This was the first show where cancellation shook me to my core. I was obsessed with this show for the two seasons it was on The WB.
A synopsis: Sam is a journalist outsider whose enemy of choice is Brooke, the popular cheerleader. Their competing factions in their high school lead to dramarama...which is only heightened when Sam and Brooke's mom and dad, respectively, get engaged.
Which, when you read it, is a fairly standard plot. But what was great about Popular was that it was a completely ridiculous satire/comedy.
Seriously. Will we ever again see a Staying Alive John Travolta Club presidential election dance-off? A mullet movement? Mary Cherry? But, especially, will we see these glorious comedic bits tied into really relevant issues of family? I spent half the time watching this show laughing and half the time crying, man. It was great.
It remains to this day to have the best It's a Wonderful Life episode of any show I've ever watched. Harrison, dying of cancer, sees what the world would be like if he weren't born. Essentially, the world ends.
Start here:
But the most infuriating thing about its cancellation was, as with most cancellations, the cliff-hanger. Harrison (played by my lover, Christopher Gorham) was forced to choose between life-long crush Brooke and best friend (and maybe something more) Sam. Without finding out who he chose, we see Brooke storming out of the restaurant only to be hit by Nicole, her psycho-bitch former bestie who was drinking and driving after having an unsettling encounter with her mother.
Thankfully, the most of the cast moved on to bigger (although possibly not arguably better) things. Christopher Gorham, Leslie Bibb, and Sara Rue all managed to breakthrough the mess and come out successful. Even Tammy Lynn Michaels married Melissa Etheridge. Plus, as with all these wonderful WB shows, there are great cameos by soon-to-be-hit actors: Wentworth Miller as a cheerleader wannabe, Anthony Montgomery (truly splendid before Enterprise took away any purpose) as Sam's boyfriend!
Perhaps the only thing that bums we out is that the creator said that the ending was going to be Harrison/Brooke (LAME!) instead of Harrison/Sam had it not been canceled. But whatever. The two seasons it was on still stand as a testament to a truly unique piece of TV that you really wouldn't be able to find now on regular broadcast. It was quirky and fun and moving.
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