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I was dubious about the prospect of adapting the series.
The characters were vivid, distinct, and clearly drawn; their problems were often simple but deeply felt.
The world ofThe Baby-Sitters Clubwas straightforward and obstacles could usually be overcome but not always.
The protagonists, a band of self-sufficient, thoughtful, middle-school-aged girls (and one boy!)
dealt with health crises and upheaval within their families.
They were given real responsibilities and sometimes made consequential mistakes.
The two-decade time jump concerned me; what doesTheBaby-Sitters Clublook like now that all these kids have mobile phones?
Mostly, I had trepidation about mood.
Theres an almost paradoxical sentiment in it, something like heady, thrilling earnestness.
What does that look like onscreen?
It would be terrible for the show to be thoughtlessly sweet, but arch detachment wouldve been even worse.
The cast won me over first.
Claudia Kishi (Momona Tamada) is optimistic, creative, and a misfit in her own family.
Stacey McGill (Shay Rudolph) is sophisticated, self-conscious, and boy crazy.
Theyre just babysitters after all.
A kid gets sick while Mary-Anne cares for her.
Kristy doesnt want to babysit for her soon-to-be stepfather.
Not all the stories and ideas are small ones either.
Claudias elderly grandmother has a stroke, one of the plot points I remember very clearly from the books.
The show follows that story closely, spending time on Claudias despair, her feelings of sadness and abandonment.
For as gentle and adorable as the show is, believe me when I tell you thatThe Baby-Sitters Clubgoessurprisinglyhard.
The series is fully committed to its combination of personal teenage trials and important large-scale ideas.
