Stranger Things’ Barb Joins Cast of Riverdale
One of the stranger things about Stranger Things has been the Internet’s obsession with Barb, a character that only appeared in two episodes and whose role was minor at best. What made Barb stick in so many minds was a lack of conclusion on her part — she broke the roles by being an obedient, law-abiding little virgin who got sacrificed to the monster while the rebellious teens having forbidden sex made it unscathed. But the bigger issue is that barely anybody in her podunk little town noticed she was gone. That STILL drives fans insane.
Turns out Barb IS coming back……sort of. Shannon Purser will be playing a character similar in theme to Barb on The CW’s upcoming teen drama Riverdale, set to air next year. Riverdale is an adaptation of Archie comic books, but when I say “adaptation” it’s kind of more like “perversion.” What else can you say about a plot synopsis where Archie has a passionate liaison with Miss Grundy, then blackmails her with the proof to get good grades? Bleagh.
Purser is playing Ethel Muggs, the woman of Jughead’s nightmares. If you think she doesn’t look a thing like Big Ethel, you’d be right, but Archie Comics hasn’t used the “big” version in some time. Ethel was muted sometime in the 2000’s; her buck teeth were taken away and her gangly appearance was softened. These days she is just another pretty girl, which was the wrong approach to take, but clearly I hadn’t seen anything yet when it came to “wrong.”
Riverdale, with Purser, starts in 2017 on The CW.