By Mitch Ringenberg
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Admittedly, I knew absolutely nothing about the “Gossip Girl” universe and the characters that inhabit it, and I can’t say I know too much more after three episodes (yes, as a male, I have indeed spent over two hours of my life watching this show). However, what blows my mind is how a show whose main characters mostly consist of shallow, materialistic and utterly dislikable teenagers leading boring lives, facing boring problems and saying boring things can not only manage to stay on the air, but turn into one of the most popular television shows in America.

For anyone who’s interested, the basic storyline consists of following the lives of about four or five young adults living in New York City. If you’ve even seen five minutes of “Dawson’s Creek” or “Degrassi” you know what to expect: cheesy dialogue, embarrassing acting and “real” teenage problems over-dramatized and blown out of proportion. Despite an advertising campaign that tries to make “Gossip Girl” appear controversial and racy, its real crime is blandness. The show’s terrible acting and dialogue doesn’t even allow it to reach guilty pleasure status. We’ve seen teen soap operas before; this one just looks a little sleeker.

There’s a great quote by the infamous director John Waters that goes: “To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about.” I can respect what he says there, and “Gossip Girl” may hold that appeal for many viewers. However, if bad taste is going to be your thing, it should at least be well done, and that is where “Gossip Girl” fails. Actual dialogue: “The next time you forget you’re Blair Waldorf… remember I’m Chuck Bass (Cue cheesy stock music).” All this coming from a character whose only facial expression is brooding.

Not being one who watches much television, struggling through “Gossip Girl” had me wondering if everything else on TV is this awful. Personally, when watching a show, I enjoy relating to or at the bare minimum, liking the people on the screen, so maybe that’s why I just couldn’t “get” this show. Most likely, however, it probably stems from the fact that my male teenage mind naturally opposes all television focused on “gossip” and/or “girls.”

While I can’t imagine that I’m a member of “Gossip Girl’s” target audience, I’m having a tough time figuring out who is. The show is too racy for the tween set, but far too unintelligent and cheesy for most high schoolers to consider valid entertainment. Unfortunately, there must be enough people who disagree with that statement, which is a shame; because idolizing people like the ones portrayed on this show would do someone a lot more harm than good.

Yes, it’s unrealistic, and certainly should not be taken seriously, but if you’re going to take a television show to extreme heights of melodrama and commercial edginess as is the case with “Gossip Girl,” at least make it interesting.