My So-Called Life: The Complete Series (+ Book)

Named Entertainment Weekly's best DVD of 2007, this poignant series launched the career of actress Claire Danes and served as a role model for many of the teen oriented shows on television today. Although the original series aired for less than six months (enjoying a subsequent lengthy rerun on MTV) in the mid-'90s, it has gone on to acquire legendary cache. Smart, bold and real, this series raised the bar for television shows about coming-of-age and life s transitions. Whether you ve memorized every line, or it s your very first time, My So-Called Life remains as fresh and honest today as when it premiered.

Along with nineteen episodes, the bonus features illuminate the origin, life and afterlife of this benchmark series with all-new interviews, episode commentaries and archival footage.

Bonus Features:

Featurettes with the cast and creators:

* My So-Called Life Story: The amazing story of the origins, life and afterlife of the series.

* A Conversation with Claire Danes and Winnie Holzman

* The Characters: Exploring the backstories and relationships of the characters.

* An exclusive interview with Claire Danes

* Photo gallery

* The Music: with composer Snuffy Waldren

* Deluxe book accompanies set and includes original art alongside full-color cast photos and liner notes from Winnie Holzman, Joss Whedon, Janeane Garofalo, and Michele Byers.

One of the most acclaimed series on TV during its brief run from 1994-1995, My So-Called Life pioneered the modern teen drama and made a star out of 15-year-old Claire Danes. Ostensibly centering around the trials and tribulations of high schooler Angela Chase, My So-Called Life actually expanded to include everyone in its protagonist's orbit, from school friends to extended family, and gave its stellar ensemble cast ripe material to work with during its too-short life. Produced by thirtysomething creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, MSCL evoked that yuppie-friendly show with its emphasis on finding extraordinary drama within ordinary situations, but was far more heartfelt and heart-wrenching, echoing the dizzying highs and lows of adolescence. As such, it developed a cult following among young viewers who identified strongly with Angela's high school traumas and followed her every move with rapt attention. (After cancellation, the show enjoyed a popular reprise on MTV.)

Avoiding the sensational, My So-Called Life tackled every teen hot-button issue imaginable (and pioneered the then-controversial topic of teen homosexuality), but with a clear-eyed perspective, never dissolving into soap opera-–even when Angela mooned over heartthrob Jordan Catalano (dreamy Jared Leto). Even as it mined adolescent angst, though, My So-Called Life never lost sight of its adults, with Bess Armstrong and Tom Irwin both phenomenal as Angela's parents, whose marriage was one of the most complex seen on TV since... well, thirtysomething. Through it all, Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Danes was a neurotic, touching, and funny center, whether obsessing over a zit or negotiating the rocky terrain of first love. Her funny, sobering, and empathetic portrait of teendom reminded us that in some ways, life was just an extended version of high school. --Mark Englehart