Wom Quote of the Day & iCarly

The other day, I was eating dinner while Wom was cooking in the kitchen. When I'm at home, I usually eat dinners in front of the TV. Yes, it is a shame that this is what our generation has come to. But seriously, what meal doesn't taste better with the sounds of E! News or, God willing, a Teen Mom rerun playing in the background?

So, there we were, Wom and daughter, watching TV. As I was eating, I commented on the show that was playing, which happened to be iCarly. The conversation that ensued between me and Wom is documented here for your entertainment:


Me: I freaking love iCarly.
Wom: I do too.
Me: [turning to face Wom, my eyes open with childlike wonder] Really? You love iCarly??
Wom: Oh, I thought you said avocados. I love avocados.


I'm not quite sure how "iCarly" and "avocados" sound similar. Maybe it's my Baltimore accent coming through (dear God, I hope not). Maybe she's been reading too many of my blog posts. But Wom is right. Avocados and iCarly have something in common: THEY ARE BOTH AWESOME.




(Note: This is a picture of the iCarly cast. Not avocados.)


I probably don't need to explain to you why avocados are so great. But, for some reason that I cannot fathom, many people my age and older do not watch iCarly. They think it's a kid's show. And they're right, it is a kid's show. But it is so, so, so much more.

Now, think back to the shows you loved as a kid. Yes, you're allowed to name drop some Nicktoons right now. Although, let me tell you, Nicktoons are not as great watching them as an adult as they were when you were a kid. Believe me. I spent one Friday night a couple weeks ago watching old Rugrats episodes on Netflix. The show really revolves around talking babies who probably should have become wards of the state, seeing as to how their parents left them unsupervised 90% of the time. Once you realize this, the show tends to lose its appeal. I must say, though, that the "Passover" episode still stands the test of time. That might have something to do with it being based off of the Biblical passage that has been told for thousands of years. Or Rugrats was just really awesome.

Anyway, think back to those great shows you once loved as a kid. They were silly, goofy, and just made you genuinely laugh. You could watch an episode a million times in reruns, and it never got old. When a new episode would air, it would be like getting a free package of Lisa Frank stickers: it would make your day.

This is exactly the feeling I get when watching iCarly, except I'm almost 20 years old. Obviously, iCarly is fairly different from most of the other shows I watch because A.) It's not a reality show B.) It's main audience is people who have yet to grow in their 12-year old molars.

I first watched iCarly when I was babysitting a couple years ago. I remember thinking "Wow, this show is actually sort of funny." I would catch episodes occasionally, but it was never something I made a conscious effort to watch every week. However, about a year and a half ago I started talking to my older sister, who also had seen episodes of iCarly. We both agreed that it stood out because it was so funny and well-written. I started to make more time to watch iCarly, and the more episodes I saw, the more I enjoyed the show.

Basically, the show is about this girl named Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) who lives in Seattle. She lives with her older brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor), who left law school and now works as an artist. Carly's two best friends are Sam (Jennette McCurdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress), and the three friends decide to start a webshow together. Carly is cautious and the "normal" one, while Spencer is a complete goofball. Freddie is really nerdy, and Sam, who is very brash and always getting into trouble, likes to make fun of Freddie. There's also their friend Gibby (Noah Munck), who just runs around with his shirt off and says funny lines.

It's hard to explain why iCarly is so amazing without sitting down and watching an episode. The characters work so well together. Even though this type of kid/tween show could become boring and predictable, the writing is clever and fresh. The characters aren't put in situations that we've seen dozens of times before on other shows. In the most recent episode, Spencer accidentally burns down Carly's room after he made her a lamp adorned with gummy bears. In another episode, the trio of friends go to space training because they are offered the chance to film their webshow from space (I'm pretty sure that would be impossible but hey, this is from the network that made Catdog). Sometimes the stuff that happens on the show, especially the webshow-within-the-show, is so weird and out-there that you have to laugh. Plus, the actors really commit themselves to the roles. Jennette and Jerry are hysterical. And Miranda and Nathan both play their characters as sweet and charming, but still with the right mix of goofiness are weirdness thrown in.

Another reason why the show is so appealing to today's generation is that its use of technology actually makes it seem believable. The concept that a couple of teenagers in any city in the country could make a webshow and reach mild celebrity doesn't seem weird or strange in today's world. This differs greatly from Hannah Montana, basically the iCarly of the Disney Channel. On Hannah Montana, the audience is supposed to believe that a huge celebrity could live a very private life where hardly anybody actually knows who she really is. In the days where Justin Bieber can't go anywhere without causing a huge commotion, how the heck are we supposed to believe that someone of his fame could just go to school and nobody would recognize them? But what do I know. Maybe it's all in the wig.

iCarly is like the more realistic counterpart to Hannah Montana. On iCarly, their version of Apple products is "Pear" everything--Freddie is always on his computer that looks exactly like a Macbook, except with a pear logo. The characters all love their "Pearphones" and "Pearpods." Also, the show has different names for YouTube and Google, but they are easy enough to understand what they translate to in real life. While some TV shows mold their plots around comedic situations that could have easily (and in real life, would have been) solved with a simple text message or e-mail, iCarly embraces technology.

Another difference between Hannah Montana and iCarly is the contrasts between the personal lives of the two casts, and how they connect with their audiences. I follow iCarly the show, the executive producer Dan Schneider, and the cast on Twitter. On any given day, Dan will post behind-the-scenes videos and pictures of the cast, crew, and set. The actors will tweet each other, and really seem like great friends. I've never read anything bad about any of the cast in the tabloids or media--no bad behavior or rivalries, and definitely no mean comments about the show. Hannah Montana, on the other hand, has Miley Cyrus to thank for its negative image. Her comments about Hannah Montana don't do anything to make her more likable. It's also unfortunate that at age 17, she seems determined to push herself as far away from the "Disney" image as possible. Take her latest music video, "Can't Be Tamed." Who is supposed to watch this? People who are my age and older still think Hannah Montana, and, by proxy, Miley Cyrus, is lame. And I hope to God that parents aren't letting their 8 year olds, who bought the Hannah Montana lunchboxes and clothes and merchandise that made Miley so rich in the first place, watch this music video. Seriously, just compare "Can't Be Tamed" to Miranda Cosgrove's music video for her new song "Kissin U." Miranda's is so much more wholesome!

And it seems like people like iCarly much more than Hannah Montana, at least according to television ratings. But really, this post isn't meant to bash Miley or Hannah Montana, it's supposed to be about what makes iCarly so great. All I can say is, watch an episode of iCarly for yourself. There's episodes on the Nickelodeon website here, and new episodes premiere Friday nights at 8. Plus, there's always reruns on Nickelodeon.


Last but not least, let's not forget the number one reason why iCarly is amazing: David Archuleta guest appeared on an episode!


....Never mind.






Picture credit:
iCarly photo

Wom Quote of the Day & The Hills

Remember that one post where I mentioned how Wom never let me watch the MTV Challenges? Well, I learned tonight that now, I'm apparently not even allowed to watch The Hills. It's ironic, since The Hills is probably the only show left on MTV where most of its' stars don't fall asleep covered in their own puke at least 3 times a week.

But tonight, I got suckered into watching some old episodes, as the network is showing a marathon to commemorate the show's season finale this Tuesday. The episode I was watching included the cast traveling down to Costa Rica, where Kristin hooked up with a bartender to make Brody jealous. While I was watching, Wom, who was in the other room, exclaimed:

"I forbid you to watch this on my television! This is narcissistic trash." She then commented on how the cast should be doing volunteer work, rather than, I assume she meant, traveling to exotic locales where all they do is drink and gossip on the beach- which is pretty much what they do every day back in LA.

Now, I'm assuming Wom wasn't serious in these restrictions she set for me, since I continued to watch the show. I even endured a "Hills: Revealed" behind-the-scenes episode, as well as part of a special that summarized each season.

I don't think Wom understands why The Hills is so fun to watch. Unlike Real Housewives, where I really get sucked into the drama, or The Challenges, where I have become oddly attached to the cast members over the years, I watch The Hills with a sense of disbelief and curiosity. While Laguna Beach and the first few seasons of The Hills felt authentic in how they portrayed the lives of the cast members, the show now feels like it it's giving you an inch of perspective into the ocean that is each of these people's worlds.

The people on The Hills (I want to call them actors, but I'll refrain) don't acknowledge that they are followed by cameras, or written about in tabloids. On the behind-the-scenes episode I watched tonight, the producers mentioned how the "Speidi" wedding was flooded with paparazzi, yet there was nary a mention of it in the episode, as far as I remember. Or how about in Season 3 when Lauren and Heidi's friendship ended? Lauren mentioned to Whitney how "rumors" about her had ended up on the "Internet"-failing to mention how Perez Hilton, among other websites, were covering the scandal. This wasn't just some nasty status that a classmate put up on their Facebook.

Now, Kristin is reportedly seeing a member of the production team, while Brody is with Avril Lavigne, which indicates that the stars of The Hills don't just magically find their lovers at Les Deux, or Area, or whatever the club du jour is- who they are dating is significantly influenced by the fact that they are not just normal people living in LA. Kristen first starred on Laguna Beach when she was a junior in high school. She has been famous for a good portion of her life. Brody's been on several other reality shows, and his extended family has a very popular show. The Hills still tries to sell itself as reality and its cast members as regular young adults, when you are much more likely to get a true sense of who these people are by picking up a new Us Weekly. Even the cast members realize this, with Lo Bosworth referring to the show as a "docu-soap", as if The Hills has turned into an almost unclassifiable genre where importance is placed on romance and drama over reality and truth. On the behind-the-scenes special, the producers kept referring to the cast members as "characters" and talked about their "stories," as if their lives are just plot points for The Next Great American TV Show.

So, Wom, yes, I know The Hills is narcissistic trash. But even if the cast members did spend their time doing volunteer work, I doubt we'd see it. It would probably be written off as a boring story line.