Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

My So-Called Life

 My So-Called Life
type
TVTItem
 My So-Called Life
label
My So-Called Life
 My So-Called Life
page
MySoCalledLife
 My So-Called Life
comment
An American television Teen Drama, created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz as a Creator-Driven Successor to their critically acclaimed dramedy thirtysomething. This show about an angsty high school student, Angela Chase (played by Claire Danes), like, really spoke to those of us who were teenagers when it aired.Originally broadcast on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995, My So-Called Life is set at the fictional Liberty High School, in a suburb of Pittsburgh. It follows the emotional travails of several self-aware teenagers. This critical darling — all of nineteen episodes — ended with a cliffhanger.A typical episode featured an A-plot about Angela and a B-plot about her parents Patty and Graham.The A-plot was usually based on one of two story arcs. One arc was about how Angela is torn between two groups of friends: the goody-two-shoes kids she always used to hang out with (most notably Brian and Sharon), versus the trouble-making girl Rayanne and Rickie, the effeminate Puerto Rican boy who served as her sidekick. The other arc was about Angela's obsession with the hot kid Jordan Catalano, who barely knew she was alive. Ironically, Jordan Catalano was originally supposed to only be in the show for one episode, but the producers liked actor Jared Leto so much that they made Angela's crush on him into Story Arc.In addition, Angela's younger sister Danielle served as part comic relief, and part sardonic observer of Angela's angst.One of the most bleakly funny shows ever aired, it showed how much bitterness can result from a completely ordinary day at high school where nothing in particular goes wrong. Often the show took a comic plot (usually A Simple Plan) and subverted it by playing it for drama (and, arguably, realism) rather than for humor — and this was both much funnier and much more painful than it would have been as a comedy.Also notable for dealing with "hot topics" with relatively little melodrama. Rayanne episodes often involved guns, drugs, etc. but didn't have Angela instantly get involved and ruin her life, as would happen on almost any other Teen Drama.Compare Freaks and Geeks, another beloved coming-of-age series that faced a premature cancellation.
 My So-Called Life
fetched
2024-02-23T04:16:59Z
 My So-Called Life
parsed
2024-02-23T04:16:59Z
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to AbusiveParent: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to AvertedTrope: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to Foil: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to ThirtySomething: Not a Feature - ITEM
 My So-Called Life
processingComment
Dropped link to VerySpecialEpisode: Not a Feature - ITEM
 My So-Called Life
processingUnknown
AbusiveParent
 My So-Called Life
isPartOf
DBTropes
 My So-Called Life / int_10cb9a31
type
Axes at School
 My So-Called Life / int_10cb9a31
comment
Axes at School: Rickie's cousin brings a gun to school in one episode, where it accidentally goes off. Brian, who's thought to be an eyewitness, ends up seeing a lot of unwanted attention over the incident.
 My So-Called Life / int_10cb9a31
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_10cb9a31
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_10cb9a31
 My So-Called Life / int_130436b9
type
Annoying Younger Sibling
 My So-Called Life / int_130436b9
comment
Annoying Younger Sibling: To some extent inverted in that Angela is often a deliberately-annoying older sister to Danielle. But since the series is told (mostly) through Angela's eyes...
 My So-Called Life / int_130436b9
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_130436b9
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_130436b9
 My So-Called Life / int_149ff4b0
type
HilarityEnsues
 My So-Called Life / int_149ff4b0
comment
Hilarity Ensues: Averted, at least to the extent that such events on the show tend to transpire in a realistic manner rather than follow traditional sitcom logic. An exception: the penultimate episode, "Weekend," which is a low-key farce. The change was deliberate.
 My So-Called Life / int_149ff4b0
featureApplicability
-1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_149ff4b0
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_149ff4b0
 My So-Called Life / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 My So-Called Life / int_1869b4b1
comment
Unreliable Narrator: The narrator (in most episodes, Angela) is seldom willfully deceptive — just selectively oblivious. Sometimes played for nearly simultaneous humor and pathos, as when Angela, feeling self-conscious about all the guys staring at her, narrates about how easy high school life is for guys ... only for the camera to pan to Brian being bullied by his classmates.
 My So-Called Life / int_1869b4b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1869b4b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1869b4b1
 My So-Called Life / int_1b590025
type
Dead All Along
 My So-Called Life / int_1b590025
comment
Dead All Along: A minor character in the Christmas Episode.
 My So-Called Life / int_1b590025
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1b590025
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1b590025
 My So-Called Life / int_1ba17583
type
The Ghost
 My So-Called Life / int_1ba17583
comment
The Ghost: Tino, who seems to be barely off-screen in almost every episode — and who often plays an active (if invisible) role in the plot. This became a running joke among the writers, and was referenced in the movie Juno. To a lesser extent, Andy Cherski, father to Sharon and husband to Camille. Rickie's cousin — the one who brought the gun to school. He gets mentioned a lot, for someone we never see and whose name we never learn. The Chases often discuss their pet cat, but we never see it or any traces of its presence in their house. It must be very shy.
 My So-Called Life / int_1ba17583
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1ba17583
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1ba17583
 My So-Called Life / int_1dfbbf31
type
Heterosexual Life-Partners
 My So-Called Life / int_1dfbbf31
comment
To some extent, Sharon (as Betty) and Rayanne (as Veronica) are vying to be the Heterosexual Life-Partners version.
 My So-Called Life / int_1dfbbf31
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1dfbbf31
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1dfbbf31
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c13c
type
Class Princess
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c13c
comment
Class Princess: Sharon popular, good-looking (one boy says she has the "best hooters" in the sophomore class), a cheerleader, and dating a football player. She's also sweet as pie and friendly with virtually the entire student body, including all the outcasts.
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c13c
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c13c
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1e7c13c
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c47ab
type
Stealth Pun
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c47ab
comment
An exception: the penultimate episode, "Weekend," which is a low-key farce. The change was deliberate.
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c47ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_1e7c47ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_1e7c47ab
 My So-Called Life / int_20989d05
type
Parents as People
 My So-Called Life / int_20989d05
comment
Parents as People: Patty and Graham are defining examples of this trope.
 My So-Called Life / int_20989d05
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_20989d05
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_20989d05
 My So-Called Life / int_26d1f65f
type
Verbal Tic
 My So-Called Life / int_26d1f65f
comment
Verbal Tic: Not unusual expressions, but rather exaggerations, by the show's creators, of common speech disfluencies and fillers. Perhaps the two most ubiquitous examples are the interjection "like" and the phrasal suffix "or something," which are sprinkled liberally into the dialogue of nearly all the teenage characters, seemingly as a way to let them to have poetic or philosophical musings without, like, coming across as pretentious. Or something. Both the teenage characters and the adults frequently say "Hi," (or "Hey," or other variations,) even when they are not actually greeting each other. It's used in this show more or less the same way as it had been used in the television series thirtysomething (by some of the same creators / producers): as a way for characters to attempt to affirm or to reestablish intimacy (or sometimes just a pretense of intimacy) in the midst of a conversation.
 My So-Called Life / int_26d1f65f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_26d1f65f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_26d1f65f
 My So-Called Life / int_2848e7d2
type
Oblivious to Love
 My So-Called Life / int_2848e7d2
comment
Oblivious to Love Angela toward Brian, until the love note incident. Brian toward Danielle, although it's not as if that had any chance of going anywhere anyway.
 My So-Called Life / int_2848e7d2
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_2848e7d2
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_2848e7d2
 My So-Called Life / int_297170d3
type
Halloween Episode
 My So-Called Life / int_297170d3
comment
Halloween Episode: Complete with the ghosts of long-dead teenagers.
 My So-Called Life / int_297170d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_297170d3
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_297170d3
 My So-Called Life / int_29a4bb9f
type
Former Friend of Alpha Bitch
 My So-Called Life / int_29a4bb9f
comment
Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Subverted. Angela and Sharon - who were best friends throughout childhood - have a falling out in the first episode, but they simply become estranged after that (in fact, both of them treat their other childhood friend Brian far worse than they treat each other). Partway through the first season they reconcile, and from then on they grow closer again, with Sharon reclaiming her position as Angela's best friend after Rayanne commits the "betrayal" (though Sharon and Rayanne become friends as well).
 My So-Called Life / int_29a4bb9f
featureApplicability
-0.3
 My So-Called Life / int_29a4bb9f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_29a4bb9f
 My So-Called Life / int_30d1e0df
type
Full-Name Basis
 My So-Called Life / int_30d1e0df
comment
At first Rickie seems to have had a crush on Jordan Catalano — who's interested in Rickie's friend Angela. Later Rickie develops a crush on an Ambiguously Gay classmate named Corey — who's at least ostensibly interested in Rickie's other friend Rayanne.
 My So-Called Life / int_30d1e0df
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_30d1e0df
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_30d1e0df
 My So-Called Life / int_3126c34a
type
Insufferable Genius
 My So-Called Life / int_3126c34a
comment
Insufferable Genius: How Rayanne regards Brian. At first. Possibly how just about everyone in school regards Brian. Including at least one of the teachers.
 My So-Called Life / int_3126c34a
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_3126c34a
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_3126c34a
 My So-Called Life / int_31f0842c
type
Age-Appropriate Angst
 My So-Called Life / int_31f0842c
comment
More tragically, Rayanne seems to be unable to sustain any sort of lasting or deep connection with any of her love interests.
 My So-Called Life / int_31f0842c
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_31f0842c
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_31f0842c
 My So-Called Life / int_3946634e
type
The Smart Guy
 My So-Called Life / int_3946634e
comment
The Smart Guy: The series has no shortage of intelligent and almost painfully articulate characters, but Brian seems to be the one to beat. Evidently he takes after his parents, who are both psychiatrists.
 My So-Called Life / int_3946634e
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_3946634e
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_3946634e
 My So-Called Life / int_3b113b7
type
Character Development
 My So-Called Life / int_3b113b7
comment
How Rayanne regards Brian. At first.
 My So-Called Life / int_3b113b7
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_3b113b7
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_3b113b7
 My So-Called Life / int_4045a37f
type
Boob-Based Gag
 My So-Called Life / int_4045a37f
comment
Boob-Based Gag: Sharon Cherski, in the episode ("The Zit") wherein an anonymous girl-ranking poll designates her as having the "best hooters" of all the sophomores in the school. As is typical of the show, it's played for angst as well as humor.
 My So-Called Life / int_4045a37f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4045a37f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4045a37f
 My So-Called Life / int_409c178f
type
Zip Me Up
 My So-Called Life / int_409c178f
comment
Zip Me Up: In the last episode, Delia has Rickie zip up her jacket... just moments before she opens his closet door.
 My So-Called Life / int_409c178f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_409c178f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_409c178f
 My So-Called Life / int_40c57041
type
Manipulative Bastard
 My So-Called Life / int_40c57041
comment
Manipulative Bastard: No evil examples, but there's a lot of Truth in Television-level manipulation and counter-manipulation, much of it below the level of consciousness. It's a passive-aggressive world.
 My So-Called Life / int_40c57041
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_40c57041
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_40c57041
 My So-Called Life / int_42008602
type
Story Arc
 My So-Called Life / int_42008602
comment
Story Arcs: A few for Angela and her friends, a few for her parents, with some crisscrossing.
 My So-Called Life / int_42008602
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_42008602
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_42008602
 My So-Called Life / int_424d15ad
type
Love Hurts
 My So-Called Life / int_424d15ad
comment
Love Hurts: A central theme of the show. Even for those few whose love is reciprocated. Even for those in happy marriages — or outwardly happy marriages.
 My So-Called Life / int_424d15ad
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_424d15ad
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_424d15ad
 My So-Called Life / int_445bc425
type
GreyAndGreyMorality
 My So-Called Life / int_445bc425
comment
Grey-and-Grey Morality: No one on the show is outright evil; no one on the show is without flaws. People just struggle to get by, and, as often as not, wind up hurting one another. High school, as seen by Anton Chekhov. See also, All of the Other Reindeer, above, although that's specifically about bullying, which is only one subset of the issues tackled in the series.
 My So-Called Life / int_445bc425
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_445bc425
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_445bc425
 My So-Called Life / int_44e64e96
type
Female Gaze
 My So-Called Life / int_44e64e96
comment
Female Gaze: Most notably, how Angela views Jordan Catalano.
 My So-Called Life / int_44e64e96
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_44e64e96
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_44e64e96
 My So-Called Life / int_4523420b
type
Love Dodecahedron
 My So-Called Life / int_4523420b
comment
Love Dodecahedron: Danielle and Delia each have a crush on Brian, who has a crush on Angela, who has a crush on Jordan. After Delia's crush on Brian crashes and burns, she develops a crush on Rickie, who is gay. At first Rickie seems to have had a crush on Jordan Catalano — who's interested in Rickie's friend Angela. Later Rickie develops a crush on an Ambiguously Gay classmate named Corey — who's at least ostensibly interested in Rickie's other friend Rayanne.
 My So-Called Life / int_4523420b
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4523420b
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4523420b
 My So-Called Life / int_460ffa29
type
Transparent Closet
 My So-Called Life / int_460ffa29
comment
Transparent Closet: Rickie never comes out and says that he's gay until Delia outs him in the last episode. Most of the kids know that he's weird, and is once described as bisexual.
 My So-Called Life / int_460ffa29
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_460ffa29
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_460ffa29
 My So-Called Life / int_4655ec83
type
Important Haircut
 My So-Called Life / int_4655ec83
comment
Important Haircut - Patty (Angela's mother), in the episode she and Graham (Angela's father) take up ballroom dancing. Leads to a quarrel between them ... or seems to but that may have been just a pretext, as Graham had already been thinking about having an affair with a woman he knew from work.
 My So-Called Life / int_4655ec83
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4655ec83
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4655ec83
 My So-Called Life / int_4781adbb
type
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 My So-Called Life / int_4781adbb
comment
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jordan Catalano.
 My So-Called Life / int_4781adbb
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4781adbb
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4781adbb
 My So-Called Life / int_4c5f0662
type
Girl Next Door
 My So-Called Life / int_4c5f0662
comment
Girl Next Door: Angela, as far as Brian is concerned. Literal as well as figurative example. A Subverted Trope, in that Angela winds up with Jordan.
 My So-Called Life / int_4c5f0662
featureApplicability
-0.3
 My So-Called Life / int_4c5f0662
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4c5f0662
 My So-Called Life / int_4c8e8078
type
All of the Other Reindeer
 My So-Called Life / int_4c8e8078
comment
On a more abstract level ... everyone is Rudolf and everyone is All of the Other Reindeer. Even the most popular characters are, at some point or another, victims of various sorts of bullying; even Brian and Rickie have their moments as bullies (although generally more out of social awkwardness than cruel intent). The show has neither any all-good nor any all-evil characters; each character we get to know has strengths and weaknesses, moments of moral glory and moments of moral shame. See also Grey-and-Gray Morality, below.
 My So-Called Life / int_4c8e8078
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4c8e8078
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4c8e8078
 My So-Called Life / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 My So-Called Life / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: Patty's conversation with the homeless girl in So-Called Angels is going fairly normally until she suddenly realizes what's going on and asks "How did you die?" "Okay, but, um...you're gay, right?"
 My So-Called Life / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_4e7c4536
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_4e7c4536
 My So-Called Life / int_50ca4422
type
Unresolved Sexual Tension
 My So-Called Life / int_50ca4422
comment
Unresolved Sexual Tension: According to Word of God, there's plenty between Angela and Brian. Angela rejects Brian (at least for now) in part because she and Brian know each other too well, and are too similar, with too much history — and he's therefore a threat. By contrast, Jordan Catalano is a mystery and not much of an intellectual challenge — and thus, on some level, he's less threatening as a teen crush.
 My So-Called Life / int_50ca4422
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_50ca4422
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_50ca4422
 My So-Called Life / int_52989fee
type
Narrator
 My So-Called Life / int_52989fee
comment
Narrator: Usually Angela. Brian in the episode Life of Brian. Danielle in Weekend.
 My So-Called Life / int_52989fee
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_52989fee
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_52989fee
 My So-Called Life / int_53136954
type
Book Dumb
 My So-Called Life / int_53136954
comment
Book Dumb: To use one of the episode titles, "Why Can't Jordan Read?" (He probably has dyslexia or some related learning disorder.)
 My So-Called Life / int_53136954
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_53136954
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_53136954
 My So-Called Life / int_53c9fc92
type
Flashback
 My So-Called Life / int_53c9fc92
comment
Flashback: Used occasionally, usually to time periods years before the series takes place.
 My So-Called Life / int_53c9fc92
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_53c9fc92
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_53c9fc92
 My So-Called Life / int_56d95b5b
type
High School
 My So-Called Life / int_56d95b5b
comment
High School: Much of the show is set at the fictional Liberty High.
 My So-Called Life / int_56d95b5b
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_56d95b5b
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_56d95b5b
 My So-Called Life / int_5941d75
type
Beta Couple
 My So-Called Life / int_5941d75
comment
Beta Couple: Sharon Cherski and Kyle Vinnovich. Patty and Graham (Angela's parents). Potentially Graham and his "annoying" classmate Hallie Lowenthal.
 My So-Called Life / int_5941d75
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_5941d75
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_5941d75
 My So-Called Life / int_5a365ed2
type
Incompatible Orientation
 My So-Called Life / int_5a365ed2
comment
Incompatible Orientation: Delia Fisher admits to Rickie that she has a huge crush on him despite knowing he's gay in their final scene.
 My So-Called Life / int_5a365ed2
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_5a365ed2
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_5a365ed2
 My So-Called Life / int_5e57282b
type
Fake Video Camera View
 My So-Called Life / int_5e57282b
comment
Fake Video Camera View: Brian being yearbook photographer gives us a few instances of this...including the one mentioned in Male Gaze, below.
 My So-Called Life / int_5e57282b
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_5e57282b
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_5e57282b
 My So-Called Life / int_60547993
type
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 My So-Called Life / int_60547993
comment
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Several examples, none of them ever actually stated out loud. The last and most heartbreaking is when Brian decides to try Playing Cyrano to win Angela back for his rival Jordan Catalano.
 My So-Called Life / int_60547993
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_60547993
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_60547993
 My So-Called Life / int_663f35c0
type
Only One Name
 My So-Called Life / int_663f35c0
comment
Only One Name: Tino, who is also The Ghost.
 My So-Called Life / int_663f35c0
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_663f35c0
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_663f35c0
 My So-Called Life / int_66cef86d
type
School Play
 My So-Called Life / int_66cef86d
comment
School Play: Our Town; drawn out over more than one episode. The actual performance was never seen, due to the show's cancellation.
 My So-Called Life / int_66cef86d
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_66cef86d
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_66cef86d
 My So-Called Life / int_66dfe36a
type
Missing Mom
 My So-Called Life / int_66dfe36a
comment
Missing Mom: Patty is adopted and has not met her biological parents.
 My So-Called Life / int_66dfe36a
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_66dfe36a
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_66dfe36a
 My So-Called Life / int_67b8ae16
type
Favouritism Flip Flop
 My So-Called Life / int_67b8ae16
comment
Favouritism Flip-Flop: In the earliest episodes, this was one of Rickie's trademarks — almost but not quite to the point of Hypocritical Humor — as he was always seeking approval and didn't have much confidence in his own opinions (or thoughts or feelings or self-worth or ...) (As the series progressed and Rickie developed more of a backbone, he relied on this less and less.)
 My So-Called Life / int_67b8ae16
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_67b8ae16
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_67b8ae16
 My So-Called Life / int_6bccf2ba
type
Supreme Chef
 My So-Called Life / int_6bccf2ba
comment
Supreme Chef: Graham, Angela's father. Starts out as a quirky-sad backstory detail but evolves into a major Story Arc.
 My So-Called Life / int_6bccf2ba
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_6bccf2ba
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_6bccf2ba
 My So-Called Life / int_6bd689ca
type
Meaningful Echo
 My So-Called Life / int_6bd689ca
comment
Meaningful Echo: The phrase "Oh, my God!" gets tossed around from character to character, scene to scene, episode to episode, and it usually is a way of highlighting who is noticing whom. This is most evident in a pivotal scene in the A Day in the Limelight episode Life Of Brian.
 My So-Called Life / int_6bd689ca
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_6bd689ca
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_6bd689ca
 My So-Called Life / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 My So-Called Life / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Angela Chase. As in pursuit, of her own identity. Note that she's also running in the opening credits. Brian, aka "Brain," Jordan Catalano's nickname for him. "Vic Racine." Liberty High.
 My So-Called Life / int_6bda9a30
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_6bda9a30
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_6bda9a30
 My So-Called Life / int_6e872753
type
Sexiness Score
 My So-Called Life / int_6e872753
comment
Sexiness Score: In "The Zit", a bunch of Jerk Jocks make a list of the hottest Sophomore Girls in, rating their best "attributes" like legs, butt, hair and "slut potential". Most of the girls get offended and outraged, but Angela becomes self-concious of not being in the list at all.
 My So-Called Life / int_6e872753
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_6e872753
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_6e872753
 My So-Called Life / int_6ef9d3fe
type
Christmas Episode
 My So-Called Life / int_6ef9d3fe
comment
The Christmas Episode So-Called Angels maintains its central focus on Angela, but for the first time Rickie gets A Day in the Limelight, of sorts. He gets a few more before the end of the series.
 My So-Called Life / int_6ef9d3fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_6ef9d3fe
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_6ef9d3fe
 My So-Called Life / int_722b3319
type
Camp Gay
 My So-Called Life / int_722b3319
comment
Rickie Vasquez, although he has more than a few flourishes of Camp Gay.
 My So-Called Life / int_722b3319
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_722b3319
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_722b3319
 My So-Called Life / int_740f59b4
type
ColorCodedForYourConvenience
 My So-Called Life / int_740f59b4
comment
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: A striking single-character example: At the start of the series, Angela dyed her hair a very unnatural shade of "crimson glow," signifying the abrupt start of her teen rebellion and her attempt to remake her life. As the series progressed, and Angela edged back a bit from her most extreme behavior, her hair began to drift back toward its original color. Rayanne and Sharon, who are essentially Angela's Betty and Veronica of Heterosexual Life-Partners.
 My So-Called Life / int_740f59b4
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_740f59b4
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_740f59b4
 My So-Called Life / int_7a82c3d2
type
All Love Is Unrequited
 My So-Called Life / int_7a82c3d2
comment
All Love Is Unrequited: Well, almost all. See also Love Dodecahedron, below.
 My So-Called Life / int_7a82c3d2
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_7a82c3d2
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_7a82c3d2
 My So-Called Life / int_7b228c31
type
"L" Is for "Dyslexia"
 My So-Called Life / int_7b228c31
comment
"L" Is for "Dyslexia": The answer to "Why Jordan Can't Read".
 My So-Called Life / int_7b228c31
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_7b228c31
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_7b228c31
 My So-Called Life / int_7c9dcc1
type
THeUnfavorite
 My So-Called Life / int_7c9dcc1
comment
The Unfavorite Rickie, a victim of abusive guardians (his aunt and uncle) and eventually of abandonment. Angela's kid sister Danielle often feels this way, because Angela is so much better at getting attention. But in reality, her parents dote on her.
 My So-Called Life / int_7c9dcc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_7c9dcc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_7c9dcc1
 My So-Called Life / int_7eebe99c
type
The Alcoholic
 My So-Called Life / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: Rayanne's mother, Amber Vallon. And Rayanne herself.
 My So-Called Life / int_7eebe99c
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_7eebe99c
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_7eebe99c
 My So-Called Life / int_7ef728b1
type
Tsundere
 My So-Called Life / int_7ef728b1
comment
Tsundere Angela, although less in her romantic relationship(s) than in her friendships. Possibly Brian, but he's far more of a Sugar-and-Ice Personality.
 My So-Called Life / int_7ef728b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_7ef728b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_7ef728b1
 My So-Called Life / int_830ae7bf
type
Bratty Half-Pint
 My So-Called Life / int_830ae7bf
comment
Brian toward Danielle, although it's not as if that had any chance of going anywhere anyway.
 My So-Called Life / int_830ae7bf
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_830ae7bf
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_830ae7bf
 My So-Called Life / int_83a903f6
type
Stepford Smiler
 My So-Called Life / int_83a903f6
comment
Stepford Smiler: As mentioned in the DVD Commentary, the episode Other People's Mothers provides us with three generations (and three different versions) of this — first and foremost, Angela's mother Patty; second, Patty's (adopted) mother Vivian; third, Angela herself, who is just beginning to shift into this mode, although it's hardly her default setting.
 My So-Called Life / int_83a903f6
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_83a903f6
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_83a903f6
 My So-Called Life / int_83b44e80
type
Straight Gay
 My So-Called Life / int_83b44e80
comment
Straight Gay: One of the teachers at Liberty High, Richard Katimski. Rickie Vasquez, although he has more than a few flourishes of Camp Gay.
 My So-Called Life / int_83b44e80
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_83b44e80
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_83b44e80
 My So-Called Life / int_863fac26
type
Jerk Jock
 My So-Called Life / int_863fac26
comment
Jerk Jock: None of the major characters (Kyle is a classic jock but not a jerk), but several of the bullies.
 My So-Called Life / int_863fac26
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_863fac26
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_863fac26
 My So-Called Life / int_87bb6874
type
Villain with Good Publicity
 My So-Called Life / int_87bb6874
comment
Villain with Good Publicity: How some (including Brian and later possibly Angela) see "Vic Racine".
 My So-Called Life / int_87bb6874
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_87bb6874
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_87bb6874
 My So-Called Life / int_8b4f2a4f
type
'80s Hair
 My So-Called Life / int_8b4f2a4f
comment
'80s Hair: Some of the extras in "The Pilot" can be seen sporting mullets.
 My So-Called Life / int_8b4f2a4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_8b4f2a4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_8b4f2a4f
 My So-Called Life / int_8b68d9a7
type
Stalker with a Crush
 My So-Called Life / int_8b68d9a7
comment
Stalker with a Crush: How Angela views Brian in her less patient moments. That is, when she's not being utterly oblivious. Subverted in the final episode, when Brian accidentally confesses to Angela that he's Playing Cyrano behind "Jordan's" beautiful love letter to her.
 My So-Called Life / int_8b68d9a7
featureApplicability
-0.3
 My So-Called Life / int_8b68d9a7
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_8b68d9a7
 My So-Called Life / int_91672d3e
type
Children Are Innocent
 My So-Called Life / int_91672d3e
comment
Children Are Innocent: Danielle, Angela's kid sister. For the most part, but played with. With ample justification, she complains, "My life is totally edited": her parents and Angela try as best they can to keep her in the dark about ... well ... anything and everything one would try to keep a kid in the dark about. Yet sometimes Danielle makes offhanded remarks that shock and embarrass her parents — although it's far from clear how much of what she's saying she actually understands.
 My So-Called Life / int_91672d3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_91672d3e
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_91672d3e
 My So-Called Life / int_94e4c8ab
type
Betty and Veronica
 My So-Called Life / int_94e4c8ab
comment
Rayanne and Sharon, who are essentially Angela's Betty and Veronica of Heterosexual Life-Partners.
 My So-Called Life / int_94e4c8ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_94e4c8ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_94e4c8ab
 My So-Called Life / int_9858c391
type
Chick Magnet
 My So-Called Life / int_9858c391
comment
Chick Magnet: Graham (Angela's father), although he was invisible to girls back in high school.
 My So-Called Life / int_9858c391
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_9858c391
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_9858c391
 My So-Called Life / int_9c8701b5
type
A Day in the Limelight
 My So-Called Life / int_9c8701b5
comment
A Day in the Limelight: A few, but most clearly the episode Life of Brian. The other episode narrated by someone other than Angela is the penultimate episode Weekend, narrated by Danielle. The Christmas Episode So-Called Angels maintains its central focus on Angela, but for the first time Rickie gets A Day in the Limelight, of sorts. He gets a few more before the end of the series.
 My So-Called Life / int_9c8701b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_9c8701b5
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_9c8701b5
 My So-Called Life / int_9e0c3153
type
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!
 My So-Called Life / int_9e0c3153
comment
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Sharon. Cherski's. Verbal Tic. Involves. Talking this way. At. Times.
 My So-Called Life / int_9e0c3153
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_9e0c3153
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_9e0c3153
 My So-Called Life / int_9f80e1da
type
Sarcasm Mode
 My So-Called Life / int_9f80e1da
comment
Sarcasm Mode: Everyone's favorite mode. Even Brian, although, dork that he is, he often gets confused at the sarcasm of others.
 My So-Called Life / int_9f80e1da
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_9f80e1da
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_9f80e1da
 My So-Called Life / int_a78f8506
type
Time-Shifted Actor
 My So-Called Life / int_a78f8506
comment
Timeshifted Actor: Kaley Cuoco plays "Young Angela" (around age seven) in a Flashback at the beginning of the episode "Father Figures." A few episodes later, in "Strangers In the House," we see another Young Angela with a Young Sharon. (They're about ten.)
 My So-Called Life / int_a78f8506
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_a78f8506
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_a78f8506
 My So-Called Life / int_a7aef9ff
type
Obfuscating Stupidity
 My So-Called Life / int_a7aef9ff
comment
Obfuscating Stupidity: In the case of Jordan Catalano, it's difficult to know how much is acting cool, how much (if any) is actual stupidity, and how much is learning disorders. As is often the case, a lot of it is cyclical.
 My So-Called Life / int_a7aef9ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_a7aef9ff
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_a7aef9ff
 My So-Called Life / int_a939d96a
type
Adults Are Useless
 My So-Called Life / int_a939d96a
comment
Adults Are Useless: Sometimes averted, sometimes played with, sometimes justified. It's not that adults in the series tend to be idiotic or evil or crazy — often they're intelligent and well-meaning — but rather that the adults and teenagers live so much in their own worlds that they are unable to understand much less help one another. For example, in an early episode about a gun brought to school, the teachers and parents are so out of touch about school bullying that any attempts to reach out to their students and children tends to do more damage than good. Definitely Truth in Television, as any victim of severe school bullying can attest. A lot of the divide is simply Baby Boomer (the adults) vs. late Gen Xer (the teenagers). Unlike many other teen shows, the adults (refreshingly) are not necessarily portrayed as being "uncool" or "out of touch." However, they grew up in an era where, for example, bullying was simply seen as a "rite of passage" and something the kid was responsible for handling on his own, which is a big part of the reason why they have such a hard time communicating with them about the issue in the gun episode. In many instances, however, the Chase parents are shown to be surprisingly in tune to what Angela is going through. Patty, despite having forgotten a lot of aspects of her teenage years (she's in her middle ages, after all), often finds herself reminded of the things she did as a teenager when witnessing Angela's behavior. At which she's more able to identify with her.
 My So-Called Life / int_a939d96a
featureApplicability
-1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_a939d96a
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_a939d96a
 My So-Called Life / int_abb9ebaa
type
Dramatic Pause
 My So-Called Life / int_abb9ebaa
comment
Dramatic Pause: The characters often pause mid-sentence, giving the dialogue a lurching and improvisational feel, even if the line is otherwise constructed very elegantly. Lampshaded when Rickie mimicks Mr. Katimski, who is probably the most egregious offender. But all the major characters did this a lot. In the case of Jordan Catalano, it was used to highlight how he was fumbling to come up with something, anything, to say. That lurching sensation, mentioned before ... was further heightened by having the actors ... pause at just the right point in the sentence that the apparent meaning being expressed ... seemed to change after the pause.
 My So-Called Life / int_abb9ebaa
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_abb9ebaa
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_abb9ebaa
 My So-Called Life / int_acd7e590
type
Sticky Situation
 My So-Called Life / int_acd7e590
comment
Sticky Situation: In episode 19, Angela has a dream where she tries to follow Jordan, but finds her feet stuck to the floor.
 My So-Called Life / int_acd7e590
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_acd7e590
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_acd7e590
 My So-Called Life / int_b01abe4f
type
Catchphrase
 My So-Called Life / int_b01abe4f
comment
Catchphrase: Perhaps the most famous one is "In my humble opinion," tossed around both by Angela and by her mother Patty. Lampshaded late in the series when Rickie uses it and Rayanne tells him not to sound like Angela.
 My So-Called Life / int_b01abe4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_b01abe4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_b01abe4f
 My So-Called Life / int_b0a529cb
type
Extreme Doormat
 My So-Called Life / int_b0a529cb
comment
Extreme Doormat: Brian, especially in anything involving Angela, but he at least has the self-awareness to be irked about it. Rickie, prior to his Character Development (see under Favouritism Flip-Flop).
 My So-Called Life / int_b0a529cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_b0a529cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_b0a529cb
 My So-Called Life / int_b2f26025
type
Genki Girl
 My So-Called Life / int_b2f26025
comment
Genki Girl Rayanne Graff and her mother, Amber Vallon; Hallie Lowenthal; Cheryl Fleck; Delia Fisher. Sharon Cherski is a much calmer instance, as is her mother, Camille.
 My So-Called Life / int_b2f26025
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_b2f26025
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_b2f26025
 My So-Called Life / int_b707726f
type
Hypocritical Humor
 My So-Called Life / int_b707726f
comment
Hypocritical Humor: Almost everyone caught themselves in this at least once in a while. Usually played in a realistic and self-aware manner.
 My So-Called Life / int_b707726f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_b707726f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_b707726f
 My So-Called Life / int_b761a11e
type
Dyeing for Your Art
 My So-Called Life / int_b761a11e
comment
Dyeing for Your Art: Claire Danes, as Angela Chase. Both the actress and the character naturally had dark blonde hair, but in the first episode Angela dyes hers "crimson glow." In-universe example: When Angela's little sister Danielle dresses up as Angela for Halloween, she dyes her hair the same color.
 My So-Called Life / int_b761a11e
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_b761a11e
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_b761a11e
 My So-Called Life / int_bb0c0a4d
type
Fiery Redhead
 My So-Called Life / int_bb0c0a4d
comment
Fiery Redhead Certainly not Angela! Because, first, she's just Dyeing for Your Art; second, her hair is not red, it's "crimson glow," thank you so much for noticing; third ... oh gawwd, how can you say such a thing? Hallie Lowenthal, although compared with Sharon and especially Angela she's more "feisty" than "fiery."
 My So-Called Life / int_bb0c0a4d
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_bb0c0a4d
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bb0c0a4d
 My So-Called Life / int_bb3224b3
type
Best Years of Your Life
 My So-Called Life / int_bb3224b3
comment
Best Years of Your Life: Subverted all over the place. Angela exemplifies the suckiness of high school life, while Danielle exemplifies the suckiness of childhood. In an ironic twist, their parents probably have more fun and fulfilling lives than either of them (though certainly not without their own sets of problems and issues).
 My So-Called Life / int_bb3224b3
featureApplicability
-0.3
 My So-Called Life / int_bb3224b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bb3224b3
 My So-Called Life / int_bcb4f1f1
type
You Just Told Me
 My So-Called Life / int_bcb4f1f1
comment
You Just Told Me: Brian traps himself in one of these during a quarrel with Angela when he indirectly and very much inadvertently confesses to his role Playing Cyrano in a Love Letter Lunacy.
 My So-Called Life / int_bcb4f1f1
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_bcb4f1f1
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bcb4f1f1
 My So-Called Life / int_bdf2a460
type
Tragic Dream
 My So-Called Life / int_bdf2a460
comment
Tragic Dream: Angela's father Graham seems to have one about becoming a chef. May not be so tragic after all. The show presents much of life this way, and growing up as learning to recognize this.
 My So-Called Life / int_bdf2a460
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_bdf2a460
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bdf2a460
 My So-Called Life / int_bec0417c
type
Happily Married
 My So-Called Life / int_bec0417c
comment
Happily Married: Angela's parents, Patty and Graham. Definitely married, but how happily can vary from episode to episode and scene to scene.
 My So-Called Life / int_bec0417c
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_bec0417c
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bec0417c
 My So-Called Life / int_bedecc55
type
Scout-Out
 My So-Called Life / int_bedecc55
comment
Scout-Out: In the episode, "The Substitute," Angela's younger sister is working to sell her Girl Scout cookies. In the episode, "The Zit," Sharon and Angela recall a quote that they had learned as past Girl Scouts themselves.
 My So-Called Life / int_bedecc55
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_bedecc55
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_bedecc55
 My So-Called Life / int_c335b9ec
type
Irony
 My So-Called Life / int_c335b9ec
comment
Liberty High.
 My So-Called Life / int_c335b9ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_c335b9ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_c335b9ec
 My So-Called Life / int_c40c8b74
type
And Starring
 My So-Called Life / int_c40c8b74
comment
And Starring: Tom Irwin as Graham, the only actor who appears out-of-sequence (alphabetical order) in the opening credits (the only other adult, Bess Armstrong as Patty, appears first anyway).
 My So-Called Life / int_c40c8b74
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_c40c8b74
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_c40c8b74
 My So-Called Life / int_c6538cc6
type
The Dulcinea Effect
 My So-Called Life / int_c6538cc6
comment
The Dulcinea Effect: Angela's attraction to Jordan "He Leans Great" Catalano. More tragically, Rayanne seems to be unable to sustain any sort of lasting or deep connection with any of her love interests.
 My So-Called Life / int_c6538cc6
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_c6538cc6
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_c6538cc6
 My So-Called Life / int_ca855eaf
type
Love Letter Lunacy
 My So-Called Life / int_ca855eaf
comment
Love Letter Lunacy: Twice: first a love letter from Angela "to" Jordon Catalano (but never intended for his eyes); later one from Jordan Catalano (or rather from "Jordan") to Angela. In the first instance, a mortified Angela tries to backpedal and convince Jordan it was simply a Mistaken Message to her ex-boyfriend. Whom she's trying to keep a secret. Because he died. In the second instance, the missive in question also qualifies as an Anguished Declaration of Love. From Brian.
 My So-Called Life / int_ca855eaf
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ca855eaf
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ca855eaf
 My So-Called Life / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 My So-Called Life / int_ca87e3ec
comment
Rickie's cousin — the one who brought the gun to school. He gets mentioned a lot, for someone we never see and whose name we never learn.
 My So-Called Life / int_ca87e3ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ca87e3ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ca87e3ec
 My So-Called Life / int_cc373fb1
type
Innocent Prodigy
 My So-Called Life / int_cc373fb1
comment
Innocent Prodigy: Angela's younger sister Danielle. Bonus points for being one of the few characters who really appreciates Brian as the Lovable Nerd he is.
 My So-Called Life / int_cc373fb1
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_cc373fb1
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_cc373fb1
 My So-Called Life / int_cef50092
type
Mistaken Message
 My So-Called Life / int_cef50092
comment
Mistaken Message: Angela tries to cover up for a humiliating Love Letter Lunacy incident by pretending it's just a case of this.
 My So-Called Life / int_cef50092
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_cef50092
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_cef50092
 My So-Called Life / int_cf231d54
type
Cool Teacher
 My So-Called Life / int_cf231d54
comment
Cool Teacher: "Vic Racine," the titular character in the episode The Substitute, was able to out-cool even Jordan Catalano.
 My So-Called Life / int_cf231d54
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_cf231d54
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_cf231d54
 My So-Called Life / int_d0bf8a6d
type
No Periods, Period
 My So-Called Life / int_d0bf8a6d
comment
No Periods, Period: In one episode, Patty thinks she may be pregnant.
 My So-Called Life / int_d0bf8a6d
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_d0bf8a6d
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_d0bf8a6d
 My So-Called Life / int_d280a296
type
Teen Genius
 My So-Called Life / int_d280a296
comment
Teen Genius: Brian is an unusually plausible example: not brilliant to an outrageous degree or in a cliched way, but he's definitely very book-smart — the valedictorian next door, so to speak. With most of his teachers, Brian's able to parrot back whatever answer they want to hear; he's already taking calculus although he's only a sophomore, and he claims to be doing a "triple minor."
 My So-Called Life / int_d280a296
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_d280a296
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_d280a296
 My So-Called Life / int_d36a763f
type
Kissing Warm-Up
 My So-Called Life / int_d36a763f
comment
Kissing Warm-Up: Danielle catches Angela kissing the mirror.
 My So-Called Life / int_d36a763f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_d36a763f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_d36a763f
 My So-Called Life / int_d5d976dd
type
I Have Many Names
 My So-Called Life / int_d5d976dd
comment
I Have Many Names: Substitute teacher "Vic Racine." Being on the run from the law will do that.
 My So-Called Life / int_d5d976dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_d5d976dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_d5d976dd
 My So-Called Life / int_db2f3581
type
All Girls Want Bad Boys
 My So-Called Life / int_db2f3581
comment
All Girls Want Bad Boys: One of television's quintessential examples. Angela pines for the troubled, brooding hunk Jordan while oblivious to the the sensitive, intelligent Brian's infatuation with her.
 My So-Called Life / int_db2f3581
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_db2f3581
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_db2f3581
 My So-Called Life / int_dfb71617
type
Male Gaze
 My So-Called Life / int_dfb71617
comment
Male Gaze: For the most part, averted. (See Female Gaze, above.) When the show uses it, it's nearly always to highlight that the shot is from Brian's point of view. For example, in Betrayal, we get a few POV shots from a camera operated by Brian, and one shot is aimed directly at Sharon's chest.
 My So-Called Life / int_dfb71617
featureApplicability
-1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_dfb71617
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_dfb71617
 My So-Called Life / int_e24a1629
type
Sugar-and-Ice Personality
 My So-Called Life / int_e24a1629
comment
Possibly Brian, but he's far more of a Sugar-and-Ice Personality.
 My So-Called Life / int_e24a1629
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e24a1629
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e24a1629
 My So-Called Life / int_e28f88b8
type
Last-Name Basis
 My So-Called Life / int_e28f88b8
comment
Last-Name Basis: Almost all the high school students.
 My So-Called Life / int_e28f88b8
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e28f88b8
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e28f88b8
 My So-Called Life / int_e2d457
type
The Ditz
 My So-Called Life / int_e2d457
comment
The Ditz: A mild example: Kyle, Sharon's perpetually clueless boyfriend. A less mild — and far more grating — example: Cheryl Fleck.
 My So-Called Life / int_e2d457
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e2d457
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e2d457
 My So-Called Life / int_e34400ab
type
Ambiguously Gay
 My So-Called Life / int_e34400ab
comment
Ambiguously Gay: Rickie Vasquez, in that he doesn't "come out" for most of the series. One of the teachers, Richard Katimski, when we first meet him. Later, an example of Straight Gay.
 My So-Called Life / int_e34400ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e34400ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e34400ab
 My So-Called Life / int_e621b159
type
A-Cup Angst
 My So-Called Life / int_e621b159
comment
A-Cup Angst: Angela. One of many things driving her nuts in the episode "The Zit" — not least because her ex-best-friend Sharon was just voted "best hooters" in the sophomore class. (Sharon's not pleased with the situation either.)
 My So-Called Life / int_e621b159
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e621b159
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e621b159
 My So-Called Life / int_e624f0e8
type
Suspiciously Specific Denial
 My So-Called Life / int_e624f0e8
comment
Suspiciously Specific Denial (combined with You Just Told Me): In the heat of an argument with Angela, Brian indirectly and very much inadvertently confesses to his role Playing Cyrano in a Love Letter Lunacy. As is typical of the series, it's at least as much a Tear Jerker moment as a comic one.
 My So-Called Life / int_e624f0e8
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e624f0e8
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e624f0e8
 My So-Called Life / int_e6ab61d
type
Magic Realism
 My So-Called Life / int_e6ab61d
comment
Magic Realism: Most notably in the episode Halloween and the Christmas Episode So-Called Angels.
 My So-Called Life / int_e6ab61d
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e6ab61d
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e6ab61d
 My So-Called Life / int_e8b295de
type
PlayedWith
 My So-Called Life / int_e8b295de
comment
Played With. Danielle both admires and resents Angela, but Angela finds Danielle annoying.
 My So-Called Life / int_e8b295de
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_e8b295de
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_e8b295de
 My So-Called Life / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 My So-Called Life / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: While no one in the series is completely evil, among all the characters, the closest is the principal who tries to expell Brian just to save the school from a PR problem and doesn't even seem to care about catching whoever really brought the gun to school.
 My So-Called Life / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_eb8ec7c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_eb8ec7c8
 My So-Called Life / int_ec40626
type
Love Martyr
 My So-Called Life / int_ec40626
comment
Love Martyr: Angela and Brian are both in the thrall of unhealthy love. For Angela, Jordan is unconsciously her project, someone that she thinks she can change, and her devotion to this hopeless cause leads her to sacrifice her self-respect (and common sense,) on several occasions. Brian is in love with a girl who barely gives him the time of day. While it's true that there is some underlying tension between Angela and Brian, her obsession with Jordan Catalano means that Brian hasn't a hope in hell, and he knows it - but he clings on regardless, even sacrificing a potential girlfriend in the form of Delia Fisher, hoping that Angela will come to her senses and notice him.
 My So-Called Life / int_ec40626
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ec40626
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ec40626
 My So-Called Life / int_ecc643
type
But I Would Really Enjoy It
 My So-Called Life / int_ecc643
comment
But I Would Really Enjoy It: Angela's deeply ambivalent about having sex with Jordan Catalano. So much so that she can go from one extreme to the other mid-paragraph.
 My So-Called Life / int_ecc643
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ecc643
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ecc643
 My So-Called Life / int_f0fc8518
type
High-School Dance
 My So-Called Life / int_f0fc8518
comment
High-School Dance: The World Happiness Dance in Life of Brian.
 My So-Called Life / int_f0fc8518
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_f0fc8518
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_f0fc8518
 My So-Called Life / int_f4b1129f
type
Anger Born of Worry
 My So-Called Life / int_f4b1129f
comment
Anger Born of Worry: A mostly-low-key and non-romantic example would be Patty's and Graham's reaction when Angela returns from a night out looking as if she might have been attacked. (In actuality, she just slipped in the mud.)
 My So-Called Life / int_f4b1129f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_f4b1129f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_f4b1129f
 My So-Called Life / int_f7883b17
type
Love Makes You Dumb
 My So-Called Life / int_f7883b17
comment
Love Makes You Dumb: Even if you're a Teen Genius, like Brian. Worse yet, the characters usually fully realize even in the moment that they're being dumb and just can't help themselves.
 My So-Called Life / int_f7883b17
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_f7883b17
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_f7883b17
 My So-Called Life / int_f8600b
type
Cool Big Sis
 My So-Called Life / int_f8600b
comment
Cool Big Sis: Played With. Danielle both admires and resents Angela, but Angela finds Danielle annoying. Sometimes Angela's friends (and former friends) take on this role with Danielle — during which times, Angela quietly simmers with a jealousy she can't explain to herself. This is also Angela's initial reaction toward Rayanne's mother.
 My So-Called Life / int_f8600b
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_f8600b
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_f8600b
 My So-Called Life / int_ff251a68
type
Doting Parent
 My So-Called Life / int_ff251a68
comment
Angela's kid sister Danielle often feels this way, because Angela is so much better at getting attention. But in reality, her parents dote on her.
 My So-Called Life / int_ff251a68
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ff251a68
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ff251a68
 My So-Called Life / int_ffa0483f
type
Cut Short
 My So-Called Life / int_ffa0483f
comment
Cut Short: It received a Season Finale, but then it was canceled.
 My So-Called Life / int_ffa0483f
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_ffa0483f
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_ffa0483f
 My So-Called Life / int_name
type
ItemName
 My So-Called Life / int_name
comment
 My So-Called Life / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 My So-Called Life / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
My So-Called Life / int_name
 My So-Called Life / int_name
itemName
My So-Called Life

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
A Simple Plan / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Acclaimed Flop / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Angel Unaware / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Axes at School / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Bathroom Stall Graffiti / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Breakup Breakout / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Chained to a Bed / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Chaotic Good / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Chaotic Neutral / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Class Princess / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Clumsy Copyright Censorship / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Competence Zone / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
D-Cup Distress / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Do They Know It's Christmas Time? / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Dramatic Pause / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Dreaming of a White Christmas / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Fake Video Camera View / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Favouritism Flip Flop / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Flushing Toilet, Screaming Shower / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Friendless Background / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
From the Mouths of Babes / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
He Who Must Not Be Seen / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
High-School Dance / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
I Have This Friend / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Kinky Cuffs / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Kissing Warm-Up / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Like Is, Like, a Comma / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Magic Realism / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Mis-blamed / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Never Learned to Read / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
New Year Has Come / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Nice Jewish Boy / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
'90s Hair / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Nostalgia Ain't Like It Used to Be / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Off the Wagon / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
One-Neighbor Neighborhood / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Oral Fixation / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Playing Cyrano / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Romantic Runner-Up / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
School Play / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
School Stories / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Skepticism Failure / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Sorry, I'm Gay / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Stealing the Credit / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Sticky Situation / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Too Good to Last / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Vindicated by Reruns / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
Zip Me Up / int_7fc57c48
 My So-Called Life
hasFeature
High School / int_7fc57c48