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Step 2: Satire or soap opera?
We love the pretty clothes and the pretty people doing not-so-pretty things, but what's missing is a consistent tone. Is "Gossip Girl" a fun teen soap with unusually attractive parents, made more interesting by the trappings of extreme wealth? Or is it, with Blair's quest for minions and philosophy about generations of breeding, a social satire on eating the rich? The over-the-top moments are often great, but the straight-up drama can sag. But make a call and stick to it (and if the choice were ours, we say jump into the campy pool), the water's warm.
