I have a confession to make.

I am a sucker for teen television shows (not the confession yet). This is pretty obvious. I love Greek, and Gossip Girl, The OC and Dawson’s Creek are on constant DVD rotation, and I’m already set up to TIVO pretty much every new CW show.
So… despite my inclinations away from things that may ruin my all time favorite teen movies, I recently started watching Ten Things I Hate About You (the tv show). This is still not the confession.

I like it a lot. (Not the Confession) I loved the movie with a passion that bordered on mania, so this probably shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it id, despite my initial “STEP THE HELL AWAY FROM MY PRE-TEEN YEARS” reaction. Sure, it did away with all the silly Shakespeare references, and most of the plot, but it kept the anti-authoritarian ridiculousness and fantasticly high brow dialogue.

No in fact, the confession is… I think I like television Katarina Stratford more than movie Kat. Don’t get me wrong. I quoted Katarina Stratford, as played by Julia Stiles, ad naseum. I desperately wanted to be her army-t-shirt-wearing, angry-girl-music-listening, heath-ledger-kising self.

But, Katarina Stratford, as played by Lindsey Shaw, is sort of amazing. Maybe it’s just getting to spend more time with her before she becomes domesticated by Petruchio (I mean Patrick), or maybe it’s because Shaw doesn’t come with years of post-10 Things mediocrity baggage, but Lindsey Shaw’s sarcastic smart girl act is amazing, and the smart, witty dialogue that elevates this show every single episode seems to fall easily out of her mouth. Although no man can possibly out bad-ass Heath Ledger’s Patrick Verona, Lindsey Shaw has easily overcome my post-20s cynicism and turned me back into the girl who just wanted to be as cool as Katarina. Her angry, defensive, intelligent, amazing Kat is believably badass in a way few actress have the emotional maturity and wherewithal to pull off.

Okay, it feels so much better now that my television soul is unburdened with this.

NOTE: Okay, so it’s been a slow TV summer.