Admit it...You Know You Watched It

I can admit it: I watched NYC Prep last night. And you know you did too. (To save myself some dignity, I watched the 11 p.m. replay, not the first 9 p.m. showing.)

I read the reviews that said while the show was good, it was good in the “Oh wow… these kids are so ridiculous you just have to laugh so you don’t cry” way. And well… they were right.

Here’s my personal thoughts on each character (along with what Gossip Girl character they are imitating, because we all know this is Bravo’s GG rip-off):

Jessie: One part Serena’s hair, two parts Blair’s attitude, and one part Little J’s lust for fashion. Out of all the characters, I felt like she had the most reason to be on a the show. A senior with some level of maturity, she is trying to further herself from the high school scene and has some realization that the world doesn’t revolve around her AmEX Black (she even admits self-loathingly in the season preview that she doesn’t really know how much she spends each month.)

PC: One hundred percent Nate Archibald. He used to date Jessie, but now they are just good friends. Now he’s taking the younger girls under his wing. Only a matter of time before we find out his dad embezzled millions (billions?) and fled the country.

Sebastian: I seem glimmers of a Chuck Bass, and it’s obvious that’s who Bravo wants him to be, but at the core he’s 16 and just trying too hard. A common theme with many of the characters, the whole show he seemed like he was being forced by the producers into a new grown-up world and would rather be at home playing his Xbox and chatting with girls on AIM.

Kelli: Equal parts Blair and Little J. She has the authoritative attitude, but lacks the age to back it up. After Jessie, she seemed the most comfortable in her surroundings, but then again her old surroundings were nothing normal. She lives with her brother, sans parents, on the Upper East Side, and so the dinners out at fancy restaurants and event-going was nothing new to the girl with no one to make her do her homework.

Camille: If there were a sweet character in Gossip Girl, maybe Little J, she would be it. This innocent junior is focused on getting into Harvard, running a company, and having two girls and a husband by the time she’s 40 (talk about a 20 year plan). However, she was also the girl who was trying way too hard the whole time. “What Hampton do you have a house in?” she asked PC right after being introduced. Le sigh. She should know… PC has two houses in two different Hamptons.

Taylor: This poor girl is another Little J imitation. Grew up in a public school on the Upper West Side, has a mom who actually cares about her and what she does (gasp), and is trying desperately to break in to the Prep School Elite. As a fellow girl trying to break into a new social scene, I empathize with her, but unlike other newbies, Taylor defines “social climber.” Instead of falling into the scene through a connection, Taylor seems to be inserting herself into the Upper East Side for no real reason at all. Much like Sebastian, she gives off the vibe in most of her scenes that she would rather be downtown watching TiVo than Uptown hoping one of her “friends” will pick up her dinner tab for her.

Overall, a few other things annoyed me about the show:

- The BlackBerries going off every five minutes. This made it seem like the producers were trying too hard to prove to the audience these kids were “somebodies.” Yes, we know they are NYC prepsters with tons of connections and money, stop trying to prove it with annoying ring tones in every scene.

- Sebastian constantly saying in every interview how he is “too young for just one girl” and “Why have a relationship when you can hook up with lots of different girls?” Another instance of the producers trying too hard to characterize the cast.

- The idea that all of these kids have fake I.D.s and get away with it. Taylor is 15, and there is no bouncer in NYC that would ever mistake her for 21. Camille? PC was right when he asked them if she was 12 years old. If the producers are going to arrange for them to get into clubs for the sake of TV, fine, but don’t try to fool us.

So…what did you guys think of NYC Prep? Will you watch it again? Pour moi, I might partake in one more episode (or them all). Everyone needs a guilty pleasure.