Felicity - Freshman Year Collection (The Complete First Season) [DVD]

I had recently graduated from college when this show first aired but that didn't stopped me from indentifying with it. It's great to go back and watch this season and live again the emotions of being Felicity Porter. I think the beauty of this character created by J.J. Abrams is that there's a little bit of Felicity in all of us, no matter if you're male or female. The premise of the show was that the main character decides to follow Ben, her high school crush, to New York but deep down we all know that Ben was just the decoy to start a very interesting journey of self-discovery. Watching all the episodes again lets you re-discover all the characters, and if you're one of those people who have the 4 seasons, you'll start getting the idea of how they're going to develop. At first you can't understand why Felicity would follow Ben (Scott Speedman) to NY (aside from the way he looks). But getting to hear what he wrote in her yearbook and the way he talks to her at the end of the pilot episode (roof scene) he totally redeems himself and you start to understand. Yes, maybe real life doesn't turn that way but it's great to see if it did. The season has many many good moments. The eternal love triangle and comic relief of the show gets established when we meet Noel (Scott Foley), Meghan (the great Amanda Foreman), Sean (Greg Grunberg) and Javier (Ian Gomez). We also get to meet Elena and Julie. There are so many touching moments throught the season. I really felt for Felicity when her tape gets played at the dorm's party, when she finallys gives herself a chance to like somebody else and Noel's girlfriend appears, when she finds out that Ben likes Julie. It's an emotional rollercoaster for the main character and one can totally relate. That's why I didn't mind at all the last episode when we have Felicity caugth between Ben and Noel. I think the story needed to explore that role reversal (Ben pursuing Felicity) so we could start seeing her grow. Besides who doesn't just LOVE that first kiss between Felicity and Ben!Basically the show had great writing, great music, good stories, great acting and gave way to a solid narration of the emotional evolution of a very human bunch of characters that I think a lot people (especially those WHO GOT the show) miss. And experiencing this show shile you live in New York you relate even more.P. S. I can't picture any other actress than the very talented Keri Russell playing Felicity. In the DVD extras you can see her audition tape and you can tell why Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams fell in love with her. The extras are not that abundant but getting to watch the original pilot was a treat.

I still remember all the fuzz back in 1999 when premiering the second season of the hit TV-show "Felicity", audiences worldwide were shocked to see the leading character (until then portrayed by a doll-like looking Keri Russell), cut her long manes and exhibit an ultra (very and extremely) short hairdo. Nobody back then understood why the main character was diminished to a boyish-looking thin girl struggling her way in sophomore year in a fictional University of New York, instead of keeping the so far proved successful formula of a super model-looking actress struggling her way in sophomore year in a fictional University of New York.J.J. Abrams "Felicity" is still one of my favorite TV shows ever. And watching those old eps, I realize that the story would have been completely different hadn't Felicity have what is known as the "infamous" haircut. And mainly because, seen in perspective the haircut meant change, transformation, growth. From a shy, aimless, scared adolescent entering college, to a solid, at-ease, confident and focused young woman facing the challenges that come with growth and age. And that's precisely what "Felicity" is all about. No wonder how such a short-run show (it only lasted four seasons) is still cherished as one of their favorites by many many people around the world. And no wonder why Ron Howard is listed as one of the show's Executive Producers (...I mean...). In time, audiences finally understood what Felicity was all about .All the characters in the show, convey honesty and balance to a truly great script. Scott Speedman ("Ben"), Scott Foley ("Noel"), Greg Grungberg ("Sean"), Amanda Foreman ("Meghan"), Tangi Miller ("Elena"), Ian Gomez ("Javier"), and pretty much all the cast, they all are the perfect ensamble and significantly contribute to make this a picture-perfect entertainment product.A number of these actors were (and still are) subsequently used by Abrams in different projects (for instance, Kevin Weisman from a tiny little role as "Earl" in "Felicity" ended up being a major core character in Abrams' "Alias", as the pintoresque "Marshall"). Amanda Foreman ends up being Marshall's wife, in "Alias" too. Greg Grunberg ends up being one of Sydney Bristow's spy pals, etc.... And of course, who can forget the impressive transition of a very young Jenniffer Garner (who played "Hannah" in "Felicity") to her award-winning, worldwide worshipped role of Sidney Bristow in J.J. Abrams' "Alias"?Back to "Felicity"... The episodes are written in a smart, warm way that everybody can relate to. The music is simply spectacular (Heather Nova, Esthero, Pete Yorn, Peter Gabriel, the ever present Sarah MacLachlan, Art Garfunkel, Dar Williams, Kendall Payne, Madonna, Radiohead, Scout, Barry Adamson, Marc Cohn) and even featuring one of the main characters, Amy Jo Johnson ("Julie") as the performer of the opening theme of the first two seasons.

I grew up during the golden age of television in the '50s and I would have to say that Felicity is one of the finest crafted series I've ever seen. Being a fan of Keri Russell's more recent work in the films Waitress and August Rush I decided to backtrack and checked out the first season DVD from the local library. Well, needless to say it was a revelation and I'm totally hooked. [I hadn't watched the show when it originally came out on the WB channel as I don't like commercial interruption.] My wife is an actress with a fair amount of stage and film experience (e.g.studied method acting with Lee Strasberg) and she is hopelessly addicted, too.Yes, the acting, writing, direction, camera work, and editing are superb. But what really grabs me is the emotional availability of the characters. At the finish of just about every episode, one or more of them has captured my heart. I've laughed, felt love, experienced pain, and shed tears watching season one. It brings up a lot of older memories for me....for example, that initial sweet, wonderful feeling of falling in love as well as the wrenching sense of loss following the breakup of a relationship. Just about everyone can relate to that.Well, no matter what happens in the storyline the love always does seem to persist doesn't it? Like energy it can't be destroyed but just changes form.