Many high school shows, particularly the teen soaps, couldn't handle the change in environment from high school to college, but are there still some shows which manage to survive the high school graduation curse. The teen soaps predictably had trouble when they could no longer depend on their working formula, but they weren't the only shows that had a problem with graduation. Even top-notch, critical darlings like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls lost their direction at some point during the transition. But these shows did eventually manage to overcome the college curse and continued producing quality television on the college campus.
Critically-acclaimed show Buffy the Vampire Slayer had some trouble when Buffy moved to UC Sunnydale, in the show's fourth season. Angel moved to his own show and Riley Finn, a character as exciting as styrofoam, was introduced to fill the love-interest void. A series which was based on the premise that high school is literally hell obviously needed to make some changes after the gang blew up the school. It took some time for the show to adapt as Buffy dealt with demonic versions of frat boys and the evils of alcohol - stories that were echoes of lessons that were already learned in high school. But more importantly, the core group became divided throughout the season, taking away the heart of the show and leaving many fans feeling displaced. The drift between the core characters was addressed in the fourth season finale and helped bring it back on track. When Buffy was distanced from the college life in season five, the show went up in quality and popularity. The show once again emphasized the relationships that were compelling in the first place - the support of Buffy's friends and family, who gave her the strength to keep fighting and saving the world. A lot.
Gilmore Girls, another WB show, was primarily based upon the mother/daughter relationship. So when Rory moved from Chilton to Yale, though the transition was not perfect, it didn't affect the show as severely as other teen shows. Instead of getting too dramatic that it became unrealistic, Rory spent her time searching for the perfect place to study (a tree!). She spent most of her time in Star's Hollow and probably had one of the more accurate, albeit boring, college experiences. Though it's unlikely that the actual dorms at Yale are spacious enough to fit an entire entertainment unit, large comfy couches, Paris' art table and an exercise area.
These shows succeeded because the shows had enough substance and quality characters to keep viewers interested even during a major shift from the basic premise. The strength of the plot and the characters kept these shows alive while it was adapting to a new format. Veronica Mars, another recent graduate, relied far more on investigating mysteries than it did on proms and pep rallies. As long as the show stays true to its noir-ish nature, one should remain positive about the show's post-high school future. But I must admit that this September I'll be very curious to discover how both The O.C. and Veronica Mars will attempt to overcome the high school graduation curse.
