Jem and the Holograms

I think that Jem made me gay, or at least Jem was invented for gay boys. Ok, so there is this whole 80s diva, fabulous rock group aspect of the show. The hair, the clothes, the music is all...well...truly outrageous. It's over the top and appealed more to gay boys than straight girls even. Then there is a whole techn-magic aspect with Synergy and the holographic projections. With every episode there is drama, adventure, and a hyper-exciting cliffhanger at the end of every episode. Of course as far a purple-haired cartoon characters are concerned Rio has to be the hottest.

There were many aspects of Jem that was universally appealing. Jem is the alternate, secret identity of Jerrica so Jem is almost a super-hero especially because she has the holographic projection abilities that are like magic. In addition, there is a love triangle (a la Clark, Lois and Superman) between Jem, Jerrica and Rio. There is also the friendship and sisterhood between Jerrica, Kimber, Aja and Shana. If I remember correctly Jerrica and Kimber are biologically related and Aja and Shana were adopted by their father. Also there is the rivalry with the Misfits and Eric Raymond. There is intrigue and deceit where Eric is trying to steal Starlight music from Jerrica et al. There are some really good themes that have really made and impact on me and I think lots of other kids alike.

After I watch it now though, I realize how silly some is, how incredible and how hyperfabulous the show really was. I find it funny that it was so 80s and punk while still being fairly wholesome and quite fantastic. One scene was where someone broke into the house just to scare the girls, but then when he tried to escape he bumped into Kimber who dropped her lantern. It was the 80s not 1880s, why did Kimber have a lantern? Maybe I was wrong but I think they had flashlights in the 80s. Things like this were anachronous, silly and just strange. But it didn't matter. I woke up every Sunday morning and watched Jem religiously.

Thank you Jem for making me feel truly outrageous.