I think the story went a little too quickly and I had seen everything relevant in the 10 minute preview a few months back. I understand, though, that it's the nature of the pilot so I'm holding out judgment until I see a few more episodes. I did love the actresses who played Blair and Serena, and the actor who played Dan (Penn Badgley!).

I also enjoyed the relationship between Serena and her little brother - I understand that is a change from the book? As is Dan going to the same school as them all? And Blair and what's-his-face pretty boy dating since kindergarten or something?

In the book Serena's brother is older than her and in college. And completely uninteresting. Dan did go to a different school than the other two boys but it should be more interesting with all of them together.

I thought the changes they made to the books were pretty good actually. They made a lot of the characters much more tolerable. I actually thought the books were pretty bad on a whole and I read them solely because Josh was doing this show. The only thing I thought was odd in the pilot was seeing Nate and Chuck on a bus. And the dramatic way Serena would turn when someone called her name. So much hair.

I loved the pilot but I kinda wish the ten minutes I watched initially wasn't just a condensed version of the entire episode.

As far as characters, I like pretty much everyone in their perspective roles. I'm anticipating the second episode very much.

ETA: I have never read the books, I don't intend to read the books, so I hope they *do* take artistic liberties. I prefer the book to just be an outline rather than a strict guideline.

Moved from the Media Thread:

The pilot was okay. Aesthetically pleasing, but completely vacuous thus far.

I thought there were major shades of The OC to the extent that I had to keep reminding myself Schwartz didn't originate the plot or characters. How sad is Matthew Settle that he's in full-fledged "dad" territory now? It was a little disconcerting to see him like that (similar to seeing Tate Donovan as Jimmy Cooper.)

Of the writing, acting, and directing, I thought the direction was the weakest link. Abrupt cuts, cheesy flashback/montage sequences, and weird camera angles. Disappointing since Mark Piznarski (in addition to be being Piz's namesake,) directed the pilot for VM (one of the best pilots I've ever seen.)
The dialogue was okay but certainly not the best Josh and Stephanie have ever done, and not a single character has me as invested as I was in Seth Cohen after The OC's pilot. I think the girls and Penn Badgley have potential, but so far the other guys are total blanks for me. The clothes are fabulous, though.

I haven't read any of the books so I don't have that comparison.
I'll be curious to hear what others thought of the whole pilot. Particularly, other Schwartz/OC fanatics.

I loved the first season of the OC but I really don't hold it up as some pennacle of achievement in television. It was fun to watch simple as that, and if GG can give me that same pleasure I'll stick with it. I'm not really gonna get into analyzing the artistic merits a teen soap. As long as the dialogue is passable, I'm all about the drama!

So far I think they've set up the season nicely, we have our friends and foes and potential catfights and dogfights and everything else I would expect from my guilty pleasures.

I liked all three guys. Even though Penn Badgley as Dan is getting all the Seth Cohen comparisons, there's a real difference in the characters - he seemed a little more comfortable with his status as an outsider than Seth was when we first met him. I like that and I hope they keep the insecurity to a minimum in future episodes. Nerdy indie guys are cool in a way that they weren't a few years ago (at least in part thanks to Seth Cohen, ironically), so it's realistic that he'd be more sure of himself than Seth.

But I think Nate and Chuck are potentially interesting, too. In the handful of books I read, Nate struck me as a somewhat wasted character - of all the kids, he seemed most inclined to question the way their lives were all planned out for them, and that could be taken in a lot of directions, story-wise. In the books it mostly wasn't, but in the show, maybe they'll explore it more. As for Chuck, I never found the character remotely worthwhile in the books, but I loved his scenes in the pilot. I could see him becoming, like, the Julie Cooper of this show. He's so fun to watch.

I'm really happy with the casting of the girls - I've always liked Blake Lively, and she's got that irresistible quality that works for Serena, but I think Leighton Meester will end up being flat-out amazing as Blair. Jenny is fine - in the books, her attempts at social climbing are a lot more important than her boobs, so it doesn't bother me at all that she's flat-chested.

As far as the changes to the families, I think those are mostly good things - Serena's younger brother on the show is already a lot more interesting than her older brother in the books, and I'm curious to see if he develops a relationship with Jenny. Rufus and Lily should be entertaining to watch, and since I'm 26, Matthew Settle will also be serving as my eye candy on this show.

As for episode in general, if I hadn't already had every intention of getting hooked on the show, I probably wouldn't have found it nearly as compelling as the pilot of The O.C. But it was definitely good enough to keep me interested. I like the edgier tone, and I'm in need of a new guilty pleasure anyway.

Just watched it as well, and I enjoyed it, but it's not exactly 90210/Dawson's/Everwood/O.C. addictive, but it works. I'm willing to give it another shot.

My biggest complaint is that I loathe the Gossip Girl narration. I didn't think I'd hate it, but every bit of narration was so on-the-nose that I couldn't help but groan. I wouldn't mind her opening and closing the shows, but sprinkled throughout is just too much. I know it's key to the show and to the concept of the books and everything, but I just felt like it really didn't work. Bell has the perfect voice, though.

I was also pretty disgusted with Chuck. I know he was supposed to be painted as villain, and it might have been lifted from the book, but I felt like forcing himself on Jenny was a little too much. And while I felt like other actors conveyed, with various levels of success, different emotions, he seemed like a stereotype.

Also wasn't crazy about the montage sex, but that's minor.

There are definitely some interesting dynamics being set up, and I'm definitely interested to see the way these intertwined lives become even more tangled.

I liked Dan and his family, which seems to be expected. As mentioned above, Seth Cohen actually did make it to okay to be an outsider, and so Dan definitely has a bit more confidence, which is nice.

I also appreciate the way they painted Blair, stereotypically bitchy at first and then slowly revealing why she was acting like she was. I'm less sold on Serena, and though I like her chemistry with Dan, I'm not sure I like her. Yet, at least.

So there's definitely some stuff in there I'll be back for, but I'm not completely sold on it yet. I don't expect anything too groundbreaking, but I would like to be given more reason to care. Or, at the very least, something really over-the-top so that I can just forget the characters and enjoy the insanity. Whichever happens is fine with me. I trust Josh.

The show feels like the typical WB/CW teen drama, so there doesn't seem to be anything "new" thus far. I'm sure to expect the usual fare of overly analytical mid-life crisis-esque diatribes and "Like that would ever happen!" moments, but there are a lot of interesting characters. Even if some of the plots might seem ridiculous (for teens to be involved in), at least Dan and Chuck seem quite intruiging. Don't really care for Blair and I seem to always dislike the main focal character, so I don't know how long I'd keep up with the show with Serena as the lead. (But then again, if any of the other characters were "the lead", they'd probably suffer the same fate...)

I already don't care for any potential long-term possibilties of the Serena/Nate/Blair triangle. Nothing like 2 best-friends getting catty over the same guy to keep me enthralled. Where have I seen that one before?!

I did enjoy the whole "Gossip Girl" aspect of it. In this day and age, a show about a gossip website just works. I get most of my news online and read blogs ad naseum, so this is one aspect of "reality" that doesn't seem to be blown out of proportion.

Ausiello is reporting that Jessica Szhor (late of the odious What About Brian) has been cast in the pivotal role of Vanessa. Ausiello describes her as Dan's (Penn Badgley) former best friend who moves back to New York eager to act on her crush on him only to find him falling for Serena (Blake Lively). The report doesn't mention if she's going to be recurring or a new series regular.

I never watched What About Brian when she was on it so question...can she pass as a teenager if she was a love interest on a show about late twentysomethings?

Saw the pilot this weekend and it was better than what I thought. It had a very OC vibe (which makes sense because they have the same creator).

Me neither. I thought it was a bit much.

I love Blair and don't like Serena at all. Which is odd because when I read the books I hate Blair and love Serena. I like Blake Lively in the Sisterhood, but I just dont really like her in this role. She feels like the lead from the OC, which is not a good sign IMO.

Serena has far too many shades of Marissa right now. I haven't read the books but based on what people have said the Serena character was carefree and vivacious, hopefully that is the characterization that will win out instead of the morose old-before-my-time one we get in the pilot. (And on a superficial note there were many shots were Blake Lively looked 40.)

Serena hasn't done anything yet to make me hate her. In fact I like her alot. I gotta have a reason besides her reminding me slightly of Marissa to hate her, it's just too soon into the show.

This is coming from someone who went from liking Marissa to disliking her as the leading lady. I actually try hard to give the characters the benefit of a doubt before anything goes into full on hate mode. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

I actually found Serena pretty charismatic and charming in the pilot. No intense love for her or anything, but she seemed fairly likeable and more than one-note. I think Blake is actually pretty good at delivering some of the cleverer lines. Well, I thought most of the actors who were the "good ones" did a decent job. Of course, I loved Leighton Meester, but who can't love her bitchface?

Read the books, missed the pilot.

I do hope they make Vanessa bald, because that her main rebellion (or her most noticible at first glance), and I'm glad to hear that Jenny's not half bad even without the giant boobs (because they are the source of quite few of her problems/insecurities)

I watched it iTunes tonight, finally. And I'm in, for now. I need a show about pretty rich people, now that The OC is gone and The Hills is boring.

And Dan? Is HAWT, and totally a contender for my new TV boyfriend.



eta- nate is not dan. dan is hot, nate is not.

I thought it was great!

It's very different from the books, but who cares? I loved that the show is obviously going to include more of the parents lives (what was up with Serena's mom and Dan's dad?).

Also, did anyone else notice the way Serena's brother perked up upon meeting Jenny?!

Saw the pilot too- agree with the Serena 'like' so far on these boards, including this tense, angsty scene which The CW put out as a web-only thing:

Gossip Girl Web Excusive Scene - Series Premiere

Yeah, I liked Dan more than I thought I would. Penn Badgely does the geek-shy thing well.

I like Kristen Bell's voice for the voiceovers, but they're too obvious and heavy-handed. Most of them didn't add anything substantial to whatever scene they were describing. Write some better voiceovers, Josh.

I liked him too! He's adorable and I loved the exchanges he had with Serena - it seemed very natural. I wonder why he tried to kill himself. I hope it wasn't just a plot point to get Serena to come back to the city.

Ditto all of this.

The only characters I don't like much are Blair's two sidekicks (who are they again?). The VO's aren't bad and Serena is likable. I like it so far, it's cute and I like shows about rich fictionial kids. I also spied some Marie Antoinette soundtrack music (Concerto In G).

Kati and Isabel.


I wonder if Blair is going to be bulimic, like she is in the books. There were hints of that tonight, like her staring at her stomach in the mirror, and her eating Nate's food.. but then again, I don't know if they'd want to go that route. Hmm. I hope they do though.

And I wonder if Blair's mom is going to remarry like in the books to Cyrus? Hmm.. I wish there were more spoilers floating around the internet! If anyone finds a good source, please post!

A New preview is up at the CW Website.

The promo has me really excited for next week's episode. It looks a lot better than the pilot, and hopefully it's more centered on Blair this time.

Field hockey cat fight? Oh hell yeah!

Previews, promos, etc. are not spoilers in this forum, or in the FAQ.

Ditto for the Erik love.. but did anyone notice how pale he was? I know he was in the hospital. but still kinda creepy.

I for one am bugged by Serena.. and love Blair.. don't know why.

Do you understand what a spoiler is?

Ohh boy. Anyway, to bring this thread back on track:

- The Gossip Girls get in a luxurious private hotel club thanks to a Maitre D' who lets them in. Jenny will try to con a police officer in the fifth episode we will see. A Wall Street man in his late 20s will send a bottle of wine to Jenny in the hope to woo her but things will get ugly when he discovers her age. A gross married man will hit on Blair while both are at a club

- The second episode (aka the episode after the pilot) will feature a male concierge with a dry sense of humor; a 19-year-old girl working at the same hotel the concierge works; a teenage girl who has a crush on Dan; and Dorota, Blair's Eastern European 50-year-old housekeeper.

- They are currently casting the role of Chuck's father, Bartholomew Bass. He is a hotel magnate who has a lot of charisma he reserves for VIPs. He is the sole person who intimidates Chuck. It is possible that this character will recur.

- In episode 3 (if you count the pilot as episode 1), we meet Ms. Tedrow, the 40-year-old headmistress of Constance Billiard Girls School, and Mr. Prescott, the 50-year-old headmaster of St. Jude's Boys School. Both will surely become recurring characters. Eric sees a therapist. Rufus must speak with the committee chairwoman of the girls' school.

- In episode 4, we meet Carter Baizen. He used gave up the "Gossip Girl" world and traded it for scruff and sandals. Carter introduced Nate and Chuck to the bar scene and smoking joints. Carter may seem a changed man but he is not the person he appears to be now. Also in the episode are art consultant Bex, who works for Lily and flirts with Rufus; French fashion photographer Henri, who works with Eleanor; some of Chuck's classmates, who get in a pub crawl; and a few poker players.

- A potential love interest for Dan will be introduced in episode 6. Vanessa is a 17-year-old artist/filmmaker who hates private school. She'll be recurring. Source: SpoilerFix.com

- In episode 1.07, Nate is in jail and bail is set to a million


Source: Spoilerfix

I hope so too. And will they cover Serena's "relationship" with Aaron the stepbrother?

some other interesting tidbits:Here are the sides for episode seven. Apparently, there is some..ahem..action up ahead between Chuck and Blair.
http://dani0007.livejournal.com/

Scandalous!

Ausiello is reporting that in episode three (on October 3), Blair gets a tip that Serena spent part of her year away from NYC in a rehab facility called...hee...the Ostroff Treatment Center.

Also, a casting call has gone out for Blair's dad (who, you may remember, left her mom for another man).

On extra, they did a segment about Gossip Girl fashion and showed some filming for what looked like a masquerade ball. Jenny was in a ballgown and Nate kind of grabbed her shoulders from behind so it looks like the Jenny/Nate storyline from the books will play out in future episodes.

Hopefully sooner than later -- it's one of the funniest stories in the books. But that might be because of my hatred for Vanessa and Dan...

No, even if I love Show Vanessa as much as I love Show Dan, that's still hilarious.

Ausiello's reporting that the show is looking to cast Serena's wealthy, manipulative, and larger-than-life grandmother. Ooh, another generation of bitchiness?!?!? This show's Caleb Nichol?!?!? Sounds awesome.

That's going to be fun. Sounds exciting.


Okay, those pictures of Vanessa?!? WHAT?!? She's ghetto now, instead of being bald and punk?! This is nuts.

Wait, where are these pictures? I really want to see them.

Also, I'm intrigued by the idea of Chuck and Blair.

Here

From what I read in the episode description, I don't think they're going to use that storyline. At least not yet anyway. My interpretation was that Nate thinks masked Jenny is Serena. They both have long, wavy blonde hair, and in a dark setting with everyone in costume, it's entirely plausible. The writers haven't decided to drop the Dan/Serena/Nate love triangle. It seems that they're actually widening the romantic conflict with the addition of Vanessa, so to add Jenny to the fray would just be too messy.

Plus, Taylor Momsen is only 14, and I don't think they'd do that with her character when she's so young. Chace Crawford is much older than her.

I wonder what it is that Jenny finds out from her parents? Is it that her parents are making the seperation official or something? hmm..

From what I've read in sides, it looks like they're going to do a Blair/Chuck/Nate triangle also.

Oh I never liked love triangles (they just turn frustrating after - 2 episodes) but Chuck/Blair/Nate or hell Blair/Nate/Chuck (slightly more realistic!) sounds delicious. I'm just glad they are giving up the N/B/S angle. That would have gotten old considering S/N have no chemistry whatsoever.

Did they cast Serena's grandmother? Like a lot of people said, Kelly Bishop really fits this role perfectly. I hope she gets it.

I just can't wait the grandmother's arrival. She will be a heck of a trouble stirrer.

But doesn't Nate kiss Jenny at the masquerade party, thinking it's Serena? So that angle might not be dead and buried quite yet.

I think it will [be dead]. I don't see this thing going on. The actress playing Jenny is 14, heck. But, Josh is known to have some age issues (Ryan being 8 years older than Marissa for example).

I just saw the fifth episode tonight. It was good. IMO, way better than the fourth one (Bad News Blair). I'm still going to watch it tomorrow on The CW cause I'm addicted.

Oh, I meant that I think Nate still has feelings for Serena if he kisses who he thinks is her at the masquerade party. It may have been Jenny he kissed, but his intention was really to kiss Serena and I'm sure Blair will bug face when she finds out he's still into her bestie.

I hope this stays true. I at least hope that S doesn't show any interest in N. It's way too obvious and played out. There's lots of other storylines available without going there.

Ausiello's reporting that an upcoming Thanksgiving-themed episode will be a flashback to a year ago (right before Serena takes off, I guess) that will give us a glimpse at the old Serena and will also feature Blair's dad.

He also mentioned that the show's producers are still casting the role of Serena's granny and that Kelly Bishop is not in the running (I guess they thought the character was too similar to Emily Gilmore so they want to go in another direction, actress wise). I wonder who they'll get.