Missing video equipment and general dis-ease at Riverdale High puts us mise-en-crime-scene with Nancy Drew, esteemed teen detective who's solved tons of cases, both domestic and overseas and involving criminals as diverse as "robbers" and "arsonists." (Murderers and molesters need not apply! This is Carson Drew's daughter we're talking about.)
The ghostwriters wanted to start off The Case Files incarnation of the classic series with a real bang, so they pulled together a plot to end all plots. Nance goes undercover as a high school student, a ballsy feat for an 18-year-old. There, she meets literary analogs of all the Saved by the Bell prototypes: hunky jock, nervous nerd, kleptomaniac/wallflower, and enterprising blackmailer. (Slater, Screech, Lisa in a dream sequence?, and Zach. Totally Zach.) Nancy spends way too much of her time going to class and as a result gets caught in flagrante every time she breaks into a locker or a classroom. She also gets hot for her case contact, Daryl Gray, who has a nice ride and "blueberry eyes." Blueberry. Eyes. And before you think Nance was just hungry for pancakes, consider the fact that this crush lasted several days, which is like a marriage in high school. Nance even smooch-cheated on Ned Nickerson, who is tall, athletic, studious, and unjustifiably trusting. Considering this is the first book of the series, my moral expectations for her are at rock-bottom.
The resolution of the case is classic Cold War 80's, involving Soviet spies and briefcases. In unraveling this one, Nance crashes her Mustang and cashes in the insurance money ("and 20 years allowance!") for a new one quicker than a person could rent an Enterprise rent-a-car. Of course, the bigger tragedy is that Daryl's not a total sweetie: he's the contact for the Russians! Yikes! Nance still has sympathy for him, though, because we all have to make our luxury car payments somehow. She & the high school principal agree that the law won't come down too hard on poor Daryl since he helps them corner a Soviet (and takes a non-fatal bullet wound). Somehow, I think this one's a little out of their jurisdiction, but I guess we have to paint over the prison scene in pastel colors somehow.
Moral: If you want a nice car and need a nice-paying job to make that happen, aim for something mid-class so you have a smaller chance of getting blackmailed, jailed, or murdered. Daryl might have simply dealt some drugs to the football team a few afternoons after school and put 100% down on the Wakefield Twins' red Fiat after a few weeks of this. No need to go and get unAmerican in an American town like Riverdale! Also, he hardly got to put the moves on Nancy at all, which pins him as "foiled" in her book. Which leads me to moral #2: Ned Nickerson helps save the day, because Ned Nickerson is a good apple, even if his eyes are probably more coffee-colored.
Statistically improbable phrases: "blueberry eyes"
The ghostwriters wanted to start off The Case Files incarnation of the classic series with a real bang, so they pulled together a plot to end all plots. Nance goes undercover as a high school student, a ballsy feat for an 18-year-old. There, she meets literary analogs of all the Saved by the Bell prototypes: hunky jock, nervous nerd, kleptomaniac/wallflower, and enterprising blackmailer. (Slater, Screech, Lisa in a dream sequence?, and Zach. Totally Zach.) Nancy spends way too much of her time going to class and as a result gets caught in flagrante every time she breaks into a locker or a classroom. She also gets hot for her case contact, Daryl Gray, who has a nice ride and "blueberry eyes." Blueberry. Eyes. And before you think Nance was just hungry for pancakes, consider the fact that this crush lasted several days, which is like a marriage in high school. Nance even smooch-cheated on Ned Nickerson, who is tall, athletic, studious, and unjustifiably trusting. Considering this is the first book of the series, my moral expectations for her are at rock-bottom.
The resolution of the case is classic Cold War 80's, involving Soviet spies and briefcases. In unraveling this one, Nance crashes her Mustang and cashes in the insurance money ("and 20 years allowance!") for a new one quicker than a person could rent an Enterprise rent-a-car. Of course, the bigger tragedy is that Daryl's not a total sweetie: he's the contact for the Russians! Yikes! Nance still has sympathy for him, though, because we all have to make our luxury car payments somehow. She & the high school principal agree that the law won't come down too hard on poor Daryl since he helps them corner a Soviet (and takes a non-fatal bullet wound). Somehow, I think this one's a little out of their jurisdiction, but I guess we have to paint over the prison scene in pastel colors somehow.
Moral: If you want a nice car and need a nice-paying job to make that happen, aim for something mid-class so you have a smaller chance of getting blackmailed, jailed, or murdered. Daryl might have simply dealt some drugs to the football team a few afternoons after school and put 100% down on the Wakefield Twins' red Fiat after a few weeks of this. No need to go and get unAmerican in an American town like Riverdale! Also, he hardly got to put the moves on Nancy at all, which pins him as "foiled" in her book. Which leads me to moral #2: Ned Nickerson helps save the day, because Ned Nickerson is a good apple, even if his eyes are probably more coffee-colored.
Statistically improbable phrases: "blueberry eyes"
