In an age before algorithms or social media, Mike and Matt Chapman went viral the old-fashioned way ā uploading good stuff at a reliable pace that was so quotable it rewired the brains of an entire generation. All of Homestar Runnerās bits, japes, and inside jokes were heavily regurgitative of 1990s media ā cartoons, video games, action movies ā but while the flagship āseriesā of the website was the Strong Bad Emails, I have a dark horse contender for the best of HomestarRunner.com.
With the Teen Girl Squad, the Chapmans turned their eyes to the wide world of Shows With Stuff Executives Think Girls Like, and itās kind of the tightest bit they ever uploaded.
The conceit: the ongoing adventures of ambitious Cheerleader, overachieving So and So, drab Whatās Her Face, and unpredictable The Ugly One ā with each episode presenting some kind of challenge (usually to get one or several boys). But the framing device of Teen Girl Squad was a comic made and narrated by Strong Bad, first as a challenge and then, itās implied, because he just enjoys making it.
This creates a teen girl āshowā as interpreted ā or perpetrated, honestly ā by Strong Badās rather teen-boy-inspired capacity for violent doodles and paucity of artistic talent, a show where several or all of its stars meet some kind of grisly Looney Tunes death in each episode. You wouldnāt think that formula would hit on any absolutely piercing observations of teenagehood, and yet, I do remember the age when I was too cool for Nick at Nite but also considered WB shows the pinnacle of sophistication.
I also recall being an awkward girl wearing pants and a shapeless top, harboring dreams of dating Sci-fi Greg, or the equivalent D&D rule-quoting and only-mildly-misogynistic-by-2000s-standards boy. Sure, sure, America Ferreraās Barbie speech is good, but have you seen the episode where the Girl Squad tries to form a band and So and So suggests they call themselves āSmartly Prettyā?
Modern kids may have had Riverdale, but I had my own absurdist teen media pastiche, still available in bite-sized YouTube segments to this day. Also, it gave us the phrase āTaking the vowels out of words doesnāt always make them cool.ā If thatās not peak internet prescience, I donāt know what is.