Before there were Edward and Jacob, there were Ben and Noel. In my super-unscientific twitter/Facebook/instagram study, I have observed that a large sample of us are rewatching Felicity reruns on Netflix right now (a finding supported by this recent “Nostalgia Fact-Check” on NY mag).
I’m not sure what my hypothesis is about this yet, but I think it’s pretty interesting the way that Netflix instant almost functions like a tv channel we’re all tuning into simultaneously to revisit people from our pasts–like Jordan Catalano, Winnie Cooper, or Ben Covington.
Raise your hand if you’re cringing once again as Felicity tells Ben that she followed him to University of New York and then… Gasp… cuts her hair.
By the way, when I watched this over 10 years ago (louder gasp–but note the lack of Internet and use of cassettes on the show and it’s hard to believe it was only ten), I was all for Noel. Now I think I’d be “team Ben.” Do you think team Jacob will one day switch allegiance? All the little girls seem to like Jacob best, right?
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh man, I used to love Felicity! I’m scared to add it to my Netflix queue for fear it will consume my life. I was team Noel back in the day, too. Ok, I must add this to the queue now
I am Ben all the way. Felicity is by far my favorite television show and I rewatch it from start to finish roughly once a year. So happy to see that it is now on Netflix – how did I miss that?
I’m not on either team. They both annoy me.
Maybe that will change as I continue to watch, though…
I started re-watching this over the summer! I find Noel to be much more annoying this time around
Team Ben!
oh my goodness- I’ve been rewatching felicity lately, too! bahahaha and I LOVE it! But I’m always on the fence- sometimes I’m a Ben girl, sometimes it’s Noel.. I guess it’s the gemini in me (: and yes, uber loud GASP when she cuts her beautiful hair- but damn, can she pull it off!
It’s true! Even though I agree it was crazy to cut such beautiful hair, she looks cute regardless. (I actually wonder if the ratings took a dip just as much due to a slightly lackluster second season. It wasn’t as good as the first.)
ben, totally. man, i love that show.
This is really weird but I just started re-watching Felicity last week! Ben of course seems more attractive because he is unattainable, but Noel is the smarter choice.
*Sigh* I absolutely loved that show! I remember sobbing as I watched it….and saying “Yes! Yes!” “That is EXACTLY how I feel, how did you know?”
Ben, Ben, Ben…. a thousand times Ben
I recently re-watched the first couple seasons of Felicity too! I remember being very pro-Ben when I first watched the show, but this time around I found him infuriatingly childish (although still very cute).
That is true. I never found him cute, though, the first time around and now I realize how crazy that was!
I watched that show so religiously. Oh my goodness it was fantastic! I hated Keri Russell for dating my favorite guy on the Micky Mouse Club but after the show was over I loved her.
That goes way back! Hilarious!
I definitely liked Ben a lot more- although he was sometimes not as “nice”. I definitely miss the show!
I’m with Eva. They were BOTH annoying to me. Jordan Catalano on the other hand… Holy hell.
Interestingly enough, there is no one more annoying that Jared Leto. I’d choose both Ben and Noel over him!
This is too funny because I am totally watching this on Netflix right now AS I READ THIS! I didn’t watch it faithfully when it originally aired so it’s nice to get to go back and see what I missed. I keep switching back and forth on who I like between Ben and Noel.
Oh my goodness, I was just talking about “Felicity” last night with a friend and this exact topic of which we would choose…oh how I loved that show! I’d have to say Ben because I simply adore Scott Speedman!
My friends and I are such nostalgia type people, as are the people that fall into the same little window of years in our generation, and “My So-Called Life” was our life and so that time for us…oh Jordan Catalano! Such a great post!
Liesl
Team Ben!!!!!!
i adored felicity and was so team noel! I have all 4 seasons on dvd. thank goodness scott foley is now on true blood and grey’s anatomy
I think I’m finally, finally going to watch Felicity. I’ve always avoided it simply because we have the same name and I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing it with a character on tv. Everyone seems to love it though, so I think I’ll give it a go!
oh Jordan Catalano… those were the days, I dyed my hair red that year
I was team Ben all the way, funny how certain shows take you back in time.
Yees! I remember watching, talking about, and drooling over, that show, and….. TEAM BEN for me!!!
Cristy, I think I might have watched it WITH you!
I loved Felicity!! I was a Noel fan!
I started re-watching this summer too! I’ve taken a break but this has inspired me to get back on it…
Team Ben all the way– I was Team Ben when I first watched it as a teen and I am still Team Ben. Sorry, Noel, you’re just not someone I’d break into a pool with.
Ah! Cute!
How fun! I was definitely in the Noel camp. After reading this I’m wondering if I’d feel differently nowadays. Somehow I missed that this show was on Netflix…..probably because I’ve been glued to thirtysomething (makes me feel so old!). Going to start re-watching the Felicity episodes as soon as thirtysomething is finished!!!
Well, I have to admit that I skipped through season 3 a bit this time and it was the ending with the time travel that made me really like Ben this time around. But I think I chose more of a Noel in real life…
Not to be all “I just wrote about *all* about this” but I did and I totally agree! It’s like we assume everyone has a netflix membership, just like we assume cellphones and wireless these days. Ebert promotes this too, because he specifically revives old reviews of movies that are now streaming for free. It’s fun! It makes it easier for us to recommend movies to each other. Here’s the essay, (mostly mourning the end of the envelopes) if you’re interested: http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-12/articles#article=/issues/week-12/articles/netflixs-little-red-envelope-a-eulogy
AND I was nursing five-week-old Hudson and watching the first seasons of Mad Men, too! (Wish I weren’t caught up.)
I just finished the marathon a few weeks ago! I loved rewatching it. Felicity reminds me so much of my own college experience…it gets me every time. I went into labor with my son while watching one of the last Felicity episode while it was still on tv. And we named him Ben. Subconscious influence, I suppose.
That’s wild, Katie! It is so funny how memories will forever be tied to certain pop culture references.
BEN. Always have been, always will be. He’s so dumb, but so damn dreamy. Did you know that Scott Foley (Noel) was originally supposed to play Ben? Hard to imagine, right? I’ve had all the season on DVD for years and I love watching it with the commentary. Especially since they recorded the commentary a couple of years after the show ended and every once in a while they throw in a juicy detail about when Keri Russell and Scott Speedman were dating. Dear Lord, I’m a geek.
That is the thing I really miss with Netflix instant: commentary. I watched all of the mad men episodes with commentary and then the episodes I watched on Instant felt like they were missing something. I didn’t remember that they dated! We had a Keri Russell sighting recently and she is prettier than ever!
That is bizarre, I started watching that on Netflix this past Sunday! Team Noel- he is so stable!
He’s clearly the wiser choice, and probably still the one I’d go if REALLY pressed… but…
one of my favorite shows! i was all ben in college, but then when i re-watched them post-wisdom teeth extraction a couple of years ago, i found myself more sympathetic to noel (maybe my old age made me more compassionate?). anyway, yes, LOVE LOVE that show – one of those things that will always tie me to a certain place and time in my history.
You must be super scientific because I have been watching Felicity on Netflix too! It reminds me of my college years in art school and I get all nostalgic for city life.
Team Ben all the way – he’s kind of a jerk, but so dreamy too. lol
Shannon
I was so happy to see that article. I was Team Ben all the way…but now that I’m older (sssh) and hopefully wiser I think Noel. I loved that show so much and I would watch it in bed every Sunday when it was on. I loved the black and white montage of the first two seasons before she cut her hair and they got a theme song with lyrics instead of that lovely humming from the opening credits. I watched it again a few years ago when it was on Lifetime and when I was introduced to DVR.
Ben was always so dreamy to me, Noel was the safe choice. p.s. thanks for telling me this is on netflix, my friday night is officially planned:)
Oh my,
Between Ben, Noel, and Jordan I see my entire teen years flash before me. Ben and Jordan cast such a spell, but Noel is the one you could settle down with.
I am cracking up right now! My mom and I would watch together and we were always team Noel …
now you have me curious … would I change my mind? Hmm…. off to Netflix!
so funny that you post this – i just recently got into felicity, and i love it.
I am re-watching Felicity too! I had no idea it was a thing…but I understand why. I love this show so much and it’s so fun rewatching now that I live in NY myself. I watched it for the first time in college and back then I loved Ben and just always swooned over how dreamy he was. Now, I still think he’s dreamy but his moodiness and unreliability make him less attractive. Quite frankly, i take one look at him and think “honey, you aren’t worth the trouble of dating you”. I think he’s a good friend but now I love Noel. He’s so cute and more importantly so incredibly sweet. Noel is the guy you can count on, not Ben. It’s been interesting to see how my views have changed from a girl to a woman within the context of the same show.
I was re-watching Felicity on netflix until I recently broke up with my boyfriend…it was his account. : ( Oh well, I saw all the episodes back in college anyways. And so to the age-old question Ben vs Noel…like many other people I was totally team Noel in college, I definitely went for the sweeter type, but now I am team Ben…oh man, that crooked grin! Haha. I loved that show…until the end…I was not a fan of the witchcraft/time-travel…weird.
And I must say, I may be in my early thirties, but I still read the Twilight series and have seen the movies….and while I read the books I was team Edward…but from watching the movies I am team Jacob. What can I say, I guess I’m a sucker for a guy vs guy dilemma!
love it
when i watched, i was for noel. then i rewatched like 2 years ago when we first got netflix. i thiiiink i’m still team noel. but, ben is a cutie.
I watched and finished the series a couple of weeks ago! Although I stopped watching during the 2nd season the first time around so it was like finding a new great show all over again. They just dont make shows geared towards young folks like this anymore (hello, gossip girl). I dont really like Ben or Noel. Ben had anger issues and Noel was too whiny. I also stopped after the true season finale. The flashback episodes were terrible, couldn’t make it all the way through
My sister just sent me a link to this post and I’m so glad she did. I was, am, and always will be team Noel for one simple reason – the time travel episodes where Felicity got to see what it would have been like if she’d chosen Noel instead of Ben. The episode where she breaks up with Noel in the alternate time-stream is one of the most heartbreaking moments in my television viewing history – I still remember how I felt watching it all those years ago. Plus, Scott Foley is just awesome in million different ways. To be clear – I’m team Noel for me. Although I don’t agree with Felicity’s ultimate choice, the heart wants what it wants
I have totally indulged in the availability of Felicity on Netflix – I forgot how much I love this show? I think I’m a Noel fan – he’s more reliable and has a sweet, nervous charm.
I was originally Team Noel, but re-watching they are both pretty lame. Then again, Felicity is so flighty and self-absorbed maybe she deserves to suffer with equally flighty and self-absorbed Ben.