How to use this Page

Ooh! I love all things MSCL. But you probably already knew that since we’ve had this discussion. So, the questions.

1. Which character to you most identify with?

Hmmm. Probably Angela.

2. Why?

Because I felt so much like I didn’t know who I was and sometimes tried to define myself by who I hung out with, and was pretty introverted and thoughtful. Though I was actually a lot older by the time I saw this. I still think Angela’s very easy to relate to.

3. Which character would you most want to bang?

Can I be sick? Graham…

4. Why?

NOT because I have daddy issues…I just thought he was hot. And he was smart and he could cook. I thought that Patty didn’t appreciate how good she had it.

5. Favorite Episode?

This is hard. I think either the Substitute because it was actually way less cliched than I thought it would be…I mean, Mr. Racine inspired them but he was pretty flawed. Oh, and I also really love Life of Brian because I think Brian’s an awesome, really well done character.

6. What would you have Corey Helfrick paint on your shoes if given the chance?

Strawberries because they look pretty.

Anyway I only saw the show after it aired, like…last year, actually, so I don’t have too many differences.

1. I definitely identify with Angela the most, probably like most of us… but I’ve got some Ricky and maybe even a little Brian in me too.

2. Angela always had such a hard time showing who she was on the inside to everyone else, I think?

3. I was devoted to Jordan Catalano, but even as a teenager I thought Graham was hot (I was happy when Rayanne acknowledged that).

4. Oh, he’s just so beautiful and needy.

5. It’s a little bit fluffy compared to some of them, but I really love the one where Patty and Graham go away for the weekend and Rayanne gets handcuffed to their bed.

6.Trees. Subtle ones.

7. It’s hard for me to watch Ricky now; I feel so scared for him. At the time–and I watched these in real time, and was exactly their age–it just seemed normal, like this is how it is when you’re gay in high school, but it’s way too painful to look back on. And now I totally get–did not even cross my mind when I was a teenager–why Angela’s parents would totally have been right in thinking that it was a bad idea for her to go out with Jordan. What will I always see the same way? Angela’s initial fascination with Rayanne’s mom… the moment when Jordan tells Angela that having sex is what people do.

1. Definitely Angela.

2. She was just so ME. (Wasn’t that the point?)

3. Back then…definitely Jordan. (Although I, too, thought Graham was hot. But at the time, I thought that was kind of weird of me. I guess not.) Now? None of them, I think.

4. I had my own Jordan in life back then, which explains not only why I lusted after the character, but also why I identified so heavily with Angela. Jordan Catalanto is his own archetype.

5. I really don’t even know! But I will say that my favorite character was Rayanne. I love her.

7. Most of it is different for me now. It’s like looking back fondly at the person I used to be. Also, I have a lot more sympathy for the characters now and the mistakes they made, and none of the judgement I sometimes had at the time. Like, I’d be pissed at Rayanne for doing drugs, or at Angela for being quite that mooney over Jordan (although I loved her for it at the same time), but now I think it’s a painfully beautiful part of who they are. I think it’s because I feel more maternal toward teenagers now that I’m older, yet I still remember what it was like to be one.
Brian and Ricky are the two characters that I still feel the same about. I loved them, and had a lot of empathy for their respective challenges.

I felt the same way about Ricky. Though I was older when I first saw it so my reaction was just to feel so bad for him. He was such a great kid and he had the worst family situation out of all of them. I hated his never seen aunt/uncle for the way they treated him–how could anyone not adore a boy like Ricky?