The Baby-Sitters Club (1990) User Reviews

Looking Back

[DimlyGlowingEmber · 8/10 · 14 June 2007]

I decided to take a look back at the BSC series here on IMDb. I agree with many of the other comments, it was definitely well casted. Much more so than the movie. While I did like the movie, the casting didn't make much sense. They chose to cast well-known actors, for the most part or at least more well known than were on the series. Larisa Oleynik had Alex Mack, Rachel Leigh Cook had Tom & Huck and whatever else she'd done by that point.

It wasn't about making the series we so treasured come to life. It was just about making as much money as possible, during that summer of 1995.

My only problems with the series was that it was too short and didn't expand enough on its own. It could have become an offset while mixing aspects of the books into them. Like what there lives were like in between each book.

I'm not sure why i'm writing about this 12 years later. But hell, I'm off today, so why not?

Wasn't terrible

[dreakathy · 6/10 · 27 April 2012]

It certainly wasn't Ready Or Not or Flash Forward, but the Baby-Sitter's club series wasn't awful either.

Though the show didn't use story lines from the books, the actors more then made up for it. They may have looked a little older then they were portraying, but they hardly looked any older then the girls that portrayed the characters in the awful movie that followed.

I do believe that Ann M Martin was happy with this series as compared to the movies. She may have made more money with the movie, but the series; to me anyway was more realistic and more age appropriate.

I do wish they had stuck more to the plots of the actual books, but I understand that they may have wanted to try a different route to draw in more readers.

childhood favourite

[stellamarianx · 8/10 · 18 October 2005]

i think this show is great, in a childish (well it is for kids), silly way. this used to be one of my favourite shows when i was little as i also loved the books of the bsc too. my fave character was claudia, i used to think the actress playing her was so pretty. now she looks too old to be 13, and so does dawn.

the girl playing dawn was so annoying.her voice grated on the nerves, esp. during the episode where she tries to save the planet (it was funny seeing zach braff in that episode , he looks so different) the actor who played kristy was really good. just how i imagined kristy, bossy, loud, obnoxious....

all in all this series was okay. great back when i was a kid but now is pretty dated and some of the acting is a bit wooden. also i didn't like the mary anne. she was too tall and whined a lot. i think that stacey was the best actor after kristy, she was really good. jessi was pretty great too.

Ah, it's enjoyable to an extent

[QueenMakeda84 · 11 January 2005]

I liked the show. What can I say? I found the characters more like the book's than the movie ever did. I never had the delightful privilege of having Disney on my cable line-up as a child. So whenever they had a free preview weekend, I would usually hog the television to wait for this show and "Ready or Not". I own one tape of 2 episodes of this show and I know it's ridiculous and corny and all that jazz, but I still like to watch it because it reminds me of my childhood. Sure, the episodes never reflected the books, but it was just seeing the book come to life that really got you into it. I felt I knew the characters intimately, so I enjoyed seeing them in action. As the first visual rendition of the books as well, they have a special place in my heart. You can't expect the show to be Oscar-caliber. It was probably Canadian and it was Disney for goodness sakes! You can't expect much in that sense. But, as a show for growing up girl in this world, it wasn't a bad watch. If I saw it on the air, I'd watch it. Purely for the nostalgia and not the exemplary acting and mesmerizing plots.

Much better than that poor excuse for a film!!!

[Ally-19 · 10/10 · 19 March 1999]

I remember watching this with my friend, and to tell you the truth - it's not that bad! Sure, it's corny and cheesey and whatever, but the actresses were a hell of a lot better than those morons that acted in the movie!! At least these actresses made their friendship seem natural rather than forced and awkward like the actresses in the movie! This, to me, is a classic (genuine), it reminds me of when I was at school, and is a hell of a lot funnier and interesting than the film! In my opinion, if Ann M. Martin wanted to make a movie, than she should have done so at the time the TV series was being made! She should have used the same actresses that she had used for the TV series! To me, the characters described in the book were portrayed more realistically by the actresses in the TV series than in the awful movie!! I just regret the fact that the actresses in the TV series seem to have faded into oblivion whereas, the awful actresses in the movie have actually found more work!!! There is no justice in America!!! And by the way, if people criticise this series for being "unrealistic" then they should realise that the movie could hardly be described as "realistic". Besides the TV series was aimed at young teens, so it's hardly going to show sex, violence and bad language is it?!?! People have to put this into perspective, and when it is put into a young teen's perspective, it works out as a great TV series!!

Not as bad as all that...better as it went along.

[JohnnyOldSoul · 17 August 2005]

Wow, some pretty strong comments on this show! Honestly, it's not as cheesy as some make out. Sure, it's not Citizen Kane, but for what it is, it's not bad at all.

First, I think the casting was great. I often found it unbelievable in the books that the girls were only in Middle School, considering all the things they were able to do (go to NYC at the drop of a hat, babysit infants, etc), so casting older actresses made the whole thing more plausible. Also, I think the actresses have been unfairly criticized, I think it was the writing that was a bit off, it was geared a little too young to be believable, not the writers fault or the actresses, just how it worked out. Also, those who have commented on the lack of television and film appearances of the actresses post-BSC should be aware that the majority of the performers on this show were from the stage, and many returned there after this series.

The series was much closer to the books than the film was, and the supporting cast did well. As the show progressed, it improved drastically. The performers had gotten the chance to get to know each other and develop a working relationship, and the story lines also began to embrace heavier topics, such as divorce and the destruction of our environment.

Good fun to revisit on rainy Saturdays, and something I will surely share with my own children if I am blessed to have any.

Better than the movie

[liberty_mks · 26 August 2011]

There are thirteen tapes, thirteen episodes of the Babysitters Club show. Why they didn't make more I will never understand.

The young actresses in this film are brilliant, they are believable as the characters because they are just normal girls, you could imagine them living down the street playing with your kids.

Each video presents a wholesome and fun experience for your daughter. Just like the books do. Some of them are mysteries and some are just fun stories.

If you want to provide your daughter with a good series to watch or read that presents a moral foundation you can be proud of this is it.

The film version pales in comparison to this series. You may recognize a lot of the actresses in the feature film but they don't embody the characters like these girls did.

Here are the names of the tapes in the series if anyone is interested in obtaining them.

Mary Anne and The Brunettes Dawn and the Haunted House Stacey's Big Break Kristy and the Great Campaign Baby-Sitter's Special Christmas Claudia and the Missing Jewels Dawn and the Dream Boy Claudia and the Secret Passage Jessi and the Stolen Secrets The Baby-Sitters and Boy Sitters Dawn Saves the Trees Stacey Takes a Stand The Baby-Sitters Remember

They Never made an episode out of one of Mallory's stories though...I never got that.

Intoxicating!!!!

[homajo · 21 June 2000]

As a member of the "Babysitter's Club Generation", I was probably the only 9 year old not reading the books (there were what 250 books?). But now as a 20 something, I, for some reason, find the re-runs of the show irresistible. If I flip through the channels and it is on, I find it almost impossible not to stop and watch. Yes, I know that the show is incredibly stupid and the acting is quite lacking, maybe it is the escape back to my childhood that I need. I don't recommend anyone watch it, but don't feel shame if you do.

Loved the books, show and movie

[Mattswife97 · 14 June 2002]

I don't know what everybody's problem is. I mean it was just a television series that didn't last long. If you loved the books, and I mean really really loved the books, then you will like the series, which I don't see on television anymore why?, and the movie, which was alright but the television show was better. It was about a group of friends, best friends to be exact, start their own business baby-sitting and becomes successful. It showed that no matter what, they can get through anything.

It is ok.

[AeroSP79 · 20 January 2001]

I haven't seen any of the episodes in quite sometime so I don't know how I would feel now - I would probably not enjoy it as much. I loved this series of books when I was 9-15 (I have over 100 books if you count the other series it spawned - and I don't plan on getting rid of them), so when I saw there were videos of it, I was happy, I own a few of them as well. When I watched them, I liked the episodes and I wasn't expecting it to be plots from the series (though a few came close) - It felt like I was watching another story to the series of books. The girls in books always seemed older to me, even when I read one at 16, they still seemed like they were not 13 but much older, so if they seem older in the episodes, it was ok. A quick little story - Once my Science teacher in 5th grade showed one of the videos and I was excited and my classmates basically knew already that I liked the series but if they had any doubts those doubts were cast aside.

Pitiful

[Cyprus386 · 18 February 2000]

When I was younger, I was obsessed with the series that spawned this mess. Now, I take one look and change the channel. The shows usually have nothing to do with plots from the books. The actresses are all off living in has-been land, and I guess we all know why! This show killed their respective careers. Not even Danny Tamberelli could have saved this, and he can't save anything. The actress (can I even call her that?) who played Claudia always looked like she was upset, or about to blow her top. These girls are supposed to be in middle school, and they look like college graduates. Someone save me before I watch this mess again.

What a "classic"(sarcasm)

[Goon-2 · 19 February 1999]

I LOVED these books when they first came out and until several years after, so of course I had to try the silly TV series that was spawned from them. How was it? Well, I think I was 10 when I first watched, and I didn't even like it then. That was when I took "The Baby-sitter's Club" seriously, and I didn't like how they used different plots. Also, I was not crazy about the actors. They could have done better with many of them. The one who played stupid Mary Anne doesn't even REMOTELY look like the dumb character on the book covers.(but to give her "credit", the actress is pathetically probably one of the "better" ones.)

Anyway, when I was 10, I saw the show, didn't like it and went on with life. Several years later, I discovered that they were showing reruns on the Disney channel, so I decided to check one out. How was it? Well, it was still as corny as ever. If it had been more popular, it would have been to TV in the '90s what Full House was in the '80s and what The Brady Bunch was in the late '60s and early '70s. Those girls are supposed to be 13 and they act about 35! In one episode, when stupid Kristy (who I never liked in the books, and most certainly don't love in the show) was helping some third grader run for class president, and she and her pals were thinking up slogans in the street. When they finally found one, they chanted it over and over again and squealed and giggled as that silly theme song played in the background. Yuck! "Real" people would never be caught dead doing such a thing. Another particularly nauseating episode was when some boys tried to join the BSC.

Well, the episodes may have been nauseating, and I don't care for many of the casting choices. Stupid Dawn was supposed to be from California, and sounds like some reject from New York, and Kristy simply bugs me. The other's aren't much better. It is these flaws and the fact that it also tends to be BORING that make me not exactly take this show seriously, but it is entertaining, neverthless. What a "classic."

well..

[incessantly · 12 June 2003]

I've been reading the books for years.The tv series was corny but I never missed it when it came on.It would have been better if the girls actually looked the age they were supposed to play and if they followed the story line from any of the books.

Cheesy...

[Zoes · 20 July 1999]

I loved the books growing up, and I loved the movies when I was younger. But while flipping channels, I stopped upon the show playing as a rerun on the Disney channel, and I realized how truly corny and fake the show is! I mean, the girls are supposed to be 13, and a lot of them look a heck of a lot closer to 17 or 18. Their friendships don't seem real, like the girls really know each other, and they just do a lot of giggling and acting ditzy to detract from that. The plots were usually pretty good, but the acting was pretty bad. No wonder none of these actresses made it big...the Baby-sitters Club really didn't give them a chance to show off talent!