BuzzSugar

What Is the Best Teen TV Drama of All Time?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:30:02 PDT

This week's New York Magazine has declared Gossip Girl to be the best teen drama of all time. (The magazine's cover went even further with its proclamation: "Best. Show. Ever.") Really, now? I love the show - but is it better than, say, My So-Called Life or Dawson's Creek?

I'm putting the question you, dear readers. The restrictions: Nothing from a decade when most of us weren't alive, no matter how groundbreaking (sorry, Peyton Place); nothing that was nominated for awards in the comedy category (see ya, Freaks and Geeks and The Wonder Years); and nothing where the majority of the action took place in college (no Greek or Felicity). Got it? Now vote!

My So-Called Love Life: Angela Chase on Sex and Dating

Tara Block — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:00:00 PDT

Today Claire Danes turns 33! While the birthday girl is all grown up these days as the star of Homeland and wife to hot actor Hugh Dancy, we will always remember Claire as the angsty teen heroine of My So-Called Life, Angela Chase. As one of our favorite '90s starlets, Claire's portrayal of Angela gave us someone we could relate to growing up. She went through the same friend dramas, family conflict, and, of, course, young love ups and downs we faced in those terrible in-between years of high school. So in honor of Claire's birthday, we've got the best love, sex, and dating musings from Angela on My So-Called Life.

Photos courtesy of ABC, Inc.

Top 5 Motherhood Moments You Don't Want to Miss

Circle of Moms — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:03:55 PDT

Here's another post from our friends at Circle of Moms! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and motherhood stories from our partners at Circle of Moms, including this post from Mary Beth Sammons about moments moms don't want to miss.

At the risk of sounding like my mom, I’ve come to realize our kids do grow up so fast. Even though some of the moments (like the teen years) can seem brutally drawn out, my mom was right. One moment, my kids were just babes in arms, and the next, they are walking, talking - and then marching on stage for their high school diplomas, hoisting a futon and my life savings into the rear of the SUV, and heading away to college. And all of these milestones have been such tearjerkers for me.

All of these moments - their first steps; their first words, etc., are events that we moms long for, but when they finally happen, we are sobbing wrecks. I've shed a bucket or two raising three kids; here are the milestones I've found to be the most emotional.

Firsts: Smiling, laughing, rolling over, talking, and walking their first year. The first smile is a moment moms dream of. I’ll never forget when my son was born, and the doctor and nurses rallied around his incubator, proclaiming, "This kid is rolling over." A jock is born, flashed through my mind. When my oldest daughter uttered, "Mama," my heart exploded with joy. And when my baby, now in college, turned her giggle into a guffaw, laughing and laughing at her siblings, it made me weep.
Hurts: Would that we could raise our kids in an emotional cocoon. The first time I realized I couldn’t protect my kids from life’s hurts took place at my oldest daughter’s 2-year-old birthday party. I remember sitting in the kitchen with the other moms and smiling with glee as pint-sized kids in costumes (her birthday falls near Halloween) raced down the hall to the bedrooms. Suddenly there was my little pink tutu-clad ballerina, and she was crying. The other kids had raced into her room and left her standing outside in the hall on the other side of the door. My heart broke, foreshadowing many heart-tugging moments to come.
School Beginnings and Endings: Nothing brings tears to a mom’s eyes like leaving a sobbing preschooler who is holding onto your arm with all his might, screaming, “Mommy, don’t leave me!" I still choke up when I revisit those first school days - and every time I walked out the door and left my toddlers with a babysitter. But then fast-forward, suddenly your youngest is decked out in cap and gown and walking down the aisle of the high school gym with a diploma in hand. Kleenex, please.
Sports Drama: Standing on the sidelines, witnessing your son wipe out on the soccer field, and accompanying him to ER with the paramedics can make a mom’s heart tremble. Comforting a daughter when she doesn’t make the tennis team cut also pains, and watching a coach scream at your kid - that one brings out the Mother Bear in me.
Departures: The hardest moments, at least for me, have been facing the "roots and wings" milestones, when it's time to let the little ones fly from the nest. All through high school and curfew violations, teen temper tantrums and dealing with moods, I thought I would welcome college. But the whole time I was setting up the Ikea-coordinated bedding and fumbling with the steel futon in my kids' new dorm rooms, then hugging them and heading home by myself, I felt differently.

I remember calling my sister after dropping off my son a couple years ago and sobbing, only to have her remind me, "You said all through high school how college couldn’t come soon enough." And yet it did.

Which milestones have been the most emotional for you?

More great reads from Circle of Moms:
Can a marriage withstand a sex slump?
Eight activities for energetic toddlers
Signs you have a strong-willed child
Ten hilarious baby onesies
How to deal with your child's back talk

The Hunger Games: A Satisfying Adaptation and a Stunning Movie

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:20:28 PDT

If you've been holding your breath about The Hunger Games, it's time to let it out, because the movie fulfills any and all hopes you could have. Not only is the adaptation loyal to its cherished source material, as a film, it's simply incredible.

Based on Suzanne Collins's novel, The Hunger Games portrays a dystopian future in which what's presumed to be North America has been broken up into 12 districts surrounding an ultra-rich, powerful Capitol. To remind the districts of their subordination, the Capitol holds an annual event in which one teen girl and boy (known as tributes) from each district are forced to fight to the death (until only one remains) as a televised show. At the center of all this is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a 16-year-old from one of the poorest districts, who volunteers to participate in the place of her younger sister, Prim. The movie follows Katniss from her hardscrabble life at home with her family and best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) to the flamboyant excess of the Capitol and into the action-packed arena as she does everything she can to survive. The story is already well-known to legions of readers, and director Gary Ross brings Collins's novel to life as a visual treat, with an emotional punch as strong as the film's heroine.

To find out why I thought The Hunger Games is so fantastic, just keep reading.

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "On My Way"

Lizzie Fuhr — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:07:48 PST

On this week's episode of Glee, things are taken to a whole new world of drama. I knew the Winter finale episode "On My Way" was going to be big, but I didn't really know what I was getting into. The New Directions head to Regionals to take on the Warblers, but the whole show choir thing feels a little trite as tragedy after tragedy takes place in the community.

The episode feels a little (OK, a lot) like an "It Gets Better" commercial, but all the twists and turns left me wanting more. I can't believe we have to wait until April to find out what happens, so let's get "On My Way" with all the details, after the jump.

How One T-Shirt Can Keep a Child From Contracting AIDS

FabSugar — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:00:16 PST

The Secret Circle Dresses Up For Halloween: See Their Costumes

Shannon Vestal — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:30:00 PDT

Something wicked this way comes! The CW's new witchy drama The Secret Circle, which recently got picked up for a first season, is celebrating Halloween, and the characters are going all out. There's no telling what sort of spells the teen witches will get into on the holiday, but for now, check out Cassie and her friends in their costumes, which run the gamut from little red riding hood to, um, sexy bee.

Photos courtesy of The CW

Easy Halloween Costume Idea: The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen

Annie Tomlin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:15:19 PDT

The costume: Katniss Everdeen
Need a quick, easy Halloween costume idea? Look no further than District 12, home of The Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen. We know what you're thinking: Isn't that book series for teenagers? Yes and no: though teens were its initial target audience, the strong sociopolitical commentary and action-packed drama appeal to readers of any age. (Seriously, a friend with a PhD in English Literature can't stop talking about the trilogy.) Creating a Katniss costume is a simple, 10-minute project.

Hair and makeup: Arrange your hair into a long braid (here's how) and make it look dirty with some hair wax. Katniss has an olive complexion, but if you don't, apply a bit of matte bronzer to fake some sun on the cheeks.

What to wear: An earth-toned hoodie and boots will provide a basic Katniss uniform, and you'll just need a little craftiness to add the props. Check secondhand shops for a bird brooch that can function as a Mockingjay, and create a quiver out of some twine and a cardboard tube mailer.

Take it to the next level: If you wear contacts, this is a great excuse to try gray lenses to match Katniss's eyes. No matter how you customize the costume, may the odds be ever in your favor.

California Fleece Zip Hoody ($38)	Gray Contacts ($30)
Katniss Knee Socks ($10)	Mockingjay Inspired Pin, $15
Mailing Tube for Quiver ($4)	Bow and Arrow Set ($8)
L'Oréal Studio Line Hair Putty ($5)	Boots ($33)

Would You Watch MTV's Married Young?

Annie Scudder — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:40:57 PDT

MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom attract tons of viewers, as well as criticism that they glorify teen pregnancy. For its next young-people-growing-up-fast docuseries, MTV is leaving the babies out. Starting after the honeymoon, Married Young will follow young couples in their first year of marriage.

If this all sounds familiar, that's because the network ran the series Engaged & Underage a few years ago. One woman married on that show commented on Married Young's Facebook page letting everyone know she's still married two years later, although she hasn't spoken to her mother since.

According to MTV, you're married "young" if you tie the knot before 26, which doesn't seem all that young to me. But considering more Americans are delaying marriage, this could be an insightful take on the pros and cons of participating in the institution of marriage at an earlier age. It could also delve into typical reality drama and mundane bickering. Would you tune in?

Get a Preview of The CW's New Series The Secret Circle

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:30:00 PDT

If The Vampire Diaries doesn't bring enough supernatural drama to your Thursdays, then you'll be happy to know that the CW's new series The Secret Circle will pick up the slack this Fall when it premieres in the time slot after Diaries. Like that show, the series is also based on L.J. Smith's novels, but instead of vampires, the stars are witches.

Britt Robertson plays Cassie, a teen that moves to a new town when her mother dies, and discovers that her ancestors were witches . . . and now so is she. Soon she's initiated into a coven of teens with similar powers, and Cassie learns more about her destiny and evil elements that haunt the town. I loved Robertson as Lux on Life Unexpected, and if she can channel that angst into her new witchy role, then I'm hooked. Take a look at the preview clips, when you

Photo and videos courtesy of The CW