#he was brilliant as eric is sex ed

[undercut-mcqueer]

the way my fam (who were very much not doctor who fans) are now tempted to watch doctor who solely because of ncuti gatwa:

[minamotoz]

next class thoughts as i rewatch season 1

• #bootycall is an atrocious series opener im sorry

• everyone acting like zig playing guitar is the weirdest thing in the world is so ???? maybe if they listened to 'be my someone' by whisperhug they would understand

• tristan trying to market himself as degrassis first gay student council president makes me want to cry. HOW DARE YOU STAND WHERE MARCO ONCE STOOD

• miles hollingsworth is a gift to mankind

• this whole storyline where shay and lola become concerned with frankies mental health bc she got highlights is hilarious

• "you dyed your hair...we thought you might....kill youself." brilliant writing

• i hate jonah but frankie crying and venting to him while hes like 'ok😐 idc😐 can you get out 😐' IS SO FUNNY

• miles going on this fake deep 'NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS IF THEY ARENT POSITIVE' rant ...king of mental health awareness

• love how the rubber room kids are suddenly allowed in normal classes and are the cool kids after being portrayed as delinquents for two whole seasons... and how the rubber room has ceased to exist just like the gifted program

• "THEY GIF-ED ME"

• esme song and hunter hollingsworth my unhinged beloveds

• "mood killer" "im about to be a serial killer" i like grace sometimes

• maya 'horny on main' matlin

• i love my girl maya but her dunking that assholes phone in a drink was not the serve she thought it was

• miles and esme are such obnoxious assholes and i love it

• whisperhug reference? in MY degrassi next class??????

• this season is so fun but absolutely terrible for anyone coming into the show blind, almost all of the characters come off as insanely unlikeable

(more under the cut)

• everytime lolas family restaurant shows up i just think of "wait, if all the food here is mexican, what makes this place argentinian?" "me, obviously"

• god the maya feminism plotline is SOOO on the nose

• me listening to not okay: damn i wish i was listening to black or white right now

• damn tiny moves FAST

• winston my bestie you deserved way more screen-time

• i think people who hate esme just hate fun but thats just my opinion

• zig and tiny being mens rights activists im crying..... tiny i will save u...... zig you can die

• lolas masturbation plotline is so fun especially in comparison to the bleakness of miles drug addiction plot and the on the nose-ness of mayas feminism plot

• zig being personally offended that maya identifies as a feminist is SO funny im sorry

• i know i just said that miles' drug storyline is bleak as shit but him being high out of his mind and chanting 'LETS GO HUNTER' is so funny

• miles and esme popping pills in class theyre literally insane... this show is so camp

• im sorry i love the freaky little gamers so much

• love how hunter uses the word 'populars' in place of 'normie' because the degrassi writers were too afraid of actually writing hunter as a 4channer

• goldi is written as such a strawman im so sorry queen.....,

• hunter making some good points immediately followed up by him being insanely racist is so fucking funny

• im a zasha stan but oh my god the way they murdered gracevas in one singular episode is insulting

• "AM I HOTTER THAN JONAH? BE HONEST" never stop being zig novak, zig novak

• speaking of which have i mentioned how insufferable jonah is because god he sucks

• "youre not welcome here" "ooooh role reversal, fun!" ESME SONG I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU

• eric osborne was eating up every other mf in that cast

• as someone who really liked the zoë/zig dynamic in TNG, the whole 'having sex to get back at grace/maya' thing makes me want to die fr

• esme pulling the 'YOUR LIFE IS SHIT AND YOURE NOTHING WITHOUT ME' shit when miles tells her he wants to recover from his addiction... shes so manipulative but i cant hate her

• THE CHLAMYDIA EPISODE

• baaz vijay and yael i can fix u!!!!! i will save you from the grasp of hunter hollingsworth i prommy

• frankston is actually really cute this season if only frankie wasnt obsessed with JONAH

• the look of the school is so bizarre bc its the same building but everything looks so WEIRD its so uncanny valley

• ok, rape and death threats on twitter i can believe, but mayas address being leaked on REDDIT??????? im literally never getting over this its so funny. just make a fake kiwifarms if you wanted to make a plot about online harassment and doxing like KF existed in 2016

• miles hollingsworths back must HURT from carrying the shit out of this season

• "YOURE GOING TO DIE" i know i shouldnt think this but this storyline is so funny

• jankie is a pathetic excuse for enemies to lovers like holy shit

• i really wish we got to see a smidge of the gamers friendship dynamic this season though bc the way theyre written it just feels like the other 3 are clinging to hunter bc they have no one else while hunter gets them to help with his dumb revenge scheme. idk i wish their friend group in general was more fleshed out and less hunter-centric bc baaz yael and vijay just feel like non characters

• have i mentioned how much i love esme like omg shes such a piece of shit and its amazing

• that short little scene where hunter and baaz are tweeting more gross shit at maya and baaz is like 'ADD HASHTAG JUST SAYING' oh my god this is hilarious

• MAYA PLAY DIFFERENT SONGS CHALLENGE

• once again i love baaz yael and vijay they r so spoingy goingy <3 i love hunter but he can choke

• WINSTON MY BABY YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

• none of the gamer kids are threatening because theyre all like 15 lmaoooo

• winston and miles are actually boyfriends i cant believe this

• zig novak i hope you die

• noooooo hunter dont do it dont pull a rick murray nooooooooooooo definitely dont shoot zig nooo

• comparing the lockdown in #sorrynotsorry to the lockdown in all falls down is like night and day lmao

• "he was there. he was easy" "what do you mean easy?" she means zig novak is a whore maya

• miles and hunter :( :( :( :(

• tears, zig? didn't expect to s-[GUNSHOT]

• baaz x shay is my new favorite crack ship

• spencer macpherson and eric osborne kings of acting yassss

• wrapup thoughts: this season is so camp tbh. like it sucks a lot and i hate that this is what people think of when NC is brought up because NC 3 and 4 are really really good and dont get the attention they deserve bc NC1 and 2 are so bad but its still a fun season! miles esme and hunter are always extremely fun to watch, but the excessive screentime given to zig, maya (i love her but none of the storylines shes given do her justice), tristan, frankie and jonah makes it a lot worse. anyways im gonna go rewatch season 10 for the 10000th time

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

To summarise:

Archie has nightmares about his time at the trenches in Verdun, when he wasn’t able to save one of his soldiers. World War I has been hard on Archie.

World War I has been hard on Eric as well, who’s taken to sleep-walking(?) with his loaded rifle. No wonder Jughead lives at the garage.

Uncle Frank has the brilliant idea to get Archie and Eric a dog as a therapy pet. Except this is Riverdale, so the dog, too, has trauma.

It’s not only young women who have gone missing in Riverdale but also canines: there is an illegal dog fighting ring that no one knows where it is. The Three Army Buddies find it nevertheless and take it down. I’m breathless with how many times Archie has saved this town.

Archie will now take care of a hundred and one dogs. Not Dalmatians though, which is a pity, because that would have worked so well with his firefighter plot line. Toffee is rolling on the floor laughing.

Archie in 5x14:

In a completely unexpected turn of events, season 5 being a new show and everything, Veronica decides to go after her father’s business. She recruits Reggie, who just wants to work for a Lodge really. Maybe now Smithers will be allowed to retire?

“SoDale is a scam?!” asks outraged one of the investors, who hasn’t bothered to check on his investment before Ronnie called him.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, unless you’re the She-Wolf of Wall Street, in which case you apply reverse psychology i.e. condescension. It’s not surprising that it works. I mean, these were Hiram’s investors to begin with.

Fabergé only made about 69 eggs, but his cousin Glamergé must have made much more, because Veronica is giving them away like candy to her clients. I just wish one of the writers had googled a Fabergé egg’s price. Oh, well.

Riverdale High is still doing distance learning. Or maybe not. I mean, Kevin was there but I didn’t see any students in attendance.

Kevin is named teacher of the year, probably because he’s the only person that has ever taught drama, debate, biology, gym and sex-ed in the span of a single year. I bet this was Mrs Bell’s doing (both the scheduling and the accolade).

Ever since Archie & co started teaching, he’s been left with too much free time to make (new) bad decisions, including asking ex-gaslighting girlfriend Cheryl for relationship advice.

When he goes over at Fangs’ to ask for clemency, he catches his ex having wine and cheese with his other ex, i.e. his ex’s ex’s ex. As Cheryl exclaimed: That is diabolical.

The maths is too hard for him so he joins a new cult.

Riverdale is the only show where becoming the art director for a cult led by a convicted serial killer is considered a step-up from being a teacher.

Run, Moose, Run.

Some people collect butterflies. Betty collects serial killers. Much like with the butterflies, she insists on catching them on her own.

She has now quit the FBI but since no one has asked her to hand over her bureau-issued gear, she still has her badge, her gun and a collection of FBI jackets to give her accomplices friends. This is consistent with the FBI forgetting to pack up their Riverdale field office for 7 years.

Glen makes an appearance to request Betty’s badge -but not her gun or jacket(s). He’s probably still pissed that Betty stabbed him and got away with it but he was the one researching her serial killer genes, so he’s got no excuse for not having been prepared.

After their successful team-up in 5x11, where they lost both Jughead and his manuscript, Betty and Tabitha collaborate again to track down The Lonely Highway Killer (LHK) by first luring him to Pop’s with sexy dancing.

It is a wonder that LHK hasn’t been caught yet as he travels with blood all over his truck. It is also a wonder that he managed to kill anybody, because apparently his pick-up line is “I like to watch people die, will you excuse me just a sec to go grab my chainsaw?” or something to that effect.

Betty turns her back to a serial killer for one second (this is premium FBI training stuff) and he (momentarily) disappears. No manners at all. 

LHK and Betty have a show-down, him with his chainsaw, Betty with her trusty spanner. Unlike Glen, LHK hasn’t done research on the Cooper/Smith serial killer genes and, thus, doesn’t stand a chance.

Tabitha wants to hand him over to the FBI. Tabitha is new to the show.

Taking into consideration Glen’s general incompetence, I’m with Betty on this one.

Toffee is on a self-exploration journey at Llasa visiting the Jokhang temple. She’s not coming back until Archie has his dogs under control.

One down, six more opportunities for Cheryl to burst into song.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

I saw you reblogged gifs from Sex Education (so I assume you watch it) and I just recently binged it, after hearing so much about it and I didn’t quite know what to expect going into it. But I found myself liking it and I was surprised and happy about how many important questions and topics it actually deals with, like the important of consent, STD’s, equality, LGBT rights and so on. So I just wonder what your thoughts is on it? (Oh and I love how well written the characters are too)

I really like Sex Education. I was the same as you and didn’t really know what to expect going into it. One of my friends described it as a “classier version of Skins” and I’d say that description is somewhat accurate. It’s similar to Skins in the way that it explores the lives of college students and how realistic and honest it is in doing that. There are a lot of shows that have a young cast and are set at high school or college such Gossip Girl, PLL, TVD, OTH, BtVS, but these shows are completely unrealistic in what they portray. Most of the characters on those shows are supposed to be 17 years old but are being played by actors and actresses in their 20s or 30s, and aside from going to school they live their lives like adults rather than teens. That’s what separates Sex Ed (and Skins) from other shows in the same genre, because it is realistic. All of the young characters on Sex Ed are living their lives as teenagers and not adults. They go to college, they hang out with friends, they go to work part-time, they struggle with their sexuality, they take part in extra-curricular activities, they have difficulties at home in their personal lives and they’re trying to figure out who they are. It’s the stuff that most of us do and go through when we’re that age.

The characters are great. In fact, I think I like every single character on Sex Ed because they’re authentic characters with complexity. Most of them are built on tropes but they all exceed those tropes. Jackson is the perfect example. He’s a handsome jock, star athlete, popular and intelligent. Yet, he shatters any other tropes that would be associated with this type of character. The first trope we’d expect to see is for him to screw around, date loads of girls, be a dick and hurt them and break their heart because he’s scared of commitment. But Jackson truly falls for Maeve and cares about her. He isn’t scared of getting his heart-broken or dating around, he walks into a relationship with Maeve with his eyes and his heart wide open. When he realises Maeve doesn’t feel the same as him, he never lashes out, shames/guilts her or resents her. He continues to be respectful and kind to her. We’d also expect him to be shallow and to judge everything on looks and popularity, but his friendship (and I expect romance, in the future) with Viv shows that Jackson judges individuals based on the person they are rather than how popular they are or how conventionally “hot” they are. Again, we’d expect a character like Jackson to be hung up on his image and what others think, but he doesn’t care. Swimming is part of his image, but he doesn’t care. He decides that he doesn’t want to swim and that he’d rather act instead, and although he’s worried what his mom will say, he doesn’t care what anyone else will think. And Jackson is just one example of a character built on cliched tropes that goes way beyond them and shatters them. Otis fulfils the awkward, shy virgin trope, but he actually has such a deep understanding of sex and relationships which allows him to relate to and connect with a wide range of people. Maeve is fulfils the cool, badass stereotype but is actually very sensitive, caring, empathetic and not afraid to show kindness or love to others.

It’s not just the characters I like either, it’s also the relationships between the characters. Otis and Eric’s friendship is so beautiful. It instantly stood out to me as being special based purely on the fact that it’s a close and intimate friendship between a straight and gay guy. In my experience, I have never known a gay guy to be best friends with a straight guy. This is because of the misconceptions and stereotypes built around masculinity and homosexuality. A lot of straight guys wouldn’t be best friends with a gay guy because they’d be afraid that they would then be labelled as being gay by association. They also think that if a guy is gay that automatically means he must fancy every guy he comes into contact with and would be a sex monster. It’s so silly, incorrect and such backwards thinking, but I’ve seen it so much throughout my life. Yet Otis and Eric love each other so much and they’re so close too. Eric can talk openly to Otis about his romantic and sexual relationships without feeling like Otis is judging him or is embarassed or grossed out (again, a common theme amongst straight guys when they interact with gay guys about sex). It’s just such a great relationship. But then there’s also Jackson and Viv, Maeve and Aimee, Adam and Eric, Otis and Maeve that are all wonderful relationships to watch evolve on-screen. Even seeing Otis and Nicole come together after having sex to address the fact that she may be pregnant was refreshing. Not only does this deal with unwanted and unplanned pregnancy, it shows that when two people come together and have sex it is the responsibility of both of those individuals to deal with the consequences.

The LGBTQA+ representation is brilliant, and it’s so necessary. Even with the increased representation in recent years, there’s still no where near enough exploration of sexuality in television and how it impacts young people. So many teenagers question their sexuality or struggle to understand how they’re feeling or who they are, and shows like this can make all the difference. If young people can relate to the characters they see on-screen, it gives them a way to understand and process their own feelings. People think we’ve come so far and there’s so much understanding around sexuality, but as someone that works in high schools, let me tell you, there isn’t. A lot of young people have never heard the words bisexual, pansexual or asexual, they also don’t understand that sexuality is often fluid or that gender identity and sexuality aren’t the same thing or even necessarily connected. My only issue with the way sexuality is explored on the show is that it’s not as in-depth as it could be. For example, Ola starts to have sex dreams about Lily, takes an online quiz which says she’s pansexual and she just goes with it. It’s usually a lot more complex than that and if someone is questioning their sexuality it can take months and even years to come to terms with that and find a label that they feel comfortable with (if they want to label themselves at all). It was similar with Adam too. He develops feelings for Eric and we know he struggles with that, but then he just turns up at the party and tells Eric he thinks he’s bisexual. How does he come to this conclusion? He’s had sexual relationships with females in the past, we know this, but actually at the start of the show he’s struggling to perform sexually with his girlfriend. So why does he feel that he’s bisexual rather than gay? This is really just me being picky, because in a way I think it’s a little lazy. If a character states that they are something, then that is what they are, but I think more time should be devoted to following these characters as they try to figure out what their sexuality is and how they want to label themselves, instead of the character developing feelings for one character of the same sex and then suddenly jumping to “okay, I’m bi/pan”. Regardless, the LGBTQA+ representation in Sex Ed is amazing and defintiely somethinng that I give a lot of praise to.

Aimee’s story is also a brilliant exploration of the importance of consent and sexual assault. You can read more about my thoughts on this here. But also, hearing Jean tell the kids that it is always their right to say no is very, very important. Throughout my life I’ve had so many people tell me that they had sex when they didn’t want to because they were “just going along with it” but they tell themselves it was okay because they didn’t actually say “no” out loud and therefore it’s not rape. People don’t realise that they can start having sex with someone and change their mind, and if that person doesn’t stop, it’s unconsensual sex and therefore rape. People don’t realise that if a couple have been married for 10 years and the wife wakes up to her husband having sex with her, it’s unconensual and therefore rape. People don’t realise that if someone is drunk out of their mind and barely concious, it’s unconsesual sex and therefore rape. There are so many more scenarios like these that I see people describe as being “grey areas” and it makes me so angry, because they are not fucking grey areas at all. Consent is such a simple concept but people try to over-complicate it. People will often use the “but people don’t verbally give consent when they have sex, they just do it, so how do you know that they’ve actually given consent” - bloody ask them! There is nothing wrong with asking someone, “Do you want to do this”, “Are you sure?”, “Do you feel like this is the right thing?” or saying, “If you want to stop at anytime we can”, “Tell me if I’m hurting you or do something wrong.” If two people are having sex there should be that open communication and trust present to be able to ask these questions and have these conversations, and if there isn’t, then there has to be question as to whether they should be having sex at all. I’ll discuss the importance of communication around sex below. But when it comes to consent, I find it really alarming how much misunderstanding there is around it and how much incorrect information is given out. Consent is probably one of the most important issues around sex that young people should be educated on. It’s the very foundation of sexual relationships, because no consent = no sex.

Overall, the show explores a lot of very important topics that aren’t always featured in shows to the extent that it should be. It could definitley go further with some of the themes it explores, but it covers a lot of ground in a limited time-frame and does more justice to it than a lot of other shows I’ve seen, so I have to give credit where it’s due.

(below the cut is less an analysis of Sex Education and more of a discussion around sex/relationships, stereotypes and misconceptions around them and how poor sex education is in school).

I think it’s important for shows like Sex Education to be made not only because it portrays life as a teenager in a more realistic way (instead of creating unrealistic expectations for young people that they should be living lives of glitz and glamour where they’re at extravagant house parties every week and dating hot older men/women that are doctors or lawyers or business owners), but because it specifically tackles the topic of sex. Let’s be honest here: sex education in schools is really, really, really bad. Kids simply aren’t taught what they need to know about sex and as a result their well-being, safety, happiness and identity is often compromised. If you’re 12 years old (in the UK that’s the age you are in your first year at high school) and experiencing an attraction to someone of the same sex but haven’t been told what that means, why it’s happening or that it’s okay, how is that going to make you feel? If you’re 14 years old and in a relationship with an older guy who’s pressuring you for sex and has told you that he doesn’t want to wear a condom because it’s not as pleasurable for him, how are you going to understand that asking you to do that is not okay or articulate how you feel to your parnter? If you’re 16 and have been in a long-term relationship sexual relationship with a partner that is kind, respectful and loving but you don’t find sex enjoyable or pleasurable, how are you going to know why you feel this way or how to rectify it and discuss it with your partner? And these are just a few scenarios that I can think of off the top of my head. There are so many scenarios, topics, experiences, questions and concerns that teenagers have when it comes to sex and relationships, and unless they’re lucky and have super open, supportive and expressive parents, they most likely won’t have answers to any of their questions.

That’s because sex education (in the UK at least), is all focused on the biology; how the body changes during puberty, how sexual intercourse leads to pregnancy and the health ramifications of contracting an STI. There’s nothing about the mental, emotional and physical side of it, which in my opinion, is the most important part because that’s what directly impacts teenagers. Young people should be prepared and have absolute understanding of the kinds of experiences they may have, what to do if they ever find themselves in a situation that they feel uncomfortable with or that has made them feel insecure, upset, afraid, hurt etc., how to navigate healthy sexual/romantic relationships, what consent is and how to communicate with others about sex. For a lot of young people (and even adults!), sex is treated as such a taboo subject; they’re either too awkward, embarassed or ashamed to talk about it or have been told they should keep those sort of things to themselves. But open communication is so important when it comes to sex, particularly with your partner. I don’t agree with teenagers (below 18 at least) being in serious romantic and sexual relationships, it’s a part of life and it’s always going to happen, so young people should know how to navigate those relationships and be able to communicate with their partner effectively.

This is part of what I love about Sex Ed so much - there’s a complete openness around sex. Jean is a brilliant character and although she’s not a perfect mother, the openness she has around sex is refreshing. Sex is a part of life and it should be treated as such. Adults have this notion that they need to protect kids from sex and not give them all of the facts, but this is more likely to cause more harm in the future when these children grow up and start having sexual experiences. Jean’s openness with Otis is sometimes mortifying, but it’s also a positive thing, because she wants him to feel safe and comfortable to come to her if he’s ever struggling or confused about anything related to sex/relationships. And every child should have that; an adult that they can trust and confide in and even ask for advice on these things, because it is difficult for young people.

I also love that Jean is that she’s not afraid to talk about sex and pleasure. Again, this all stems from the embarassment and shame around sex, but people have such a problem with talking about sex (again, even adults still struggle with it) in terms of being a pleasurable and gratifying act. Kids are usually told sex is between two people who love each other to make a baby. But actually, how true is that? Sex and love aren’t mutually exclusive and it’s more likely for a couple to use contraception to prevent reproduction than it is to be trying to reproduce. Not to mention that same sex couples can’t reproduce naturally, so this explanation completely shuts down the idea of sex between individuals of the same sex, which is ridiculous. The simple fact is that a lot of the time sex is about pleasure. But as Jean discusses, pleasure is so taboo and especially when it comes to females.

I’m so glad the show shed light on this, because as a woman with female friends I’ve definitley noticed this. I’ve had female friends that have been sexually active for 10 years and that have never had an orgasm with their partner. It’s a common occurence for women to go without orgasms for most or the whole of their life, not understanding how to have one or even realising that they’re not having them. In the 21st century, sex is still defined by men and their pleasure. When people think about sex, they think about penetration, they think it begins with insertion and ends when the man has climaxed. Any porn video you watch involving a man and woman will be geared towards men. General perceptions of sex are still built around penises, because apparently they’re just so important that sex can’t be sex without them, right? Wrong! Sex is much broader than this. Women have sex with each other with no penises involved, and let me tell you, it’s still sex. Men and women can have sex without having intercourse. Men and men can have sex without having intercourse. Likewise, for women, penal penetration is not the only way to orgasm, in fact, it’s scientifically proven that it’s the hardest way to have an orgasm. Even today women don’t understand their own bodies or engage in masturbation because they feel that it’s shameful or wrong. We’re still expected to supress and ignore our sexuality and be demure and prudish. Jean absolutely smashes this notion to pieces and I love it, because women have every right to be sexually open and to enjoy sex and derive pleasure from it as men. All women should feel comfortable to masturabte, all women should be able to have pleasure from sex, all women deserve to have a partner who takes the time to understand their bodies and wants to please them, all women deserve to have the freedom to express themselves sexually in whichever way they feel comfortable with without fear of judgement or ridicule.

Sex Education is an important show because it raises questions around these topics and tackles them head-on. I’ve heard people describe it as being too “PC” and trying too hard to be “trendy”, but it’s not. All it’s doing is addressing the experiences, feelings, thoughts and struggles that young people all over the world are going through every day that are misunderstood and not spoken about. The show may not always address this issues in the best way, but it does tackle them and that’s what counts. And I, for one, am glad that shows like this are being made. The title “Sex Education” is the perfect title for this show, because it will educate many of its viewers on sex and teach them things that they didn’t know before watching. 

[whofanforsexed]

So, from a first pass over the first episode, what jumps out about Netflix’s Sex Education from a Whovian perspective?? Well, as I said elsewhere Eric Effiong is really not the focal character of the episode. Ncuti Gatwa gives 110%, and is immensely memorable. He doesn’t exactly instigate any of the plot but thematically he demands that it happen, he challenges Otis’s stasis as a deeply cautious lead, he’s wise to the world, seeing the universe of the story’s setting with clear eyes and laying out out as a challenge to engage. He’s unafraid to be ridiculous, confident and savvy, eager to be loved but unwilling to compromise his unique self. That said I think only in a scattering if smaller moments does the actor get to show his capacity for powerful subtilty, and I’m desperate to see more of that. 

I think fans of this show who take the time to marathon New Who are genuinely in for a treat. Sex Education pins its colours to the mast with the contrast between Otis’ home life with an unconventional, intellectual, brilliant and slightly transgressive single parent, an older hippy who gets high and has casual sex and talks about sex in a healthy and uncommon way, vs. the repression and conservatism of Adam’s home life as the headmaster’s son, living with curfews and restricted phone access and endless academic pressure. In some ways both boys have similar struggles with sexual performance, because it’s really not all about your parents, been a teenager is just hard, and bodies are weird, but it’s deeply clear which of the two the show thinks is a healthy home environment, the freedoms of the strange are celebrated over the evils of mundanity. 

And if you’re here for that you’re going to love ‘the blue phone box show’. The restless YA horniness of RTD’s original run, the drama, the heartbreak, the total colourfull weirdness of the aliens - certainly how class aware and how queer it all is (there’s def. a later post in David Tennant’s version of The Doctor as a unification of Otis and Adam). 

And you’re going to have a blast with Steven Moffat’s bright rich lush visuals, and saucy postcard humour, and totally different way of being sex obsessed (and there’s another long discussion to be had comparing Eric and Matt Smith’s Doctor).   

Legitimately I’m hyped for everyone to enjoy a thing I love, for new opinions and hot takes, and finding out what a fresh perspective on old classics looks like in 2022.  And I’m hyped to see what surprises Sex Ed has in store, what I’m going to love about it, what comparisons and weird synchronicities are lurking in the bushes (”Is that Tom Baker?” Indeed)

[aion-rsa]

Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next

https://ift.tt/3klRNa5

If there’s justice in this world, high school comedy Never Have I Ever will return for at least a third season. The story of 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar, a Los Angeles teen reeling from her beloved father’s sudden death while trying to navigate all the usual boys/school/friendship mess of adolescence, deserves to continue long into the future. (Here’s our spoiler-free season two review.)

While fans wait for news on a third season commission, the 10 great shows below are well worth discovering or (re)discovering. They’re not all teen shows, nor are they all strictly comedies, but somewhere along the line, they share some DNA with Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s Never Have I Ever. Add your own additional recommendations below.

Fresh Off the Boat

Six seasons (2015 – 2020)

Since the cruel early cancellation of her show Don’t Trust the B**** in Apt. 23 (Krysten Ritter’s funniest performance to date) it’s pretty much mandatory to watch anything Nahnatchka Khan makes. Fresh Off the Boat was her follow-up comedy for ABC, based on the early life of celebrity chef Eddie Huang as his family moved from Washington DC to Orlando. It’s set in the 90s and concluded last year after six seasons. The cast is great, in particular Randall Park (WandaVision, Always Be My Maybe) and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) as young Eddie’s Taiwanese immigrant parents, each of whom has very different mileage on adjusting to life in the US. 

The Mindy Project

Six seasons (2012 – 2017)

This romantic comedy was Mindy Kaling’s post-The Office project – the story of self-absorbed, pop-culture obsessed, lovable OB/GYN Dr Mindy Lahiri (Kaling) and her search for love in Manhattan. After some cast changes in its first season, it really found its feet and settled into a sharp workplace comedy with a great ensemble. It survived a post-season three cancellation by FOX thanks to being picked up by Hulu for a further three seasons, and ended in 2017. US comedy fans can enjoy playing actor bingo too, thanks to appearances from many of Kaling’s The Office co-stars, including writer-producer B.J. Novak, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms and more. 

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Four seasons (2015 – 2019)

Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna’s comedy-musical series is inventive, boundary-breaking and packed to the rafters with talent. Like a few of the shows in this list, it’s distinctly adult in theme and not a high school comedy but still shares the wit, high-key colour and bold approach to life’s harder moments as Never Have I Ever. It’s the story of high-flying NYC lawyer Rebecca Bunch, who gives up everything to move to a backwater Californian town to pursue her summer camp first love Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III). Rebecca’s love of musical theatre bleeds into the show, turning it into a mental health musical complete with funny, original, sharply written song-and-dance routines.  

Popular

Two seasons (1999 – 2001)

The debut series from super-producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Pose, Glee, Nip/Tuck) co-created by Gina Matthews, Popular is the story of Brooke and Sam, two high school sophomores from opposite ends of the popularity spectrum who are forced together when their single parents become a couple. It ran for two seasons on The WB before being cancelled, and has since attracted a cult following for Murphy’s characteristically sharp blend of comedy, romance and serious themes. It landed in the 90s, so yes, the teens are played by 25 year olds, the unpopular nerd (Carly Pope) has model good looks, it’s not exactly diverse (though there is LGBTQ representation) but it’s seminal in Never Have I Ever’s genre. 

Sex Education

Three seasons so far (2019 – )

Laurie Nunn’s charming British comedy-drama is a frank and funny look at sexual hang-ups and teen relationships. It has a great ensemble cast led by Otis (Asa Butterfield), a shy teen embarrassed by his sex therapist mother’s forthright attitude to all things physical. When Otis teams up with ‘bad girl’ Maeve to offer anonymised sex therapy to their schoolmates, he discovers that he’s not the only one with issues. It’s a bright and funny high school series with characters to invest in, a stand-out performance by Ncuti Gatwa as Eric, and oh, the sex therapist mother is played by Gillian Anderson. Season three arrives on Netflix this September.

Read more

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Never Have I Ever Season 2 Review: This Netflix Teen Comedy Deserves to Run and Run

By Louisa Mellor

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Never Have I Ever Season 2: Episode 3’s Last-Minute Celebrity Narrator Change

By Louisa Mellor

Freaks & Geeks

One season (1999 – 2000)

A must-see high school comedy. Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s 1980s-set series is most discussed these days for the outstanding cast of unknowns gathered by Allison Jones (who went on to cast The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Arrested Development, Veep and basically every US sitcom worth watching). The prematurely cancelled NBC series kick-started the careers of Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips, Linda Cardellini, James Franco and more. It’s the story of Cardellini’s Lindsay Weir, a maths star who crosses social boundaries from ‘geek’ to slacker ‘freak’ after the death of her grandmother. It’s brilliant, weird, funny and painful, and a total antidote to mainstream, slick, rich-kid Beverley Hills 90210 high school glamour, so of course, hardly anybody watched it, the network didn’t get it, and it was cancelled well before its time. 

The Wonder Years

Six seasons (1988 – 1993)

Husband and wife team Neal Marlens and Carol Black created a classic in The Wonder Years, a coming-of-age story about Kevin, the youngest son of a suburban American family, growing up against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. It’s fuelled by nostalgia and the sweet romantic yearnings of its young lead Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage, now a top comedy director-producer), but doesn’t gloss over life’s more serious moments. Never Have I Ever’s choice of John McEnroe as its wry adult narrator may well have been influenced by Daniel Stern’s role on The Wonder Years. It’s available to stream now on Hulu in the US.

Skins

7 seasons (2007 – 2013)

Not strictly a comedy, but with plenty of comedic moments, Skins has to be in the running for the best British teen show ever made. The first four seasons especially are filled with great writing, strong performances, and characters whose lives – and complicated love lives – are easy to invest in. It followed the students of a Bristol sixth form college through their A levels, giving it the chance to renew the cast every two years as the previous generation graduated/dropped out/ran away/were murdered. Like Freaks and Geeks, its cast of young actors, from Nicholas Hoult to Dev Patel, Joe Dempsie, Daniel Kaluuya, Jack O’Connell, Kaya Scodelario and more went on to very big things. Much more layered and satisfyingly weird than the reputation it was given by the British press as an orgy of sex, drugs and bad behaviour, it’s another must-watch. 

Daria

Five seasons (1997 – 2001)

Developed from a character created for Mike Judge’s animated MTV comedy Beavis & Butthead, Daria Morgendorffer is a cynical 16-year-old with a gimlet eyed take on suburban US life. She’s a 90s icon with a monotone voice (provided by Tracy Grandstaff) and a wry take on her schoolmates, parents, and cheerleader sister Quinn. Her witty, dry animated series aired for five seasons plus feature-length TV specials, and is soon to have a new spin-off coming to Comedy Central, focused on Daria’s classmate Jodie’s travails in the modern workplace.

My So-Called Life

One season (1994 – 1995)

When My So-Called Life aired its only season on ABC in 1994, it was the anti-teen TV show. Muted and realist rather than upbeat and aspirational, it cast actual teenagers, not models, and ventured into areas avoided by many other teen dramas of the time: alcoholism, sex, domestic abuse… Its first-person narration from Claire Danes’ lead character gave it a distinctive voice, and influenced many shows to follow. It’s worth saying that My So-Called Life is a drama, not a comedy, and paints teenage life with a totally different colour palette to bright, satirical Never Have I Ever. Acknowledging that, it’s a cult favourite, and possible to trace a line from Devi’s love triangle with nerdy academic Ben and hot, popular Paxton, and MSCL’s Angela Chase’s love triangle with nerdy academic Brian and hot, popular Jordan (would that line continue all the way back to Pretty in Pink? Probably). 

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Never Have I Ever season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[notsoacademic]

Edg, Edge n Edgy: The birth of a Literary and Cultural Movement because: Why not?

(Ed, Edd n Eddy 1999)*

 The term ‘Beat Generation’ was first used by Jack Kerouac in 1948 (Asher 1994), and later explained by John Clellon Holmes in his article: “This is the Beat Generation” (1952):

The origins of the word 'beat' are obscure, but the meaning is only too clear to most Americans. More than mere weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and, ultimately, of soul; a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness. In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself.

We hear so much about the legacy of the beat generation, the Beatniks who are like the Beats but not quite the same; the Hippies who cling to the part about drugs, but without the hew of lingering gunpowder of the Second World War that drove the real Beats; and the general cultural legacy that the people of the 21st century proudly wear as thick framed glasses, not admitting to be hipster but being that just the same, still reading Ginsberg and Kerouac as if their work had just come out, yet unable to contribute to it because nothing new can be said or done (Patterson 2017).

Bob Dylan all but exclaimed: “I got in at the tail end of [The Beat Generation] and it was magic … it had just as big an impact on me as Elvis Presley” (The New Yorker 2010). It should be clear enough to just admit and move on that the Beat Generation happened and we owe everything to it. Yet I can’t help but allow my sceptical white girl voice (the one I use to push my mind further than blindly accepting the value of a literary work just because it is part of the canon): “Ok. But like, why?”. I am as ready to admit as anyone that the literary works written by Ginsberg and company were beautiful, deep and possess a magnitude of literary value, but using profane language and bragging about drug use should not seem to be enough to fuel the multitude of subsequent cultures people claim the Beat generation has inspired.

So what is this endless fascination with a handful of people who many claim have created the world as we know it? Why was the Beat generation so successful in fuelling so many consequent movements and cultures? The short answer is that before the Beats there was the war and what was before the war did not belong to them. I have decided to look at three of the main founders of the Beat Generation: Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. These three men were each looking for something different, something new. At some point they all found themselves in New York and then found each other. And when they did, they relished at the fact that perhaps they could indulge one another by using art as a gateway to a life of sex, drugs and alcohol.

First we have Allen Ginsberg, the Edge of our Holy Trinity if you will. Simultaneously being the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit of his generation. His most famous poem by far is Howl an “outcry of rage and despair against a destructive, abusive society” (Poetry Foundation 2017).  It really encompasses the spirit of the generation, wanting to be different, meaning wanting to be ‘free’. Free of society’s limitation and free to express themselves “through the heightened sensory awareness that might be induced by drugs, jazz [and] sex” (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1998). It is clear, the Beats did not want to conform to society, but really hardly anyone ever does. Therefore I believe that to them it was as much of a literary revolution as it was a way to spend “night after night /with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol and cock and endless balls” (Ginsberg 1956). The whole thing seems to be about breaking patterns. However, breaking patterns is a pattern itself and when we look at Howl the patterns translate into structure through repetition, rhythm and the visual layout of the poem. Is it different? Yes. But is it new? I dare say that it is not.

Then we have Jack Kerouac a sort of symbol of the sour Edg of the three edged sword of the Beat Generation, lost at the age of 47 to alcohol (ab)use. But I guess that is the price one pays when the entry fee to one’s generation is to partake in excessive drinking. He is the author of On the Road (1957), a fictional work based on his own life, written in a confessional manner called “Spontaneous Prose”. It is a term coined by Kerouac to explain his style of writing as freed from “social, psychological, and grammatical restrictions” (Poetry Foundation 2017). It is no wonder that his work was only recognised as genius after the work of the Beat writers took off. His novel was initially criticised by his contemporaries as unorganised due to its unusual style of stream of consciousness (Poetry Foundation 2017). This begs the question of whether Kerouac would have been as successful as he was if the Beat Generation did not turn out to be as influential as it is considered to be. I suspect not. The idea seems to be that any writing is art regardless of what structure (if any) it follows. This in my opinion is true, but it does not mean that all art is good art or that all art is intended to be art in the first place. In any case, Kerouac remains as one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation and one of its most influential contributors.

Lastly we have William S. Burroughs, the last member of our trifecta, the Edgyest of them all. He struggled with heroin addiction throughout his life, perhaps making the triple edge sword have two spoiled edges instead of one. It seem to me that if you wanted to be part of the Beat Generation and get out in one piece, the odds were stacked two to one against you. He is the author of Naked Lunch (1959), once again a fictional story inspired by his life written in a non-linear timeline making it post-modern before post-modern was even a thing (Biography.com 2017). Another piece of evidence that shows the hipster-esque nature of the Beat generation, being different for the sake of being different. But the one thing that makes Burroughs Edgy is that he was an actual “hard” drug user. While marijuana was popularised and even encouraged by the Beats, even before them it was common to be a user for according to Holmes, at the time, one in five people could have easily been identified as users (1952). And then there we have Burroughs, a real “Junkie”, a real Beat if you will. Someone to aspire to, someone who truly managed to liberate his consciousness from the binds of society.

This is how these three men are viewed nowadays. They are given credit for cultural movements that they were too old to shape or too dead to witness. And while their literary work holds merit and in many ways is brilliant, to give so much credit to three junkies who cared more about doing what they wanted than what their message and legacy was, is perhaps a little farfetched. The only legacy that I will gladly give the Beats credit for is the romanticising of drugs, the idea of drug induced creativity that holds a promise of guaranteed mental liberation to the youth. Is it true? Maybe not. But it does not have to be when it is finally an excuse to do drugs in a time where there is no original thought.

*The Image at the beginning is a reference to a meme which is referencing a late 90s and early 2000s cartoon. Due to its meta nature, I thought it would be fitting to use it to illustrate the Beat Generation. The image was altered by me and is mostly used as a way to criticise the cultural legacy of the Beat Generation in a humorous manner.

Bibliography:

Antonucci, Danny. “Ed, Edd n Eddy .” Ed, Edd n Eddy , Cartoon Network., 1999.:

Asher, Levi. “The Beat Generation.” Literary Kicks, 25 July 1994, www.litkicks.com/BeatGen.

Biography.com Editors. “William S. Burroughs.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/william-s-burroughs-9232376.

Ginsberg, Allen. “Howl .” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 1956, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl.

Holmes, John Clellon . “This Is The Beat Generation.” The New York Times Magazine, 16 Nov. 1952.

Patterson, Eric V. “The Cultural and Literary Legacy of the Beat Generation.” Empty Mirror, 23 Aug. 2017, www.emptymirrorbooks.com/beat/beat-generation-legacy.

Poetry Foundation. “Allen Ginsberg.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2017, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/allen-ginsberg.

Poetry Foundation. “Jack Kerouac.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2017, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jack-kerouac.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Beat movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement.

The New Yorker. “Bob Dylan, the Beat Generation, and Allen Ginsberg’s America.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker , 13 Aug. 2010, www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bob-dylan-the-beat-generation-and-allen-ginsbergs-america.