Just Around the Riverdale

Betty and Veronica, Archie and the Gang were alongside Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, the Sweet Valley Twins as my fiction staples growing up.  So naturally I was curious of Riverdale, CW's take on the beloved comic series.  Normally, CW shows are not my cup of tea; hence my reservations.

I have started this because I have just discovered that Cole Sprouse, who played Ross' kid in Friends, has now grown into a very handsome gentleman.

Thoughts on the first three episodes (and youtube clips of Mr. Sprouse):
- It has a Twin Peaks vibe (or suspiciously wants to be).
- It doesn't achieve the ezzy-breezy panache of Gilmore Girl's spewing of pop culture references. It feels very forced.
- OH MY GOD, REALLY?! MISS GRUNDY AND ARCHIE!? WTF?! It's like they've defiled Ms. Grundy. I don't have a problem with a horny Ms. Grundy but I have a problem with her boning a student. Who is probably a minor. I just feel it's out of character for Ms. Grundy. Tangentially, why is Hollywood so obsessed with turning canonically elderly lady characters into hot, sexy tamales, e.g. Marisa Tomei's Aunt May? I forget this is CW.
- Former matinee idols Luke Perry and Skeet Ulrich are in father roles territory.
- Barbara is alive!
- They've turned Ronnie (albeit having fallen from grace) into a considerate, thoughtful character who  anyone actually wants to hang out with (most of the time). I like.
- Lili Reinhart looks eerily like Brittany Murphy.


Aside from the pop culture references abound and Ms. Grundy and Archie's affair (shudder), I found myself liking the third episode enough to stay in the program. The show is not yet finished, so I could not know who killed Jason Blossom from other sources and so, I watch some more.