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S07.E31: Graduation Day Part 1/S07.E32: Graduation Day Part 2


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In terms of rating lovers...  I need a break before I delve into this proposal, so why not.

1. David: I don't think that he is one to know what to do to make a girl feel good.  I bet Claire thought he was good because he was her first.  (and she gets over him quickly all considering that)  I'm sure Donna doesn't even know what an orgasm is.  Though maybe he picked up some tips from Val.

2. Brando: I think Lucinda made sure she was "satisfied" but I don't know if that translated to any life-long skillz in the bedroom department for Brandon. I get the feeling he would be one of those guys who says "Not every girl can orgasm all the time. Why does sex have to be so goal oriented?"  and just not care.  I think later when they (spoiler) break up, Kelly says how their bedroom life was snoozeville. 

3. Dylan: known swordsman.  He may be scrawn, but I don't think any girls are complaining.

4. Steve: Seems the most coachable and willing to try anything.  

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I always liked Donna and David, but I won't lie, the end scene bugged me.  I mean, I know it was supposed to be some pivotal moment for Donna but her whole "you waited" statement was stupid.  Because David didn't wait.  He cheated on her, multiple times, with Ariel.  Then there were the girls inbetween before he met Claire (we're at least given the impression that he spent that summer enjoying himself).  Then after Claire it's Valerie.  So no, he didn't wait, he did plenty until Donna was ready.  And he was perfectly allowed to do that, but let's not have this moment be some huge statement about "waiting" because that's not what it was.  It was more about Donna being ready.  That statement has bothered me since the first time I saw it when the episode aired back in 1997.  

And Brandon and Kelly suck.  Could they be any more horrible together?  My god.  

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Yeah- I did love that it’s decided Val would move out and then it’s like “and it has to be tomorrow!” Like.. did Brandon and Kelly just assume she would live in a hotel for the time being? You can’t just decide to move somewhere else when you don’t have a somewhere else to go. Kind of funny. But this is also a theme that happens on many shows that someone needs to move out and then it’s just decided “oh yeah and by tomorrow”.  

Kelly’s Dad is hilarious. I mean.. yes from what we’ve heard before now he kind of sucks but he made me laugh a lot this episode, based on the way he interacted with her.

Also bye Claire! She was kind of cool in her start of this show but by the end of her tenure, she kind of was just as awful as anybody else but I assume at this point, if you make it though a year on this show it’s par for the course that you don’t get out unscathed with me hating you. Kelly was cool and awesome once too. And had awesome hair. And also wore cute outfits. I still love that dress she wore in the model episode  I think with the brown points and wine colored dress? Adorable.

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Ugh. The total brushing off of a suicide attempt is one of my tv pet-peeves. Nobody gets an automatic psych hold, or even friends and family hovering around worried. Just “Tra la la, everything’s ok!” Same thing on Riverdale first season. 

Half the characters could have used some mental health resources- Dylan, Kelly, Val.

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I’ve always said the producers missed a good opportunity for Val. She should’ve left...packed her bags, leave, and don’t talk to anyone. It stays like that for the entire summer until the gang goes to Hawaii, which is episode 2 or 3 of season 7. They see her in Hawaii. Of course she goes back to BH with them. I think that would have been better because she would finally leave and prove that she doesn’t need their friendship and of course it would bug the hell out of Brandon because he doesn’t know where Val was for months.

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I’ve always said the producers missed a good opportunity for Val. She should’ve left...packed her bags, leave, and don’t talk to anyone. It stays like that for the entire summer until the gang goes to Hawaii, which is episode 2 or 3 of season 7. They see her in Hawaii. Of course she goes back to BH with them. I think that would have been better because she would finally leave and prove that she doesn’t need their friendship and of course it would bug the hell out of Brandon because he doesn’t know where Val was for months.

Sorry I meant season 8 for the Hawaii episodes.

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On December 18, 2017 at 3:44 PM, TeeVee329 said:

We indeed Never See Claire Again after this.  I'm not sure she really even gets referenced.  Adieu, Claire/Katheleen Robertson, you will be missed.

I believe she is referenced during the finale's poem, but I seem to recall that Steve also mentions her at some point too in season 8, maybe after Carly leaves, in the context of "he's never really been in love." What's more egregious to me is that Claire's best friends and roommates of the past three years, Kelly and Donna, never mention her after she leaves!

IIRC, Pop stops 90210 reruns after the 8th season. I hate the Pop reruns because of the edits and music changes, but have to give them a good call there. Not fond of S8 either but at least Brandon and Val are still in it (though I hate with a passion the "Val loses her money" storyline).

Edited by Moxie Cat
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Kelly and Brandon shouldve kicked both Val AND Steve out of Casa Walsh, so they could be normie elderly people together and have a whole house to themselves. If Steve liked being roomies with Val so much he could get them their own place (we keep forgetting that Val just got Season 5 Dylan'd so she has no money for a security deposit, first months rent, moving, whatever). 

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1 hour ago, Moxie Cat said:

I believe she is referenced during the finale's poem, but I seem to recall that Steve also mentions her at some point too in season 8, maybe after Carly leaves, in the context of "he's never really been in love." What's more egregious to me is that Claire's best friends and roommates of the past three years, Kelly and Donna, never mention her after she leaves!

IIRC, Pop stops 90210 reruns after the 8th season. I hate the Pop reruns because of the edits and music changes, but have to give them a good call there. Not fond of S8 either but at least Brandon and Val are still in it (though I hate with a passion the "Val loses her money" storyline).

It has always annoyed me that neither Donna or Kelly get a goodbye scene with Claire or ever mention her after she leaves . She was their roommate and best friend for years ! its as if she never existed .  

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I agree.  Claire was a big part of the show during the college years.  I noted that it was funny a few episodes ago to see her celebrating when Brandon and Kelly got back together because a few episodes later, she'd be gone and never heard from again.

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I guess they made Claire annoying in her last season to make us not give a shit when she left the show? She was pretty brutal to Steve toward the end.

I still say Gina was the most annoying character on the show. She had perfect hair, but wow she was grating.

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Given that Claire and Arnold Arnold (seriously? Wtf) moved to Europe after graduation, I wish we'd have had one line of followup that Claire was engaged/married to Prince Carl. Just to stick it in everyone's faces.

Most annoying character? I'm sure that's a topic all its own, separate from this ep. I'd have to spend serious time considering that because I'm positive there are multiple contenders. I actually wouldn't say S7 Claire. She was dreadful during that season to Steve, but really she was just frustrated with him and the relationship wasn't working anymore. The writers should have just split them up and given her a separate storyline.

Gina is a good option but damn I can't stand Noah (and possibly more, Donna with Noah).

Ugh, I've barely watched this show since Soapnet died, and this thread is (sadly) making me realize that I probably know 90210 better than any other show I've ever seen. I blame Soapnet and their many years of reruns.

Edited by Moxie Cat
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It’s on Hulu, but they skip a lot. Like season 7 only has 19 episodes and bizarrely they stop at ep 29. You’d think the premiere and finale are most important, but I guess it’s a music rights issue? 

I started watching the show in real time, but missed a lot once I started college in fall ‘95. Then I picked up with the FX channel Saturday? morning reruns in the early ‘00s and moved onto Soapnet. It was kind of genius scheduling-great hangover tv for those of us who grew up with the gang.

 I was on TWoP for a long time but didn’t discover the 90210 board until several years in. Now I just listen to this podcast and haven’t watched an episode at least since I cord-cut in 2011.

Edited by MCMLXXVII
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Yeah I don’t watch in real time because not the kind of tv I was watching when it originally aired. But soapnet played every season which is odd because that random pop tv channel that plays it sometimes stopped episodes after kelly and Brandon’s not wedding and then restarted from the beginning and lately I don’t see it on my guide so I don’t even know if they still play it.

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My college commencement experience is somewhere in between you guys. My class was about the same size as Sarah's, but we definitely had to sit through everyone walking across the stage and a fucking speech and all of that. It was SO tedious. I don't remember how seating worked but I feel confident I was with some friends or I would have killed myself? It's possible it was coincidence; I think maybe someone was sitting behind me (I'm a G and he's a K). It wasn't by department.

In high school (class of 120 or so) we got to choose who we walked in with (in either pairs or trios), so we had a deadline to submit that and then they just made an arbitrary order. In hindsight that seems fraught but I guess no one had NO friends? I think it's possible that something similar happened in college, but it's entirely possible I'm conflating the two.

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A long time ago, Fx used to run it and they had these crazy marathons- like every Christmas episode.  My favorite was the first/last episode of every season.  This was before streaming so binge watching was something new.  My kid brother and I would watch it.  I didn't watch it much during the original run.  I used to hate watch it a little.  But, in 1996 I was an exchange student and there was one two American shows that were on- 90210 and Melrose Place.  They had them on daily.  All of us exchange students would get starved for any English based show and there was something so crazy about watching the show daily... because the soapy aspect of them was intensified by seeing an episode a day.  Then, we would have friends back home send us updates (or better yet, an actual VHS tape) of a current episode.  One of the first things I discovered when I had my first job was Danny Drennan's 90210 site/recaps and then TWoP kept me looking "busy" when I was pregnant with my first child.  

As for most annoying character... oh jeez, talk about Sophie's choice here!  St. Kelly (the patron saint of being a bitch about it), Brandon, mush mouth Noah, Dylan. 

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4 hours ago, CurlyATX said:

As for most annoying character... oh jeez, talk about Sophie's choice here! 

You nailed it! Sophie!!!

Yeah, Pop seems to burn out on shows. For the past few months they've had 90210 every day at noon, which suited me fine. Now they are running a bunch of movies. I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens in the New Year. But they seem to go hog-wild on airing a particular show for awhile, then it seems to die out. They've been all in on Ghost Whisperer for awhile. I did love when they aired the OC, 90210, and Dawson's Creek a lot. Those days seem to be gone. They do love them some Love Boat!

I miss Soapnet. A couple 90210's a day, plus some Veronica Mars, and 90210 marathons on weekends. They even used to run Melrose Place. And there were edits, but the original music was intact. Those were the days.

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25 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

You nailed it! Sophie!!!

Yeah, Pop seems to burn out on shows. For the past few months they've had 90210 every day at noon, which suited me fine. Now they are running a bunch of movies. I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens in the New Year. But they seem to go hog-wild on airing a particular show for awhile, then it seems to die out. They've been all in on Ghost Whisperer for awhile. I did love when they aired the OC, 90210, and Dawson's Creek a lot. Those days seem to be gone. They do love them some Love Boat!

I miss Soapnet. A couple 90210's a day, plus some Veronica Mars, and 90210 marathons on weekends. They even used to run Melrose Place. And there were edits, but the original music was intact. Those were the days.

Yeah Pops is random. I forgot soapnet played Veronica Mars too. They also played OTH too. Also veronica Mars aired on this really random channel called pivot  a few years ago that also played FNL and Buffy. Also pop does love ER too. They seemed to have gotten the rights to start playing the later seasons of that show these last two months. 

Someone would make so much money if they just played all the 90s and early 2000 teen  shows on one channel. 

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43 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

They also played OTH too

Right! I was thinking, there was a third show every afternoon.... I didn't watch OTH myself but know a bunch of people who did. Plus, it had John Sears!

I would love a channel that ran '90s and '00s Fox/WB/CW soaps and dramas. I would probably never change the channel! I remember when WE used to run Felicity. And there's Party of Five, Savannah, the random Spelling soaps like Models Inc. I guess some of this is probably streaming but a channel is so much easier.

Probably way off topic with this episode now! Yeah, the graduation scene for such a big university is bizarre. I graduated from a small school but even our commencement was much bigger. But then 90210 always had a problem with extra characters - it's why (Muntz excepted) no one from the gang ever had outside friends, nor did any significant others.

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Yeah all the college graduations I’ve seen are nothing like the gangs was. The did them in my real life by departments. And yeah if you were in one department I think you could sit wherervet it with friends but  yeah..Donna would not have been sitting with David and kelly. But then tograduate it was just like “this department of psychology” and then. It would be over. Also.. a few of them if after your department is announced, you could leave the ceremony. High school is a big production graduation, college really isn’t. 

Its even less for a masters graduation. Although that one was long that I went to because the person I went for the department was at the very end. 

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On 12/21/2017 at 7:27 PM, Moxie Cat said:

Gina is a good option but damn I can't stand Noah (and possibly more, Donna with Noah).

At least Gina has a reason to show up and hang around. With Noah, anytime he's onscreen from the moment he shows up until I inevitably quit the reruns and start over at Season 1, I'm constantly thinking "Why are you here?"

Edited by atlanticslide
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6 hours ago, atlanticslide said:

I'm constantly thinking "Why are you here?"

Just as JG got "Mark" fired in S7, I speculate that Vincent Young lasted as long as he did because he was dating the boss's daughter IRL. Per Tori's books, though, he was a horrid boyfriend. Unfortunately, because of this, we are subjected to Noah in reruns for eternity.

I wonder if the plan was always for Gina to be Doc Martin's daughter. If so, you'd think they would have cast someone who looked a little more like TS. Even Karen Austin, who played Gina's mom, looked more related to TS and Felice than Vanessa Marcil.

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On 12/20/2017 at 10:05 PM, Shangrilala said:

 

I always liked Donna and David, but I won't lie, the end scene bugged me.  I mean, I know it was supposed to be some pivotal moment for Donna but her whole "you waited" statement was stupid.  Because David didn't wait.  He cheated on her, multiple times, with Ariel.  Then there were the girls inbetween before he met Claire (we're at least given the impression that he spent that summer enjoying himself).  Then after Claire it's Valerie.  So no, he didn't wait, he did plenty until Donna was ready.  And he was perfectly allowed to do that, but let's not have this moment be some huge statement about "waiting" because that's not what it was.  It was more about Donna being ready.  That statement has bothered me since the first time I saw it when the episode aired back in 1997.  

 

THIS^^^ ... And let's be honest, Donna was a big ol' cock tease. Yea, I went there. She kept agreeing to bone David (prom, freshman year, New Orleans) and changing her mind. And it was so lame. Sorry, if you're gonna virgin, virgin. She was like Lucy and the gotdang football. COMMIT, bitch. And David being a pissy pill for all those years wasn't exactly pleasant to watch. The worst!

 

On 12/20/2017 at 9:38 PM, CurlyATX said:

1. David: I don't think that he is one to know what to do to make a girl feel good.  I bet Claire thought he was good because he was her first.  (and she gets over him quickly all considering that)  I'm sure Donna doesn't even know what an orgasm is.  Though maybe he picked up some tips from Val.

2. Brando: I think Lucinda made sure she was "satisfied" but I don't know if that translated to any life-long skillz in the bedroom department for Brandon. I get the feeling he would be one of those guys who says "Not every girl can orgasm all the time. Why does sex have to be so goal oriented?"  and just not care.  I think later when they (spoiler) break up, Kelly says how their bedroom life was snoozeville. 

3. Dylan: known swordsman.  He may be scrawn, but I don't think any girls are complaining.

4. Steve: Seems the most coachable and willing to try anything.  

ITA, Curly except that I doubt David was Claire's first. When she went after Brandon as a senior, she made a big deal of talking about how she was "into" sex. Of course that could be teen girl posturing, but I think Claire was supposed to be some sort of wild child. And then, when she heard Donna was a virgin, she reacted as if that was the strangest thing she'd ever heard. I think Clair would have been the type to MAKE it good. You know? She would have pulled out the hand cuffs, got on top, done whatever she needed to do even if David wasn't doing it for her. Just MO.

I think Lucinda treated Brandon like a living vibrator. He was 18 when they were hooking up, so it wasn't so much skill, but stamina, probably. And Dylan the "worldly Libra" I can see him being all well read on the arts D'Amour and going through the Kama Sutra unironically and shit, so yea, I can see him taking it upon himself to please his partners. And yea, Steve would get points for athleticism and attitude :)

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On 12/30/2017 at 6:48 PM, Moxie Cat said:

I wonder if the plan was always for Gina to be Doc Martin's daughter. If so, you'd think they would have cast someone who looked a little more like TS. Even Karen Austin, who played Gina's mom, looked more related to TS and Felice than Vanessa Marcil.

I know! Plus, it doesn’t really track with Donna’s origin story of Felice getting kicked off the Rose Court that these conservative Catholics are suddenly swinging  to the point that he knocks up her sister with no repercussions. 

I think the latter-season writers were making it up as they went along. And having just come from a showing of “I,Tonya”, why make Gina a skater, specifically? 

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Gina's entire stunt on the show involved her scheming and whining that everyone loves Donna and Donna's life was so much better than hers, yet she continuously stayed around and tried to make everyone else's lives miserable, not understanding why people didn't like her.

Also is it me or was Donna way too nice for Gina considering what a bitch she was. I don't care if Donna is as big a saint as she is supposed to be portrayed as, NO ONE would put up with that girl.

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There must be some genetics buffs in this group who can explain how Gina and Donna can be half sisters with moms who are sisters and look the way they do.  Before, you could say that Donna favored Mr. Martin and Gina looked like her mom or dad.  Now... um, I need someone to help me understand.  

As for mush-mouth Noah, isn't there a point where RealDylan meets him?  Does it cause a break in the time/space continuum? Or at least is there a snarky remark about them?  

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On 12/31/2017 at 1:03 PM, Klaw said:

ITA, Curly except that I doubt David was Claire's first. When she went after Brandon as a senior, she made a big deal of talking about how she was "into" sex. Of course that could be teen girl posturing, but I think Claire was supposed to be some sort of wild child. And then, when she heard Donna was a virgin, she reacted as if that was the strangest thing she'd ever heard. I think Clair would have been the type to MAKE it good. You know? She would have pulled out the hand cuffs, got on top, done whatever she needed to do even if David wasn't doing it for her. Just MO.

I think Lucinda treated Brandon like a living vibrator. He was 18 when they were hooking up, so it wasn't so much skill, but stamina, probably. And Dylan the "worldly Libra" I can see him being all well read on the arts D'Amour and going through the Kama Sutra unironically and shit, so yea, I can see him taking it upon himself to please his partners. And yea, Steve would get points for athleticism and attitude :)

Bwahahaha! TThis is helping me stay away from end of year reports.  I thought Clair said something later on about being a virgin, though she was all about cuffs and seducing Brandon (seriously girl, you're smart, cute, have some dignity!) I could be making that all up.  I can still see her being extremely sex positive, like season 1-2 Kelly was.  I can see Clair knowing how to make sure she was happy, coaching the guy, reading up on new techniques.  Too bad she didn't and Dylan never hooked up. 

I got the feeling that Dylan was actually pretty good in bed.  Brenda seemed to have "enjoyed herself" even at their first time.  Kelly often said that she and Dylan had "all the sparks".  Toni seemed pleased after too.  

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My college grad was like Sarah's; grouped by college (the fancy way they said departments); all stand up, president says a few words, on to the next group. There were mixers/socials for honors programs, research programs, athletes, etc. -- almost everyone had SOME group -- where you wear cap and gown and get pictures with your profs and hear another speech, but actual degrees get mailed to you. There was no walking like there was in high school. Honestly, lots of people skipped graduation or, like me, only went because of family.

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I am behind in my podcast listening due to Christmas music, but to add to the commencement discussion, my university had a general commencement where everyone came and could sit wherever we wanted and did NOT cross the stage there. I went to a ginormous school. The separate colleges and grad programs then had their own ceremonies at different times and that's where we crossed the stage and were handed our fake diplomas.

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On 03/01/2018 at 5:12 AM, CurlyATX said:

Bwahahaha! TThis is helping me stay away from end of year reports.  I thought Clair said something later on about being a virgin, though she was all about cuffs and seducing Brandon (seriously girl, you're smart, cute, have some dignity!) I could be making that all up.  I can still see her being extremely sex positive, like season 1-2 Kelly was.  I can see Clair knowing how to make sure she was happy, coaching the guy, reading up on new techniques.  Too bad she didn't and Dylan never hooked up. 

I got the feeling that Dylan was actually pretty good in bed.  Brenda seemed to have "enjoyed herself" even at their first time.  Kelly often said that she and Dylan had "all the sparks".  Toni seemed pleased after too.  

To Brandon I think she said she was legal if I recall. Don't think David was her first. 

Kind of weird how Clair goes from handcuffing herself, or filming her with David to a season of like she would never do such a thing. 

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Yea Having the characters mature is one thing, but to change the personality of the person is different . Claire went from a very sexual , handcuffing free spirit vixen to an uptight , nasty person who thought steve was disgusting for thinking she wanted to use handcuffs (before the first time they had sex , when they got a hotel room ) ... how is that the same person 1 season later ? 

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And yea, Steve would get points for athleticism and attitude :)

HAHA!  His enthusiasm for bedroom activites really is fantastic.  As a teenager I thought Dylan was who I would want.  As an adult?  No way.  Steve all the way.  

Claire was unlikeable from day one.  I don't know if it was the actress, the part, or whatever.  But I always believed that Brandon would push her away and I never believed that David and Steve would fall for her.  Or at least, I never liked her.  She was too brash and harsh from day one.  Her shock value was a gimmick.  Val had shock value.  Claire had schtick.  The only thing they did well with Claire was slowly integrate her into the gang, as opposed to other characters that they shoved on us in later years - mostly with boyfriends, but Ray comes to mind, as does Noah.  Or maybe Donna just had bad taste in people.  

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I didn't like Clare either. I also didn't buy that all these guys would be interested in her. I remember Brandon saying how beautiful and irresistible Claire was. And I was just like huh? I don't see it. I know others here find her to be a very pretty girl, but I just never saw it. And she had a dud personality.

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I liked Claire, especially in season 5. And occasional bad styling choices aside, I thought Kathleen Robertson was one of the prettier girls on the show overall.

Edited by BBHN
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I liked that Clair was really smart, though I think that Susan did it better.  Now I'm torn on how I feel about Clair's bragging.  As a horrific grade grubber myself, I took great pride in my intelligence.  But I was also raised to be extremely humble (or fake humble).  So on one hand I feel like Clair was too boastful.  But then again, Brandon has a tiny shred of her abilities and in classic entitled style, he thinks that he should win all the awards (Jeopardy, fake Rhodes scholarship), etc. So maybe Clair is being judged unfairly.  

She's ok looking- I mean, I think all the girls are just 'meh' in terms of looks, except for Valerie and Gina.  Now I'm sure if I saw any of them in real life I'd think they were gorgeous.  But this is tv standards. 

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On 1/8/2018 at 1:39 PM, BBHN said:

I liked Claire, especially in season 5. And occasional bad styling choices aside, I thought Kathleen Robertson was one of the prettier girls on the show overall.

Agreed. And was still hot 15 years later on Boss.

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On 12/18/2017 at 2:19 PM, yousetmeupyoucrud said:

The Bill Taylor/Rush Sanders TV show: Bill pleads down his charges and gets house arrest, but all his properties have been repossessed so he doesn't have a home and has to move in with Rush. They frequently talk about how Kelly is a total capital Q QUNT and Steve is a doofus. Valerie moves in in season 2. 

I realize I'm super late to this party, but I had to say how much I love this premise. 

I've been listening to the podcast as I watch the series (for the first time!) on DVD. I'll admit that the show stopped being good (or as close to good as it ever was) ages ago, but season 7 was by far the toughest for me to get through so far. When it wasn't boring, it was infuriating. Characters I hate being written like gods (Brandon, Kelly) characters I like being written like whiny babies (Clare, Val). 

I'm going to choose to live in hope that season 8 can't be worse.

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