Clueless

The T.V. series "Clueless" takes off right where the extremely funny film left off. Here we find the character of Cher Horowitz portrayed by newcomer Rachel Blanchard, but the rest of the cast remains in tact. Minor characters like Ty and Josh have been removed (which makes sense because their "stories" were neatly wrapped up in the film) and instead we focus on the day to day adventures and teen-struggles of Cher, Dionne, Murray and Amber. The series takes the sardonic outlook of 90s teens that made the movie a success and expounds on it with great effect. The expansion of the Amber character to be a double edged uber-villain-cum-confidant is beneficial and often makes the episodes so enjoyable.

What a let down! I was so excited to learn of the existence of the television series 'Clueless'. I loved the movie with Alicia Silverstone and was looking forward to weekly installments of Cher's life. The television series pales in contrast to the movie. It lacks the same zest as appeared in the screen version. Rachael Blanchard can't quite carry it off the way Silverstone as is the case with Doug Sheehan who plays Mel. Overall, this series is really a Monet; alright from afar but up close it's just a big ol' mess.

This is a pleasant television show ... nothing much, mildly amusing, and having likeable characters. This is quite acceptable UPN/WB type fare and is superior to some of the "comedies" on the air these days (think CBS on Monday) I don't know why some dis the tv Cher, who does a good job, and surely reminds one of the movie Cher. The other main characters (both dads have their charms) are fine, though Amber at times seems to be going through the "Amber" motions.

It should be remembered guys, especially all you adult fans of the show, the Stacey Dash (Dionne) wasn't a teen in real life in the movie, and surely wasn't a few years later. Thus, it is not "perverted" or anything to know she looks sexy in that bikini in the opening credits.

Writing ... mixed. Some of the episodes are pretty good ... some even touching. One problem is that there is not enough teen/"Clueless" speak ... we need more "as if" material.

-j

This show is one of the funniest sit-coms on TV. It's really hard for me to explain. The show is obviously not of Seinfeld quality but everytime I watch the show I laugh my a** off. I love it and hope that the WB keeps showing it for a long time.

The first season of the TV version of the hit movie reassembled a good chunk of the movie's cast, plus the movie's director Amy Heckerling as executive producer. So why was it such a pale imitation? Two words: Rachel Blanchard.

Blanchard took over as lead character Cher from Alicia Silverstone (who understandably had other things to do at the time). Though Blanchard was physically right for the role, her flat performance makes you realize how perfect Silverstone really was for the role, with her fizzy, lighthearted, charismatic performance. Blanchard, by contrast, was dull as dishwater, with no spunk or charisma or anything. She pulled the whole series down. They should have hired Christine Taylor (Marcia in "The Brady Bunch" movies) instead.

The second season got even worse. Moving to a smaller network (from ABC to UPN) necessitated budget cuts, so Heckerling was gone as well as movie vets Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan. "Very special episodes" started to creep in as well. Ugh.

Skip this one and rent the movie again instead.