The Baby-Sitters Club - General Discussion

[tennisgurl]

Two episodes in, and this show is super adorable! They are doing a great job so far mixing the original books with modern sensibilities and technology, changing some things but also keeping the most important stuff that made the books so beloved in the first place.

My favorite change so far? Karen going from an annoying prankster to a morbid Wednesday Addams style mini goth! "I am having a wake for my doll." 

Also, shallow note? Claudia's dad is a major DILF. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by tennisgurl

[PRgal]

31 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

 

Also, shallow note? Claudia's dad is a major DILF. 

I think everyone's been saying this. #sorrynotsorry

[starri]

3 hours ago, PRgal said:

I'm guessing most of us here are between 35-45 or so.  I wonder how any viewers (streamers?) are women in this age category who ARE NOT watching it with their daughters vs tweens or women from the same age group watching with their kids?  

42, no children of my own.

Also, male.

[EarlGreyTea]

I want to give the casting director a medal, because the casting of Mary Anne was absolute gold. The actress is cute as a damn button, and she exudes warmth and vulnerability. She is the most likeable in a sea of likeable characters. I think she will be the breakout star.

Also, they managed to make Dawn intensely likeable, too, as opposed to the self-important, sanctimonious asshole she was in the books. The actress and the writing have done wonders to raise her stock in my eyes. It makes PERFECT sense to have Dawn be a Latina - there are a lot of us in California.

Also, the casting of the hot DILFs. They sure know their audience - a bunch of thirtysomethings in need of nostalgia. With a bit of quarantine thirst thrown in.

[Spencer Hastings]

37 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I want to give the casting director a medal, because the casting of Mary Anne was absolute gold. The actress is cute as a damn button, and she exudes warmth and vulnerability. She is the most likeable in a sea of likeable characters. I think she will be the breakout star.

Also, they managed to make Dawn intensely likeable, too, as opposed to the self-important, sanctimonious asshole she was in the books. The actress and the writing have done wonders to raise her stock in my eyes. It makes PERFECT sense to have Dawn be a Latina - there are a lot of us in California.

Also, the casting of the hot DILFs. They sure know their audience - a bunch of thirtysomethings in need of nostalgia. With a bit of quarantine thirst thrown in.

All of this!  The MA actress is so adorable and kind! I sent her a little note telling her how dang proud I was to see a black MA because so many of us finally felt seen and she responded in the most humble way. I hope she goes far. 
 

Dawn was always my least favorite sitter, but she’s easily one of my favorites in the tv series.  If I didn’t already have the books to tell me that I was MA4EVER, she would probably be my favorite. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Spencer Hastings

[Megan]

Watched it all on Saturday. It was super cute, and I was impressed. 

It's a little hand-wavy with the landline and not having a website to book jobs.. they were able to update  it enough so that the premise makes sense for the most part.

I've already searched wornontv.net for Claudia's outfits. I want them all.  I just bought that brightly colored sparkly sweater even though it's Forever21 and gets crappy reviews, it was only $13.99 though..

I'm 41 with no kids.

I love that the girls looks like 11-13 years old, and even the BSA girl looked about 16.

 

ETA: I don't remember Abby so I must have stopped reading the books by then.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Megan

[ruby24]

Just finished it. The camp episodes were the weakest imo. I liked that they kept Stacey's poison ivy in there- for some reason I have a vivid memory of her getting that in the book. 

I wonder which other super specials they'll pick to do. The camp one wasn't my favorite. I liked the blizzard one, the Peter Pan play and the stranded on a desert island one (in spite of how crazy that is). Also the one where they traveled across the country in the RV's.

I never had any particular affection for Jessi and Mallory, but I figured they had to come in here eventually, so they were brought in well enough.

Logan is such a drip! Not a great actor. He's probably the most important boy in the original series, so they should have tried a little harder with him, imo. They really couldn't find a kid with a southern accent? I agree with whoever said that was like his biggest character trait.

We met Laine Cummings! That actress is good, I actually felt that she did have an air of sophistication about her that the other girls don't (I wonder if she's older). 

This is a weird nitpick, but it kinda bugs me that Mallory and Karen don't wear glasses- I guess I really associated them with their glasses, lol. And for some reason Mary Anne does in this, which seems wrong to me (I think- did Mary Anne wear glasses in the books?)

I gotta say, I don't think Claudia's actress is all that great. I find the other girls more convincing.

I like Dawn in this but I wonder if they'll follow the books and replace her with Abby eventually. I remember not missing Dawn at all when she left and Abby actually became my new favorite.

Edited July 6, 2020 by ruby24

[Mirabelle]

The girls are 13-14 now so they would have been 12-13 last year when they were filming. Whenever production of season 2 starts (nothing official but I'd be shocked if it wasn't renewed), they are all going to look a bit older. I wonder if they'll skip 8th grade altogether if production has to be delayed for more than a year and set the next season in high school.

[ruby24]

I wouldn't mind them moving on to high school. They could still do some of the same stories in 9th or even 10th grade, honestly (especially stuff like Stacey falling in with a bad crowd who drinks).

And by the way, whoever said they wouldn't send Stacey back to NY- I actually think they might, because her parent's divorce is what facilitates her coming back again with her mom, so that will probably happen.

Edited July 6, 2020 by ruby24

[scarynikki12]

11 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

This is a weird nitpick, but it kinda bugs me that Mallory and Karen don't wear glasses- I guess I really associated them with their glasses, lol.

Since neither had glasses I wonder if that might be part of a Mallory centric? Karen got her glasses a few books into the Little Sister series so that may already a planned future story. My first thought was that it would provide bonding time for her and Kristy but maybe they'll give it to Mallory? Maybe Mallory gets frames she doesn't really like and feels insecure as a result. Karen gets made fun of in school for having glasses (I think that happened in her series) so maybe Mallory works through her own insecurities by helping Karen with hers? Insecurities about glasses would be tricky since there's no longer a stigma attached to having them so they may not even have it be a story point. Mallory and Karen may just show up in an episode with their glasses and that's that.

[Spencer Hastings]

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

This is a weird nitpick, but it kinda bugs me that Mallory and Karen don't wear glasses- I guess I really associated them with their glasses, lol. And for some reason Mary Anne does in this, which seems wrong to me (I think- did Mary Anne wear glasses in the books?)I

Karen didn’t get glasses until the 5th Little Sister book, which took place well after the wedding and Kristy’s family moving in. I figure they’ll give her glasses later on in the timeline. 
 

MA wore reading glasses sometimes in the books (there was a chapter about it in her portrait collection book), and both actresses had scenes where MA wore them in the previous tv series and movie (I think it was just one scene each though).  

Edited July 7, 2020 by Spencer Hastings

[EarlGreyTea]

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

Logan is such a drip! Not a great actor. He's probably the most important boy in the original series, so they should have tried a little harder with him, imo. They really couldn't find a kid with a southern accent? I agree with whoever said that was like his biggest character trait.

They did a lot better with the Trevor casting, which is funny since he only lasted a few books or so. The kid just looks like he'd be a brooding artist, and he and the Claudia actress have good chemistry.

Logan WAS kind of a boring drip in the books so they kind of hit it out of the park in that respect, heh.

[Zima]

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

 

This is a weird nitpick, but it kinda bugs me that Mallory and Karen don't wear glasses- I guess I really associated them with their glasses, lol. And for some reason Mary Anne does in this, which seems wrong to me (I think- did Mary Anne wear glasses in the books?)

I gotta say, I don't think Claudia's actress is all that great. I find the other girls more convincing.

That bugged me about Mallory too. Mary Anne did wear reading glasses in some of the books.

I agree that the actress who plays Claudia is probably the weakest. She's not BAD, it's just that the others are so good that she is kind of meh in comparison. I still love the character, and her outfits are FIRE. 

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

I wouldn't mind them moving on to high school. They could still do some of the same stories in 9th or even 10th grade, honestly (especially stuff like Stacey falling in with a bad crowd who drinks).

I agree.  I feel like a lot of the things that happened to the girls as the years went on and they stayed 13 would be better suited for girls in high school.  

 

10 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

They did a lot better with the Trevor casting, which is funny since he only lasted a few books or so. The kid just looks like he'd be a brooding artist, and he and the Claudia actress have good chemistry.

Logan WAS kind of a boring drip in the books so they kind of hit it out of the park in that respect, heh.

Lol! He kind of was.  I'll never forget how controlling he became in the book where he and Mary Anne broke up (Mary Anne vs Logan). I loved that she stood up for herself and dumped his ass. I thought it was a great message for young girls. Then they kind of messed it up by having them get back together, lol. 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Zima

[bettername2come]

33 year-old woman who read the books mostly between ‘95 and ‘98. Just watched the first episode and I think they’ve nailed it. They’ve got the general concepts of the characters down pat, although Claudia seems a little young considering she was supposed to be a little more teenagery compared to Mary Anne and Kristy in the books. Those few seconds of Karen were perfect. This is way better than the HBO version. A rare sentence. They’ve got a good blend of modern and retro sensibilities and a good justification for both.

[Scarlett45]

6 hours ago, PRgal said:

I'm guessing most of us here are between 35-45 or so.  I wonder how any viewers (streamers?) are women in this age category who ARE NOT watching it with their daughters vs tweens or women from the same age group watching with their kids?  

I’m 34 and Childfree.

I did tell my older friend (43 who also read the books) that she could watch it with her twins (age 7). My mom did remember buying some of these books for me back in the 90s- I got her to watch and she loved it. She said all the young ladies were so precious and it was uplifting. 
 

I told my close in age cousin who’s adding it to her Netflix and I’m checking to see if it’s on Netflix Latin America so my friend in Guatemala can watch. 

[PRgal]

Come to think of it, Logan reminds me of a kid from a theatre camp I went to when *I* was a kid!  I can see why someone upthread said he pinged their ‘dar..... except that kid was no bore.

 

 

[tennisgurl]

I finished the show, and what a delightful blast from the past! I read the BSC books growing up and even got ideas from them for my own little babysitting enterprise (I had a kid kit! I hope Kristi would approve) and even had the old school see through phone, so watching this modern twist was a ton of fun. Its weird, in my head the girls were all so much older when I was reading the books as a kid, but they're so little here! All of the actresses were great, and they did a great job at capturing every girls personality, but adapted to girls from 2019/2020. I think that Dawn was my favorite page to screen transfer, she was probably my least favorite in the books but I love TV Dawn. While most of the girls had one most prominent trait (Claudia is artsy, Mary Anne is shy, Stacy is chic) Dawn was the one that was most one note to me, I remember feeling like her only real personality trait was "blond" but this Dawn had a ton more going on and is generally a whole lot more likable. 

I also like that they gave the parents a bit more to do than in most of the books, even giving them a few scenes just between them without any of the girls around, and generally gave them a lot more nuance. They were still very much supporting players, but they really came alive for me in ways that most of them rarely did in the books. Marc Evan Jackson as Richard was especially inspired casting, he stole every scene he was in, and it was really fun seeing Alicia Silverstone as Elizabeth as well, the whole Brewer/Thomas family was great in general. TV Karen is another improvement over book Karen, and I am glad that they seem to already be setting up the sort of mutual crush between Sam and Stacy. 

My one casting complaint? Mallory's lack of glasses and her hair isn't all that bushy. Possibly nitpicking, but that was such a big part of her character, her self esteem issues based on her appearance, that the lack of glasses and out of control hair kind of took me out of it, even if the actress seems to be quite good. "I identify as a horse girl, but there is some overlap." 

The camp two parter had a lot of good moments and they got a lot of the highlights that I remember (especially the poison ivy) but it all felt pretty rushed in a way the other episodes didn't. There was so much going on that I felt like most of the subplots didn't get the time they needed to develop. The stuff with Mary Anne and the play felt especially weird, considering what a shy introvert she normally is. I know that she had come out of her shell (no, the turtle was not too much) more by that point, but running her own play and then starring in it seemed like a really huge leap. I also wish we had gotten more of an introduction for Jessie and Mallory, who are going to go on to become main characters, this just seemed kind of random. We saw Mallory with the other Pikes, and at camp, then Jessie is there doing her ballet at camp, then they help with Karen after showing up together to greek chorus a few times, then join the club as junior members, it was all pretty rushed. I guess at least its easier on them than in the books, where they had them jumping through hoops and taking babysitting SATs to get in at least! Maybe they save that subplot for next season? 

Anyway, it was still a really fun watch, and I am really excited to see what they adapt next. Good thing there are about a trillion books taking the girls all the way into high school, they have a lot to choose from!

[geauxaway]

4 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I read the BSC books growing up and even got ideas from them for my own little babysitting enterprise (I had a kid kit!

That reminds me.  One thing I still use to this day that I learned from BSC books is when you receive art or crafts from a kid you say “tell me about it,” instead of “what is it?”   I don’t think they mentioned this in this set of shows so I was kind of sad.  

[PRgal]

15 minutes ago, geauxaway said:

That reminds me.  One thing I still use to this day that I learned from BSC books is when you receive art or crafts from a kid you say “tell me about it,” instead of “what is it?”   I don’t think they mentioned this in this set of shows so I was kind of sad.  

THIS!!!!!  I was the only "older" kid at a dinner party my parents dragged me to when I was 11 1/2 and "sat" for the other kids who were there (ranging from 2-6).  AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID!!  I didn't have a full-fledged Kid Kit with me - only a note pad and pencil crayons (coloured pencils).  I had to watch the younger ones like a hawk because pencil crayons are DEFINITELY not toddler friendly!  I was NOT expecting money, but I think I got, like, $12 out of that night.  

 

Re Mallory:  She is WAY, WAY too cute.  I agree with the other posters that she's supposed to have crazy, frizzy hair and be really near-sighted.   I think they really messed up the entire Pike family.  I'm now trying to figure out the age order because the triplets are no longer triplets (hmmm, are Byron and Nicky now twins?)  

The Thomases:  I've forgotten how young 14-15 can be.  Sam still has the "little kid" vibe about him.  He's like a 12 year old with a man's voice.  LOL.  

[Minneapple]

1 hour ago, geauxaway said:

That reminds me.  One thing I still use to this day that I learned from BSC books is when you receive art or crafts from a kid you say “tell me about it,” instead of “what is it?”   

I remember this! I did it when I baby-sat small children myself as a teenager, and now I do it with my own kids, my nieces and nephews. 

[Jenniferbug]

2 hours ago, geauxaway said:

That reminds me.  One thing I still use to this day that I learned from BSC books is when you receive art or crafts from a kid you say “tell me about it,” instead of “what is it?”   I don’t think they mentioned this in this set of shows so I was kind of sad.  

Yes!! I do this too! 

[Maelstrom]

For the record: 38, no kids, read these books when I was younger than the characters.

Initially I had no intention of watching, especially after learning they'd updated it to modern times. And weren't those terrible movies from the early 90s insult enough? (I still have snippets of that awful theme song lodged in my brain somehow) But after seeing the glowing responses in this thread I decided to check it out, just for shits and giggles. (And because Marc Evan Jackson as a suburban dad? I'm in) Now I'm three episodes in and damn if this little show isn't a gem!

You've all covered my thoughts pretty well already, so I'll just echo what a great adaptation this is. I like how faithful they managed to be to the spirit of the books as well as make the logical stuff work in the age of smartphones and instant communication. The young actresses are all pretty well cast, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of them in coming episodes. I never liked book Kristy at all but the actress just brings so much heart and enthusiasm that I find her a big improvement from the books. Like most everyone else, it's crazy watching Cher from Clueless as the mom in a book series as I read as a kid, but hey 2020's been crazy enough anyway, so why not. And please tell me I'm not the only one who can't help but see Mary Anne's dad as some strange amalgam of Shawn the demon and Professor Kevin M. Cozner!

I just finished The Truth About Stacey and really liked it. Like many here I learned what diabetes was through these books, and the updates made such as the insulin pump and the viral video really added to the depth of the issues she faces. And I liked that they hinted at the troubles between her parents already.

[PRgal]

Question:  Who was waiting for Lindsay Lohan to show up as a parent after the Dawn/Mary Anne "Parent Trap" scene?  LOL

[bettername2come]

Okay for a show I can predict easily since I've read the books before, I'm really trying to avoid spoilers on this thread. So, episode 2 comments. 

I like that they're switching the narrators like in the books.

Mary Anne's dad is the demon leader from The Good Place! And uses the same speech patterns. "What would you know about having a normal dad?!" - Damn, Mary Anne, harsh. 

Love Claudia's Tippi Hedren costume, but Stacey's Marie Antoinette was gorgeous. I liked that Claudia and her parents had a nice open honest conversation about her grades, and that she had a nice evening painting Mimi, who I like so much that I know I'm gonna have my heart broken eventually.

The casting for Karen and Andrew is really perfect. I could see her getting a spinoff. I want a whispering gallery. 

[bettername2come]

Episode 3:

I'm enjoying seeing/hearing referenced some of the kids. And how have I watched Scarlett Johannson all these years and never thought of Charlotte Johannson? She's one of the best kids on the show.

Kristy reading "The Art of War" was a fun visual. Loved Kristy's mom making the Handmaid's Tale reference.

"Kristy is one of those IT clowns bringing night terrors into the daylight." Sassy Mary Anne is really amusing me.

Oh, God, I hate Stacey's mom with her "Did anybody see you?" about Stacey's low blood sugar. Like, damn, no wonder the girl feels it's gotta be a secret. I was waiting for her monitor to start beeping when she ran away from Kristy's room. That video was super-harsh, though. I can see why she didn't want to tell people after that went viral. I think using that as ammo for the Baby-sitters Agency was a good creative choice. I love Dr. Johansson standing up for Stacey and giving a calm explanation. 

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Kristy reading "The Art of War" was a fun visual. 

I loved when she was explaining the book to the other girls and making all those dramatic hand gestures and whatnot :D. 

[ruby24]

1 hour ago, bettername2come said:

 

Oh, God, I hate Stacey's mom with her "Did anybody see you?" about Stacey's low blood sugar. Like, damn, no wonder the girl feels it's gotta be a secret. I was waiting for her monitor to start beeping when she ran away from Kristy's room. That video was super-harsh, though. I can see why she didn't want to tell people after that went viral. I think using that as ammo for the Baby-sitters Agency was a good creative choice. I love Dr. Johansson standing up for Stacey and giving a calm explanation. 

As a T1 myself, on some level I can understand the parent's discomfort with having her sit. Mostly because she was just recently diagnosed (just six months earlier) and she's only 12. She's still learning how to deal with this herself and giving her added responsibility of taking care of other people's kids seems like it could add stress (which can itself exacerbate wonky blood sugar levels and lead to episodes).

But I wouldn't have framed it like "can the kids get into your dangerous medical equipment"- that's a little harsh (plus if she's wearing a pump than she's not carrying syringes on her, which Book Stacey actually would have been). 

[bettername2come]

36 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

But I wouldn't have framed it like "can the kids get into your dangerous medical equipment"- that's a little harsh (plus if she's wearing a pump than she's not carrying syringes on her, which Book Stacey actually would have been). 

Seriously, if your child is ripping medical equipment off of the baby-sitter that really says a lot more about the parents than the sitter.

[EyewatchTV211]

I'm 35 and no kids.

I read some of the books as a child and remember wanting to start my own club (though we never really completed the process to start it), but I feel like I've forgotten so much of it. For some reason, Sea City is one I have more memory of, outside of the first book. I remember liking the other TV show and movie as a child. I didn't even realize there was a new one until I saw glowing reviews on twitter. Then I decided to watch and had similar feelings to others here. I really enjoyed the show. The actors/characters were great (kids and adults) and the storylines were a good mix of old/new, child/adult. This was a good escape for me from all of the terrible stuff going on in the real world right now. Too bad I watched it so quickly. 

Quick thoughts on the Logan stuff - I didn't mind him in the first few scenes that he was in briefly. The possible radar stuff came out more in the camp episodes, particularly when he had the eyeliner on for the play. So I'm not sure if it was the actor or the combination of the actor, his youth, and the eyeliner creating a different feel that didn't work as well for me. 

LOVE Mimi. Like others, Marc Evan Jackson was interesting to watch. He scared me in his first scene and very much seemed similar to his Shawn character on The Good Place. After that he definitely softened, but he also reminded me more of Kevin from B99.

Lastly, my only real nitpicks are due to my career field. I'm a school psychologist, and Janine's comments about psychology and reinforcement were mostly inaccurate or used the wrong way. So that bugged me briefly, especially since she's supposed to be such a genius. But otherwise I enjoyed almost everything. 

[Minneapple]

Styling the Baby-Sitters Club for a new generation

Sounds like the stylist had a lot of fun, especially with (of course) Claudia!

I thought my mom had gotten rid of my BSC books when she cleaned out/redid my room several years ago. Turns out she kept them! I may have to ask her to send them to me for some nostalgic reading...

[peachmangosteen]

Oh man, I loved this. I'm glad practically everyone here is 30-something and childless because I was somewhat afraid I was going to seem a little crazy for loving this so much lol.

I don't remember a lot of details about the books but they were such a huge part of my childhood. I remember me and my friends planning to do a baby-sitters club ourselves. Although we, like @VMepicgrl, didn't get past the planning stage lol. We made posters and that was about it!

I am so a Mary Ann with a Kristy rising and this series really reinforced that.

I too was a little sad they had Mary Ann become so vocal with the play. I was a bit afraid they were gonna reinforce the idea the we have to grow out of shyness/introverted-ness and that kinda did that. Otherwise though I loved everything about Mary Ann.

Someone brought up Kristy maybe being gay in this and that made me think about how much I would love it if they made her asexual. Please, show, give me this!

This show had so many laugh out loud moments for me. A lot of them involved Karen, who was just a perfect character and the actress was truly fantastic.

My only regret is that I didn't watch just an ep a day but I couldn't help myself!

[Megan]

On 7/6/2020 at 4:45 PM, ruby24 said:

This is a weird nitpick, but it kinda bugs me that Mallory and Karen don't wear glasses- I guess I really associated them with their glasses, lol. And for some reason Mary Anne does in this, which seems wrong to me (I think- did Mary Anne wear glasses in the books?)

 

Are glasses still a big deal these days?

I feel like they are fashionable, and kids at least like the idea of wearing them. Claudia even wore some fake ones to take her test. My friend's 11 year old just got glasses and she was fine with it.

With inexpensive options nowadays you can have multiple pairs. Usually I wear contacts during the day. I've been working from since March and been glasses exclusive for the most part, and I realized I have like 5 pairs with my current prescription (which hasn't changed in years.)

Mallory wearing glasses was a huge deal in the books though. They could still make the story-line work, needing glasses is a pain in the ass. Glasses on a cute, put together, confident Claudia is different than a nerdy Mallory who already feels insecure about her appearance and everything else. The Pikes probably couldn't afford for Mallory to have multiple pairs. Karen could.

I think I have talked myself out of it not being a big deal, these kids are more realistic, with more realistic clothing, family lives, etc.

A girl like Mallory would probably be upset about glasses. One thing I remember the most from the books is when Mallory bleached her hair and couldn't get her eyeliner to match.

 

 

[EyewatchTV211]

10 minutes ago, Megan said:

Are glasses still a big deal these days?

I already referenced my working in schools. Based on my experience, the answer is sometimes/a good amount. Occasionally we'll hear about a kid who is all excited to get glasses. But we have a lot of cases where we have no idea a child got glasses because he/she doesn't wear them, and then something will finally lead to the parent mentioning it. Moving forward, the teachers try to encourage the child to put the glasses on if not on already. One or two kids have even needed a mini behavior plan to get them to wear them. I don't hear much of being teased about it, though. I guess it's more of a personal insecurity. 

[Zima]

Random thoughts:

My favorite characters were always Kristy and Claudia.  My friend who watched the show with me (but never read the books) said that he couldn't stand Kristy. I think that the show didn't do the best job of making Kristy look sympathetic. I remember that Watson's house was described as being "on the other side of town", not at all walking or even really biking distance. The club had to pay Charlie to drive Kristy to and from meetings.  This wasn't the case on the show, as we saw Kristy casually walk to Watson's from her house while Mary Anne was babysitting for Karen and Andrew. I feel like pointing out that Kristy was losing proximity to her friends at an age when not being able to be near them all the time like she was used to would have made her much more sympathetic. Sure, they talked about how she and Mary Anne wouldn't be able to use the flashlights anymore, but they brushed it off with, "Oh well, we have cellphones."  The way the situation was portrayed in the show, my friend just said, "Oh well, at least she's rich now and has a bigger room. What's the big deal?"

Kristy was the shortest club member by far in the books, and Claudia was described as looking more mature.  I feel like they swapped in the show, aside from their fashion choices. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Zima

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Oh man, I loved this. I'm glad practically everyone here is 30-something and childless because I was somewhat afraid I was going to seem a little crazy for loving this so much lol.

I don't remember a lot of details about the books but they were such a huge part of my childhood. I remember me and my friends planning to do a baby-sitters club ourselves. Although we, like @VMepicgrl, didn't get past the planning stage lol. We made posters and that was about it!

I am so a Mary Ann with a Kristy rising and this series really reinforced that.

I too was a little sad they had Mary Ann become so vocal with the play. I was a bit afraid they were gonna reinforce the idea the we have to grow out of shyness/introverted-ness and that kinda did that. Otherwise though I loved everything about Mary Ann.

Someone brought up Kristy maybe being gay in this and that made me think about how much I would love it if they made her asexual. Please, show, give me this!

This show had so many laugh out loud moments for me. A lot of them involved Karen, who was just a perfect character and the actress was truly fantastic.

My only regret is that I didn't watch just an ep a day but I couldn't help myself!

I'm 40 and a mom, but still, not much older than most here.  I LOVED Karen as well.  I have to come clean - I was a closet Little Sister reader!!!  I was a bit of everyone, though there was QUITE a bit of Mary Anne in me (shy...super-shy.  I wish I had a group of girls like that for me to lean on...and have friends).  There was Stacey in me too.  I don't have Type 1, but epilepsy.  There's no special diet for me, but I have to take meds 2x a day to stay seizure-free.  Not much Claudia, other than not having the BEST grades and being Asian (LOL...people expected me to relate to her JUST FOR THAT!!!!!).  Someone upthread mentioned that Claudia could be on spectrum.  Perhaps.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised.  I was never officially diagnosed, but I've been speculating for a long time (looking back at my grades and the difficulty I had making friends).  They STILL don't diagnose girls as frequently as boys.

 

[LBS]

42 and child free but absolutely loved this series!  I grew up on the BSC books.  My next store neighbor had all of them including all the Little Sisters and specials.  I was insanely jealous.   I was mostly Mary-Anne but desperately wanted to be a Claudia.  I thought this series was so sweet and gentle but not saccharine.  I told my SIL to watch it with her 10 year old.

Vulture did a recap of every episode in case anyone wants to read them.  Spoiler alert - every episode is praised.  

[Welp]

31 with 2 kids, but they’re too young to be interested, so I binged it on my own. Re: Jessi, I’m glad they got rid of that backstory, and hope it stays that way—even as a kid I rolled my eyes at the Black girl’s backstory having to be about racism (defined as individual acts of meanness). I’d prefer a nuanced take on diversity woven throughout the show, and I think the writers are capable. Also hoping for an updated version of Keep Out, Claudia.

[jmcd44]

On 7/5/2020 at 4:12 AM, ruby24 said:

And what's even crazier is that I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 13 and I remember telling my brother to bring me my copies of The Truth About Stacey and Stacey's Emergency while I was in the hospital, just so I could re-read again how T1 worked (when I first started getting symptoms, I felt like I knew what this was BECAUSE of the BSC books!). So these books were very close to my heart in more ways than one, especially Stacey. 

Yes! I was diagnosed at 14 (although caught super early thank God during a sports physical) and ALL of my friends were like "Oh like Stacey from the Baby Sitters Club?" I think I took it more in stride than I should have because of it! And maybe because we all read the books, my friends all acted like "No big deal-can I watch you give yourself a shot?" I told anyone who would listen about my wonky pancreas. Still do!

I thought it was wonderful-I'm sad that I'm done watching it. I was giddy watching Dawn and Claudia stage a strike at Camp Moosehead. I love that Mary Ann found her voice for Bailey. I can't shut up about it to people.

I'm 41 with no kids and I watched it in two days. I just told a bunch of friends in their 40s to stop sleeping on it and watch it, although most of my parent friend's kids might be too young right now (toddlers).

[PRgal]

34 minutes ago, jmcd44 said:

Yes! I was diagnosed at 14 (although caught super early thank God during a sports physical) and ALL of my friends were like "Oh like Stacey from the Baby Sitters Club?" I think I took it more in stride than I should have because of it! And maybe because we all read the books, my friends all acted like "No big deal-can I watch you give yourself a shot?" I told anyone who would listen about my wonky pancreas. Still do!

I thought it was wonderful-I'm sad that I'm done watching it. I was giddy watching Dawn and Claudia stage a strike at Camp Moosehead. I love that Mary Ann found her voice for Bailey. I can't shut up about it to people.

I'm 41 with no kids and I watched it in two days. I just told a bunch of friends in their 40s to stop sleeping on it and watch it, although most of my parent friend's kids might be too young right now (toddlers).

Re the shot thing: Better insulin than something illegal!!!!   I like some of the updated storylines, though I am still upset that they didn't make Dawn blonde.  Because that was part of her backstory.  As I said upthread, Stacey didn't have to be white/blonde.  She just had to be from NYC.  

They casted Kristy PERFECTLY!  She's EXACTLY how I pictured her, even without the covers!   

I don't want them to do "Claudia and the Sad Goodbye."  I love Mimi!!!   

[bettername2come]

I’m surprised they went with the transgirl storyline. They presented it in a believable way with an understandable complication at the hospital. I liked that Mary Anne’s dad just had braided her hair cause that was all he could do and hadn’t made any overt statements about her hair. I’m a little disappointed that Dawn’s dad is gay as we won’t get the stepmom from the books. And where’s her little brother Jeff?

Not sure I like witch neighbor being Dawn’s aunt.

[ruby24]

15 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

I’m surprised they went with the transgirl storyline. They presented it in a believable way with an understandable complication at the hospital. I liked that Mary Anne’s dad just had braided her hair cause that was all he could do and hadn’t made any overt statements about her hair. I’m a little disappointed that Dawn’s dad is gay as we won’t get the stepmom from the books. And where’s her little brother Jeff?

Not sure I like witch neighbor being Dawn’s aunt.

Yeah, I was going to say, the one Dawn storyline that I ever thought was memorable was her not getting along with Carol because she thought she tried to act "too young" or something, and then learning to like her. It actually made Carol stand out from the other parents/stepparents in the books.

They could always replicate that with her dad's boyfriend I guess. That would be interesting because subplots like this usually have to deal with the fact of the parent being gay, rather than treating it as normal and just doing a storyline where the kid doesn't get along with the parent's significant other, only in this case the s/o just happens to be of the same sex.

That would be something that hasn't been seen much.

Edited July 8, 2020 by ruby24

[bettername2come]

Episode 5:

Buddy’s dad came off so much better than he did in the book when he took just Buddy when he was supposed to have all three kids because his scatterbrained mom forgot. It worked that he was always supposed to get Buddy for swim. 

Damn, Kristy’s freakout was good. 

[bettername2come]

Episode 6:

Poor Mimi. It took me a second to recognize the name Manzanar. I liked Janine having good information and being helpful in her Janineness. It was really good seeing everyone in the group rallying to help.

Mary Anne’s dad is growing on me. “Do you know the show ‘Queer Eye?’” “Of cour-oh, no, are they here?” 

[LeGrandElephant]

I’m not a parent (yet) but my impression was that times have changed and people are more likely now to think an 11 year old needs a babysitter than to think that they can be a babysitter. I’ve seen headlines about parents being arrested for letting kids that age play outside or walk home without an adult (which I think is ridiculous, but it does seem to be a thing - a thing that scares me a little when I think about having kids). 

Is it at all plausible that a parent would hire an 11 year old non-relative to babysit, or allow their own 11 year old to go to a non-relatives house to babysit? Was that even plausible in the 80s or 90s? I was born in 85 and my parents didn’t me do anything alone at age 11 (maybe they were a little ahead of the curve on helicopter parenting). I’m pretty sure I could be home alone at my own house with my own little sister at that age, but babysitting strangers kids for money would never have occurred to me. 

Edited July 9, 2020 by LeGrandElephant

[geauxaway]

10 minutes ago, LeGrandElephant said:

Is it at all plausible that a parent would hire an 11 year old non-relative to babysit, or allow their own 11 year old to go to a non-relatives house to babysit? Was that even plausible in the 80s or 90s? I was born in 85 and my parents didn’t me do anything alone at age 11 (maybe they were a little ahead of the curve on helicopter parenting). 

I started babysitting when I was in 4th grade for other families.  This would have been 1987.  Granted, they were friends of the family, but I was left alone with only land line options.  One family lived next door to my grandparents (and the dad of the kids was a doctor, so I’m assuming he was making a responsible choice by hiring me).  The other family was my moms best friend.  I cooked meals for the kids (easy stuff like macaroni or hamburger helper), put them to bed if it was a night time job.  My mom told me I should always pick up the house after the kids were in bed and make sure the kitchen and dishes were clean.  I was not allowed to use the phone and only put the TV on after the kids were in bed.  And I think this was all considered the “norm” for the 70’s and 80’s. 

[Minneapple]

41 minutes ago, LeGrandElephant said:

I’m not a parent (yet) but my impression was that times have changed and people are more likely now to think an 11 year old needs a babysitter than to think that they can be a babysitter. I’ve seen headlines about parents being arrested for letting kids that age play outside or walk home without an adult (which I think is ridiculous, but it does seem to be a thing - a thing that scares me a little when I think about having kids). 

Is it at all plausible that a parent would hire an 11 year old non-relative to babysit, or allow their own 11 year old to go to a non-relatives house to babysit? Was that even plausible in the 80s or 90s? I was born in 85 and my parents didn’t me do anything alone at age 11 (maybe they were a little ahead of the curve on helicopter parenting). I’m pretty sure I could be home alone at my own house with my own little sister at that age, but babysitting strangers kids for money would never have occurred to me. 

I've been letting my son stay home alone (for short periods of time) since he was about 10 or 11. I don't believe he's responsible enough to babysit a small child, but then, that's something that varies from child to child. Even staying home alone is the same. 

I started babysitting my little brother when I was 11 and he was 4, and I was babysitting non-siblings when I was about 12 (this was the early '90s). A few kids in my neighborhood, my parents' coworkers' kids. I never babysat for an infant, mostly toddlers and preschool aged kids. I don't know if I would hire a 13-year-old to babysit my daughter (she's 8). I guess it would depend on the 13-year-old.

Edited July 9, 2020 by Minneapple

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, LeGrandElephant said:

Is it at all plausible that a parent would hire an 11 year old non-relative to babysit, or allow their own 11 year old to go to a non-relatives house to babysit? Was that even plausible in the 80s or 90s? I was born in 85 and my parents didn’t me do anything alone at age 11 (maybe they were a little ahead of the curve on helicopter parenting). 

They’re actually supposed to be 12 at the start of the season and 13 by the end. Mallory and Jessi are 11. I think it’s a little bit of a stretch but nearly all the clients had a direct connection to one of the girls or a family member. Combined with it being a small community I can see parents being willing to hire them occasionally.

I thought the writers at least tried to keep it slightly more believable with the scenarios. Like I noticed when Mary Anne first watched Bailey it seemed like the mom was working from home. 

[ruby24]

3 hours ago, PRgal said:

Re the shot thing: Better insulin than something illegal!!!!   I like some of the updated storylines, though I am still upset that they didn't make Dawn blonde.  Because that was part of her backstory.  As I said upthread, Stacey didn't have to be white/blonde.  She just had to be from NYC.  

They casted Kristy PERFECTLY!  She's EXACTLY how I pictured her, even without the covers!   

Funnily enough, I always knew they wouldn't change Stacey from a blonde. I'm not surprised they picked Dawn to change- my guess is they chose her because she was the least popular of the original characters and they thought less people would complain about it (also with the changes to her backstory and family).

I don't have any stats on hand, but I'm guessing Stacey was one of the most popular with fans (maybe the most)? I seem to remember thinking or knowing that back when I used to read the books.

Edited July 9, 2020 by ruby24

[EyewatchTV211]

These aren't babysitting guidelines, but these are the "can my child be left home alone" guidelines for my state that we use when we're deciding if we need to call CPS where I live https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news2/home-alone-guidelines-for-kids-and-parents/  . There's no actual law, just the guidelines, as it explains. To some extent, it depends on the child. Our show's babysitters are all certainly responsible, so that helps with them being able to watch other children. It just depends on the comfort level of the parents I guess. Like others said, it seems like the families that use them all have some sort of connection to their own parents.

[Jenniferbug]

I started babysitting when I was 12 for neighborhood kids back in the 90s. But honestly I don't think I would hire a 12 year old to watch my kids unless it was going to be for a short amount of time or I knew the kid really well. We rarely need sitters but when we do, they're high school age (my husband is a teacher so he usually has a good handle on who is trustworthy). Plus it's nice that they can drive themselves.