By Ashley Black and Whitney Young
Ashley Black is a freshman at St. Charles East High School and Mikhaela Padilla is a junior at Whitney Young Magnet High school. They are student reporters for The Mash, a weekly teen publication distributed to Chicago-area high schools.
Sometimes when your family and friends go on and on about a TV show, it can be overwhelming to even try to jump in and start watching. The best shows even seem like they have their own lingo. But fret not, dear reader. With our guide, you can talk about these cult-like shows as if you’ve been tuning in since the first episode.
‘Glee’, 8 p.m. Thursdays, FOX
Vocab:
- Gleek: A “Glee” geek.
- Asian F: Alludes to the false stereotype that all Asians are super-smart. Example: When Mike got an A- on his test, Tina called it an “Asian F.”
- Warbler: A preppy private school group that’s the main rival of the heroes’ group New Directions.
- Why you should watch: We love this show because anybody can relate to it. It features such diverse students and the ups and downs of high school. If you’re a musical person, this show will get you in a good mood because of its cheery and peppy songs.
‘Awkward’, MTV (renewed for Season 3 but no premiere date set)
Vocab:
- DTR: Define the relationship. Example: When Jenna and Matty are in a weird on-and-off relationship, Jenna’s best friend Tamara tells her to “DTR.”
- Asian Mafia: At school, lunch tables are arranged by ethnic stereotype. One group is the Asian Mafia, who seem like completely nice people, but if you get on their bad side, they’ll ruin your life.
- Why you should watch: It’s a quirky show that features the crazy and awkward life of Jenna Hamilton. We love the unrealistic, yet, in some ways, spot-on version of high school.
‘Doctor Who’, Saturdays, BBC America (new episodes start March 30)
Vocab:
- T.A.R.D.I.S: Specifically, it means “Time and Relative Dimension in Space.” In other words, it’s what the Doctor uses for time travel.
- Sonic screwdriver: A multi-functional tool used by the Doctor. Its most common function is picking locks, but it can also be used to perform other jobs such as medical scans, remotely controlling other devices and tracking alien life.
- Time Lord: An ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids. The Doctor is a Time Lord.
- Whovian: A fan of “Doctor Who.”
- Dalek: Daleks are aliens who are integrated with a metallic robotic shell. They are the oldest enemies of the Time Lords, and are famous for their catchphrase “Exterminate!”
- Why you should watch: Yes, it’s a sci-fi show, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all time travel and science babble. The show is written with such adventure, comedy, romance and occasional horror that it will make you laugh, cry and squeal in terror.
‘Sherlock’, BBC America (on hiatus). Catch up on Netflix!
Vocab:
- Holmesians: “Sherlock” fans, also known as Sherlockians (originally used to identify American Sherlock Holmes fans) and Holmeskillets.
- Moffed: A fan theory or prediction proven to be false by an episode. Derived from the name Steven Moffat (one of the writers).
- Homeless Network: A group of, yep, homeless people that Sherlock Holmes uses as spies and sources of information. Sherlock pays them a shilling a day to follow people or report on the whereabouts of someone.
- Moriarty: Jim Moriarty is the major antagonist of the show. He sponsors serial killers and works with Chinese smuggling gangs.
- Why you should watch: It’s the greatest detective story of all time! Sherlock will keep you on your toes, racing to understand the mystery and connect the dots before he does — which you never will, of course, because he’s Sherlock Holmes. With only three one-and-a-half-hour episodes per season, the series seems like short films.
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