My So Called Could Have Been

"I would have gotten somebody pregnant. Sharon's the obvious choice. I would have made Angela unable to resist turning to Brian Krakow for advice about her doomed relationship wiht Jordan Catalano, and I would have split Graham and Patty up, so Patty could fall into a deep depression -- the kind where you can't get out of bed -- so that Angela is forced to somehow run the household. I would have had Rickie move in with Mr. Katimsky (by the way, Katimsky was executive story editor and writer Jason Katims' family name, once upon a time) and when Mr. Katimsky is fired for the crime of giving a kid a place to live, I would have forced Patty out of her depression to defend him.

These are the ideas that were playing around in my mind, anyway. But there's an intensity, an of-the-moment-ness to making T.V. -- you plan, and the plans go awry and that's called your script. Then it turns out that weird idea that came to you in the shower is more what you meant anyway. Which is part of what I love about writing."

Me too.

Winnie Holzman, ladies and gentlemen. I'm geeking out right now.

My So Called Life is the show that made me realize that I'd never be happy as a TV producer, that eventually I was going to have to take a shot at writing for real.

If you're a fan of quality TV, or if you loved what indie Shout Factory did with their sublime Freaks and Geeks set, run, don't walk to your favorite retailer and order My So Called Life, the complete series -- just out on DVD. A tasteful, insightful book with more of the essay by Holzman I excerpt above, and quotes from the likes of Joss Whedon, featurettes galore, and oh, oh, oh the pain. It's all there.

Winnie Holzman managed to create a show that was just a few years ahead of its time. Imagine what path pop culture and the rise of the new teenage class might have taken had her writing caught on then.

Man. That would have been...Wicked, I guess.