The freshman season of this college show (pun intended, hehe) was razor sharp before segueing into some decent middle years before falling off the shelf and petering to it's finish. It all begins when 18-year-old Felicity (the beautiful Russell) decides to follow her high school crush to college in New York. The show picked up a lot of flack, as the press labeled Felicity a "stalker", which I felt was ridiculous. She wasn't obsessed with this guy, wasn't peering in his windows, etc. Anywho, while trying to pursue him, she finds herself attracted to the R.A. (resident advisor) who helms the dorms. A wonderful pulling match begins as she tries to decide with whom her emotions lie. This goes on the entire year in some terrificly written episodes that keep you tuning in. The second season premiere was one of the more highly anticipated ones in tv that year, revealing Felicity's choice of guy. Unfortunately, after it's reached there's a sense of "where do we go now with the story" which started to drag the show down. Not to mention the much talked about hacking off of Russell's hair which proved disaterous. The second year managed some good drama, as they drifted from the Felicity/Ben/Noel deal and focused on some of the other characters. The finale was a tremendous letdown from the first year as they have she and Ben watching a movie on a roof to end things. Blah. Plus a big smack to the head of the WB for their frustratingly idiotic scheduling of the show, airing it 12 weeks in a row then yanking it for four months before bringing it back! The ad naseum stage was reached for the final two years as Felicity went back and forth between the two guys until it got annoying. I stayed because of the terrific actors who I came to really like. Russell was a perfect choice for the title character, a gorgeous and sweet girl next door, even if she did lack the body for it. Speedman, a strong, young actor, delivered nicely with his even-natured Ben, though prone to his outbursts. Foley had a nice-guy goofiness about him, sometimes busting me up with a facial reaction or oddball line of dialogue. You had Johnson who hung around only for a couple years as Julie, who I guess I was indifferent about. Nothing ever really stood out about her. Supporting people were the annoying Foreman as Megan, a goth-bitch who you wanted to sock most of the time. Grunberg generated some laughs as the hapless Sean, whose collection of ideas to make money always seemed to bomb out. Easy laughs came from Gomez as Javier, a gay Latino who ran the coffee house where Russell and Speedman worked. There were an assortment of others as well, too many to get into. But Elena was ok, Richard a geeky dumbass, and Fazon the by the book virgin. Everything was wrapped up after four seasons with a truly unique, if misguided attempt at originality, storyline involving Felicity going back in time to see "what if?". It turns out to be yet another plot letdown as she sees everything would've worked out the same anyway. They dig up Sarah McClachlan's "I Will Remember You" as we watch the cast smile in slow motion one last time. So, though not an amazing show, the characters will remain some of my favorites for years to come.
