The Baby-sitters Club Netflix TV Series: Hello, Camp Moosehead (part one)

Netflix has a new original series: The Baby-sitters Club! The first season covers the first eight books plus a sort of adaptation of of the second super special, Baby-sitters Summer Vacation. AND...it's set in the present day (2019/2020), updated accordingly, and much more diverse. The plot for this episode and the next are loosely based on the Babysitters' Summer Vacation super special, but the main storyline here is that the camp is operating a shoestring budget so some of the activities cost extra. The BSC thinks it's unfair, that those costs should have been included in the initial fee. Kristy tries to get kids more engaged, Claudia and Dawn set up activities for kids who can't afford the extras, and Mary Anne co-directs a play that Stacey's in--also in the play: Logan! And the co-director? Laine Cummings.

 Here are some things that I noticed:

What stood out as surprisingly (not necessarily good or bad) different to me:   

The camp itself and the group names are based on animals rather than Native tribes.

Mary Anne ends up bunkmates with Laine. They bond over musical theater before realizing they both know Stacey. Stacey and Laine try to remain professional, but they do end up fighting, and eventually reconciling.

The sitters are all campers here, because counselors-in-training must be at least 16. 

Mary Anne and Logan get to know each other better here.

Mallory, who we met in in "Boy Crazy Stacey," isn't in the club yet, but quickly shows how dependable she is. She's also already best friends with Jessi Ramsey, who debuts in this episode.

What I was happy stayed the same:

Claudia has two suitcases while everyone else has just one.

Dawn's activism, present already in the series, gets the spotlight here. And it's done way better than she got in some of the books (looking at you, Dawn Saves the Planet). She's passionate rather than obnoxious.

Other interesting touches: 

I like that Claudia connects her art lessons to real-life artists. It shows that she's getting into art more deeply than just creating; she's embracing more and more of the art world.

When Mallory reassures the cast with the saying, "Bad dress rehearsal great opening night" Jessi counters that it's not true. She's been in productions; she would know!