Greetings all. Through early August and September, I will be doing a piece called The Anatomy of Riverdale. Yes, that Riverdale. I just have to say that I am a sucker for Teen Dramas and throughout my childhood, that's what I pretty much grew up with. The late '90s and early 2000s was a goldmine for stuff like this and I was all over it. I'm talking Buffy, Dawson's Creek, Felicity, Roswell, The OC, One Tree Hill, you name it. It was inescapable. Now we're at a place where most of these Teen Dramas want to be dark, edgy, sexy, and mysterious. Unfortunately, we have too many shows like this. Riverdale is one of those casualties.
Way long back, I did remember watching the first season, which was below average at best. Not bad but not great either. Then I stopped cold. I haven't really heard good things about the second season and the third season is beyond atrocious, however, I am going to put on a strong face and power through this. By the way, I've seen much worse.
Once upon a time in the easy, breezy days of the early 1990s, there was a little show called Melrose Place, which had the same over-the-top campiness of Riverdale. Do I think it's a good show?...no, not really. But is it entertaining? Oh, hell yeah. The show is not a classic yet people claim it is.
So on that level, I could see why Riverdale is appealing. Though I am not without pointing out this show's flaws and it has A LOT of flaws.
Okay, let's go back to most of the criticism of teen media during the span of decades:
In the 1980s, most people would call it cheesy.
In the 1990s and 2000s, most people would call it melodramatic.
In these days, most people would call it cringy. Yes, that's the word. Cringy.
Which is exactly what this show came to be.
So without further ado, let's dip into the bowels of Riverdale. Pray for me.
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