Heartbreak High

Have I ever mentioned my fondness for the 90's? It probably comes as no surprise to some of you considering what a cynical, melancholic sort of decade it was (and I am). For me, the 90's had some very important television series, albums and of course videogames. In fact, the 90's was really THE decade for gaming in terms of big innovations and historically important titles (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time I am in awe of your golden cartridged beauty. You make me weep). Heartbreak High is a show I only vaguely remember from my daydreamy youth. But lucky for me the all kids channel ABC3, which I blogged about a while back, has actually managed to deliver a nugget of enjoyable 90's nostalgia in all it's mullety, backwards cap wearing glory.

So anyway, you know how I've made something of a habit out of belittling highschool drama's and sitcoms in this blog? Well Heartbreak High bucked all expectations and has rekindled my faith in the genre. Granted, it's over a decade old and has apparently failed to influence any of the current, popular series from the genre BUT...actually I really don't have any argument against that. But fuck it, Heartbreak High is actually pretty darn good and I'm going to continue holding it up as a shiney example of highschool goodness no matter what you fuckers think (please keep reading my blog...I really do love you...really).

So what's it all about then? Well I haven't really seen enough episodes to name characters and discuss plotlines but the show is essentially what you get if Skins knocked up Degrassi High and they're child was sustained with nothing but Pearl Jam and gritty cement for the first year of it's life. Everything about Heartbreak High is edge. It looks like it was filmed by stoned multimedia students, the cast dress like they're volunteer models for a sewing class at a homeless shelter and everybody goes about their day to day activities with either a snarl, a sullen look or like they're an angsty lone wolf. Grit and angst are really the words for this show. None of this bubbly tween crap or that Neighbours whinginess. This is teen drama injected with a hefty dose of hormones. The style of the show feels very authentic even if it is a tad archetypal. But you know what? Teans really ARE wreckless, emotionally overcharged, horny little bastards so the stereotype, when treated with respect, rings quite true to me.

Now to the bad parts. My main fault with the show is ironically one of the things I find so appealing. Heartbreak High is ultimately timelocked in the 90's and with it's total embracing of the trends of the time it essentially cuts it off from other generations who aren't into the whole grunge scene. If I showed this to some kid from the iGen (fuck that name) in 10 years time I daresay they will snort obnoxiously and say the 2020 equivalent of "that show is totally bogus." Shows like this mostly survive for the benefit of the generation for which the attitudes and influences of the time that were actually shaped by them in some way. So while I may not think it's the best show of all time or anything, it's certainly an important landmark in my memory and my nostalgia. That and it's a million times the high school tv series that Zoey 101 could ever hope to be.