Yep, time for that old classic: the teacher who changes your world, then you discover the power was in YOU all along…

We disagreed slightly on how well this was done: I still love the ep, maybe because I hadn’t seen this trope done to death when I first watched it 16 (gulp) years ago. Stuart and Keris felt it was a bit tired and heavy-handed respectively, but I think it’s less hopeful than other similar stories, and that makes me like it more. Also, I love that Angela and Jordan both seem more engaged with life in this episode. Even Brian is less of a douche. But Patti seems to have had a lobotomy and Graam’s conscience is visibly stirred. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU, GRAAM.

Anyhoozle.

Keris, Michelle (@cloverness) and Jenni (@JuniperJungle) were back, back, back this week (yay!) but we had our second DVD-playing crisis of the MSCLRW experience, this time Kirsty (@novelicious)’s computer let the side down. (Boo!) [Double boo: I only JUST realised it’s all on YouTube.]

Here’s some of what some of us said:

@feelinglistless At what point did they decide to make Roger Rees use an American accent?

@JuniperJungle: That’s supposed to be an American accent?

@dianeshipley Where is this cat who forever needs litter?

@Novelicious NOOOOO! Am trying to do #msclrw But CD 1 won’t come out of the computer for CD 2 and I have no flipping DVD player!

@Novelicious I cannot believe. My So Called Life does not work. Not having a time. :( *toothpick in gob*

@Keris This is all very “Captain, my Captain” ain’t it.

@dianeshipley “His lips taste my juicy… juicy.”

@feelinglistless Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t every school scene only happen in that classroom?

@Keris “Unfortunately it’s total manure.” Heh.

@cloverness I always thought Patti was so utterly clueless for thinking Angela wrote it..

@dianeshipley I never loved a teacher *quite* this much…

@cloverness “He’s an adult I can look up to. Finally.” God, that must have hurt.

@cloverness I love when Jordan ‘he was the best teacher I ever had’

@dianeshipley Me too! Jordan has an emotion!

@Keris Ha! That’s what I thought. Ooh, Jordan woke up!

@dianeshipley Oh, VIC. You’re no hero. Love, Amanda.

@feelinglistless The best scene is the one in the bathroom between Rayanne and Sharon.

@Keris I quite enjoyed that, but it was a bit heavy-handed. I probably would have loved it at the time tho

@JuniperJungle I enjoyed that episode. Seen similar before (though probably actually after) elsewhere.

Next week, the cryptically-named (ha) Why Jordan Can’t Read. See you then! (1 PM BST, Twitter, hashtag: #MSCLRW).