The Baby-Sitters Club - General Discussion

[Mirabelle]

The brother who got erased was Jeff, Dawn's younger brother. He moves to Stoneybrook with his mother and sister but moves back early on in the series. I guess the show figured since he was in California for a lot of the books he wasn't all that necessary for the show.

[JAYJAY1979]

I'm wondering if in season 3 they'll do the Claudia thinking she was adopted book?  That was a good book, and showed her bonding with Emily Michelle..and finally  having her parents say they were proud of her.

The season 2 Claudia episode...too soon.

[atomic]

Season 2 trailer 😃

 

[andromeda331]

17 minutes ago, atomic said:

Season 2 trailer 😃

 

It looks so great! I hate that it looks like their killing off Mimi this season. I wish they'd hold off on that. Or never do it. 

[Annber03]

19 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

It looks so great! I hate that it looks like their killing off Mimi this season. I wish they'd hold off on that. Or never do it. 

Yeah, that one I can already tell I'll need some tissues for. 

But the season as a whole looks really good. Looking forward to its return!

[LadyChatts]

This is always how I envisioned Mallory would be at her first BSC meeting.  She seemed so star struck in the books.

Did I spy the creepy secret passage in Dawn's house?  I wondered if they were actually going to make Logan and Mary Ann a couple, so I guess that answers that (unless she turns him down).  

In total agreement about Mimi.  I got teared up seeing her in the trailer and knowing what's coming.  

[KaveDweller]

12 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Did I spy the creepy secret passage in Dawn's house?  I wondered if they were actually going to make Logan and Mary Ann a couple, so I guess that answers that (unless she turns him down).  

Yes, I think that was the secret passage. That makes me happy, I thought it was so cool to have a secret passage. 

I also love the portrayal of Mallory in that trailer.

I should not be so excited about a show geared tours tweens, but it looks so good!

[ljenkins782]

On 9/1/2021 at 1:04 AM, andromeda331 said:

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 

I figured the Disney World one would be one of the easier choices, I've seen many a TV show that is basically a giant Disney commercial so I'm sure they'd give access. But maybe Covid would be a hurdle to filming in a location like that.

Claudia and the Sad Goodbye was a tearjerker and the premise will still be sad, but I won't miss the character on the show. That sounds awful, but I found the portrayal kinda irritating. 

On the other hand, I'm dreading the sad part of Kristy and the Snobs if they choose to show it. 30+ years later, the image of Louie "limping home" with a hurt paw still sticks with me. Not even sure if that's the same book, but I remember being terribly upset by that description. The only comparably sad description is Picky Picky's death in the Ramona books. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

I figured the Disney World one would be one of the easier choices, I've seen many a TV show that is basically a giant Disney commercial so I'm sure they'd give access. But maybe Covid would be a hurdle to filming in a location like that.

Being a Netflix show is a bigger obstacle than COVID. The shows that were a giant Disney commercial aired on networks owned by Disney. 

[PRgal]

11 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

I figured the Disney World one would be one of the easier choices, I've seen many a TV show that is basically a giant Disney commercial so I'm sure they'd give access. But maybe Covid would be a hurdle to filming in a location like that.

Claudia and the Sad Goodbye was a tearjerker and the premise will still be sad, but I won't miss the character on the show. That sounds awful, but I found the portrayal kinda irritating. 

On the other hand, I'm dreading the sad part of Kristy and the Snobs if they choose to show it. 30+ years later, the image of Louie "limping home" with a hurt paw still sticks with me. Not even sure if that's the same book, but I remember being terribly upset by that description. The only comparably sad description is Picky Picky's death in the Ramona books. 

Same.  And thanks for rem sing me.  On both books.  I even remember how old Picky-Picky was - 10.  And that’s not super ancient for cats. 

[starri]

On 8/30/2021 at 11:12 PM, Mirabelle said:

In the books it becomes obvious that Watson has a favorite stepchild and that child is Kristy.

I mean, favoritism over Sam, Charlie, and David Michael aside, I'm sure Watson considered Kristy his daughter, and I think she probably thought of him as her father too.

The trailer, however, looks dibbly-fresh.  

[Spartan Girl]

Omg the theme song!!!!

Mimi and Louie are both going to destroy me.

[peace355]

2 weeks to go! I am so excited! I'm even so much of BSC geek that I started a blog last summer doing a 3 way comparison of the original books, the graphic novels and netflix series. (https://bscbooksgraphixtv.blogspot.com/) 

I'm interested to where this season goes as in the original series once Mal and Jessi join, timeloop starts so I imagine we'll actually get parts from different books across the episodes

[Annber03]

Ooh, I'll check out your blog, that sounds like a fun read :D!

[atomic]

Here's the first 8 minutes of season 2 while we wait for it to be Monday already!

 

 

[ruby24]

Whoa, so not liking the change they made with Shannon. Why would they do that? Too many kids in the cast or something?

Also it's really a shame the actress who played original Dawn left. She was maybe the best of the child actors and this one is definitely nearer the bottom of the barrel.

 

[Zima]

20 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Whoa, so not liking the change they made with Shannon. Why would they do that? Too many kids in the cast or something?

Also it's really a shame the actress who played original Dawn left. She was maybe the best of the child actors and this one is definitely nearer the bottom of the barrel.

 

ITA about the Dawn actresses. Dawn is by far my least favorite character, but the actress from season 1 actually made her likeable. This season...not so much. 

I understand that the Shannon change is going to upset people, but really, Shannon didn't have much of a personality or contribute too much to the overall story, so I won't miss her. 

I just finished the whole season, and am still processing. I'll be back with more thoughts lol. 

[Guest]

I really disliked how much they stripped from Kristy and the Snobs. Shannon is a character I could take or leave but they really minimized Kristy struggle with fitting in and didn’t give her anyone her age to bind with in her new neighborhood. The changes felt bizarre and unnecessary. 

I’ve only watched a little bit of Claudia and the New Girl but the changes to Ashley also seem like a misstep. Making Mallory into the titular New Girl is clever but it felt less interesting than the original plot. 

49 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Also it's really a shame the actress who played original Dawn left. She was maybe the best of the child actors and this one is definitely nearer the bottom of the barrel.

I agree. Original Dawn could pull of that new agey talk but this one just came off as annoying. 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Guest

[ruby24]

Just watched Stacey's Emergency and was REALLY disappointed. That particular book meant a lot to me when I was first hospitalized with Type 1.

But this? First of all, that wasn't much of an "emergency." In the book she was hospitalized! They should have sent her into DKO, that happens with T1 diabetics a lot. Instead, what- her emergency is having a low one day and a high another day (btw, 220 is not THAT high, not nearly high enough for the symptoms of needing to drink 5 glasses of water in half an hour, if they wanted her to feel that bad they should have had her in the 300's, and the low of 40 and dropping straight down would have had her close to fainting, not just cranky).

I felt like this episode totally backslid into being written by people who don't quite know what Type 1 diabetes emergencies ARE or how to dramatize them.

So, call me crazy, but here's an idea. Follow the book! in that book, Stacey decided to basically give up on controlling her diet and started eating a bunch of sugar and junk food in secret with no extra insulin. That sent her into DKO and she had to be hospitalized, which they still could have done in a modern sense, because that happens to people even now with insulin pumps. It's hard to control T1 and sometimes people just don't want to do it (I would think that would especially happen with a kid who's sick of it). But the consequences of that can be really serious, really quickly. Now that would have been an "emergency."

I just get really annoyed when I see this disease portrayed on TV or movies by people who clearly don't know what would really be happening to someone in this situation.

Edited October 12, 2021 by ruby24

[Conotocarious]

Anyone watched the Mimi one yet? I saw a certain subplot coming.

I just think for those of us who read and love the books (and are currently re-reading them with our daughters) might be better off NOT knowing so much about the original stories. I was really disappointed with the Ashley Wyeth changes, they’re literally just borrowing the titles from the books and jettisoning the entire story.

[KaveDweller]

I spent my evening watching the whole season, I really enjoyed it. For the most part I like how they are reimagining the original plots, but was disappointed that Shannon Kilbourne apparently doesn't exist. I guess Logan isn't an associate member either? Maybe they thought that would complicate things?

I agree the changes to Stacey's Emergency made it no so much of an emergency. My mom's a diabetic and I have seen her in much worse shape than Stacey (without it even seeming like an emergency). I can see how actually hospitalizing her would be hard in a 25 minute episode, but they could have spent less time on the gala.

I did like Richard and Sharon not rushing into marriage. Is it weird that I keep finding myself relating to Richard?

I cried during the Mimi episode. The Claudia actress did a nice job with those scenes.

Yay for Watson calling out how much of an asshole Kristy's bio dad is. It started to feel a bit like rubbing salt in the wound, but it seemed to help in the end. I guess him adopting the Thomas kids means no Emily Michelle? I cried at the end of that episode too.

I didn't mind the new Dawn, and I do like the addition of Mallory and Jessi. I loved how they seem to make a joke out of Mallory's horse obsession and how eager she kept being about things. The actress is great. I hope they give Mallory her own episode if there is a season 3.

Edited October 12, 2021 by KaveDweller

[awaken]

We’re pacing ourselves so only watching one episode a week for now. I’m disappointed there’s a new actor for Dawn!  Anyone know what happened? We really liked the season 1 Dawn!  

[anna0852]

2 minutes ago, awaken said:

Anyone know what happened? We really liked the season 1 Dawn!  

She got cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The schedules didn't match up.

[LadyChatts]

I watched Kristy and the Snobs, and Claudia and the New Girl since the above comments had me intrigued.  I miss the old actress who played Dawn, but so far I don't mind this one too much (yet).

First, Kristy & the Snobs: Kristy's idea for a family breakfast is more my speed.  I never understood in the books how her family always had time for these great big breakfasts, especially on school mornings.  I thought the whole trying to fit into a new, rich family and neighborhood was realistic.  Amanda Delaney?  I forgot about her.  She was one of Karen's friends.  So they aged her here? I also was kind of disappointed that they made Shannon a non-character.  I know she was a very minor character in the books, but she was part of 'the snobs' in Kristy and the Snobs.  I did like how they handled Louie's death.  Still tugged at the heart strings, but not as traumatic as in the book.  

Claudia and the New Girl: first, my 12-year old self misses having sleepovers with my friends.  I wish we had hung out with Ashley Wyeth more.  I don't remember Mallory was being this bad in the books, except maybe her first one.  They should have skipped this book title and went to Hello Mallory instead.  Also, side note, but I never understood why Dawn got to take over as president.  I know that was her role, but it seemed like it made more sense for Claudia as vice-president to step in as the role for Kristy.  Seriously, it's not like it was an overwhelming task.  As for Mallory's horse obsession-I grew up in farm country, with a lot of horse farms.  So I kind of appreciated Mallory's love for horses.  I also liked how she still aspired to be an author.

Overall, I wasn't as big of a fan of these ones.  

[JAYJAY1979]

Amanda Delaney in the books was Karen's age..and was a rival to Karen's friend Hannah ( who lived in Watson's neighborhood) in the Baby sitters little sister books.

 

[andromeda331]

Kristy and the Snobs- I liked that they showed Kristy and Elizabeth adjusting to the new neighborhood as well as the family trying to adjust to each other. Elizabeth and Watson going overboard to with breakfast buffets as part of it. I'm glad they went with Louie died before the episode started. Its hard enough to read in the book. I do wish we got to see Stacey taming the snobs like she did in the book but we still have that as a flashback in the 1990s series. Stacey and Claudia coming up with elaborate ways for Mary Anne to find out if Logan still liked her and Dawn with her tarot cards. Of course they didn't work and their not really Mary Anne anyways. Its easy for Kristy to suggest calling him it Kristy would but Mary Anne would be too shy to do that. I did like that Kristy finally just called and invited him over at the end. I do like the charity event that Kristy and Elizabeth didn't want to go to turned out to be a pet adoption. The new dog is so cute. Interesting that Amanda became David Michael's friend and not Karen's like she was in the series.

My one complaint really is no Shannon. I agree it makes sense since she wasn't really in the series that much. But she was one of my favorite characters so I'm really bummed that she won't be in the series. I was also very bummed that she only got one book dedicated to her in the series. Even when she took over for Dawn for several months she still didn't get any books. I was very bummed about that too.

A minor one would be maybe Elizabeth should tell Watson that David Michael doesn't like pancakes? I can see why the kids wouldn't but Watson didn't seem to know. 

Amanda's brother Max doesn't exist.

Claudia and the New Girl- Okay, I laughed when Kristy got sick and couldn't attend meetings. I half expected her to try and sneak out to a meeting. I love her calling Mary Anne and then Stacey because she thought Mary Anne was protecting Dawn. Kristy giving everyone a personality quiz. Of course she did. I wish there had been a little more drama between Dawn and Claudia. Claudia was looking forward to being the VP but Dawn's only role is take over when someone is sick. Maybe at the end they should have made a rule that Dawn fills in for every job except for President? I did like Dawn trying to come up with new ideas. The questions the other girls had and I liked how they decided to fix it. I felt bad for Claudia and Mallory. Mallory's trying so hard to fit in and its easy to see why she would think Claudia is cool but she was trying too hard. Claudia made mistakes too. I liked her learning from Mimi and Ashley. I really liked the apology at the end and Claudia's idea of collobrating on books together. Claudia and Mallory have connecting interests with writing and art I had wish they had picked up on that more in the series. I like Claudia later telling Janine that she would listen more and Janine just saying okay and walking away. 

Minor problem-I don't mind them making Mallory the "new" girl. I'm glad they use the characters they have. But I'm not sure why then it was necessary to included Ashley Wyeth at all. Claudia liked Ashley in the book because they loved art and Ashley was very talented. There really wasn't that connection in the episode Claudia basically just thought Ashley was really cool. Sure, she seemed cool but we didn't really see Claudia and Ashley bond over anything. They could have talked about art, the app or something. But they really didn't. I'm glad Janine has a friend but they should have given her a different name.

Stacey's Emergency-I liked that they continued the charity part that was mentioned in the last episode. This time for diabetes. Kristy thinking her mom didn't tell her about the baby because she didn't think Kristy would be happy made sense. Kristy's been the most reluctant about Watson and the marriage. I do like Elizabeth and Sharon bonding although Sharon really shouldn't have said anything to Dawn. I liked Kristy winning the baby stuff for her mom to prove she was happy about and her mom already knew she would be.  I liked their talk. I loved Dawn trying to stall Watson and Elizabeth so they wouldn't see it. They were more patient then I would have been.

Major problem-There really wasn't an emergency which was disappointed. I always liked that book too. Stacey caused the problem by going off her diet and eating junk food. But it really kind of fit. She was just thirteen and she was tired of it. In the episode it really didn't make any sense. Stacey seeing the numbers as a math problem doesn't make since for someone who's had diabetes as long as she has. As pointed out by @ruby24 the high number she got really wasn't that bad. I have type 2 and that number really isn't a big deal. She wouldn't really feel anything. The 40 she would definitely feel. The lowest I've ever had it was 50 and I felt like I was about to pass out. Why didn't she have anything with her? She just needed to eat something sweet and wait fifteen or twenty minutes. She would have been fine. They really should have gotten someone with diabetes or talked to a doctor. I wish they gave us the emegency they could have had Stacey going off her diet just like in the book or just showed how up and down diabetes can be but she's worried about how her friends are going to react worried what happened last year but when she ends up in the hospital they are still there for her. Or that she didn't want to miss the gala. 

[ruby24]

Yeah, that's why to me that episode felt like it was written by someone who knows the gist of what "highs" and "lows" cause in diabetics, but not the details. For example they probably heard that your range is supposed to be between 70 and 140, so they think anything above that is "high," and over 200 would be especially high.

But that's a layman talking, because the truth is we with diabetes know that those really bad high symptoms (the excessive thirst that needs 5 glasses of water in half an hour or having to pee every 15 minutes) are not caused by a 200 number, but a 300 number. Or 400 (yep, I've had it that high before, and that's where those kinds of symptoms are in play). Also nausea but that's if the high lasts for hours and isn't coming down.

And then they probably think a low is below 70, so they thought, well, 40 sounds low. But that's REALLY low! That's not "cranky," that's about to faint and can barely move, let alone think clearly enough to be fighting with your friends. That's a hypoglycemic episode. I may have had a low in the 40's only a couple of times. I think I remember waking up in the middle of the night with a 47 once and I had to run to the kitchen to gulp down a massive glass of oj. But that does NOT happen often for me because I've always been too scared to let it. 

Cranky comes maybe in the 70's if you're dropping. But most people feel it around there and immediately eat or drink something because they don't want it to get worse. I think if they were trying to find something realistic they'd show that Stacey was afraid of lows and maybe eats or drinks too much to prevent herself from ever getting low (that was always my issue as a teen- I thought I'd rather be high than low, and I know if it's high, like in the 200s, I can just leave it and it'll come down on its own, because being in the 200s, while yes, technically it's out of the ideal range, that's not the place where it's causing those kinds of bad symptoms. You don't really feel it).

I just think it's annoying because if they're trying to really show people what T1 diabetes looks like (and they definitely are with these episodes) they need to get it right for real. Have someone who's diabetic on staff to be able to point out, hey, she wouldn't feel that bad at 220, if you want to show her that bad, make it 340 and that she has to give herself more insulin. Or that if she's just feeling crabby, it's not a 40, it's more like a 70 or 60. If she's dropping straight down at a 40, that's almost a 911 call because she's minutes away from passing out and she definitely would have felt it before then.

Also, the crabby thing isn't universal with lows. I do think that lows may be different for some people, but I've always just felt weak and faint if I'm getting too low. My hands start shaking and my heart starts racing, and that starts happening in the 60's or even 70's- there's no way you wouldn't feel anything by the time you dropped to a 40! Also, that app she's got is supposed to give you alerts if you're under 80, just as a warning, so that was a mistake on their part too. If for some reason she wasn't feeling it that thing would have started beeping way earlier. Pumps and sensors now are really good at warning you about lows, I don't have them like I used to before I had an insulin pump. Back then it was easier to get low without knowing it (or have an incident in the middle of the night like I did), but the sensors work now to prevent that.

They could have had her sensor malfunction or something and that's how she could get so low without noticing.

Edited October 12, 2021 by ruby24

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

Yeah, that's why to me that episode felt like it was written by someone who knows the gist of what "highs" and "lows" cause in diabetics, but not the details. For example they probably heard that your range is supposed to be between 70 and 140, so they think anything above that is "high," and over 200 would be especially high.

But that's a layman talking, because the truth is we with diabetes know that those really bad high symptoms (the excessive thirst that needs 5 glasses of water in half an hour or having to pee every 15 minutes) are not caused by a 200 number, but a 300 number. Or 400 (yep, I've had it that high before, and that's where those kinds of symptoms are in play). Also nausea but that's if the high lasts for hours and isn't coming down.

And then they probably think a low is below 70, so they thought, well, 40 sounds low. But that's REALLY low! That's not "cranky," that's about to faint and can barely move, let alone think clearly enough to be fighting with your friends. That's a hypoglycemic episode. I may have had a low in the 40's only a couple of times. I think I remember waking up in the middle of the night with a 47 once and I had to run to the kitchen to gulp down a massive glass of oj. But that does NOT happen often for me because I've always been too scared to let it. 

Cranky comes maybe in the 70's if you're dropping. But most people feel it around there and immediately eat or drink something because they don't want it to get worse. I think if they were trying to find something realistic they'd show that Stacey was afraid of lows and maybe eats or drinks too much to prevent herself from ever getting low (that was always my issue as a teen- I thought I'd rather be high than low, and I know if it's high, like in the 200s, I can just leave it and it'll come down on its own, because being in the 200s, while yes, technically it's out of the ideal range, that's not the place where it's causing those kinds of bad symptoms. You don't really feel it).

I just think it's annoying because if they're trying to really show people what T1 diabetes looks like (and they definitely are with these episodes) they need to get it right for real. Have someone who's diabetic on staff to be able to point out, hey, she wouldn't feel that bad at 220, if you want to show her that bad, make it 340 and that she has to give herself more insulin. Or that if she's just feeling crabby, it's not a 40, it's more like a 70 or 60. If she's dropping straight down at a 40, that's almost a 911 call because she's minutes away from passing out and she definitely would have felt it before then.

Also, the crabby thing isn't universal with lows. I do think that lows may be different for some people, but I've always just felt weak and faint if I'm getting too low. My hands start shaking and my heart starts racing, and that starts happening in the 60's or even 70's- there's no way you wouldn't feel anything by the time you dropped to a 40! Also, that app she's got is supposed to give you alerts if you're under 80, just as a warning, so that was a mistake on their part too. If for some reason she wasn't feeling it that thing would have started beeping way earlier. Pumps and sensors now are really good at warning you about lows, I don't have them like I used to before I had an insulin pump. Back then it was easier to get low without knowing it (or have an incident in the middle of the night like I did), but the sensors work now to prevent that.

They could have had her sensor malfunction or something and that's how she could get so low without noticing.

Yeah, when the 50 came up on my meter right below it was a warning that it was too low, to eat something and check it in 15 minutes. I was glad it happen I was worried with my other medical issues I wouldn't notice if my blood sugar dropped that low but I did. You just really feel it. They gave Stacey the wrong symptoms for the numbers. She would have had higher numbers then 220 in the first few months of her diagnois as they got her diabetes under control and she learned to manage it.  A senor malfuction would make a lot more sense. That would have been a good idea.

[KaveDweller]

19 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Amanda Delaney in the books was Karen's age..and was a rival to Karen's friend Hannah ( who lived in Watson's neighborhood) in the Baby sitters little sister books.

 

Also, Amanda Delaney was an actual snob and not just a lonely girl acting out. I kept waiting for her to mention her $400 cat. The book-Delaneys would never have had a charity event for rescue animals.

What I liked about Kristy's move in the books was that there was a whole new set of kids in Kristy's neighborhood. I guess the Papadakises exist, but not in the new neighborhood? I can understand not being able to cast everyone, but they could mention names.

Edited October 12, 2021 by KaveDweller

[JAYJAY1979]

14 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Yeah, when the 50 came up on my meter right below it was a warning that it was too low, to eat something and check it in 15 minutes. I was glad it happen I was worried with my other medical issues I wouldn't notice if my blood sugar dropped that low but I did. You just really feel it. They gave Stacey the wrong symptoms for the numbers. She would have had higher numbers then 220 in the first few months of her diagnois as they got her diabetes under control and she learned to manage it.  A senor malfuction would make a lot more sense. That would have been a good idea.

My late grandmother got diagnosed when she felt symptoms..and her blood sugar was >400.

So 220 would be concerning, but not where concerning symptoms are shown.  

[Sarahsmile416]

I haven’t gotten to Stacey’s Emergency but I am disappointed by what I’m seeing.  Stacey’s Emergency was actually one of my favorite books and from what I see, they are turning this into not a real emergency after all.  Part of what came out of this book was the diagnosis of Stacey as a brittle diabetic.  
 

I always loved the way AMM really did her research with Stacey’s Emergency- was it so hard to read that book and use her mostly correct terms.  
 

I was diagnosed with Type 1 later in life - at 27 - and it was thanks to AMM and her brilliant illustration of Stacey as a character that made me recognize before anyone else did that I was a diabetic.  Now they’re not even bothering to do their damned homework 😔

[Guest]

I have to agree with the consensus that Stacey’s Big Emergency was a dud. Stacey’s stories worked really well in the books because they dealt with big emotions people could relate to. The lack of realism in the “emergency” hurt the episode but it also suffered because of the lack of backstory. The books foreshadowed Stacey struggling to control her diabetes well before she ended up in the hospital. Plus the books delved into why she stopped taking care of herself with her wanting to eat like everyone else and her stress over her parents divorce. They should have pushed this episode to later in the season and laid the groundwork. Then run time wouldn’t have been an issue. 

The last episode I’ve watched was Jessi and the Superbrat. For me it was the most enjoyable episode so far. My one complaint with Jessi in the books was that she was the best at everything so I liked the change the she rediscovered her love of dance rather than getting the big part. It made her more relatable. I didn’t like changing Derek into a TikTok star who calls himself the superbrat but his scenes with Jessi still really worked. The actresses who play Mary-Anne and Jessi worked really well together. That’s not a pairing that happened much in the books but it was a really nice addition. 

Edited October 13, 2021 by Guest

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, Dani said:

The actresses who play Mary-Anne and Jessi worked really well together. That’s not a pairing that happened much in the books but it was a really nice addition. 

That's one part I really like about the Netflix series. In the books the girls mostly hanged out with their best friend or as a group. I love seeing them hanging out with different members of the club and having something in common with them. Last season at camp Dawn and Claudia realized they never really spent that much time together. Kristy not thrilled with Dawn until Buddy goes missing and Kristy having her meltdown over her crappy dad. This season so far we've had Claudia and Mallory with their art and writing deciding to collaborate on books. Mary Anne and Jessi in the Superbrat. 

[Sarahsmile416]

5 hours ago, Dani said:

I have to agree with the consensus that Stacey’s Big Emergency was a dud. Stacey’s stories worked really well in the books because they dealt with big emotions people could relate to. They lack of realism in the “emergency” hurt the episode but it also suffered because of the lack of backstory. The books foreshadowed Stacey struggling to control her diabetes well before she ended up in the hospital. Plus the books delved into why she stopped taking care of herself with her wanting to eat like everyone else and her stress over her parents divorce. They should have pushed this episode to later in the season and laid the groundwork. The time wouldn’t have been an issue. 

The last episode I’ve watched was Jessi and the Superbrat. For me it was the most enjoyable episode so far. My one complaint with Jessi in the books was that she was the best at everything so I liked the change the she rediscovered her love of dance rather than getting the big part. It made her more relatable. I didn’t like changing Derek into a TikTok star who calls himself the superbrat but his scenes with Jessi still really worked. The actresses who play Mary-Anne and Jessi worked really well together. That’s not a pairing that happened much in the books but it was a really nice addition. 

Agreed.  I had forgotten about the foreshadowing- but I remember that now.  For ghostwriters, they did a good job with that.  Clearly AMM was still quite involved at that point.  I know she herself wrote Stacey’s Emergency as I recall.  
 

I definitely feel they should have taken time to grow a buildup to an actual emergency in previous episodes.   
 

That being said, speaking as someone who has seen my share of 30s, 47 doesn’t seem fainting low to me, but as I said, I tend to hypoglycemia over hyperglycemia.  As my endocrinologist said to me, your body adjusts to its own norms.  If you run lower than 50 normally, you can deal with those lower numbers easier than those who do not.  If you don’t see the 40s that often, yes, fainting would be a more common reaction.   Same is true of higher numbers, though anyway you slice is 220 is just not THAT high.   I have had days where a 220 would have made me cheer….back when I was diagnosed, I had been running in the 400s for months

Edited October 13, 2021 by Sarahsmile416
Hypoglycemia numbers

[peachmangosteen]

I finished today. I think some of the magic from season 1 was missing but I still enjoyed it.

UO but I like new Dawn. 

I don't really remember the specifics of any of the books so the changes don't really mean anything to me. 

I wasn't going to watch Sad Goodbye but I sort of half watched it while fast forwarding when I started crying too much lol.

I hope they renew this again soon!

[dubbel zout]

The books came out when I was an adult, so I missed the whole era, but I really enjoy the show. The girls have some real problems, but they also support one another unreservedly, and I love that the parents are so individual. (I think Marc Evan Jacobs is my favorite parent.) It's very soothing to watch a show where everything wraps up relatively positively every time. This is a real feel-good series, and I appreciate that.

[Dani-Ellie]

Man, the little girl playing Karen steals absolutely every scene she is in.

[LadyChatts]

Watched 3 more episodes.  Started with Claudia & the Sad Good-bye, because I just wanted to get that one over with.  I think they did a great job showing the relationship between Claudia and Mimi in these two short seasons.  Claudia's reaction is exactly what I expected, right down to saying in her head what she wanted to say, but saying the opposite.  I did kind of laugh at the girls trying to carry on the meeting as normal, and Mallory would of course awkwardly bring up wanting to shave her legs.  And Old Ben Brewer!  I forgot about him from the Little Sister books.  I also liked seeing Claudia bond with Mary-Ann and Janine over Mimi's death.  Overall this episode was well done and moved the plot along.  Glad we'll be seeing more of Ashley.

Stacey's Emergency: since that seems to be another one everyone is talking about, so I was curious.  I remember the original BSC series did an episode that focused on Stacey having a diabetic emergency, and I thought they did a better job there than they did here.  I think they really missed a moment.

Kristy & the Baby Parade: I  actually liked this one better than I thought would.  They followed the float and costumes being a disaster like it was in the book.  I did like Mary-Anne and Jessi's idea for the float.  I liked Stacey's, too.  I knew Kristy's dad wasn't going to show, but it was still sad seeing the anticipation Kristy and David Michael had in meeting with him.  I'm glad Watson said what he did about him (as well as Mary-Anne and Dawn).  It especially made it funny that he said it all while wearing that baby bonnet.  I also liked the bitterness Claudia had at losing the baby contest all those years ago to Kristy.

Count me in as hoping we get a season 3!  Although it's going to seem weird that the actresses playing these girls will be another year older.  It's not like they can stay 13 for ten years like they did in the books.

Edited October 14, 2021 by LadyChatts

[dubbel zout]

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

It's not like they can stay 13 for ten years like they did in the books.

Good lord, the girls are supposed to be 13?!

[tennisgurl]

I just watched the first episode, and while I thought it was as cute as ever, I do not like the twist with Shannon. She was pretty underused in the books but I always liked her, especially as a foil to Kristi, I would have liked to see the shows take on her. So is Mrs. Delaney going to sort of be the book Shannon to Elizabeth's book Kristi as the rich girl who they got off on the wrong foot with due to their snobbery, but later become friends? 

I don't like new Dawn as much as old Dawn yet, but its only the first episode, she could grow on me. Cant blame original Dawn for leaving, there's villains to fight on the big screen!

[LadyChatts]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Good lord, the girls are supposed to be 13?!

In the books Mallory and Jessie were 11-I think the other girls were 12/13 (I just know they repeated 8th grade for pretty much the entire series).  I assume they are supposed to be that age here.  For the heck of it I looked up the ages of the actresses who played Claudia and Stacey-I’m shocked they are 16 in real life!  These girls looked younger than that.  

Edited October 14, 2021 by LadyChatts

[peachmangosteen]

Yea, I mean the main girls are 14-16 in real life so it's not a huge difference. I think they can all pass for 13, even if barely lol. But I think they should age them up to at least 14 if they do a season 3 tbh. Like just do a time jump and put them in high school. I guess maybe die hard fans wouldn't like that though.

[LadyChatts]

33 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Yea, I mean the main girls are 14-16 in real life so it's not a huge difference. I think they can all pass for 13, even if barely lol. But I think they should age them up to at least 14 if they do a season 3 tbh. Like just do a time jump and put them in high school. I guess maybe die hard fans wouldn't like that though.

I always wished they had done some kind of special epilogue type book that told of the BSC when they got to high school.  It was weird to think of these girls driving, getting jobs that didn't involve baby-sitting, having more serious relationships, and growing apart from each other.  Because honestly, I think that probably would have happened.  Sadly.  I know Ann Martin was asked once about doing a book like that, but in her interview she said something about believing the books left off at the right spot, and it was for fans to decide what the girls became.  She seemed to think any book she wanted to write would probably ruin some happy ending the fans envisoned for the girls and the BSC.  

I actually thought the actress who played Kristy looked a little older than she did the first season (I don't know if she got taller or what but something was different).  The other girls looked the same, besides new Dawn of course, and I never would have guessed they were that old in real life.

[dubbel zout]

39 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

the main girls are 14-16 in real life so it's not a huge difference. I think they can all pass for 13, even if barely lol.

"Barely" is right, as is "lol." Their precociousness is what made me think they were more like 15. Which isn't much older than 13 in years, but it can be gigantic in terms of maturity.

[peachmangosteen]

52 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

I actually thought the actress who played Kristy looked a little older than she did the first season (I don't know if she got taller or what but something was different).  The other girls looked the same, besides new Dawn of course, and I never would have guessed they were that old in real life.

It was super noticeable how much the Kristy actress aged because she did a bathing suit scene tbh. I also think the Stacey actress looks older than she did in season 1 and that she looks the oldest of all the girls. Claudia and Mary Anne still easily pass for 13 imo and Mary Anne is 14 in real life anyway. 

If they plan on not aging the characters then they probably can’t do more than 1 more season and even that would be pushing it.

[Valerie]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I always wished they had done some kind of special epilogue type book that told of the BSC when they got to high school.  It was weird to think of these girls driving, getting jobs that didn't involve baby-sitting, having more serious relationships, and growing apart from each other.  Because honestly, I think that probably would have happened.  Sadly.  I know Ann Martin was asked once about doing a book like that, but in her interview she said something about believing the books left off at the right spot, and it was for fans to decide what the girls became.  She seemed to think any book she wanted to write would probably ruin some happy ending the fans envisoned for the girls and the BSC.  

I actually thought the actress who played Kristy looked a little older than she did the first season (I don't know if she got taller or what but something was different).  The other girls looked the same, besides new Dawn of course, and I never would have guessed they were that old in real life.

I feel like the closest thing to this was the Friends Forever series -- it lead up to them graduating middle school, drifting apart, boyfriend drama (I believe Claudia's crush ends up dating Stacey and they have a HUGE multi-book fight). I quite liked them actually though I know they didn't get as much love.

[ruby24]

I finished the season!

I liked the later episodes better. I liked the change with Janine and her coming out, but I'm a little disappointed because this probably rules out making Kristy a lesbian, which I was really hoping for as a tribute to Ann Martin (ever since I found that out about her, her alter ego Kristy makes SO much sense to me looking back on these books). I was hoping they'd leave out Bart and maybe introduce Abby and have her be Kristy's love interest. Or maybe even not leave Bart out but have Kristy realize she doesn't really like him enough because Abby's the one she has real feelings for or something. 

I had some questions about the finale with Kristy's dad. First of all, can Watson adopt four minor kids who already have a living father? Pretty sure their dad would have to agree to that, wouldn't he? And sign away his rights or something? Seems like that could get dicey.

Also with everyone jumping on the bandwagon of needing to tell these kids their dad's a bad guy, as someone whose father was constantly trash talked by my mother, trust me, that does NOT make things better. Even if she was right and he was a bad guy (he basically was), that made it so much harder for me when they did have to be in the same room together. It was awful. On the other hand, if the problem is he's not actually around ever, then I guess it's alright, as a tactic to make the kids move on.

But I still think the differing ages of those kids makes that difficult. Obviously Sam is still angry, but Charlie wanted to see him and he's what, 17? He had an actual relationship with his dad at some point and that could still change theoretically. I don't know, I think the relatively short length of time Watson's been around makes him adopting Liz's teenage kids iffy. The youngest one, maybe.

I like some of the changes regarding Richard and Sharon not marrying yet (I figured the big announcement would be them moving in together or something, since that's what everyone does first now, compared to when the books were written), and Liz and Watson not having a baby. I kind of hope Emily Michelle doesn't exist on this show, because I do think them having six kids already makes wanting a new baby to add to it sort of crazy.

Edited October 15, 2021 by ruby24

[LadyChatts]

10 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

I finished the season!

I liked the later episodes better. I liked the change with Janine and her coming out, but I'm a little disappointed because this probably rules out making Kristy a lesbian, which I was really hoping for as a tribute to Ann Martin (ever since I found that out about her, her alter ego Kristy makes SO much sense to me looking back on these books). I was hoping they'd leave out Bart and maybe introduce Abby and have her be Kristy's love interest. Or maybe even not leave Bart out but have Kristy realize she doesn't really like him enough because Abby's the one she has real feelings for or something. 

I had some questions about the finale with Kristy's dad. First of all, can Watson adopt four minor kids who already have a living father? Pretty sure their dad would have to agree to that, wouldn't he? And sign away his rights or something? Seems like that could get dicey.

Also with everyone jumping on the bandwagon of needing to tell these kids their dad's a bad guy, as someone whose father was constantly trash talked by my mother, trust me, that does NOT make things better. Even if she was right and he was a bad guy (he basically was), that made it so much harder for me when they did have to be in the same room together. It was awful. On the other hand, if the problem is he's not actually around ever, then I guess it's alright, as a tactic to make the kids move on.

The Kristy in the books probably wouldn't have thrown a pink baby bonnet over her head and said "I love you" to Watson and agreed to be adopted.  In real life, it would be more complicated.  Charlie and Sam might be old enough to essentially divorce their father and get his rights to them taken away, but I don't think it'd be that easy for Kristy and David Michael.  So yeah, I think they'd have to get Mr. Thomas's parental rights taken away first.  And just because he's a crappy dad who walked out on his family and never visits, I don't know that that would be enough.  Probably depends on the judge.

I never thought about them making Kristy the lesbian, but that would have been cool.  They still could I guess.  Janine was a surprising choice; I definitely didn't see that coming.  I will say I'm kind of torn about the Kishis (the parents) and Mimi being so supportive, because that definitely isn't always the case in the real world.  It might be more realistic for kids watching if Janine faced resistance.  But it's not like she's a main character, so maybe it's for the best.  

Edited October 15, 2021 by LadyChatts

[KaveDweller]

4 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

"Barely" is right, as is "lol." Their precociousness is what made me think they were more like 15. Which isn't much older than 13 in years, but it can be gigantic in terms of maturity.

That follows the books.....they acted way more mature than 13 in them.

I have no kids, so I am terrible at guessing how old people are. I thought they seemed believable as 13, although the Kristy actress had definitely grown. But last season they were only 12. They definitely look younger than most high school shows, but that's likely because those are played by 25-year-olds.

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

I had some questions about the finale with Kristy's dad. First of all, can Watson adopt four minor kids who already have a living father? Pretty sure their dad would have to agree to that, wouldn't he? And sign away his rights or something? Seems like that could get dicey.

Kristy's dad would have to agree and sign away his rights. And the older kids may have to agree it is what they want as well. But hopefully a dad who walked out on his kids and doesn't bother to call or even send birthday cards would agree to do that? Assuming they tell him it is what they want. I'm not sure kids as old as Sam and Charlie would, but everyone is different.

I read an interview with the executive producer, and she said she was thinking she could get one more season in before the actors got too old, unless she was allowed to age them. It sounded like she didn't know if she'd want to do that. She also said she really wanted to do Little Miss Stoneybrook and Dawn, but couldn't due to COVID restrictions. It was her favorite book.

I hope they don't age them, that would be too weird.

[idiotwaltz]

Quote

I actually thought the actress who played Kristy looked a little older than she did the first season (I don't know if she got taller or what but something was different).  The other girls looked the same, besides new Dawn of course, and I never would have guessed they were that old in real life.

Yeah, she had grown quite a bit taller and I really noticed this in the season finale. I thought her voice had changed as well but I haven’t seen S1 since it first dropped so it could be my memory playing tricks on me. 

The actress who plays Stacey turned 16, I think, but she can still pass for younger. I think she is the oldest of the actresses? I’m not sure. 

On the whole, I thought S2 was pretty solid and I can understand why they chose the storylines they did. I expected to tear up when Mimi passed but surprisingly it was Watson calling out Kirsty’s deadbeat dad’s behavior that did me in. I liked that Janine got a girlfriend and everyone was cool with it (I which would never have happened when the books were first published), and I liked the Kishi’s taking off their shoes as soon as they got home. 

I doubt Kristy’s dad had been paying child support but if he did, he might be glad to give up his parental rights because I assume that would extinguish his financial obligations towards the kids. Once Watson adopt Kristy and her brothers, they become legally his children, which makes me wonder if they would become beneficiaries to the Brewer family trust funds, etc.