You know the girl in high school who has everything? She’s rich, gorgeous, popular and in many cases, incredibly shallow and/or bitchy? There have been quite a few of these women scattered throughout TV history. They’re often one of the antagonists in the series; there to make the protagonist stand out as more of an every-man. Every once in a while in a TV series, the “rich bitch” character slowly evolves. Typically, the writers start putting her in situations where she’s forced to interact more with the main characters and slowly but surely, she becomes less of a snob and more of a moderately-superficial pretty girl whom we love despite her former reputation.
The above does not apply to all TV snobs. For example, Madison Sinclair on ‘Veronica Mars’ never reformed. She started out as a bitch and the last time we saw her in season 3 of the series she was just as mean, if not meaner, as she was in the first season. While that might be the more realistic approach, in terms of TV writing, I can’t help but love the girls who change their ways and become one of the team. So here’s my list of favorite reformed TV snobs:
Kelly Taylor - Beverly Hills, 90210
When Kelly first appeared on screen in the pilot episode of ‘90210,’ we learned that she’d recently had a nose job. After meeting Brenda, Kelly began to school her on the rules of getting by at one of the country’s richest public high schools. Not only was she a total snob, but she also had a bit of a reputation for being promiscuous.
The Reformation: Through her friendship with Brenda and eventually, Brandon, Kelly’s character softened a lot. We learned that her mother was a coke-head and her daddy was out of the picture. Though she did steal Dylan from Brenda, that had more to do with her not being a good friend than it did with her being a snob. In the college years, Kelly shed what was left of her superficial nature and became almost unrecognizable from the girl she was in her first junior year at West Beverly. Most of that could probably be chalked up to growing up but its likely that she was affected by the many romantic relationships she had, not to mention some of the other unfortunate events that happened to her which included: Getting burned in a fire, getting hooked on cocaine, being stalked, joining a cult, getting shot and getting raped.
Cordelia Chase - Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel
Cordy was the queen bee at Sunnydale High. She attempted to become friends with Buffy when the Slayer first arrived in Sunnydale but Buffy’s slayer-work caused her to stand out as a bit of a weirdo which dropped her off the A-list within the first episode. After that, Cordelia lead the charge in treating Buffy as an outcast.
The Redemption - After a few demon encounters, Cordelia eventually started spending more time with the Scoobies. When she started dating Xander, her character really began to transform. We saw the side to her that needed to be loved. Unfortunately, Xander broke her heart when he cheated on her with Willow. By then though, Cordelia had become part of the group.
The Second Reformation - After her family lost all of their money, Cordelia left Sunnydale and moved to LA and became part of the ‘Angel’ crew. Like Kelly in the college-years of ‘90210,’ Cordelia shed what was left of her rich-bitchy ways once she was out of high school. She became the heart of Angel Investigations and while she still had a bit of attitude on occasion, she was no longer thoughtless or selfish.
Whitley Gilbert- A Different World
When ‘A Different World’ spun off from ‘The Cosby Show,’ the series centered on Denise and her experiences in college. During that time, Whitley was the quintessential southern belle. While Denise came from money, she was far more laid back while Whitley flaunted her wealth and lineage to anyone who would pay attention to her.
The Reformation:When Denise left the show after the first season, Whitley became the main female character. While she remained just as privileged as was before (at least, until she graduated), she became a lot more likable. Her attitude slowly adjusted, especially when she fell for and eventually started dating Dwayne Wayne (whom she went on to marry at the end of the series).
Blair Warner - The Facts Of Life
Throughout the first few seasons of ‘The Facts of Life,’ Blair was a total Daddy’s-girl; Rich, beautiful, popular and extremely vein. She considered herself above everyone else, especially Jo. She had lots of boyfriends whom she had no problem tossing aside when she grew bored of them and even bragged about it on occasion.
The Reformation: As she grew up, she never fully lost her superficiality but she did become much nicer. There were little growth-experiences that aided in the reformation. For example, she got over her jealousy of her “special” cousin, Geri with the help of Mrs. Garret. Blair and Jo never used to get along but eventually they developed a pretty solid friendship despite the occasional ribbing they exchanged.
Honorable Mentions:
Rachel Green - Friends
In the pilot of ‘Friends,’ Rachel had just left her fiancé Barry at the alter and was ready to live without her father’s credit cards. The reason I left her off the official list was because her reformation happened pretty fast. In the first season we saw her trying to learn how to get by without her parents' money but with the exception of the hilarious flashbacks and home-videos where we got to see what she was like in high school and college, she didn’t really qualify as a snob in her adult years. In a sense, the Rachel Green in her adult years was the reformed version of the high school versions of Kelly Taylor or Cordelia Chase.
Hillary Banks - The Fresh Prince Of Belair
Hillary didn’t make the list because she never really reformed. From the beginning of the first season all the way through to the end of the series, she remained just as obsessed with being beautiful and having money as she ever was. Her superficiality was one of the reasons her character was so hilarious and since the show was a comedy, it wouldn’t have worked if the writers decided to change that side of her. I’m sure there are other similar characters throughout the decades of TV comedies and dramas but those are my favorites. If there’s someone I left off the list that you feel needed to be mentioned, feel free to post a comment below!
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MTV Movie Awards (ABC) 8:00 pm
Celebrity presenters, musical performances and lots of laughs are predicted to ensure. Sarah Silverman hosts. The pre-show starts at 7:30 pm
’Creature Comforts’ (CBS) 8:00 pm
(Series Premiere!) – I’ve heard virtually nothing about this new show but that could be due to the fact that I don’t watch much CBS. Its about a bunch of clay-animated animals talking about life. Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard anything about it.
’Hell’s Kitchen’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
(Season Premiere!) – Gordon Ramsey returns to berate another group of talented chefs.
’On The Lot’ (FOX) 8:00 pm
Five of the remaining filmmakers screen their movies. Anyone still watching the show can call in or vote for their favorite film online.
’Punk’d’ (MTV) 9:00 pm
(Series Finale!) – It’s the last episode of the series – for real this time (probably). Ashton gives out awards for his favorite Punk-ies.
’Criss Angel: Mindfreak’ (A&E) 10:00 pm
Luxor Light (Season Premiere!) – Criss Angel is back to freak your mind. In the premiere of the third season, Duane “Dog” Chapman appears in the episode and Criss attempts to levitate above the Luxor Hotel and Casino.
’So You Think You Can Dance’ (FOX) 9:00 pm
(New!) – The city-to-city auditions are over. Everyone who made it to Vegas will perform various styles of dancing to see if they can make it to the next round.
’American Inventor’ (ABC) 9:00 pm
(Season Premiere!) – The inventors are back! In the second season of this reality competition, more inventors will come out of the woodwork to show off their latest home-made gadgets and gismos, most of which will be a complete waste of time and money. I love this show.
’Traveler’ (ABC) 10:00 pm
New Haven (New!) – Tyler and Jay head to New Haven to see if they can find any evidence to prove Will existed. I forgot to mention this show in last week’s “What To Watch” but as far as summer dramas go, its pretty great.
’So You Think You Can Dance’ (FOX) 9:00 pm
The group of semi-finalists get narrowed down to twenty as the callbacks continue.
Painkiller Jane (Scifi) 10:00 pm
Friendly Fire (new!) – Jane wakes up with no memory of recent events and learns that she killed Riley.
Shrek (TBS) 8:00 pm
As much as I love this movie, I haven’t watched it in at least two years. I haven’t heard good things about the third Shrek but the first one was definitely a classic and I’m about due for a re-watch.
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