S is back, B's none too happy but N and D are overjoyed! Not to mention the innocent J and the anything-but C, who'd love to see the old S back. But the truth is much more mysterious... And what about N's yawnworthy college plans? You know you love me.

I was truly underwhelmed by this, I spent most of the time spotting repurposed stuff from The OC.

It is wrong that I prefer UselessNicky as UselessNicky than as Blair...?

I actually liked it.

On second viewing, Chuck is definitely one of my favorite characters, plus he gets some of the best one-liners.

I thought it was just way too fast for Dan and Serena to not only "bump" into each other, but to go on a date. I guess they didn't want to go the way of Dan the stalker.

Pretty good mindless tv. Will check it out again.

Ed Westwick does an excellent James Spader impression.

And I loved it.

Good God, is it wrong that I'm 38 and love this show? And could it be that this is a show about teenagers with actual teenagers playing the roles?

I'm so this show's bitch this season.



I thought the exact same thing. A Rip for the new millenium.

I thought it was hilarious - and what's with the mustache twirling bad guy? the fight scene was so unintentionally funny with them panicking and scrambling to get away from a pipsqueak prep school boy with a scarf fetish. Sorry, he's no James Spader, circa Pretty in Pink.

I came in fresh not having read the books and I thought it was ok. The rocker dad was the hottest thing on the show though.

I'd never read the books, and I really liked this show. I remember liking Blake Lively from "Sisterhood..." and I like her even more now.

But one complaint! Those songs were oooolllld, man! The C-Dub needs to step it up when it comes to tunes!

I thought Serena's Sidekick looked a tad boyish. Anyway, I rather enjoyed it. Though, I also watched The O.C. and Laguna Beach. This isn't all that far off, with the exception that it's in NY.

Kind of let down by this pilot, especially in comparison to the pilot episode of The O.C. Maybe it will pick up now that all the characters have been established?

Chuck and Nate...are not hot. At all. Couldn't they find some less skeezy looking young actors to play these characters? Dan is cute though. Although not really buying his whole loner status, boy is too good looking. And what kind of name is Chuck? I mean, I can buy "Charles" as like a richy-richy name, but Chuck? Please. Also, wtf, is he like a rapist? Jenny could find plenty of time to send her brother TWO typo free texts while he was "attacking" her or whatever, but then she couldn't find a second to bolt back into the party?

The parents are total cliches at this point. Are they heavily featured in the books?

They really need to work on the narration because it ruined the flow for me. It seemed find at the beginning and at the end, but it just made me want to scream. And I officially like all the villain characters more than the good guys on this show.

I came into this having read the books, and man did they change a lot of stuff. Mostly, Rufus the rocker dad. Must say though, I am very very pleased with the change. Took me a very long time to recognize Matthew Settle (Capt. Speirs!) but goodness me, that man is melt-worthy.

Yes, I agree that Chuck is kind of awesome. Even though he's so sleazy... I find him amazingly good looking. Though a little pipsqueaky.

I was really anticipating this, and I really liked a lot of the episode, but I really didn't like others.

Sassandthecity, I was having a similar reaction. As an OC fanatic, I too found myself comparing it to The OC many times (especially music-wise, which was always one of my favorite aspects of The OC). I'm really liking the Serena/Dan relationship, as well as the "scandal" between Serena and Nate.

But I hate Chuck and all of their parents, minus Rufus, are assholes. For me, that's one of the drawbacks of a book adaptation or any adaptation. You have to include the assholes. Chuck is a total ass and I feel like their parents are so cliche for the rich, overbearing parents.

The VO's kind of bug me, but I think I'll just have to get used to them.

Man, that dude is the least successful rapist ever.

Well I came for Kristen Bell's voice, and I think I'll be sticking around for a while. I can't put my finger on what I actually liked about it, but whatever it was I really liked it (to the point that I would even consider DL'ing it on iTunes).

Also, you can do drugs on TV now? When did that happen?

I think I'd be way more annoyed if I didn't know Kristen Bell was doing them.

Not particularly, but it looks like they developed a new storyline between Serena and Dan & Jenny's mom, which wasn't something that occurred in the books. It appears that they had something together in the past on the show? And it looks like they changed Blair's mom a little, because in the books, Blair's mom barely ever was featured and in the books she was very easy-going, and Blair was rather embarassed by how different she was from the other moms in her little group. On the show, her mom seems to be very pushy, which is not how she was in the books.


Anyways, I really enjoyed it, but I also really enjoyed the books, so I figured I would like this too. I think Blair is my favorite character as of right now, and I think that the hottest guy on the show is Rufus (Dan and Jenny's dad). Also, I can almost guarantee that the show will start to pick up now that everything's kinda been established. The show can only go up from here.

I came away with ridiculously mixed feelings (that lean toward "I am going to watch this in secret shame and only post about on TWoP, but roll my eyes when people talk about it in real life"). I was impressed with the music selection, mostly because it resembles my iTunes to a scary degree, but I was completely underwhelmed by the men of the show. Five (four?) main male characters, not an ounce of charisma between them. Man-candy should have hair that moves, not weird shellacked black skullcaps.

I loved the costuming (that's what it was, not wardrobe- I came from a New York private school, no one dresses like that, ever).

Bell's voiceover was scary to me, and I realize it's part of the conceit of the show, but it bothered me to an unreasonable degree.

I normally hate VOs (ahem, Carrie Bradshaw) but these really didn't bother me. They kinda had this late-night DJ vibe to them that made me laugh.

I guess we should expect a party and subsequent fight every episode.

I like all of the characters except Chuck (although I think Ed Westwick does a good job).

What I liked most about this episode was the potential relationships and conflicts they've set up. I'd love to see more development within the Humphrey family and the relationships that Serena, Blair, and Nate have with their parents. I think that'll be key to making this show have heart and more than just a typical teen drama. You can already see Nate questioning how their lives are already planned out for them, and they have no choice. You can see the type of controlling relationship Blair has with her mom. And then there's Serena arguing with her mom about her brother. I'm also intrigued by the Rufus/Lily relationship, and I wonder if they'll do something with it. I liked this episode, and I definitely see the potential.

Is it odd that I find Rufus hotter than any of the boys?

OK I'm not sure about this one. Not exactly my type of show but it wasn't as crappy as I thought it would be. Has some interesting angles as well as the usual trite. I may have to give this show another look.

I think this is going to be one of those have to rewatch pilots. I think I came into too high of expectations because of how well The OC pilot was. There was just something missing from the show, though. It just doesn't feel fabulous enough if that makes sense.

The VO did have the late-night DJ vibe, Squirrely, it was like I watching The Warriors.

I thought the pilot was okay, and it does have some room to get better. I really liked their music choices, and the actress who plays Serena. Other than that, it's kinda meh at this point.

I thought the promos were awesome and the show was okay, but I'm going to keep tuning in. I've read the books and I'm loving picking out the differences between them and the show (for the most part, some changes they've made I'm not sure about, for example Eric is now younger than Serena and is in rehab for a suicide attempt?! Guess this means Blair won't be hooking up with him at any point, as she did in the books).

I'm digging the clothes and the music so far, although I'm interested to see if they can get the rights to all of these songs if the series makes it to dvd.

I think Kristen Bell is PERFECT for the voice-overs. She does a great job with them.. just the way she says, "You know you love me" makes me laugh.



I'm sure we'll see a party almost every episode, but I doubt we'll see many more fights. And I LOVED Serena's dress tonight that she wore to the concert/party.. I want a dress exactly like that. If I recall correctly, that was an outfit on one of the covers on the books... if that was something Josh and costuming knew and had her wear that for that reason, then that's really cool they paid attention to that small detail.



Me too. It's different from the books.. I'm really excited to see the family drama, since that's not featured as much in the books.



No, I do, too!



Did anyone else think the credits were really odd?

I thought it was okay. I was really expecting it to be crappy, but I really found myself wanting to know what would happen.

I didn't know that the voice of Gossip Girl was Kristen Bell. That's so great. I will definitely watch again just for that so she can keep working.

It was okay, as far as pilots go. But, seriously who is going to watch Cruel Intentions every week for a year? I can see this getting old after a while--just like O.C

So I came for Kristen Bell and Leighton Meisser, and think I'll stick around for a couple more. I am a bit disappointed with the boys though, esp Nate. He's just so bland looking. Dan is alright, but hoping all of them step up their acting to become a little more interesting. The girls were definitely more charismatic on the screen.

I liked Rufus and I guess I sort found the close brother/sister relationship between Dan and Jenny sweet, but Jenny is so clueless and naive it's not even funny. I don't know if I should find that sad or endearing.

I admit it- I have never watched a full episode of The O.C. Nor have I read any of the Gossip Girl books. I enjoyed the show. Chuck is thoroughly creepy, Blair is wonderfully catty, Serena and Dan are great, and Nate is great, too. I could look at Dan and Jenny's dad all night.

I liked this more than I thought I would.

Comparisons to The OC are inevitable, I suppose. While it doesn't measure up to that show, I'm interested enought to give it another try.

Matthew Settle and Kelly Rutherford really seemed to be channeling Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan. Rutherford, especially, could almost pass for Rowan's twin.

The teen characters are a mixed bag. Thankfully, none seem to be approaching Mischa Barton levels of bad acting. I really liked Serena (she reminds me of a cross between Gwyneth Paltrow and Claire Danes), Dan, and Jenny. I do think they went a tad overboard emphasizing the class differences by having Jenny sew her own dress. I was also intrigued by the Eric character. I hope we see more of him. He seemed kind of interested in Jenny.

Nate was kind of blah. I don't know if Chuck will ever be a redeemable character. Two attempted rapes in the pilot episode might be kind of hard to overcome. And his Richie Rich routine bordered on caricature.

The jury's still out on Blair and her Rainbow Coalition of Bitchiness. I hope they flesh out the character a little more.

I liked it. I'm definitely going to be checking it out again.

I also have to say that Kristen Bell's voice-over is perfect! She nails the gosssipy, snarky voice.

And nobody reminds me of Mischa Barton, so that's good.

I will confess: I am still working my way through The OC, so I didn't honestly have much to compare this to in terms of Josh Schwartz. The casting for J was excellent--my roommate said she's only 14! And while I do see a lot of the "overprivilidged party life" going on (very OC), I'll give it a shot and try to not think about (and compare to) the OC (or what I've seen of it) while watching. It'll just ruin the way I think about the show.

Yes. I'm really tired of this "no credit sequence" trend. I need a theme song! This is my only real complaint. I think they went a bit too far with Chuck. In the books, he's a sleaze, but they took it a bit over the edge, IMO.

As for the acting, I thought everyone was pretty good, and no one stood out to me as just unbearably bad.

There were drugs in the first couple of eps of the OC, and then you never saw them again until Seth's Very Special Storyline involving the Evil Weed.

I don't know... Even with the pot, and the drinking and the IMming, it just Weekly Afterschool Special all over it. We'll see.

I was just about to say that. Every show is doing that - Grey's Anatomy, Lost, the list goes on. I see the opening credits as something that may change from week to week.

Same here.

It was so soapy, I could wash my dishes in it -- in other words, I loved it.

I think I'm interested in Eric the most. We know he tried to kill himself, now I wanna know why.

I thought they had good sibling interaction.



It's not real uncommon for pilots to not have a credit sequence and theme, and they start those on the second episode.

This may just be a pilot thing. Pilots are a little different and I would guess they'll go with a theme song starting next episode. I could be wrong though.

I think we'll probably see one next time. It's pretty standard for a pilot not to have anything going on for the opening credits. Although, I do hope it's not a voice-montage of Kristen Bell as Gossip Girl. I love her, but the way she says "Gossip Girl" makes me laugh a little.

I wonder how frequently someone might trot through Central Park during the middle of the day smoking a joint? It's not the 60's anymore. That was a little outlandish.

I did notice that...it sort of stuck out to me. It just seemed a little...forced.

That's a good point, CaitMo. Another show I watch didn't have credits for the pilot, but from the second episode on it did.

Not bad, however I think this will my guilty pleasure show when nothing else is really on. Wednesdays this year are actually a big night for shows for me. Last year, Wednesdays were days for me catch up on reading, do webpage work and spend time with my now fiancee. I love Blake and Penn but the parents are way to cliche even for my tastes. Need some more depth here and motivations, instead of "insert what has been done hundreds of times before" here.

I came for the Kristen Bell VO and I'll stick around for a few episodes, but I don't know. For a pilot, there wasn't much oomph to keep me coming back for more.

I'm wondering if Hollywood is fresh out of cute boy actors, because other than Dan (who I think looks a bit like Alex from Grey's Anatomy), the other two aren't worth writing home about. Particularly Nate - what's all the fuss about? I can't see fighting over that. And Chuck is a little too much the bad guy. Maybe just one attempted rape would have been enough.

I've never been keen on Schwartz's need for parent romance in these shows. I haven't been a teenager in some time, but I tune in for the "teenage" (seeing as most of them are at least 20) drama and romance - not for the parents. Although, I'll take this dad over Peter Gallagher and his eyebrows anyday.

The only thing that reminded me of Mischa Barton/Marissa was the way Serena kept looking all mopey... and before I forget, did anyone else notice the parallels of Serena looking out the window at the beginning and end of the episode? It kinda reminded me of Ryan from The OC.

My mom HATED all the texting - she said it reminded her of a cartoon? I don't completely agree with that, but I do agree it's a bit much.



ME TOO! However, I think we will be getting one because I recall reading that a theme song was originally composed just for the show.



I don't think that the drugs are going to completely disappear... I think we'll see them from time to time, or at least more often than we did on The OC.

I remember James Spader's character getting beat up in a similar wussy fashion by Ducky in Pretty in Pink.



Oh god yes! I was kind of scared about that happening to Serena, but Blake Lively is so charming, and Serena seems to be written nicely.

I really like Dan and Jenny so far. I like that they're not as affluent as everyone else on this show, and I really loved the scene of Jenny sewing her own dress. I had feeling Jenny was going to be annoying, but she seems really likeable and sweet.

And yes, Rufus is the hottest person on the show.

What's creepier than Chuck is the fact that I was going to type the exact thing- with the exception of Nate. Didn't care one bit for him and I really hope they don't make it like Serena and him are meant to be. Can't watch that and quite frankly Dan was the only boy I liked so I want him with her. The Dad- yummy!

ETA:



YES! I thought there was something familiar about him!

Am I the only one who thought this was a vast ocean of suck? Even the eye candy couldn't make up for the banal dialogue, the vapid people, the meandering storylines... The cool-hair "dad" looks like he's Penn Padgley's slightly older brother. Give me a break. The only one I really liked was Ed Westwick's portrayal of Chuck.

Remember how awesome The Sixth Sense was and then how M. Night Shymalan has spent the rest of his career churning out mediocre stuff in a desperate bid to duplicate that success? Well, I'd draw the parallels between that and Josh Schwartz and the first season of The O.C., but why use a hammer to make a point?