Generation BSC: A Baby-Sitters Club Podcast - Episodes Tagged with “Dawn”

Episode 050: Dawn's Big Date!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Dawn's focused on Logan's cousin Lewis coming to visit because she needs to get a boyfriend (out of nowhere), but despite Lewis seemingly knowing and liking the real Dawn, she decides to change everything about herself, only to realize by the end of the book that she should just be herself. And in the B-plot this book, we have a huge content warning, as it deals with a new boy babysitting charge who is overweight and dealing with bullying and a terrible home situation. We discuss weight stigma, disordered eating, and our own personal experiences with both, so if these issues are difficult for you, you may want to skip this episode and join us again in two weeks.

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Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

M02: Beware, Dawn!!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

We're back with our new season and second mystery! The kids in Stoneybrook decide to elect Sitter of the Month, which goes about as well as usual when our girls compete, but this time there's someone playing pranks on all of them... except Kristy. There are many mysteries throughout that we discuss and unpack, but it's no mystery how excited we are to be back with all of you!

Follow us!
Instagram and Twitter: @generationbsc

Contact us!
E-mail: generationbsc@gmail.com

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 044: Dawn and the Big Sleepover!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 06:00:00 -0400

The elementary school kids in Stoneybrook have pen pals who live and attend school on a Zuni reservation in New Mexico. After a fire at the school and several homes in that community, Dawn is inspired to get the Stoneybrook community involved in some fundraising and donation drives in what could've been heartwarming, but ultimately just felt generally not great for us due to the communities involved and the book's inability to dive deeper and tell a better version of this story (although we acknowledge this might be another "be careful what you wish for" situation). This is on top of a few different culturally insensitive and downright terrible comments and situations from our kids that aren't really addressed as being bad. There are some fun notes - like the carnival in the Pikes' back yard - but this was another book we just wanted more from.

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 037: Dawn and the Older Boy!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 03 May 2022 06:00:00 -0400

Dawn finds herself in a problematic crush situation (that no one else seems to realize is a problem) and it's not great for her or us!

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

EM021: Emergency Meeting - Netflix Season Two, Episode Six: Dawn's Wicked Stepsister!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 06:15:00 -0500

Kate and Lauryn continue their discussion of Season Two of The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix. We discuss Dawn's Wicked Stepsister!

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Re-Watch 05: Emergency Meeting - Netflix Season One, Episode Five: Dawn and the Impossible Three!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Welcome to our end of summer re-watch of season one of the Baby-Sitters Club series on Netflix. For the next few weeks, watch along with us and revisit our thoughts on the series before season two drops in October.

We’ll be back in the fall with our own season two as well, and can’t wait to catch up with you then. In the meantime, keep your eye on our social media and don’t forget to e-mail. We love to hear from you all!

Kate and Lauryn’s Netflix discussion continues this week with a conversation about Dawn and the Impossible Three, the fifth episode of the first season. It’s another episode that stays pretty true to the plot of the book on which it’s based with an in-depth look at who Dawn is, why she (and her mom) came to Stoneybrook, and just how much she’s willing to do to get into the Baby-Sitters Club. We focus on the various father-child (mostly daughter) relationships that are covered, compared, and contrasted throughout this episode – focusing in particular on the differences between Dawn’s and Kristy’s relationships with their respective dads. Those differing relationships bring things to a head in Dawn and Kristy’s relationship, with Dawn doing what she does best and helping Kristy get to the heart of why she’s upset and lashing out. In examining how Kristy and Dawn interact throughout this episode, we confirm just how much we love the relationship between these characters and again gush about how much we love Dawn. We touch on the ridiculousness of the girls calling all parents in their lives (clients and otherwise) by their first names, narrative fake-outs, crystals, and how disgusting it is in TV and movies when people put their shoes on beds, couches, and coffee tables without a care in the world.

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 031: Dawn's Wicked Stepsister!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 11 May 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Kate and Lauryn come back into that mid-bouquet toss cliffhanger and dive right into how great this book is at modeling behavior and teaching lessons related to blending families... until it takes a complete left turn with Dawn’s gaslighting of Mary Anne to scare her out of their shared bedroom (for which there is no comeuppance or lesson learned on Dawn’s part). We realize how much seeing Dawn’s perspective and hearing her internal monologue makes us see her in a worse light (similar to Mary Anne in the last book), despite the fact that typically one sympathizes most with the narrator of a story. Frustrating is the word of the book – both when it comes to Mary Anne and Dawn’s actions and character beats and how close this book comes to getting it right. There’s also a Pike Plague that lends itself well to an unrelated B Plot that gives us a nice reprieve from the Schafer-Spier drama. As usual, we have some fun on- and off-topic tangents, including: the Hays Code, that quintessential Sex and the City bouquet toss moment in real life, the BSC wearing surgeons’ masks to protect themselves and others and just how relevant that is to today, Kristy’s great joke in response to Claudia trying to make herself smarter, how much we love our girls just being friends and having fun, WTF a sorehead might be, seatbelt safety protocols, and candy necklaces (whether homemade or purchased).

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 023: Dawn on the Coast!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

Kate and Lauryn recover from the frustrations they had in their last episode with a much more lighthearted discussion of Dawn on the Coast, where Dawn spends her (two-week?) Spring Break in California visiting her dad and Jeff. We have a fun discussion of the ins and outs of Dawn’s specific California and what “California” meant conceptually in the late 80s vs. now, while also diving into a deeper conversation on what “home” and “belonging” mean and the ultimate realization that you can look at it not as a choice between two places where a decision means a loss, but rather a win because you have two places you belong. It’s ultimately a fun preview of Super Special #5 (California Girls!) that includes thoughtful consideration of those themes. We also comment on how much we love some of those more special BSC-sitting charge connections (e.g., Dawn and Nicky Pike, which plays an important role here), Lauryn's obsession with Son-in-Law (and Carla Gugino), Ann M. Martin’s blessing of copycat babysitting clubs, the references to existing or made-up media throughout this book and the series, air travel of the past (complete with smoking vs. non-smoking seats), and the joys (or not) of ravioli and coleslaw as a meal.

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

EM011: Emergency Meeting - Netflix Season One, Episode Five: Dawn and the Impossible Three!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 12:30:00 -0400

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 015: Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400

It’s our first regular episode recorded remotely post-quarantine and we’re discussing what we’ve agreed to be one of the best BSC books to-date in the series. This one tackles two potentially difficult topics – child pageants generally and Jeff’s long-imminent return to California – with nuance and consideration and we’re here for it. Dawn gets dramatic about the induction ceremony for Jessi and Mallory and uses an invitation by Mrs. Pike to help Claire and Margo prepare for the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant to distract from Club-related jealousies and the difficult situation at home with the Schafer parents working out an arrangement for Jeff’s temporary return to California to see how it goes. The rest of the BSC (aside from Mallory and Jessi, who are opposed to pageants) gets into the competitive aspect and each get their own girl to help prepare. As always, the girls learn from their mistakes and realize they don’t need to compete or be jealous of each other. We discuss the “best” talent at the pageant (Margo’s poem recitation while opening and eating a banana with her feet), our past and current feelings on pageants in general (and how the book presents a balanced take), Dawn’s dramatic nature, Mrs. Schafer’s shockingly (to Lauryn) on-point advice and knowledge drops to Dawn, Mrs. Perkins thoughtful commentary on competition generally, and the world of big cat owners. We also touch on the significant number of instances where the BSC members take their charges to other locations, frequently without any kind of note or other notice for the parents, and again note how rich the people in Stoneybrook seem to be.

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.

Episode 009: The Ghost at Dawn's House!

Kate Vlasek and Lauryn Hunter — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 06:00:00 -0500

Dawn, her love of scary stories, and her search for a hidden passage in her house (built in 1715) are the focus in this book and episode. No really, the main plot is all about Dawn and her search for and discovery of a hidden passage and then her slow revelation of its existence to her friends and family. We both acknowledge just how wrong our predictions about this one were (with the caveats that Kate’s is 100% a future Mystery book plot and Lauryn’s Underground Railroad thoughts may still be revealed to be accurate). Lauryn relays her tale of “accidental” library book theft and Kate sets everyone up for the terrifying revelation that horror movie characters are living lives just as normal as ours before the horror events kick in. Plenty of random tangents abound as always: repeated day movie/TV tropes, bad Christmas movies on demand, first class plane travel, nerdy dog names, and font design.

Generation BSC logo created by Jordyn Hunter.