I just finished watching an episode of Gossip Girl from last season, titled “The Age of Dissonance”. It is only every so often that I really have the feeling, when watching a show, of the true artistic quality of television. From beautiful directing, to writing that is better than most films these days, the visual medium of television has come a long, long way from the old days of black & white vaudeville.
Don’t get me wrong, there were gems back in the day. The golden age of television really did have a lot of golden, eternally excellent programming. But modern TV goes beyond the entertainment value of the old shows, and on to the more emotional, intellectual level. In this episode in particular, the visuals: costumes, music, colors, shots; combined with music (always amazingly excellent on GG), and above all writing create this filmic, emotional piece of prose that I feel privileged to have seen. Unfortunately, Gossip Girl is not exactly appreciated by the television community. It has been marginalized because of it’s network and it’s ratings, and by the target demographic, which is mostly teenage girls. Nevertheless, this viewer would hold the show to the same high standards as Battlestar Gallactica and Mad Men. Kudos to the writers, cast, and production staff of GG, especially for this superb episode.