359 replies to this topic

[TWoP Bayliss]

Ryan + Seth / (Dawson * Justin Timberlake) = Dan?

[loseresque]

I know that people said this actor doesn't completely or accurately represent the Dan in the book. I haven't read the book but I won't ask anyone to elaborate because it might be more appropriate for another thread.

Regardless, I've always loved Penn Badgley despite what stupid movie or show he was attached to. He's a good actor and has an innocent demeanor. Plus, he's cute. Dan also seems to be one of the more interesting characters on the series that isn't a woman.

ETA: Divided by Dawson times Justin Timberlake is a good thing right? I can't ever be sure because I actually like Justin (well I like the music and talent, not so much his personality).

Edited by loseresque, Sep 12, 2007 @ 7:22 PM.

[TWoP Bayliss]

IMO it's a very good thing. I like all four of those guys.

I think one issue might be that he doesn't look particularly "poetic" or brooding, which is fine by me. I get enough of that from Justin-Bobby.

[likeelectric]

One reason I was looking forward to this show was Penn Badgely. I loved Bedford Diaries and John Tucker Must Die and am willing to see past and book Dan/show Dan irregularities because of it.

[loseresque]

I like all four of those guys.

Oh yay! Me too - I didn't think there were any Dawson or Justin Timberlake fans left.

"poetic" or brooding

For me, these two words work very well in books but don't always translate so successfully on television. Sometimes writers let those characteristics veer into dull or passive territory. So I'm thinking it's a positive change.

Thanks for explaining in a way that doesn't spoil anything!

[yogalites]

Penn is the best part of this show, by far. But I think the character of Dan is nothing like the book - and I'm not sure how much I like that so far either.

[Megamir]

I get enough of that from Justin-Bobby.

As long as they never show him wearing combat boots on the beach, I'll be cool with the show.

I've never read the books. While I initially was interested in the show because KB is the narrator, I will most certainly be watching because of Penn Badgley. He was the only reason I watched the crapfest that was The Mountain. Okay, Oliver Hudson was pretty too. But Penn Badgley could (and can) act.

[MethodActor05]

I just read that Penn was born in November 1986...which means the big 2-1 is coming upon him!

In my own personal fantasy, I'm taking the dude out to funnel some beer and do double-shots of vodka before we mess around in the back of his car. ;-)

Nah seriously though, I've liked this guy since he was on that show, Do Over.

I liked the whole protective older brother thing he brought.

[hellosunshine24]

I liked how he was a protective brother, too. It was sweet and endearing, and I am excited to see how their relationship plays out as their characters change throughout time.. like when Jenny starts to become part of the "in" crowd, and how he ends up adjusting to that, if they address anything like that in the show.


Anyways, he's not nerdy at all, so that's cool, he's different from Seth Cohen in that way.. he's just an outsider. Also, it was so weird to me how Chuck had to keep asking Dan his name, because you would think that everyone would know everyone in a small all-boys school that they had probably been attending for a majority of their lives. I can understand not being friends with each other, but you would think that Chuck would at least know who Dan was, or at least his name.

Edited by hellosunshine24, Sep 19, 2007 @ 11:12 PM.

[MethodActor05]

I can understand not being friends with each other, but you would think that Chuck would at least know who Dan was, or at least his name.

I think Chuck knew his name. To him though, anyone not in the group is probably persona non-grata to him.

[kiweesplash]

I remember in an interview Penn Badgley said something about how he plays these kind of dorky characters, but he tries to make them cool, which I thought was obvious in the way he portrayed Dan. Maybe we just haven't seen enough of his character yet, but I'm finding it really hard to buy him as an artsy outsider like he's portrayed in the book (if that is in fact even what they're going for). He seems like just a normal guy, maybe even a little too cocky. That being said, I really do like Penn- I always thought Do Over was underrated!

Edited by kiweesplash, Sep 20, 2007 @ 12:45 AM.

[loseresque]

I forget where I read this - it may have been here because it was very clever: Dan is like Seth Cohen, but with confidence in his uniqueness. And it actually works that he would be like that because a) having a character like Seth Cohen on the OC allowed real life people like Seth to be confident that they were not the only ones, hence Dan being okay with being different and b) Josh was bound to put a Seth Cohenesque character on the show since he identifies with it so well as opposed to anything else.

Penn's my favorite actor on this show next to Leighton Meester. I hope they do some interesting things with him.

[Pop Culture Freak]

Ryan + Seth / (Dawson * Justin Timberlake) = Dan?

After seeing the premiere, I think we need to throw some Pacey in here with the way Dan saved his sister and punched Chuck. That was total Pacey.

Regardless, I've always loved Penn Badgley despite what stupid movie or show he was attached to. He's a good actor and has an innocent demeanor. Plus, he's cute.

Agreed. He is the reason I decided to give this show a chance. I've been following him since The Mountain a couple of years ago. Hopefully this show is better than his last couple of TV ventures.

[Moonlighter]

I always thought Do Over was underrated!

Yay, someone else who knows what Do Over is!

I loved that show, but I'm always a sucker for time travel. At least DO lasted longer than the ABC drama that was on the same year. I don't even remember who starred in that one, but I do remember Penn.

[Freckles101]

Dan is pretty good so far, although I'm surprised that they didn't show him drinking coffee at all. I can understand why CW wouldn't want to show him chain-smoking the whole time, but the coffee/cigarette addiction is a big thing in the books.

I also think that Penn Badgley is the hottest guy on the show so far. The actor they got for Nate just isn't as good looking as IMO he should be. I was watching the pilot with a couple of girls from my dorm, and one of them just kept saying "Dan is so fucking hot" over and over again. :)

[Toga88]

Ryan + Seth / (Dawson * Justin Timberlake) = Dan?

After seeing the premiere, I think we need to throw some Pacey in here with the way Dan saved his sister and punched Chuck. That was total Pacey.

I vote Dawson be replaced with Pacey. Then it's perfection.

Oh, I too have loved Penn since "Do Over." Le sigh...

[MethodActor05]

I have to admit, I totally had slash fantasies about the lead of Do-Over and Penn. They seemed like they would have been such a cute young couple...

And no, I'm not a pedo. I'm only eleven months older than Penn Badgely, thank you.

[loseresque]

I vote Dawson be replaced with Pacey.

I vote to have Pacey added in but not replace Dawson. Dawson was incredibly self aware (sometimes painfully so) and I sort of think Dan may be as well. We shall see.

[TWoP Bayliss]

I vote we talk about the character, which is the topic.

[toaster pop]

I'm really loving Dan in the show. I know a lot of people have been really dubious about how he's portrayed but I think his character works a lot better without him being a total angst-ridden existentialist. Realistically, his character would have no real romantic potential with Serena's character if they made him exactly as he was in the books. From what I've seen in the pilot, he's one of my favourite characters on the show. I just hope that they don't make him into Seth Cohen version 2.0.

Also, Penn Badgley is freaking hot!

[Hannibal Khan]

I just hope that they don't make him into Seth Cohen version 2.0.

Conversely I would be all about them making him Pacey 2.0.

And from what I've read on Wikipedia, I really hope he isn't like his book character, I'd like to see him have more of a chance with Serena.

[dimples1]

Also, Penn Badgley is freaking hot!

OMG - He looks completely different from when he was on The Mountain. I really like his character and I love that his Cabbage Patch Doll was named Cedric.

Edited by TWoP Bayliss, Sep 26, 2007 @ 10:12 PM.
Removed spoiler tags. It's no big deal.

[fashionista]

Maybe this is already an unpopular opinion...but Dan is very 'blah' to me. The character isn't anything fresh, or interesting. People are doing the Seth Cohen comparisons, but I found Seth to be more self-depricating/funnier/actually had a personality, unlike Dan. I don't care if they make his character different from the books (in which he was so much of a charicature that it was hilarious, and I'm not sure how it would translate to the screen, though I would love to see it), just make his character SOMETHING. Please. Just my two cents.

[monef]

So far, I love the character of Dan. I don't find him boring, I find that in a show filled with so much melodrama he adds a much needed shot of normalcy. I'm looking forward to seeing him grow more than anyone else on the show, probably because he is the least narrowly defined character so far.

[toaster pop]

Just saw 'The Wild Brunch'. Poor Dan! I wish things turned out for the better! I think it would've been awesome if he didn't care about what Serena had done in the past and rose above all the bitchiness to accept her. Of course, that means cutting the obligatory prolonged brooding short but it would've been an interesting step to his character.

I'm still liking Dan. Even though we don't really have a true sense of what Dan's character really is, as fashionista pointed out, I really like that about his character. All of the other characters have such defined roles in the TV show that he provides the necessary balance as just an average, almost anonymous guy. It makes the contrast between his world and that of the other kids so much more distinct.
Also, as much as I adored Seth Cohen, the 'Seth' character became so burdened with playing the role of the geeky, indie-kid that he pretty much just became a two-dimensional concept in the latter seasons of the show. I guess that's why I'm all for Dan's ambiguity. He's essentially a 'nobody' in the Gossip Girl 'verse and his interactions with its inhabitants gives him the opportunity to find out who he really is.

[Aunty Mib]

I didn't read his leaving the bruch as being strictly his feelings about Serena having slept with someone else. I thought he was pretty fed up with being brought to a ritsy brunch, then abandoned while Serena took off with someone else. He doesn't LIKE any of the other characters and isn't all that interested in their Drama.

[Feity]

Cedric the Cabbage Patch Kid is totally Dan's Captain Oats.

[RazorbladeSmile]

Oooh ooohh oooohhhhh!!! I saw Penn today around 5pm crossing Houston St. south onto Essex. He was with a bunch of really generic, gay looking hipster boys so I am sure they were headed to some awful place on Ludlow or Orchard. Surprisingly, since he is so freaking hot on TV, he is actually really plain in real life. I'm a little shocked at myself for even recognizing him. He is cute though, just rather bland. I would have said something to him ("Sorry about your ratings?" "Why does your character live in Williamsburg but the exterior of the building is in DUMBO?") but I was dying my hair and had a plastic shower cap on my head and purple dye dripping down my face, so I chose to keep walking. Maybe he hangs out in my neighborhood and I'll see him again... one never knows!

[JJforLife47]

Something totally random...

Penn has the exact same birthdate as Nan Zhang, the actress playing Kati. I've always wanted to know someone with my exact birthdate but no such luck lol.

I love that Penn is artistically talented and a brainiac... he finished his hs equivalency at 14!

[shadyunltd]

After yesterday's (or Tuesday's for us Canadians), I can say that I'm officially joining Dan's and Penn's Bandwagon. He's a really talented actor. Given the material he's got, he can be as funny in his deliveries as Season 1 Seth Cohen/Adam Brody.

He plays the sarcasm/irony so well, and he can play "the socially awkward" part (i.e. with Lily) as good as Adam/Seth. I was surprised, honestly. I didn't think he would be that good.

he finished his hs equivalency at 14!

No offense, but ...

Edited by TWoP Bayliss, Oct 19, 2007 @ 2:37 AM.
No offense, but... doesn't really stop people from taking offense, when you're being a jerk. Just FYI.