4 oktober 2000

By Alan Sepinwall

Speaking of former WB flavors of the month, Felicity is back (tonight at 9, Channel 11), and its position is even more tenuous than Dawson's Creek. Felicity was supposed to be the WB's transition show, from high school melodrama to college melodrama and, eventually, adult melodrama. But despite a promotional blitz that made it impossible to miss star Keri Russell's flowing mop, Felicity never really caught on in its first season and cratered in its second. WB executives blamed the year 2 slump on, of all things, Russell's short haircut, but the roots of the problem lay elsewhere, in the generally dreary storylines that Russell and her co-stars were slogging through for two years. Russell's hair is longer this year - though not as long as the original 'do - but that's not why Felicity is finally watchable. The tone is much lighter, and both the writers and the stars seem more comfortable with romantic comedy than the drippy drama of seasons past. Felicity was always an irritating character because the show took her so seriously, even though her actions and Russell's acting made her seem like an indecisive loon. When the writers acknowledge she's a bit of a twit - like tonight's season premiere, in which she impulsively rents a rundown apartment for herself and unsuspecting boyfriend Ben (Scott Speedman) - it can actually be quite charming. With a colorful but not cartoonish supporting cast in place, there could be some life left here. The creators just need to remember that college, for all its ups and downs, is usually a lot of fun.