6 DVDs, $69.99
Angsty teen Angela Chase (Claire Danes) was 15 years old when she told us
that "school is a battlefield for your heart." She would have aged another
13 years waiting for this overdue series, but this teenager was worth the
wait. Far more complex than predecessors like 90210, MSCL showed that the
small crises of adolescence — crushes, separating from parents and for
trailblazing gay teen Ricky Vasquez (Wilson Cruz), coming out — were more
involving than any soap opera twists. Augmented with cast and writer
interviews (creator Winnie Holzman notes that school is the closest thing to
prison most people will ever experience), this 19-episode set will make you
feel adolescence like a fresh bruise.
—James Poniewozik