Sweet Valley Series

[Deleted]

So, how did the series end? I read up until around #50, plus the specials. I think my mom might still have my books hidden somewhere in her house.

[chonies]

Well, Vermiciousknid...that's kind of a question with no real answer, because the series, to the best of my knowledge, is still going. However, at some point, the original series ended, and then Sweet Valley University was launched. After that, there was Sweet Valley: Senior Year, which involves an earthquake and a whole lot of people dying (I think Enid? and some others) and Elizabeth sleeping around (I think). The hallmark of that series is the edgy glossy black covers and the text is interspersed with diary entries from assorted people.

I tried reading SVSY but it was too bent on being "real" and missed the mark by a mile. The frank talk about "doing it" did not make it Norma Klein, and the characters having vaguely real problems made it irritating and dull.

[dancedancexenu]

These reviews of some SVH classics (what, no werewolf? The werewolf in London one was ridiculous. As was the one where Margo-the-Wakefield-doppleganger killed Jessica but it turned out she had actually killed her own twin sister who had kidnapped Jessica and locked her in the high school basement and was living her life. God those books were dumb. But addictive) don't go to the levels of snark I know you masters could muster, but it cracked me up anyway.

Did anyone read the junior high Sweet Valley series? I think it was Sweet Valley Twins, but I'm not sure. I remember the special when the girls win a trip to Hawaii because Jessica won a cooking contest. There's mystery and intrigue and I think they have to outrun an active volcano at one point. Elizabeth is all uptight because she thinks Jessica cheated, but it turns out the company just chose the most disgusting recipe. It pissed my 12-year-old self off because I thought that they were ripping off the girls of Miss Scrimmage's Finishing Academy for Young Girls.

[dwanollah]

chonies said:

Well, Vermiciousknid...that's kind of a question with no real answer, because the series, to the best of my knowledge, is still going. However, at some point, the original series ended, and then Sweet Valley University was launched. After that, there was Sweet Valley: Senior Year, which involves an earthquake and a whole lot of people dying (I think Enid? and some others) and Elizabeth sleeping around (I think). The hallmark of that series is the edgy glossy black covers and the text is interspersed with diary entries from assorted people.

I tried reading SVSY but it was too bent on being "real" and missed the mark by a mile. The frank talk about "doing it" did not make it Norma Klein, and the characters having vaguely real problems made it irritating and dull.

*hands chonies a cookie for the Norma Klein reference*

Yeah, the whole Earthquake tragedy was just plain silly. Plus they killed off Olivia, which was dumb because she shows up in Sweet Valley University.

SVU was at first following in SVH's footsteps with the Never Ending School Year... lots of Chirstmases and Spring Breaks and Summer Vacations, but it was still their freshman year in college. Then there was a summer special edition where Liz and Jess and Todd and a couple others go on some Road Rules type of reality game thingie. Liz meets a hotttt bad boy named Sam, and Jess makes a new BFF, a gay guy named Neil, and they turn all Will-and-Grace. Then SVU came back with it being Sophomore year, and the twins and Neil and Sam moved into some condo and hilarity and hijinx ensued. Then Liz and Sam and Jess had a big ol' fight 'cos Liz was going to give it up to Sam, and Liz ended up running away to London in a really vile 6-part series that concludes with her getting together with the young lord of the house where she's become a scullery maid, despite the fact that he's already engaged. They sleep together, she's mooney in love, he dumps his society ho and then turns around and proposes to Liz with the engagement ring he's just taken back from his now-ex-fiance, which is especially touching.

Did any of you hear the rumor last year, via Bust magazine's interview with Francine Pascal, that she was going to be releasing a new SV series called Sweet Valley Heights, in which the characters were all living in some gated community and were in their 20s...? Sounded onerous, and I don't think it ever came together. A friend and I are totally wanting to write it ourselves, and have all sorts of half-baked outlines and ideas; we just can't decide if it should be semi-serious, or over-the-top parody.

[Deleted]

I had heard about that Sweet Valley Heights series and occasionally get very upset that it never came to be. I think Francine might have lost it because she also mentioned writing a broadway musical based on the fearless series (I think) and I have not heard anymore about that either.

In Sweet Valley Heights I assume that Liz will be married and will be writing for the local daily paper. During the course of the series she'll discover she's pregnant and will have to decide whether or not she'll return to work.

Jess will be living with some guy. Lila will be married to Bruce Patman. Just cuz I said so. She'll totally be on drugs and will be sleeping around on him. He'll be sleepign around on her. Todd will mow all of their lawns. I mean that literally. I always hated Todd.

[chonies]

I wanted to like Jeffrey, especially since he was a camera-toting soccer player, but I thought Todd was foxier. Liz dumbed him down, or made him dull; he was the guy in the inexplicable pairing, I thought. Jeffrey was a little too desperate.

[pezley]

Did any of you hear the rumor last year, via Bust magazine's interview with Francine Pascal, that she was going to be releasing a new SV series called Sweet Valley Heights, in which the characters were all living in some gated community and were in their 20s...? Sounded onerous, and I don't think it ever came together. A friend and I are totally wanting to write it ourselves, and have all sorts of half-baked outlines and ideas; we just can't decide if it should be semi-serious, or over-the-top parody.

According to the SV LJ Community - It's going to be called Sweet Valley Confidential.

[chonies]

Yay, but oh no! Alloy Entertainment are responsible for the Opal Mehta crap-fuffle.

[dwanollah]

Heights, Confidential, whatever... I'm still on board with the Todd-the-lawnboy idea! He sucked. So did Jeffrey for that matter. All of Liz's boyfriends were sucktastic.

[chonies]

So, I guess that means Todd is more of a Cletus lawnmower and less Foxy Lawn Boy. Which suits me.

Which, of course, begs the question of who the actual dreamboys are. Guy Chesney seems nice, but I think he had a mullet, like Allen Walters. Winston Egbert would be the obviously au courant "I Heart Nerds" choice, but his obsession with Jessica is sad. Also out are Nicholas Morrow and Steven Wakefield.

Maybe Lila's dad?