I think we can agree that the weather has been lousy this week so what better than to curl up on the sofa with a mug of tea and settle down watching a fun show on the TV. That is the saving grace of the winter; all the cool shows come back and it is like being reunited with a bunch of old friends. Right now I am spending quality time with
Gossip Girl,
The Hills,
90210,
Lipstick Jungle and
The Starter Wife and it is fantastic. Like having a ladies night out except it is at home in your living room. It looks like
Melrose Place will be joining us this time next year.
90210 has proved so successful that the powers that be at CW Network have decided to spread the spin-off project to the popular 1990s drama. Premiering in 1992,
Melrose Place featured the lives of sophisticated twenty-somethings who lived in an apartment complex and we saw them live, work and play together. As we can expect in a typical soap drama we had the usual emotional storylines such as infidelity, homophobia, divorce, prostitution, domestic abuse and many others. The show bowed out in 1999 after a period of low ratings and as well as making a star out of
Heather Locklear who went onto
Spin City and
Scrubs, it will also be remembered for launching the careers of the stars below:
Kristin DaviesShe played the scheming Brooke Armstrong and later found fame and many pairs of Jimmy Choos as Charlotte York in
Sex and the City.
Marcia CrossShe played Dr Kimberly Shaw, the total nut job and is now famous as house proud Bree Van de Kamp Hodge in
Desperate Housewives.
Doug SavantHe played Matt Fielding, the token gay guy and is now best known as Lynette's hubby, Tom Scavo in
Desperate Housewives.
Courtney Thorne-SmithShe played the annoying Alison Parker who had a long relationship with Billy and became an alcoholic. She went on to star in
Ally McBeal as Georgia Thomas, wife of Billy Thomas who was the ex love of Ally.
Kelly RutherfordShe played Megan Lewis a high class call girl who is hired by Dr Kimberly Shaw to seduce her partner. She is now in
Gossip Girl playing the snooty Lily van der Woodsen, mother of lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
Rob EstesHe played restaurateur, Kyle McBride and can be currently seen in the all new
90210 as head of school Harry Wilson and father of Annie and Dixon.
Alyssa Milano She played spoiled brat Jennifer Mancini and went on to play Phoebe Halliwell in the hit series,
Charmed.
Wow what a load of talent that show produced. Roll on the remake.
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So it seems that CW along with everyone else cannot get enough of Gossip Girl. They love it so much that they have ordered a prequel which is based on the romance of Lily van der Woodsen nee Rhodes and Rufus Humphreys. The channel that is home to popular teen shows, 90210 as well One Tree Hill will be airing a retro version of Gossip Girl. The spin off series of which is yet to be named is set in the colourful 80s and tells the story of the teenage Lily who is the mother of protagonist, Serena van der Woodsen. Young Lily is forced to move in with her sister after falling out wth her parents when she is kicked out of her posh boarding school. She turns to big sis Carol who is a free spirited actress based in San Fernando. Unfortunately Lily is not happy for long; it seems that sleepy San Fernando is a tad bit boring for our Lily and it is not long before she is up to her old tricks. She goes in search of fun and excitement in LA and finds it in the fast paced life of Sunset Strip. Gossip Girl Retro sees Lily hanging out in restaurants, bars, clubs and totally living the Jackie Collins' 80s Hollywood life where she eventually bumps into a certain Rufus Humphreys. The show will showcase the fashion, music and pop culture of that era so you can imagine what they have in store - over the knee boots, leggings, stilettos, shoulder pads, teased hair and lots of blue eye shadow. It all kicks off on 11th May when instead of the regular GG we will be treated to a back door pilot to the spin off. Brittany Snow plays the young Lily, Krysten Ritter (who we last saw in Confessions of a Shopaholic) plays her sister Carol, Andrew McCarthy plays their father, Cynthia Watros as their mother and Serena's father, Keith van der Woodsen will be seen for the first time played by Matt Barr.
I think we can agree that the weather has been lousy this week so what better than to curl up on the sofa with a mug of tea and settle down watching a fun show on the TV. That is the saving grace of the winter; all the cool shows come back and it is like being reunited with a bunch of old friends. Right now I am spending quality time with Gossip Girl, The Hills, 90210, Lipstick Jungle and The Starter Wife and it is fantastic. Like having a ladies night out except it is at home in your living room. It looks like Melrose Place will be joining us this time next year. 90210 has proved so successful that the powers that be at CW Network have decided to spread the spin-off project to the popular 1990s drama. Premiering in 1992, Melrose Place featured the lives of sophisticated twenty-somethings who lived in an apartment complex and we saw them live, work and play together. As we can expect in a typical soap drama we had the usual emotional storylines such as infidelity, homophobia, divorce, prostitution, domestic abuse and many others. The show bowed out in 1999 after a period of low ratings and as well as making a star out of Heather Locklear who went onto Spin City and Scrubs, it will also be remembered for launching the careers of the stars below:
