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apocalypsosAaaaaand now I kind of want a BSC post-apocalyptic story.
But, yeah. I spotted on Jezebel that Scholastic wants to reissue the Baby-Sitter's Club books with updates for the current day, and I had basically the same reaction as a lot of the people in the comments.
What's wrong with them the way they are?
Are they dated? Yeah, sure. But I can recall watching reruns of Gilligan's Island and I Dream Of Jeannie and Bewitched when I was a kid, not to mention reading Stephen King books in my early teens that were written around the time I was born, and I actually managed to survive decades-old cultural references without suffering a massive embolism. And seriously, a large part of the fun of reading the books was laughing at what Claudia wore. I'm sorry, but even back then it was hilaaaaaarious. She goes out in public like that?! Bwahahahahahaha!
But there's one thing that makes an update of the BSC books patently ridiculous, and it's the cell phone.
I can understand that they would update perms and typewriters, but all of these girls would have cell phones at this point. Much like a lot of plots set in the past, a cell phone completely eliminates the need for a lot of plots where you simply can't communicate with someone and -- using an example from the Jezzie comments -- race a sick child to a hospital because you can't reach their parents at a game. It also completely eliminates the need for meetings three times the week at a house with an available phone. There comes a point where you've gone from updating the books for the modern day and completely altering the landscape of the stories.
And as is stated in the Jezzie write-up, if they're "classics," then no touching!
EDIT: Also, it's maybe a little bit criminal that there is not a BSC futurefic out there in which a grown Claudia goes on Project Runway.
But, yeah. I spotted on Jezebel that Scholastic wants to reissue the Baby-Sitter's Club books with updates for the current day, and I had basically the same reaction as a lot of the people in the comments.
What's wrong with them the way they are?
Are they dated? Yeah, sure. But I can recall watching reruns of Gilligan's Island and I Dream Of Jeannie and Bewitched when I was a kid, not to mention reading Stephen King books in my early teens that were written around the time I was born, and I actually managed to survive decades-old cultural references without suffering a massive embolism. And seriously, a large part of the fun of reading the books was laughing at what Claudia wore. I'm sorry, but even back then it was hilaaaaaarious. She goes out in public like that?! Bwahahahahahaha!
But there's one thing that makes an update of the BSC books patently ridiculous, and it's the cell phone.
I can understand that they would update perms and typewriters, but all of these girls would have cell phones at this point. Much like a lot of plots set in the past, a cell phone completely eliminates the need for a lot of plots where you simply can't communicate with someone and -- using an example from the Jezzie comments -- race a sick child to a hospital because you can't reach their parents at a game. It also completely eliminates the need for meetings three times the week at a house with an available phone. There comes a point where you've gone from updating the books for the modern day and completely altering the landscape of the stories.
And as is stated in the Jezzie write-up, if they're "classics," then no touching!
EDIT: Also, it's maybe a little bit criminal that there is not a BSC futurefic out there in which a grown Claudia goes on Project Runway.
