TV's Best of Prom Episodes

I can neither confirm nor deny my presence in this picture...
Having just come off of my own prom, and having an unexpected blast, I thought I'd take a look at some of TV's famous attempts to capture that most anticipated of teen events. So here's some of my favourite prom episodes from recent memory that stand out in the slow dance of televised pop-culture; full of drama, angst, laughs and of course, glamour:

(In no particular order)

Smallville
"Tempest"/"Spirit"
One was the pivotal, high stakes season 1 finale, the other marking the end of an era and featuring an axe-wielding, psycho-ghost murderer, but both have major parts to play in the Smallville lore. The draw here wasn't the big catastrophes looming (the tempest itself and the aforementioned psycho prom queen possessor) but instead the small, personal dramas of Clark and Chloe. In "Tempest", Clark finally asked Chloe for a slow dance (to the series theme tune, "Save Me" no less) which was romantic and all, but it was of course interrupted by the storm blowing into town and Clark's responsibility to stop it, especially as his real love interest, Lana, was at risk. He never did return to the dance with Chloe and we could all feel her pain at being so close to what she wanted, but then being harshly reminded that it was never going to happen.

Skip ahead to season 4 and it was time for the senior prom, where amongst all the supernatural peril, "Spirit" saw the gang's high school years drawing to a close. Again, Clark gets his slow dance on, but this time with Lana despite his fears of rejection. Chloe looks on, admitting how the events of the last prom (in "Tempest") still hurt, although reminded by the glowing Lois that Chloe's future may be even greater than Clark's himself. Neatly tied into each other, both looking fabulously Prom-like, a great music selection and the dramatic, emotion driven beats made these two super promisodes gleam brightly amongst the sci-fi and action elements surrounding the show's mythos. 



How I Met Your Mother
"Best Prom Ever"

Still in its first season, it was important for HIMYM to find its feet by taking classic trope episodes like the Prom in a different direction, as to drift away from the Friends clone that many would label it as. So instead of going flashback style (Lily's moments notwithstanding), we saw the gang, at their current adult ages, crash a senior prom. There was everything in this one; Lily's character is developed through the realisation of her failed dreams, Barney sneaks into the prom via Turtle outfit and Ted and Marshall fight a kid with Nunchucks. Seriously, what else would you need to prove that How I Met Your Mother was a fresh, original sitcom that stood on its own two hilarious legs? 


Glee
"Prom Queen"/"Prom-asaurus"
Say what you will about those folks down at McKinley High, but they sure can throw a prom. Multiple, it would seem, and manage to keep both different enough from one another to justify its inclusion in the series. Whilst neither of these were ground-breaking in their prom portrayals, both certainly had their highlights, whether it was the surprise performance of Rebecca Black's "Friday" and the turmoil Kurt went through in "Prom Queen" or the bizarre Brittany "Dinosaur" number, the cute Becky/Puck stuff and that ever-hilarious Jar-Jar binks line in "Prom-asaurus". Cheesy, yes, but there was also a lot of the emotional high notes being struck throughout reminding all us Gleeks why Glee still rules the teen-drama scene.

Friends
"The One with the Prom Video"

'Twas a simpler time

Often hailed as one of Friends' greatest episodes, "The One with the Prom Video" is one of those moments in a sitcom's run where you watch it and just think "I friggin' love this show". And how could you possibly say otherwise? Because it was at that point when the critics began to say that this could well be the comedy that defines a generation and will run for years and years (at the time it was only on season 2). We don't even see them at the prom, yet the heart and soul of the prom atmosphere is captured perfectly in the few parts of the prom-prep we do see. I don't think I really need to run down the events of this cultural masterpiece, because if you haven't witnessed frumpy Monica, bitchy Rachel and horrifically Geeky Ross (we're talking 80s geeky), then honestly, what are you doing here?

The Suite Life of Zach and Cody

Less than ideal...

"A Prom Story"
You can't beat some classic Disney Channel, especially when it was a pre-pubescent Zack and Cody. In all honesty, this was probably the closest the show got to resembling some kind of sincerity between Maddie (Ashley Tisdale) and Zach. In hindsight with that particular relationship, even though it was just a kids' show, there were some poignant themes of tragedy and inevitability of heartbreak involved. So when the two dance, you know that for the significantly younger Zach this is his only realistic shot with the crush of his life. Bet you never thought Zach and Cody could be rich in humanised subtext, eh? Plus the Cody-Mime subplot here was a genuine funny highlight of the series.

Community

Yep, that's Community for ya. 

"Pascal's Triangle Revisited"
While not strictly speaking a prom, out of all the dances Greendale holds (some for the most obscurest of reasons), the "Transfer Dance" in this episode was pretty much the show's homage to the classic Prom episode. In true Community (and Greendale) style, it's not prom queen they're running for, but "Tranny Queen", while a love triangle then becomes a line, back to a triangle, and then a quad, and there is some very impromptu and inappropriate rapping going on courtesy of Professor Duncan. Add to that with Dean Pelton's developing Dalmatian fetish and Abed toying with the TV tropes themselves to deliver some genuine heart-warming stuff that rounds off the terrific first season, and you've got a sort-of-prom episode that won't be forgotten in a hurry.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"The Prom"
As a show having always been a very close portrayal of teen life (despite the whole demons and vampires thing), Buffy's Prom episode was damn near perfect, encompassing everything you could want from it. The hype and build-up, the preparation, the fun, the raw emotion, the hell hounds of doom -- oh right, that too. Yet even with its trademark slayage of creatures from the nether, each part of this episode somehow sprung from the prom ideal. These dogs were being set upon people in tuxedos and dresses, which seems daft on face value, but is given meaning from the lonely, prom-hater kid who trained them. Xander and Cordelia's friendship is restored through his generosity of buying her dress in her struggling financial times, and even Buffy gets recognition from her peers as being "Class Protector", in a truly eye-watering moment that culminated the past 3 years.

"Soul" Mates

   However, with all the joys and highs, there also came the huge, crushing lows. Angel came to the heart-breaking conclusion that to be with Buffy wasn't fair on her because of all the things he just couldn't give. So there it was, laid bare, the end of the Buffy/Angel romance as it came to a sad but necessary and realistic end. For one final time, the two shared an intimate moment in what would become the slow dance of the century when Angel turned up unannounced to the prom. "Wild Horses" played them out as we witnessed  those touching moments of doomed love at its peak of both tragedy and beauty; possibly the most powerful of all prom scenes going.

                                                                                                                                               

By no means a comprehensive list, of course, so sorry if I missed one of your own favourites. However, one thing that does remain clear throughout all of these is the theme of endings and beginnings, all resting on one night of living in the moment; and if these beloved characters can do it, then you bet that the rest of us (past, present and future) can too.

ATR

Trailer Tuesday: Chronicle

Behold the first trailer for indie-super powered flick, Chronicle. Now let me guess, you've never heard of it? Well me neither, but just give it a watch, you might find it rather impressive (I did!).

So here's the synopsis:

"Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over." 

And here's the chilling trailer:



So it starts out all well and good; three high school buddies just goofing around etc, etc. Then we see how they have these "muscle controlled" powers of telekinesis and impenetrable skin etc, etc. And then things get weird: the whole trailer changes tone very quickly into a dark, frosty thriller-type display of a movie. Very cool. And finally right at the end we glimpse that  supernatural hole in the ground that presumably grants them their powers.

   It may not sound entirely original, i.e. teenagers gaining some powers and messing around with them until things get serious, but it does look like it could be half-decent. The idea that one friend gets power hungry, and only the other two buds can stop him, potentially ending in something tragically dramatic and driven, is a story arch I'd be willing to pay money to see and experience, especially if handled with care. Plus the handheld camera style suggests that this could be the Paranormal Activity of the SuperHero genre.

The US release date is February 3rd 2012, but UK is still unknown. Either way, be sure to check it out if your interest has been piqued here. And remember, it was HERE that it was piqued: dudemeisterblogs.blogspot.com . Yep totally just plugged myself. On the same site I was plugging. Is that even legal?

ATR

More Trailers

The Morocco Trip: Part 1

Two days after arriving back from the sandy lands of Morocco, I've decided to share my travels with the world, or at least the small portion of it that reads DMb. So, as you may know, as part of a school geography trip, I (along with 30 classmates) jetted off to Northern Africa, specifically Morocco (no duh).  Here's a sort of commentary in pictures (and a few words) to guide you along my adventures. Enjoy!

On the plane over, easyJet no less. Pretty bumpy ride including one random hit of turbulence resembling that of a speed  hump. Didn't phase me though, and my ears stayed unusually unaffected by the changes in pressure. After about 3 hours we disembarked into the intense and humid Moroccan heat, before collecting luggage and changing money.  

This was the first coach journey, when we were all excited and happy, completely oblivious to how many hours we would end up lounging hopelessly in its not-so-comfortable warm embrace... However, Airport to Marrakech was a mere 20 minutes, giving us a chance to marvel at:

The wildlife...

The culture...

And the architecture...

There's still a lot more after the jump below!