269 replies to this topic

[TWoP Bayliss]

Serena: Love her, love the shoes, love the way she dances.

Blake: Totally adorable and very strong. It's a very internal role and I think she'll do great with it.

[Burrowingowl]

Agreed! Blake Lively is great for this part-Im really looking forward to the show mainly for her. Now all of the "Sisterhood of the traveling pants" actresses have had starring roles in their own TV shows and I think Blake will do just as well as the other 3 have.

[yogalites]

Blake has really surprised me however I feel the character of Serena is not what I expected from watching one episode of it. It's too much the "tragic, beautiful girl." Serena was always a really happy, carefree kind of flighty girl to me. Blake is doing an admirable job with what she's been given but I think people are going to grow to hate this character which I hope not.

[Louisa]

Oh no, sounds like she's a Marissa Cooper in the making!!! Noooooooo!!!
Blake Lively seems like a good actress though, from the 10 mins I've seen & she's very pretty too.

[Dulcinea815]

I love Blake, think she's just the cutest thing on the planet and really great actress, and I loved Serena the most in the books, but I too am a little worried that they are making her too Marissa Cooper-esque. On her CW promo page it says something like "Trying to live without a past and looking for redemption", and it's like, come on, when Serena came back to Manhattan, she wasn't looking for redemption, she was looking for a martini and bar table to dance on. Honestly, that was a huge reason why I liked Serena. The girl gets everything she wants and has every guy lusting after her, it'd be so easy to hate her character, but she was just so damn...nice and care free that it was hard to dislike her. I mean, you like Blair because she is the most like you, and you like Serena because, well, you just can't bring yourself to hate her. She was never a "woe-is-me" type of character and thank heavens for that because those type of characters suck and I'm a little afraid that Josh doesn't realize that. I don't want to end up hating Serena. She was my favorite.

[yogalites]

Josh always does this. He always picks one girl to be the "tragic girl." Now in the books I remember that in the beginning when Serena came back she was a little depressed but there is one chapter where she goes right down to that modeling shoot and picks herself up right away. Maybe Josh is setting us up for that but the fact that Erik was re-cast as a younger depressed sibling totally leads me to believe he's going for the screwed up angle. Serena is ANYTHING but Marissa Cooper in all the books. It's too much like her in the show.

There are too many shots of "heartbreaking" eyes of Serena in the pilot episode. The episode was clearly all about Serena and was so centric on her. Then again the first book is very Serena heavy too but you don't notice it as much in the book. Basically Dan is her Ryan Atwood and it's annoying because Dan in the book has Vanessa eventually. It's just a little too much Marissa for me to take.

[sapphireprima]

There are too many shots of "heartbreaking" eyes of Serena

Yes, in book Serena wasn't too sad except when Blair dissed her a few times. I think Blake is going to make a great Serena. Only thing is I don't see the perfect hair that everyone in the books says she has. But thats JMO.


God damn, why is it so hard to quote spoilers?!

Edited by sapphireprima, Sep 15, 2007 @ 2:55 PM.

[joysan]

My question is, why does the actress that plays Serena look and sound like she's 30?

[Kait1987]

My question is, why does the actress that plays Serena look and sound like she's 30?

I don't think Blake looks that old at all. But maybe it's the very adult clothing she wears in the series that ages her so much. I never thought she looked old in Sisterhood, when she was running around in clothes any average teenage girl would wear.

I do know that within the past two years, Blake played the role of a girl with an eating disorder and ended up losing and then gaining a fair amount of weight repeatedly. Maybe her system is still trying to recover from all that?

On a side note, I adore Blake Lively and cannot wait to see her in this role. I think she's a great actress, she's adorable, fresh, and fun.

Edited by Kait1987, Sep 19, 2007 @ 4:18 PM.

[thumperjenn]

I think she did look older than the 'average' high schooler. But not so much older than the anything-but-average party girls of exclusive New York private schools. It's amazing how sophisticated those New York young women are. I actually thought her 'look' helped make her character ring very true for me.

[PepSinger]

I don't think Blake looks old at all. She looks her age, IMO.

[hellosunshine24]

Serena was always a really happy, carefree kind of flighty girl to me.

I liked that about her in the books too, but changes were made because otherwise, she would just not be a relatable (spelling?), likeable character. I agree about there being a lot of shots of "heartbreaking" eyes, but I still think she was much more carefree than Blair was. When Blair was being rude about the party and invitation, Serena just kinda had a "fuck you" look on her face, and afterwards, instead of crying about it by herself, she grabbed her brother and went shopping. I don't know, I think they might be able to keep her a carefree character.

[Mr Basset]

I too thought that she looked a bit old for a high schooler. She looked like she was in her late 20's. Not knowing anything about the books, when I first saw her on the train in the first scene, I was sure it was going to be a look back at her high school days.

[lynettefl]

Like Mischa Barton/Marissa, Blake Lively/Serena looks a lot older than her actual age. She looks 25 years old.

[L star]

I liked Serena tonight, but I hope they don't make her too sweet and self-reflective/redemptive. My favorite scene was the bitch staredown between she and Blair on the steps. I liked that showing of a bitch streak (there and when she was with Chuck) as well as a shallower streak when she fixed a bad day by taking her sick brother out of the hospital to shop. Showing those sides also helps me find her believeable as Blair's BFF and are the only times I find her believable at all as a former 'it' girl, not counting her looks and her sense of entitlement to it (BL nailed that for me on the steps). If they start the 100 different kinds of sweet, heartbroken and perfect that's when I'll start the Marissa comparisons (having her take care of herself with Chuck rather than need a knight and having the friendship problems be completely her fault helps me too).

I agree that Blake Lively looked twenties (she turned 20 in August) but I thought early 20s and it didn't bother me. If anything I thought it was the rest of the cast that should have matched her. My experience with NY society girls, particularly the ones on the top of the social ladder which is what I thought these were supposed to be, is that they look like and are made up to be like they're 21 at 15. That she looks older than girls I think of as high school didn't phase me.

Edited by L star, Sep 20, 2007 @ 4:06 AM.

[DolfinWings]

Looking at the ages on imdb, All of the leads with the exception of Taylor Momsen (Jenny), and the adults, are 20- 21. BL doesn't look any older or any younger than the rest of the kids to me.

Having no knowledge of the Gossip Girl books, I thought what Blake did for the pilot was fine. The qualities that I hated about Marissa in the OC eps that I've seen (which are not many) is the tragic, self- piting, sulky, whiny characteristics, that I didn't get from Serena in the pilot, so yeah!

Road to redemption, yes. Heart of gold, yes. Former mean girl, not so much.

I think what to worry about with Serena is making her too perfect, because that's just as annoying as sulky.

Also, Marissa was a bad girl with a heart to gold on The OC? Never got that.

[Toga88]

I think I can actually like Serena. That's the difference between her and Marissa to me.

[paperdoll66]

Considering that I pretty much hated Serena in the books, I think she's going to be much more tolerable in the tv show, once I manage to seperate the two versions of her character to a point where I don't feel any twinges of annoyance when she's on screen. Though, I stopped around book #7, despite the whole Raves storyline, which was pretty awesome, Serena just reached her peak annoyance and I couldn't take any moreand was planning on deciding to pick them up again if I found out about any of my favorite pairings happening or something exciting. However, it seems like the writers of the tv show are going to do more to keep her from become a super special snowflake goddess that can do no wrong.

[NoNeinNyet]

I really did find Serena endearing in a strange way that I never felt with Marissa. I think part of it is that I find Blake to be much prettier than Mischa, what with the lack of pointy, angular bones. She seems to claim some responsibility about what she's done and not just blame it on her parents and everyone else around her.

[atlanta]

I normally hate these too-good-to-be-true characters, but I somehow find Serena endearing. What's up with her mom not even knowing why she went to boarding school? I just hope she doesn't get mopey like Marissa did.

[Everly]

Josh always does this. He always picks one girl to be the "tragic girl." Now in the books I remember that in the beginning when Serena came back she was a little depressed but there is one chapter where she goes right down to that modeling shoot and picks herself up right away. Maybe Josh is setting us up for that but the fact that Erik was re-cast as a younger depressed sibling totally leads me to believe he's going for the screwed up angle. Serena is ANYTHING but Marissa Cooper in all the books. It's too much like her in the show.

There are too many shots of "heartbreaking" eyes of Serena in the pilot episode. The episode was clearly all about Serena and was so centric on her. Then again the first book is very Serena heavy too but you don't notice it as much in the book. Basically Dan is her Ryan Atwood and it's annoying because Dan in the book has Vanessa eventually. It's just a little too much Marissa for me to take.

Exactly i agree, i love Serena of the books. But the Serena of the pilot, not so much. I hope she doesn't become mopey - fingers crossed. What i liked about the Serena of the books is that, yes she comes back and her life is a mess and not what she thought it would be. However she soon picks herself up, finds new friends and has fun. Serena is the belle of the ball and i know the show can't always be like the books, but please make Serena have some fun and laughter.

[Hallelujah]

Josh always does this. He always picks one girl to be the "tragic girl." Now in the books I remember that in the beginning when Serena came back she was a little depressed but there is one chapter where she goes right down to that modeling shoot and picks herself up right away. Maybe Josh is setting us up for that but the fact that Erik was re-cast as a younger depressed sibling totally leads me to believe he's going for the screwed up angle. Serena is ANYTHING but Marissa Cooper in all the books. It's too much like her in the show.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Josh "always" does this. He only did it once, with Marissa, although it was a bit extreme. Anyway, I too hope that Serena doesn't turn into the "tragic girl." I haven't read the books, but I'd prefer a Serena that has her stuff together.

[TWoP Bayliss]

Seriously. I don't know that there's an "always" when you're dealing with one character. On another show. That is not this show, which we're here to talk about.

[billiebutton]

I haven't read the books, so I can't compare her character to how she is in the books. So far I like her. I really hope they don't turn her into another Marissa Cooper. I could not stand Marissa. I think part of my Marissa hate had to do with residual dislike of Mischa when she was on Once and Again. Whereas I have residual like for Blake from Sisterhood of the Traveling pants. I'm usually very sensitive to people looking way older than the age they are playing. I didn't think she looked old at all. Serena looked about 18-21 to me.

[toaster pop]

As inevitable as these The OC-comparisons may be, I don't think it's fair to brand her too quickly as yet another Marissa Cooper. I've read the books and I loved her character in them but seeing as how they've changed various things in the show (e.g. the circumstances surrounding her departure for boarding school, the reason for her return etc.), that element of 'tragedy' in her character seems perfectly justified.

That being said, I'd still love to see more of that spontaneous, carefree Serena that I adored in the books. I think we saw glimpses of that in the pilot (especially in her scenes with Dan) but I'm really looking forward to seeing how they flesh out that aspect of her character more. Tragic characters may be more 'interesting' in some respect but the emotional baggage gets way too heavy sometimes.

[amphora]

Since we've only seen the pilot I'll try to hope that in the coming episodes Serena becomes less boring, brushes her hair, finds some fabulous clothes, and magically looks younger. It's still early, but right now she gets little love from me.

[opinionator]

Maybe I've been smoking something, but I found myself feeling bad for Blair even though we were being set up to sympathize with Serena. On a separate note, I heard that Serena was supposed to be beyond gorgeous and, despite her pretty smile, Blake to me isn’t that, even with make-up. I'm not saying they should cast based on appearances (although I have yet to be impressed by Lively's acting skills), but I'm just wondering if I'm alone in thinking she's not supremely hot. Then again, I guess I'm glad they opted for a girl who doesn't look like Victoria Gotti's make-over project.
I apologize for the structure sentance poor very.

Edited by opinionator, Sep 26, 2007 @ 12:46 AM.

[Toga88]

Oh, I totally care a lot more about Blair than Serena. But, so far it's not to the point where I just plain hate Serena and want her off my screen, so I take that as a positive. :)

[Hannibal Khan]

Ah. From what I've seen and read, Serena seems like
(Marissa Cooper * Joey Potter) / Andie McPhee (for the possible crazy in the closet)

[Toga88]

Eh, not really. I don't think I'd be able to watch the show if that was the case. I think Serena may be a little too "meh" to actually hate. I so far see no reason not to like the character, but I think I've officially realized I'm not a fan of Blake Lively.