MY SO-CALLED LIFE follows the trials and tribulations of 15-year-old Angela Chase (Claire Danes) as she navigates through the adolescent dramas of middle-class American high-school life. Danes won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the angst-ridden Angela, bringing universality to the character that has granted the show its timeless appeal. Although the mopey redhead is always the focal point of the episodes, there's no shortage of excellent supporting roles, including Angela's heartthrob crush Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto); shy admirer Brian Krakow (Devon Gummersall); wild-girl best friend Rayanne (A.J. Langer); closeted gay friend Ricky (Wilson Cruz); and often-clueless parents Patty (Bess Armstrong) and Graham (Tom Irwin). With its great acting, smart dialogue, and sharp direction, MY SO-CALLED LIFE deserved more than its single-series run and retains a loyal cult following.

Feb 2007

Future Hollywood screen star and Terminator 3 actress Claire Danes stars in this US mid-nineties teen soap that dealt with the ups and downs of being 15 in the minefield that seems to be the American high school experience. Lacking the strangely grown up mini-thirtysomethings of the later Dawson's Creek, it captured the period well with its Grunge-Lite soundtrack and Gen X trappings. Also starring Fight Club actor Jared Leto, the series only lasted one season, perhaps because of its frank portrayal of a homosexual character in a less enlightened time in TV history. Fantastic television despite it's short so called life, this will be a nice nostalgic trip for those who watched it first time around and a welcome addition for TV fans who collect episodic drama on DVD.

Sam Jones, HMV Newport

• Born late in the grunge era, the 19 finely crafted episodes contain some of that moment's best raw poetry. - Entertainment Weekly