The Baby-Sitters Club - General Discussion

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I remember Stacey's Emergency. I identified with her deeply because I'm diabetic myself. When I was in the hospital at 12 I asked my brother to bring me my copies of The Truth About Stacey and Stacey's Emergency, even though I hadn't read the BSC in a couple years. I'll always have a connection to those books because of that.

There were two Stacey diabetes books? Which one did Stacey sneak out the fudge that Becca and Charlotte made?

[Vikitty]

6 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

There were two Stacey diabetes books? Which one did Stacey sneak out the fudge that Becca and Charlotte made?

That's Stacey's Emergency. She also stole candy from Claudia. Stacey's Big Secret is in the first five (and was covered in Season 1).

Edited August 27, 2021 by Valerie

[andromeda331]

7 hours ago, Dani said:

Deadline has the episode titles. I’m not ready for episode 7.

Episode 201: “Kristy and the Snobs”
Episode 202: “Claudia and the New Girl”
Episode 203: “Stacey’s Emergency”
Episode 204: “Jessi and the Superbrat”
Episode 205: “Mary Anne and the Great Romance”
Episode 206: “Dawn and the Wicked Stepsister”
Episode 207: “Claudia and the Sad Goodbye”
Episode 208: “Kristy and the Baby Parade”

Thanks! 

I loved all those books except for Kristy's Baby Parade and Jessi and the Superbrat. I'm not ready for Claudia and the Sad Goodbye or the sad part of Kristy and the Snobs. I'm surprised there's no Mallory episode. They could have postponed or skip all together Claudia and the Sad Goodbye for a Mallory book. Maybe for Mallory and the Terrible Twins or Mallory on Strike. 

 I can't wait for season two!

[LadyChatts]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Thanks! 

I loved all those books except for Kristy's Baby Parade and Jessi and the Superbrat. I'm not ready for Claudia and the Sad Goodbye or the sad part of Kristy and the Snobs. I'm surprised there's no Mallory episode. They could have postponed or skip all together Claudia and the Sad Goodbye for a Mallory book. Maybe for Mallory and the Terrible Twins or Mallory on Strike. 

 I can't wait for season two!

I fully expected a Mallory book, since her and Jessi were officially asked to join at the end of season 1.  

And since I like continuity to a point, her and Jessi weren’t even members for Kristy and the Snobs and Claudia and the New Girl, so that’s going to seem weird.  I’m kind of surprised they chose to do that Claudia book.  I was also hoping we might see one of the mystery’s covered.  They could have done Mallory and the Ghost Cat.  

Edited August 27, 2021 by LadyChatts

[andromeda331]

9 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I fully expected a Mallory book, since her and Jessi were officially asked to join at the end of season 1.  

And since I like continuity to a point, her and Jessi weren’t even members for Kristy and the Snobs and Claudia and the New Girl, so that’s going to seem weird.  I’m kind of surprised they chose to do that Claudia book.  I was also hoping we might see one of the mystery’s covered.  They could have done Mallory and the Ghost Cat.  

Oh, that would have been a good pick too. That's a great book.

[peachmangosteen]

It really is a missed opportunity not to do one of the mysteries, especially with it dropping in October.

[peace355]

Interesting book choices some unexpected ones in there.

“Kristy and the Snobs” and “Claudia and the New Girl" make sense as next in continuity and the early books are the best books.
"Stacey’s Emergency”  seems they are not doing Stacey moving back to New York then back to Stoneybrook, so that means they had to skip over a couple of books (I wonder if her parents will get divorced if there's a season 3)
“Jessi and the Superbrat” I would have thought Jessi's Secret Language would be good to adapt but this is fine too.
“Mary Anne and the Great Romance” and “Dawn and the Wicked Stepsister” surprised there's another wedding this season but I suppose it will be more Mary Anne and Dawn adjusting to being sisters.
“Claudia and the Sad Goodbye” this will be devastating but a good book to adapt.
“Kristy and the Baby Parade” - another surprising choice, I'm guessing that it will start with Watson-Brewers adopting Emily Michelle (as she was adopted in Kristy's Mother Day Surprise)

@LadyChatts I don't know if you've read the graphic novels, they stick closely to the books but have made some changes like Mal joins in book 5 "Dawn and the Impossible 3" it's fun to see how they adjusted for that.

It is disappointing Mallory doesn't get an episode, Hello Mallory wouldn't make sense any more but I was thinking "Poor, Mallory" or "Mallory on Strike" would be contenders.

 

 

[LadyChatts]

@peace355 I had forgotten that they need to find a way to bring up some of the events that are being skipped over from their initial books (as you mentioned, Emily Michelle's adoption which happened in book #24).  I wonder if Emily Michelle will still be adopted from Vietnam or if they'll change that.  The baby parade one was kind of funny, if they stick to the plot.  I remember the float was hideous and Charlie was embarrassed to be seen driving it so I hope they keep those plot points.

Another Mallory book that would have been fun was Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym).  Since some of the books they are covering have sad moments, I agree that Poor Mallory would have been a good one, too (and kind of relevant to everything going on in the world today).  It is sad she isn't getting her own episode.  I never did read the graphic novels, although I did flip through them once when I was in the store just to check them out.  

Edited August 27, 2021 by LadyChatts

[KaveDweller]

I like that they are keeping with the book titles, even if they are shifting the order around.

I am also surprised about no Mallory book, and the choice of Jessi book. I guess they did the Jessi one to introduce the child star in Stoneybrook angle? I've always heard Hollywood loves doing things where they get to talk about Hollywood. But Jessi did have some more interesting books with more meaty stuff (The deaf kid, the girl with cancer, her dancer friend with anorexia).

Another Mallory book that I liked was the Mystery Diary one. It was before they started doing mystery books so it was just a regular book that had a mystery in it.

It makes sense that they want to have Mary Anne and Dawn's parents wedding. They were stepsisters for the majority of the series, so setting that up is logical.

Edited August 28, 2021 by KaveDweller

[the-grey-lady]

I'm going to hold onto hope for Little Miss Stoneybrook at some point.

I need to see Margo Pike peel a banana with her feet.

[LadyChatts]

33 minutes ago, the-grey-lady said:

I'm going to hold onto hope for Little Miss Stoneybrook at some point.

I need to see Margo Pike peel a banana with her feet.

This is also why I'm sad they are skipping over that book.  If I'm remembering right, Claire also sang Popeye the Sailor Man for her talent, but changed the lyrics to say 'lived in a garbage can.'  And really, Mallory's family was probably the most unique of all of them, and I'd love to see one day in their household.  So that's another reason I'm sad we aren't getting a Mallory centered episode.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

This is also why I'm sad they are skipping over that book.  If I'm remembering right, Claire also sang Popeye the Sailor Man for her talent, but changed the lyrics to say 'lived in a garbage can.'  And really, Mallory's family was probably the most unique of all of them, and I'd love to see one day in their household.  So that's another reason I'm sad we aren't getting a Mallory centered episode.

I don't see how Claire and Margo didn't win awards with their unique talents. If I remember right, the BSC also got really competitive about the charges they were helping. Except Jessi and Mallory, who thought pageants were sexist, which was a nice POV to include in a kids book.

That book was also the one where Jeff moved back to California, but I think Jeff doesn't exist in the show. They could easily change that though.

[EarlGreyTea]

I think the showrunners read the room and realized Mallory was by far the least popular sitter back in the day. Her family was annoying, her parents took total advantage of her, and she was incredibly whiny (albeit for good reason).

I feel like I read somewhere that she wasn't as popular because her life wasn't as aspirational as  Stacey or Claudia's lives. Makes sense. I did really like the Mystery Diary book, though. And her inexplicable closeness with Stacey once they lived close to one another.

I LOVED The Great Romance and Wicked Stepsister book arc. I'm glad they didn't sugarcoat how hard it is blend a family.

Edited August 29, 2021 by EarlGreyTea

[Scarlett45]

I need to Google Mallory’s storyarch because I don’t remember much about her. 

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

I need to Google Mallory’s storyarch because I don’t remember much about her. 

To sum it up, she hated her glasses, red hair, nose, thought her parents treated like a baby, wanted to be a writer, and loved horses.  And she was the oldest of 8.  Looking at the very few Mallory books that were written, I can see why maybe she didn't get her own episode-there wasn't a lot to work with (though still some decent choices).  She only had 1 mystery, and I don't think ever got many chapters in the Super Specials compared to the other girls.  

I will say that the books in question that are episodes this season move the series along, so that gives me hope we will have a season 3 and beyond.  

Edited August 29, 2021 by LadyChatts

[LexieLily]

5 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

To sum it up, she hated her glasses, red hair, nose, thought her parents treated like a baby, wanted to be a writer, and loved horses.  And she was the oldest of 8.  Looking at the very few Mallory books that were written, I can see why maybe she didn't get her own episode-there wasn't a lot to work with (though still some decent choices).  She only had 1 mystery, and I don't think ever got many chapters in the Super Specials compared to the other girls.  

I seem to remember Mallory either spying on everyone Harriet The Spy style in the Super Specials/Mysteries or she was the one to push the "everyone writes a journal entry" journaling storyline for the adventure-of-the-book. Wasn't it Kristy's Big Idea in the Super-Special on the cruise to put all of that together in a scrapbook for the adults/parents?

And on the theme of that cruise Super-Special, I always wondered what company Mr. Pike worked for that would allow him to bring his wife and eight (!) children when he won a cruise and six or seven babysitters and assorted other families! I forget how Kristy's entire family ended up on that trip, lol. Watson's money? [Edit: Thanks @Dani for the update. Who invites themselves and their medium-sized family on someone else's vacation? Ha.] 

Edited August 29, 2021 by LexieLily

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

And on the theme of that cruise Super-Special, I always wondered what company Mr. Pike worked for that would allow him to bring his wife and eight (!) children when he won a cruise and six or seven babysitters and assorted other families! I forget how Kristy's entire family ended up on that trip, lol. (Watson's money?)

It’s hasn’t been that long since I re-read that one. Mr. Pike won a contest at work to take his entire family by naming a new product. They decided to take Stacey and Mary Anne for help. Watson invited his family on their vacation and took Claudia and Dawn. 

[KaveDweller]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

And on the theme of that cruise Super-Special, I always wondered what company Mr. Pike worked for that would allow him to bring his wife and eight (!) children when he won a cruise and six or seven babysitters and assorted other families! 

Yeah, most companies would have a prize of a trip for a family of 4 or something. Not 10-12 people. It's not really fair to the people who only have one kid or something. Meanwhile, my company had a contest for naming something, and the prize was a $100 gift card.

No wonder that company started having financial trouble and had to lay people off.

[andromeda331]

51 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Yeah, most companies would have a prize of a trip for a family of 4 or something. Not 10-12 people. It's not really fair to the people who only have one kid or something. Meanwhile, my company had a contest for naming something, and the prize was a $100 gift card.

What's funny is they didn't even have to go that route. Around the time the book came out Carnival Cruises had a deal running where you pay for one person and the next person is free. The Pikes would have only had to pay for half the family. Same with Watson. They ran it pretty often. My family took it up once for Catalina Island and went with three other families. There were a couple for the Caribbean too. Plus a lot of great deals for Cruise/Disney World packages. My mom was a part time travel agent. 

 

Quote

No wonder that company started having financial trouble and had to lay people off.

Or that Mr. Pike was part of the lay off. Maybe he was the only one laid off? 

[LadyChatts]

I rarely remember contests letting you take that many people if you won.  One exception was some big grand prize episode on America’s Funniest Videos, where the winner got to take like 20 people on a Disney Cruise.  I’m sure somewhere in the fine print there was a lot of ‘AFV does not pay for the following.’

I also thought Watson shoehorning in on the vacation was kind of funny.  Like Mr. Pike wins the contest, but Watson has enough money to do it himself and it sounds like a great idea.  I guess it’s a good thing they made him a millionaire, because it gave a lot of convenient excuse to get the BSC together in some of the more elaborate vacation centered super specials. 

[PRgal]

I refused to read #26.  I knew what was going to happen, anyway.  And I think they skipped over a few books because we've already been introduced to Mallory and Jessi didn't move to Stoneybrook in the books until #14.  

[Mirabelle]

On 8/28/2021 at 8:39 PM, EarlGreyTea said:

I think the showrunners read the room and realized Mallory was by far the least popular sitter back in the day. Her family was annoying, her parents took total advantage of her, and she was incredibly whiny (albeit for good reason).

 

I was surprised by how much I liked Mallory on the show. If they lean into the good-natured horse girl characterization, she may generate enough good will to get an episode of her own in season 3. 

I would have been more than fine if they had decided to pretend the Sad Goodbye didn't happen. 

On 8/29/2021 at 12:34 PM, LadyChatts said:

I also thought Watson shoehorning in on the vacation was kind of funny.  Like Mr. Pike wins the contest, but Watson has enough money to do it himself and it sounds like a great idea.  I guess it’s a good thing they made him a millionaire, because it gave a lot of convenient excuse to get the BSC together in some of the more elaborate vacation centered super specials. 

In the books it becomes obvious that Watson has a favorite stepchild and that child is Kristy.  Not a lot of parents would be as generous as he is to invite his daughter's friends on all their family vacations. I think on the cruise one he literally says "We can't leave any members of the BSC behind."  I know there are at least two that involve his family's mansion (they call it a cabin but it easily sleeps more than 12 - it's a mansion) on a lake. 

My favorite super special probably won't be filmed due to budget but I would love to see the Island Adventure where Dawn, Claudia, Jeff, four-year-old Jamie Newton, and a few other charges end up on a deserted island for four days. I just really love to see Claudia shine in a non-art/non-babysitting situation. 

[ruby24]

1 minute ago, Mirabelle said:

My favorite super special probably won't be filmed due to budget but I would love to see the Island Adventure where Dawn, Claudia, Jeff, four-year-old Jamie Newton, and a few other charges end up on a deserted island for four days. I just really love to see Claudia shine in a non-art/non-babysitting situation. 

This was my favorite super special. I remember really liking the one where they're stranded on that island, lol. Felt like a movie. Wasn't it just the four of them though? I remember something about that kid getting sick there (though maybe I'm remembering it wrong).

[Mirabelle]

There was a few more kids. Dawn and Clauidia needed crew (although why that would include 4 year old Jamie is beyond me) so they got some other kids beyond Jeff. Jamie was the one who caught a fever. 

This review says the other kids were Becca Ramsey and her friend Haley. Dawn and Jeff were on the same boat so Dawn invited Jamie to handicap them. Good lord, the parents in Stoneybrook are terrible. In what world is it a good idea to let your 4-year-old son go sailing with a 13-year-old who just learned how to sail? 

Edited August 31, 2021 by Mirabelle

[LadyChatts]

2 hours ago, Mirabelle said:

I was surprised by how much I liked Mallory on the show. If they lean into the good-natured horse girl characterization, she may generate enough good will to get an episode of her own in season 3. 

In the books it becomes obvious that Watson has a favorite stepchild and that child is Kristy.  Not a lot of parents would be as generous as he is to invite his daughter's friends on all their family vacations. I think on the cruise one he literally says "We can't leave any members of the BSC behind."  I know there are at least two that involve his family's mansion (they call it a cabin but it easily sleeps more than 12 - it's a mansion) on a lake. 

I think I'm one of the few who actually liked Mallory, thought it was probably because she felt the most relatable to me.  Which maybe was the whole point of making her character the way it was, and making everyone else something bigger that people dream of being.  With 'Kristy and the Snobs', I wonder if Shannon will become a recurring character, or if they will even make her an associate member.  

I remember the Shadow Lake books, and yeah, I think it was more like a lake house.  What I remember is that Charlie and Sam never brought friends along with them, Karen always brought Hannie and Nancy, and I think David Michael brought one friend.  But Kristy of course brought the whole BSC.  There was another Super Special that came out after I had quit reading the BSC books, but a girl I was babysitting for had it, so of course I got curious and asked her to borrow it lol  But it was the BSC on an RV trip to California.  Something about Dawn's dad had to fly back east and pick up an RV for a friend to drive back to California.  Dawn had permanently moved back out there, but she and Jeff were in Stonybrook for the summer so he picked them up as well to bring them home.  Watson all of a sudden owns an RV, thinks a last minute cross country road trip is a great idea, and invites all the BSC along to also travel out West.  And of course, the BSC, plus Watson's family, couldn't all fit in his RV, so Mr. Schaefer had to put some of them in his RV.  I couldn't imagine being stuck in such a tight space with Karen all that way.  But I think your right that Kristy was his favorite step child (which is funny since the 3 boys loved Watson at first and Kristy couldn't stand him).  

I honestly don't know if I had a favorite Super Special or not.  I loved the regular books and mysteries more.  I hope they cover at least one mystery for the series.  There's a lot of good ones to choose from. 

Edited August 31, 2021 by LadyChatts

[Annber03]

I liked Mallory, too. She liked to read and write, just like me, so I could connect with her on that. Plus, I was always interested in her big family - I had a thing for stories about big families when I was little, which is also one reason why I liked Kristy. 

I've mentioned it before, but one of my favorite Super Specials was the one where they were all stranded at various places during a blizzard :D. That'd be a fun one for them to do. 

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, Mirabelle said:

There was a few more kids. Dawn and Clauidia needed crew (although why that would include 4 year old Jamie is beyond me) so they got some other kids beyond Jeff. Jamie was the one who caught a fever. 

This review says the other kids were Becca Ramsey and her friend Haley. Dawn and Jeff were on the same boat so Dawn invited Jamie to handicap them. Good lord, the parents in Stoneybrook are terrible. In what world is it a good idea to let your 4-year-old son go sailing with a 13-year-old who just learned how to sail? 

I might be mixing up my books but was that the one when Aunt Cecelia inexplicably blamed Jessi for Becca being missing/Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey allowing Becca to go on the trip? 

*And in what world do Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey leave their thirteen year old, eight year old and baby (!) home alone for an entire weekend? 

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

I liked Mallory, too. She liked to read and write, just like me, so I could connect with her on that. Plus, I was always interested in her big family - I had a thing for stories about big families when I was little, which is also one reason why I liked Kristy. 

Even back in the day I wondered what in the world possessed Mr. and Mrs. Pike to have more children when they had a toddler Mallory and one-year-old-triplets. 

Edited August 31, 2021 by LexieLily

[Jenniferbug]

6 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I liked Mallory, too. She liked to read and write, just like me, so I could connect with her on that. Plus, I was always interested in her big family - I had a thing for stories about big families when I was little, which is also one reason why I liked Kristy. 

I've mentioned it before, but one of my favorite Super Specials was the one where they were all stranded at various places during a blizzard :D. That'd be a fun one for them to do. 

Me too Annber! 

My favorite super specials were the blizzard one and the one where they were in Peter Pan. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I might be mixing up my books but was that the one when Aunt Cecelia inexplicably blamed Jessi for Becca being missing/Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey allowing Becca to go on the trip? 

*And in what world do Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey leave their thirteen year old, eight year old and baby (!) home alone for an entire weekend? 

That’s the one. What’s even crazier is that Jessi is only eleven and left alone with an eight year old and a baby. The irresponsible parents in Stoneybrooke seriously impacted my enjoyment re-reading the series as an adult. Sort of like the moment when I realized how much I agreed with Ariel’s dad in The Little Mermaid. 

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

That’s the one. What’s even crazier is that Jessi is only eleven and left alone with an eight year old and a baby. The irresponsible parents in Stoneybrook seriously impacted my enjoyment re-reading the series as an adult. Sort of like the moment when I realized how much I agreed with Ariel’s dad in The Little Mermaid. 

Right. Mallory and Jessi were only junior officers because they were eleven and not thirteen. Which of course made no sense that Mallory at eleven was considered someone in authority over her ten-year-old triplet brothers. At least Dawn was thirteen when Jeff was ten, not that that was much better!

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

The irresponsible parents in Stoneybrooke seriously impacted my enjoyment re-reading the series as an adult. 

I remember kinda thinking similar things when I was watching the series on Netflix last summer. I kept thinking back to when I read the books as a kid, and how I was like, "These girls are so cool, I want to be just like them when I'm that age!" and whatnot.

Now, being in my 30s and watching that show, all I could think was, "You girls are babies! You're way too young to do some of this stuff!" :p. I felt very motherly towards them, LOL. 

10 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Even back in the day I wondered what in the world possessed Mr. and Mrs. Pike to have more children when they had a toddler Mallory and one-year-old-triplets. 

Good question :D. Yeah, as an adult, the idea of a big family sounds...exhausting, ha. But some people manage to make it work :). 

5 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

Me too Annber! 

My favorite super specials were the blizzard one and the one where they were in Peter Pan. 

I honestly don't know if I remember the Peter Pan one. I'll have to look that up and see if it jogs my memory. 

[LadyChatts]

6 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

Me too Annber! 

My favorite super specials were the blizzard one and the one where they were in Peter Pan. 

The Peter Pan one was good, and one they could easily do.  I remember thinking it was really out of character for Jessi to get so upset that she wasn't given the lead role.  I can believe she was an amazing ballerina, but there's a whole big world out there, and that girl would probably have more rejections in the big leagues than she apparently was getting at 11.  I also remember not being surprised that Dawn of all people would put a feminist twist on Wendy.  

I had forgotten about the blizzard one, but I liked that one, too!  At the time I thought it was really cool at everyone being snowed in at various places and getting different perspectives.  I think I had it mixed up with the one where they went on a ski trip (I think that was a super special) so that's probably why I didn't remember it at first. 

Quote

Even back in the day I wondered what in the world possessed Mr. and Mrs. Pike to have more children when they had a toddler Mallory and one-year-old-triplets. 

Same.  I don't know anyone in their right mind that would give birth to triplets and turn around and want to be pregnant right away again.  And do that 3 more times after that.  Because Vanessa was 9, Nicky was 8, Margo I think 7, and Claire 5?  So Mrs. Pike was pretty much doing nothing but popping out babies for a few years.

Edited August 31, 2021 by LadyChatts

[LexieLily]

52 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Same.  I don't know anyone in their right mind that would give birth to triplets and turn around and want to be pregnant right away again.  And do that 3 more times after that.  Because Vanessa was 9, Nicky was 8, Margo I think 7, and Claire 5?  So Mrs. Pike was pretty much doing nothing but popping out babies for a few years.

I think so, yeah. She was pregnant with Vanessa when Mallory was two and Byron, Jordan, Adam (That one might not be right but I know it started with an A) were one. There was only a six year age gap between the oldest (Mallory) and the youngest (Claire)!

I know Claire and Margo shared a bedroom and so did the triplets; did Nicky get pushed in with the boys? I seem to remember they didn't always like him. Did Mallory have her own room? Because that's already three bedrooms even if you smush four boys into one. (Boys, C/M, Vanessa, Mal.) 

As an adult I wondered how on earth they managed to pay for college for all of them AND Mallory's fancy Riverbend boarding school/private school. 

Edited August 31, 2021 by LexieLily

[Jenniferbug]

Mallory and Vanessa shared a room, and I'm pretty sure Nicky was stuck with the triplets in a room. So 3 bedrooms for 8 kids. 

[LexieLily]

27 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Mallory and Vanessa shared a room, and I'm pretty sure Nicky was stuck with the triplets in a room. So 3 bedrooms for 8 kids. 

I'm just picturing it turning into World War Three in eight years when the triplets head off to college and sixteen year old Nicky for the first time in his life gets his own room while fourteen year old Margo and thirteen year old Claire still had to share.

Or World War Three would have started years before, if barely-yet-in-double-digits Vanessa got her own room before everyone else, when Mallory went off to Riverbend. 

[KaveDweller]

 

17 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

But it was the BSC on an RV trip to California.  Something about Dawn's dad had to fly back east and pick up an RV for a friend to drive back to California.  Dawn had permanently moved back out there, but she and Jeff were in Stonybrook for the summer so he picked them up as well to bring them home.  Watson all of a sudden owns an RV, thinks a last minute cross country road trip is a great idea, and invites all the BSC along to also travel out West.  And of course, the BSC, plus Watson's family, couldn't all fit in his RV, so Mr. Schaefer had to put some of them in his RV.

I think Mr. Schafer got all competitive with Watson over the two RVs too.  Like he resented him coming along.

There was another Super Special in California. The one where they win the lottery and spend it on a vacation to stay with Dawn's dad. Someone's mom bought the ticket for them and they won one of the runner up prizes. I am not sure if winning the lottery is more realistic than getting stranded on the island or not.

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

I'm just picturing it turning into World War Three in eight years when the triplets head off to college and sixteen year old Nicky for the first time in his life gets his own room while fourteen year old Margo and thirteen year old Claire still had to share.

Or World War Three would have started years before, if barely-yet-in-double-digits Vanessa got her own room before everyone else, when Mallory went off to Riverbend. 

They had a plot about the room situation after Mallory went to boarding school. The kids were fighting about it, and the parents were very hands off so the BSC had to handle. I think Claire, Margo, and Vanessa ended up in one room, Adam and Jordan in one, and Nicky and Byron in a third. There was drama about the triplets being split up.

[LexieLily]

3 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

They had a plot about the room situation after Mallory went to boarding school. The kids were fighting about it, and the parents were very hands off so the BSC had to handle. I think Claire, Margo, and Vanessa ended up in one room, Adam and Jordan in one, and Nicky and Byron in a third. There was drama about the triplets being split up.

Of course the BSC would handle that decision :p. But man, Vanessa got screwed on that room switching deal, didn't she?

[PRgal]

4 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I think so, yeah. She was pregnant with Vanessa when Mallory was two and Byron, Jordan, Adam (That one might not be right but I know it started with an A) were one. There was only a six year age gap between the oldest (Mallory) and the youngest (Claire)!

I know Claire and Margo shared a bedroom and so did the triplets; did Nicky get pushed in with the boys? I seem to remember they didn't always like him. Did Mallory have her own room? Because that's already three bedrooms even if you smush four boys into one. (Boys, C/M, Vanessa, Mal.) 

As an adult I wondered how on earth they managed to pay for college for all of them AND Mallory's fancy Riverbend boarding school/private school. 

I stopped reading the books by that time, but was Mallory on some sort of bursary/scholarship?  Still, though.  Eight kids = eight heads to help fund.  I guess all the kids are on their own for school.....

Seriously, someone tampered with Mrs. P's birth control pills..... 

[LexieLily]

9 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I had forgotten about the blizzard one, but I liked that one, too!  At the time I thought it was really cool at everyone being snowed in at various places and getting different perspectives.  I think I had it mixed up with the one where they went on a ski trip (I think that was a super special) so that's probably why I didn't remember it at first. 

I remember one where there was some sort of winter trip (Baby-Sitter's Winter Vacation :p) where they were all on a school trip to some lodge (Mary-Anne kept writing letters to Logan like she would be gone for months and she was investigating some Ghost of [Whatever] Lodge) and there was another bus of school kids where their bus got in some sort of accident and all of them plus their teachers were injured and/or trapped at the lodge. Naturally, Kristy took it upon herself to say that she and the rest of the BSC would watch over all of these kids on their vacation. There was one girl named Pinky with a broken foot that didn't want to room with Jessi. 

I liked that one.

Why can we all remember minute details of these books when we read them a good twenty-plus years ago? :p. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by LexieLily

[andromeda331]

I loved six of the Super Specials Babysitter on Board I had been on a similar cruise to the Bahamas and Disney World with my family and it was fun to see BSC experience it 

Babysitters Island Adventure lost on an island was fun and I loved seeing Claudia shine. Parents were idiots for letting Jamie go given his age and he just had a cold and the Ramseys for leaving their 11 year old in charge. 

California Girls I loved seeing the BSC in California with Dawn and her friends. Same with New York New York. Except for Dawn being afraid of everything and Claudia taking her anger out on Mallory. It was fun watching them explore both places. 

Snowbound- I love snowbound adventures and it was fun seeing the girls split up in different places each having adventures. 

Babysitters Rememeber- I always love when books or TV shows do give us stories about characters from before we knew them. I loved Mary Anne's, Kristy's, Claudia's, and Jessi's stories. I wish we had different stories for Shannon and Logan but I liked that they were included especially Shannon who didn't get much focus in the series. I wish Mallory's had been better. Its not surprising that Dawn's story was her parents' divorce or Stacey's getting diabetes. Its hard to believe Stacey would ever forgive Laine after it. 

I loved Starring the Babysitters. It was fun to see the girls in different roles and jobs for the play. Jessi was oddly out of character assuming she'd get the role and I hate that Karen was rewarded for her terrible behavior by getting to play Tinkerbelle. 

Winter Vacation was just okay. I didn't love it or hate it. Except for Mary Anne being obsessed with Logan who didn't come which was out of character. Same with Sea City it was just okay. Same with the road trip one. Except for Abby's and Jessi's stories the rest were just okay. Stacey picks Seattle so she can meet up with a guy? I know its consistant with her character but I wish she picked something else. How come Kristy ended up going to a bunch of different ball parks when everyone else could only pick one? That really wasn't fair. I didn't like her seeing her dad at one of them and her friends all urging her to go talked to him. If anyone's seen my rants on Monk and TV Tropes threads I hate when friends and/or family do that. Kristy's father abandoned her and her family without a word. Her friends know how that effected her. He showed up once in Stoneybrooke just to see her before bolting again. Kristy has every right not to want to ever see him again. 

I didn't like the one with Dawn's father's wedding and Mrs. Barrett. It was weird that Dawn got to have three friends flown out for her father's wedding. Especially since she also had friends at the wedding. Mr. Schafer and Carol hiring Claudia was weird. She's thirteen. They also apparently never discussed with Dawn who all would be in the wedding. Dawn just assumed Mary Anne would be a bridesmaid. Why? Its her dad and Carol's wedding wouldn't Carol chose her own friends for her wedding? Same with Mrs. Barrett having one of her bridesmaids drop out and decides to pick Stacey to fill in? She didn't have anyone else to ask? Or just go without one? Dawn's grandmother and Carol's mother and sister are at the wedding but that's all the mention we get. It would have been more interesting to meet Dawn's grandmother, Carol's mother and sister. Had Dawn even met Carol's family? Has Jack? All of Carol's stuff gets stole but she's okay with it? 

This last one maybe controversial but I don't like the way World War II is described in the Hawaii one. It comes off like Japan bombed US and we bombed them back. That's not exactly what happened. Maybe because they thought their readers were too young I don't know.  But they leave so much out of it. 

 

[Guest]

10 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

This last one maybe controversial but I don't like the way World War II is described in the Hawaii one. It comes off like Japan bombed US and we bombed them back. That's not exactly what happened. Maybe because they thought their readers were too young I don't know.  But they leave so much out of it. 

I loved seeing a breakdown of all the super specials. I completely agree with you on the handling of WWII. It was so poorly written. Claudia immediately feeling shame over being Japanese, hoping people would think she was Chinese and the tallying of the bombings as if one would offset the other. Such a waste to put Claud in a place where she wouldn’t be viewed as different or exotic for the first time and go with a relatively shallow look at cultural guilt. 

Not to mention Mary Anne and her shock that the average Hawaiian family is just on average American family. What was she expecting?

[Mirabelle]

12 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

How come Kristy ended up going to a bunch of different ball parks when everyone else could only pick one? That really wasn't fair. I didn't like her seeing her dad at one of them and her friends all urging her to go talked to him. If anyone's seen my rants on Monk and TV Tropes threads I hate when friends and/or family do that. Kristy's father abandoned her and her family without a word. Her friends know how that effected her. He showed up once in Stoneybrooke just to see her before bolting again. Kristy has every right not to want to ever see him again. 

 

One of the things Kristy and Watson have in common is a love for baseball and I guess since Watson was providing half of the transportation they got their way on the baseball stadiums.

In one of the last books, Kristy's father gets married and he asks for his three eldest kids to come to California for the wedding. He has no interest in David Michael at all. Doesn't want to talk to him or want him to come with his siblings. If this was any series other than BSC, I'd wonder if David Michael was the product of an affair. But since it is the BSC, I chalk it to up to Patrick Thomas being a self-centered asshole.  One thing I did like about that book was it helped flesh out Kristy's background. One thing we learn is that when their dad left Charlie was 10 and Kristy was 6. Charlie gave up after school baseball so he could watch his younger siblings while their mother worked. 

[ruby24]

Kristy's dad looks even worse as you get older and realize this is a guy who abandoned his wife to raise four kids, all of whom were 10 and under, and with one an infant? Or was she pregnant when he left? He spent at least 10 years with this person and she kept having kids with him, but a guy who would do something like that...it couldn't have been a happy marriage. It makes you wonder even more about Kristy's mom's story.

[LadyChatts]

 

19 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

There was another Super Special in California. The one where they win the lottery and spend it on a vacation to stay with Dawn's dad. Someone's mom bought the ticket for them and they won one of the runner up prizes. I am not sure if winning the lottery is more realistic than getting stranded on the island or not.

I remember being super jealous of the girls that they won a lottery jackpot that allowed them to go to California.  I was given lottery tickets as a kid by my uncle all the time for Christmas and my birthday, and I know if I ever won a large sum of money my parents would probably give me $20 (which went a lot further in the 90s, to be fair) and make me put the rest away in savings or something.  I was kind of surprised the parents were okay with that.  Sometimes they were seen as strict (Claudia couldn't have junk food or read Nancy Drew because her parents disapproved), but it was okay for her to take money from a lottery winning and go to California?  

 

13 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I loved Starring the Babysitters. It was fun to see the girls in different roles and jobs for the play. Jessi was oddly out of character assuming she'd get the role and I hate that Karen was rewarded for her terrible behavior by getting to play Tinkerbelle. 

If I'm remembering right, they also added sound effects because Karen threw a fit.  I'm surprised they didn't give her lines.  No wonder the girl was such a spoiled brat.  Only in the Disney movie (which I never liked) and Hook (which I loved) do I remember Tinkerbelle being an actual fairy, but any other time I've seen Peter Pan she was just a light.  I can only imagine how dramatic Karen probably played out the death scene where the audience had to clap to bring her back to life.  One of the things that surprised me about this book was who tried out for the play.  I know Kristy isn't shy, but I didn't think she cared much about being in a school play front and center.  I would have seen her as more someone who wanted to call the shots behind the scenes.  

13 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

This last one maybe controversial but I don't like the way World War II is described in the Hawaii one. It comes off like Japan bombed US and we bombed them back. That's not exactly what happened. Maybe because they thought their readers were too young I don't know.  But they leave so much out of it. 

I think when I read this at the time I didn't think anything about it, because I never knew better.  Now that I'm older and wiser I agree that they could have made it a real teaching moment about an important part of history.  But your right that it was probably due to the audience, and I wonder how much Ann Martin relied on ghost writer's at that point. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

But your right that it was probably due to the audience, and I wonder how much Ann Martin relied on ghost writer's at that point. 

Entirely. With the exception of 4 books she stopped writing the main series entirely after Starring the BSC. 

[KaveDweller]

3 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Kristy's dad looks even worse as you get older and realize this is a guy who abandoned his wife to raise four kids, all of whom were 10 and under, and with one an infant? Or was she pregnant when he left? He spent at least 10 years with this person and she kept having kids with him, but a guy who would do something like that...it couldn't have been a happy marriage. It makes you wonder even more about Kristy's mom's story.

It was after David Michael was born, but he was still just a baby. And if I remember correctly from Kristy's autobiography book, he didn't even tell her he was leaving. He just didn't come home one day. Kristy's mom is pretty awesome to have managed how to deal with 4 kids by herself after that. She totally deserved to get swept off her feet by a millionaire.

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

If I'm remembering right, they also added sound effects because Karen threw a fit.  I'm surprised they didn't give her lines.  No wonder the girl was such a spoiled brat.  Only in the Disney movie (which I never liked) and Hook (which I loved) do I remember Tinkerbelle being an actual fairy, but any other time I've seen Peter Pan she was just a light.

I wonder if Watson made some kind of donation to make that happen.....

[Scarlett45]

23 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Kristy's dad looks even worse as you get older and realize this is a guy who abandoned his wife to raise four kids, all of whom were 10 and under, and with one an infant? Or was she pregnant when he left? He spent at least 10 years with this person and she kept having kids with him, but a guy who would do something like that...it couldn't have been a happy marriage. It makes you wonder even more about Kristy's mom's story.

I dont have as much knowledge of the book series as many posters here- in the TV series Kristy is the middle of 3 kids right? Not 4?

[LexieLily]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I dont have as much knowledge of the book series as many posters here- in the TV series Kristy is the middle of 3 kids right? Not 4?

There were four original Thomas kids: Charlie, Sam, Kristy and David-Michael. I think Charlie was 16 (because he had the Junk Bucket and had to drive the BSC everywhere), Sam maybe 15, Kristy 13, and wasn't David-Michael Karen's age?

The two Brewers: Karen (7) and Andrew (4).

And then the (adopted) Brewer-Thomas girl: Emily-Michelle (baby/toddler?).

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I dont have as much knowledge of the book series as many posters here- in the TV series Kristy is the middle of 3 kids right? Not 4?

No. Both her older brothers from the books are also in the tv series. 

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

There were four original Thomas kids: Charlie, Sam, Kristy and David-Michael. I think Charlie was 16 (because he had the Junk Bucket and had to drive the BSC everywhere), Sam maybe 15, Kristy 13, and wasn't David-Michael Karen's age?

The two Brewers: Karen (7) and Andrew (4).

And then the (adopted) Brewer-Thomas girl: Emily-Michelle (baby/toddler?).

 

32 minutes ago, Dani said:

No. Both her older brothers from the books are also in the tv series. 

Thanks- I should probably rewatch season 1 before season 2. I remember the episodes went by quickly.