Glow

GLOW: How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

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2020 is once again kicking us while we’re down! Netflix announced yesterday that GLOW is canceled. As many of you may know, the show had begun filming its fourth season when shooting shutdown due to the pandemic. And it appears that the pandemic has now ended the shows run for good. I don’t even production teams (especially those with larger casts) for struggling to navigate this unprecedented landscape. My first instinct, of course, is to wallow in sorrow forever. But I’ve decided to share a list of coping strategies instead:

  1. Check Out the Fabulous Documentary About the Real Show
    If you love the fictionalized version of GLOW, you’ll love the documentary about the real Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

2. Read the comic book series.
Keep the characters alive with the four-part comic book series.

3. Re-Design their fabulous costumes with the fan-made coloring book.
If you’ve ever wanted the opportunity to lend your artistic-hand to some
of GLOW’s most famous spandex attire, now’s your chance with this
super cute coloring book from Department of Awesome on Etsy.

4. Organize your friends to send a can of Summer’s Eve to Netflix, demanding they fund a special series finale when this is all over.
When promoting the shows first season a few years ago, Betty Gilpin
mentioned that a can of Summer’s Eve appeared on set as a joke until
they all realized how intimate the wrestling scenes were and people
started actually using it. I’m not endorsing this product — that’s between
you and your gyno — but it definitely seems like a way to get Netflix’s
attention! Here’s a list of other fan campaigns for inspiration. If you have
a better idea, let me know in the comments!

Kristy and The Great Reboot Idea

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ec64c567-ea00-4d5e-89be-225938f4cfbaFYI the latest reboot is The Baby-Sitters Club. I seriously could devote an entire blog to reboots at this point, but that is NOT my vibe.

The original BSC series was my jam. It originated on HBO in 1990, but those of us without that cable-packaged movie-channel add-on luxury were lucky enough to catch it in reruns on The Disney Channel in the mid 90’s.

So with this reboot I’m having a mixture of feelings, even more so than usual, because the news of this reboot makes me feel simultaneously very happy and very old. I didn’t realize how old the original series was until this very point in time. I was like “wtf it’s not like as old as Magnum, P.I.” But the thing is, it is like as old as Magnum, P.I. *Insert light weeping noises here.*

But in the spirit of summer, I’m going to bury bummer feelings into a glass of rosé and review every damn episode of this magical series in order because it is TIMELESS and I’m just majorly bummed that reboots have killed reruns. If they reboot Cheers, I will lose my mother-effing mind.

That said, the original BSC series is available on Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix. Watch along, won’t you?

First post on Friday.

Halloween Costumes for You and Your Platonic Life Partner(s)

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September is rapidly drawing to a close and I’m already gathering the ingredients to make my costume “very” because two of my BFFs and I are dressing up as the Heathers!! This is just to say that if you work hard, put your mind to it, and subtly suggest only pop-culture themed costumes to your best friends for several years running, you too can make your dreams come true. And just in case you haven’t thought of anything for Halloween 2017, here are a few very special suggestions:

Liberty Bell & Zoya the Destroyer
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Who knew the 80’s would feel so relevant right now? Russia. Thick Eyebrows. Proving your nation’s superiority in an all out battle in the wrestling ring!

How to do it on the cheap: Leotards, hairspray, bobby pins. If you’re doing it right, you’ll probably spend most of your money on hairspray.

Laura Palmer & Maddy Fergusonlaura-maddy

Is this the right time to admit that I couldn’t get into new Twin Peaks? Like so not into it that I can’t remember if I made it through the second episode and I definitely canceled my Showtime free trial before it was even over. But I love OG Twin Peaks and this costume idea. This costume is for you and your doppelganger/twin spirit/look alike cousin or just about anyone you want rockin’ back inside your heart.

How to do it on the cheap: You already have brown/blonde hair and your friend has the opposite. It’s 2017 and big glasses are back, so one of you already has some. ONE OF YOU HAS TO GET BANGS. The other has to cut them like you’re in a college kid in your dormroom and you’re sure you can give haircuts like a professional.

The Little Mermaid & Flounder
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If you are half-fish and your BFF is all-fish, then this costume is for you. If you feel like it’s the Mermaid Day Parade everyday, make this part of your world.

How to do it on the cheap: If you’re a mermaid and you don’t already know how to make this happen, then I suggest to you pick a different costume. Flounder should wear a blue tulle skirt, a yellow top, yellow tights, and make some stripes happen with painters tape.

All of the Murder Victims from Clue

So maybe you’ve got a lot of besties? If you’ve got a big crowd of people you platonically love and you want to go as a cohort, think of this as a macabre version of The Village People.

How to do it on the cheap: You should go all out on this one. Get real costumes. No one wants to see a singing telegram phoning it in.

GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

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Friends, lovers, countrymen (oh that’s not how that goes?), it has been a minute. I hope you’re all enjoying the beginning of summer. Here are some things I have been up to since we last spoke:

-I started dating again! Highlights include: a man who told me he lost all of his friends in his last relationship 45-minutes into our first and only date!

-I struggled through a hangover at my new job and was very successful at fooling everyone into thinking I was fine to “jump on that call” and didn’t feel like curling up in the fetal position under my desk. (Sadly, I don’t think I can add this to the “skills” section of my resume.) This was only the 2nd time I have ever been hungover at work: the first time being when I went out with a group a couple of years ago and elbowed the CEO in the eye on the dance floor! It’s okay. We’re on good terms. We still talk!

-I binge-watched all of the new Netflix series “Glow.” And that’s what brings me here today. I enjoyed every minute of this series, but I knew it would indelibly change the pop culture landscape of my mind when SPOILER ALERT: Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” was featured in the final match of the season. (Oh, that’s not something most people consider a spoiler? Well, excuse me for trying not to ruin the magic for those who are also big, big fans of The Legend of Billie Jean.)

Glow is a semi-biographical look at the 1980’s women’s wrestling show. (But I can say that having watched now the series AND the documentary–I am SERIOUSLY into Glow, guys–Netflix seems to have taken a lot of poetic license with this. The stars are Alison Brie and that woman who played the lady doctor in Nurse Jackie, but if you look at the image below, just over that dude’s shoulder…

glow-netflix-first-look-1

Yes, that woman biting her thumb is none other than the incomparable Kate Nash, songstress of my late teen years. Actually, I didn’t even recognize her, but I was singing “Pumpkin Soup” in the shower this morning, so is my subconscious that strong? Or maybe it’s the first bullet point on the list of things I’ve been up to?

Anyway, thanks to a former coworker (who may actually be my pop culture soul mate?) I have some really sweet videos from the real Glow to share with you.

If I had to give an elevator speech for Glow (the real series, not the Netflix series) I would say, “It’s kind of like The Warriors but if all of the gangs fought in a pink wrestling ring and also they did some MadTV-type sketches–oh and also some “rapping” in the style of Deborah Harry.” Go ahead, see for yourself:

Also, Jackie Stallone is legit Sylvester’s mom. HOW GREAT IS THIS? I cannot believe this beautiful, beautiful piece of camp existed and I didn’t even know about it. Did any of you watch this in the 80’s?? Please tell me all about it in the comments!