Shark Bytes

It jumped the shark when I was playing a drinking game and I died of alcohol poisoning when they wouldn't stop working "like" into every sentence.

Not to mention that it's yet another outlet for Hollywood to complain about how good they had it when they were teens.

I'll say this, it was viewable to the point where I was sorta mad that it ended unresolved with Claire figuring out that Brian had written her that love letter when she thought it was from Jordan. I guess I identified with that Brian character a bit.

As for the Christmas episode, despite the angel angle, played pretty well by Juliana Hatfield, a lot of people on boards as well as critics thought that was an all-time great Christmas-themed TV episode and not a shark jumper.

I'm 32, so this show was tailor made for my generation. The "angst" and everything associated with being a teenager in the mid nineties. All in all it was pretty good. Far better than anything before it, and certainly set the stage for shows with some depth for a teenage audience. I watced a couple episodes my girlfriend had on DVD and I have to say alot of it was difficult to watch. A little to self important, but I am 32 now. As far as jumping the shark. I don't really think it got the chance.

This show never jumped the shark.My so called life was way ahead of it's time. It was the only real teen show out there. The school looked like a real high school. The kids looked young because they were. They weren't Hollywood beautiful their clothes weren't name brand or expensive, they sometimes wore stuff over, which loved because who had a new outfit everyday? They acted like real high school kids and played the coolest music. Man i miss that show.

The characters did NOT look too old, this was probably the one teenage show that did cast right. The actors for Brain and Angela actually both were 15. And I think that Sharon, Ricky, and Rayanne were all 18/19 so hardly university graduates. Jordan was the only one played by an actor in his early 20's (which DID make the scenes with Claire Danes a little creepy in retrespect). But the show did provide the explanation that Jordan was held back twice, so I think he was actually supposed to be 18 or 19 which I can totally buy. It's better than most teen shows manage.


Claire Danes being 14/15 when the show was on is actually why the parents were used so much. The child labour laws meant that she could only film a certain amount for each episode, and that's why most teen shows are reluctant to cast actual teenagers.

They run this show on abc.com.

The only truly good episodes I remember watching were The Substitute and the one where Jordan plays his song for Angela. I bought the series around 2006 and watched it again. I no longer had a crush on Angela and it was tough to sit though the episodes.

I think the actors looked WAY too old to be 15-16...they looked like university students.

I finally got to see this series recently and I think it's one of the best shows ever made. There is a lot of realism in it. And the 'Ghost' episode and dreamlike sequences give it a uniqueness. Being a huge fan of Juliana Hatfield probably makes me biased, but I think she acted well.
I think it's Claire Danes best work as an actress; she is one of the greatest all time actresses.
I loved the show so much I bought a copy of the series.
I haven't been this blown away by a show since 'Freaks and Geeks'.
I wish I had seen My so called Life when it was originally screened, as I was a teenager at that time. Can't forget the 90's...

The Ghost episode....Lame

This was a decent show, kinda cute and pretty true to form of what its like to be a teenager. The idea was to present a realistic portrayal so what do they do? Throw in a episode with ghostly Juliana Hatfield. Had they simply left you wondering it wouldn't have been too bad but when the mom looks at her and says "how did you die" it was all over

This show reminded me what it was like to be fifteen again. Angela was one of the few characters in the mid 1990's who demonstrated the complex struggle of being young and misguided by the boomer generation, while too fast hurrying to grow up among your peers.
The network made the mistake to cancel this and keep something like "Full House" and "Family Matters" for as long as they did.

The show was pure genius. It was too good for its time, what with the sheer connexion it made with...with.. reality. There has never, ever been a show like it, and there really never will be another one. I don't know why they pulled it off the air, too much acceptance of gay characters, I guess. It just reflects so much how teenagers (and I am one, so I can kind of say this) think, and act, and react, and live their lives. The show made a stab at teen drama and got right at the heart of things. It was beautiful, like someone else said, "a classic".

the adults were not very well written. the parents were writtenlike cardboard figures at times. only the kids saved the show. it had an 80s feel to it sometimes, not quite 90s. mixed results.

MSCL changed TV. There has yet since been a show as deep as that for the age it is focused toward. I have the DVD set and I treasure it, it will never get old. Timeless classic. Viewers were ripped off when it was taken off the air and the campaign "Save My So Called Life" was ignored by TV execs. When your audience is telling you what they like, why would you ignore it!!!!!!