Line #30 Series/MyMadFatDiary


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mymad_361.jpg]]
2
3	->''"My name is Rae. It’s [[TheNineties 1996]], I’m sixteen, sixteen stone, and desperate for a shag. Oh yeah, and I’ve been in a mental hospital for a while."''
4	--> -- '''Rachel 'Rae' Earl'''
5
6	A Creator/Channel4 comedy-drama show about Rachel 'Rae' Earl (Creator/SharonRooney), a 16-year-old girl returning to the outside world after spending time in a mental hospital. Based on a published diary (called 'My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary) by the author of the same name. Originally marketed as a romantic comedy about Rae's quest to [[SexAsRiteOfPassage 'get a shag']] despite her weight, although actually focuses far more on her struggle with mental illness.
7
8	Rae's mental health and body image issues are a big part of her character, and hit home for a lot of viewers who are going through, or who have gone through similar issues in their own lives. Rae struggles to keep her issues hidden from her new friends, but at the same time longs to tell them the truth the closer she becomes to them.
9
10	As well as trying to be a normal teenager, Rae has to deal with her somewhat flighty mother and her [[TheIllegal illegal immigrant]] lover, sessions with her [[BunnyEarsLawyer brutally honest therapist]] Kester, and her friendship with Tix and Danny, who were residents at the psychiatric hospital.
11
12	The three [[LowerClassLout chavs]] who follow Rae around [[ForTheEvulz throwing insults at her]] aren't making things any easier.
13
14	It launched on E4 on 14 January 2013, with Series 1 running for six episodes.
15
16	Series 2, consisting of eight episodes aired in 2014. It primarily focused on Rae's relationship with the gang and the new challenges as they began [[UsefulNotes/BritishEducationSystem College]] (Last two years of Secondary School/High School to the rest of us).
17
18	The third and final series, consisting of just three episodes, aired on in late June and July 2015. It's 1998 and Rae is in her final year of school. She is faced with a dilemma: stay in Stamford with Finn and the gang or accept her university offer in Bristol? Also, Kester wants to bring their therapy session to an end.
19
20	----
21	!! This show provides examples of:
22	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Chloe for Archie (who is [[spoiler:gay]] and obviously isn't interested in her).
23	* AdaptationDistillation: The published diary is very different in content to the show.
24	* AllThereInTheManual: In the end credits, Rae's mum is simply credited like that but the official website for the show reveals that her first name is Linda.
25	%%ZCE* TheAggressiveDrugDealer: Kendo.
26	* AlphaBitch: Stacey, the head of a popular GirlPosse in Rae's college, whom Rae briefly pals around with in 'Girls'. Not only is she fake and snobbish, she makes snide comments about ''all'' her posse when they're not around and treats Chloe like her personal servant. Thankfully, [[spoiler:Rae and Chloe eventually [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tell her off]] and stop hanging around with her or the posse.]]
27	%%ZCE * AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Finn’s dad.
28	* AmicableExes: [[spoiler:Rae and Finn do not get back together after he cheats with Katie but still remain good friends.]]
29	* AnachronismStew:
30	** A minor example but in 'Big Wide World' (set on 10 July 1996, as indicated by the diary at the start), Rae is listening to the song ''Music/BeautifulFreak'' by Music/{{Eels}} whilst throwing scrunched-up papers in the bin ("if this goes in the bin, Archie will definitely sleep with me"), a song which wasn't released on an album until a month later (13 August 1996) or on a single in 1997.
31	** Similarly, when Rae enters Chloe's room in 'Not I', you can spot Britney Spears' "Fantasy" perfume on Chloe's desk. "Fantasy" didn't lauch until 2008.
32	* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Chloe's acquaintance Saul to Rae in "Inappropriate Adult"]].
33	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther:
34	** Rae and her mum share such a moment in 'It's A Wonderful Rae: Part 2', although they admit they will never be a 'hugging' family.
35	** For all the fights and resentment Rae and Chloe sometimes have for each other, it is obvious that they care deeply about one another, especially when Rae [[spoiler:reads Chloe's diary and reads about how Chloe cried with worry about her.]]
36	* BerserkButton:
37	** Mentions of certain bands/musical acts make Rae go on a rant about them, including [[BoyBand Boyzone]] and [[Music/BackstreetBoys Backstreet Boys]]. When Chloe mentions that Stacey likes them, Rae says
38	--> '''Rae:''' Backstreet Boys make me wanna scorch my inner thighs with the hottest substance known to man -- Strawberry Jam Poptarts. They make me wanna spend months learning how to drive, then years of working hard, saving all my money so I can buy a Land Rover and run them all down. They are ''everything'' that is wrong with the world. They are ''destroying music''.
39	** As in season, when [[spoiler:Chloe's missing]], insulting her and calling her a slag in front of Rae is probably not the best thing to do.
40	%%ZCE * BetaCouple: Chop and Izzy.
41	* BetterAsFriends:
42	** Rae and Archie quickly come to this conclusion after Archie discovers that he's [[spoiler:actually gay.]]
43	** Finn and Chloe [[spoiler:seem to have a similar fate after Rae and Chloe reconcile.]]
44	* BirdsOfAFeather: Finn and Rae, who share a love of music.
45	%%ZCE** Chop and Izzy.
46	* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Katie Springer in series 3. She pretends to be Rae's friend while secretly seducing her boyfriend, Finn.]]
47	%%ZCE * BreakTheCutie: How Rae ended up in hospital in the first place.
48	** Tix.
49	* BritishBrevity: The show has only three seasons; the first two were collectively thirteen episodes long, while the third series only had ''three'' episodes and served as more of an outro than as a full series.
50	* BrokenBird: Probable reason as to why Tix is in the mental hospital. As Rae says in promotional material for the show:
51	-->''The world was horrible to Tix so she hid herself away from it in the local psych-ward.''
52	* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Inverted with [[spoiler: Rae and Finn. She is the troubled one, while he is the gentle one, once you get underneath his moody exterior.]]
53	* ButtMonkey: See also YankTheDogsChain
54	* CallingTheOldManOut: Rae gives one of these speeches to her mum in 'It’s a Wonderful Rae: Part 1'.
55	* CanonForeigner: Finn didn't exist in the book and was created solely for the show.
56	* CharacterDevelopment: Rae in particular.
57	** In series one, she is a deeply distressed girl with a lot of self-esteem issues and relies on Kester to help her make decisions.
58	** In series two, having come clean about her mental health issues to everyone, she is slightly better but still has occasional hiccups.
59	** In series three, Rae has developed to the point where [[spoiler:Kester brings their sessions to an end, she tells her friends they don't need to worry about her anymore and she convinces her mum to go to Tunisia with Karim even though her mum is afraid to leave her on her own.]]
60	* ClingyJealousGirl: Amy when she is going out with Liam. She even threatens to kill Rae if she sees them together again (even though Rae and Liam are only friends).
61	* ComingOfAgeStory: Rae experiences many firsts over the course of the show, including her first kiss.
62	* TheCutie: Izzy, who Rae describes as perpetually happy and sweet.
63	* ADayInTheLimelight:
64	** Tix and Chloe each get one of these.
65	** In the episode 'Not I', we are shown [[spoiler:extracts from Chloe's diary (Rae didn't know she even kept one) and the episode primarily focuses on Chloe's side of the story so far.]]
66	* DeceptiveLegacy:
67	** Rae has been led to believe all her life that her DisappearedDad is living in the Outer Hebrides and is sending her regular postcards with news and inspirational quotes. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: Linda is the one who has been writing them the whole time and has been lying to her. In reality she has no idea where her Dad really is nor has he ever tried to contact them. Rae takes it quite well, considering.]] Until 'It's A Wonderful Rae: Part 2', when she [[NotSoStoic starts crying about it]], despite saying just minutes before she isn't bothered by it.
68	* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Izzy innocently blurts out that they can use Linda and Karim's wedding as wind-down session after the rave. Cue all of Rae's friends glaring at her.
69	* DisappearedDad: Rae’s dad left her and her mum sometime during her childhood and [[spoiler:has not been heard from since.]] Rae believes he is living in Scotland before [[spoiler:she discovers it is actually her mum sending the postcards to her.]] He makes an appearance in Series 2 but doesn't seem very interested in a relationship with his daughter. She eventually decides not to bother anymore and stops contacting him.
70	* DreamSue: In one sequence in 'Touched', Rae unzips her skin to reveal a slim, daintily sized girl who takes what was previously her fat self and stuffs it into the downstairs bin.
71	* DressesTheSame: Playing with the trope - in trying to look more girly in comparison with Chloe, Rae goes shopping for more feminine wear. She tries on a red dress with side panel cutouts. It doesn't go well - which means of course the next time we see Chloe, she's wearing the exact same dress.
72	* DrivenToSuicide: It's implied this is why Rae ended up in the psychiatric hospital in the first place.
73	** [[spoiler: Rae also contemplates jumping off a bridge during the Series 1 finale, but is stopped when she is hit by a car while crossing the road. ]]
74	* EvilMatriarch: Rae often sees her mum as a type 1 -- meddling and interfering with her plans to be cool and fit in with her friends.
75	* FantasySequence: The show uses a variety of examples including: DreamSue, FantasyTwist and IndulgentFantasySegue. Many sequences often have DaydreamSurprise endings to them.
76	* FantasyTwist: Some of the FantasySequence scenes appear to be this.
77	* FemaleGaze: Rae to Finn, especially his behind.
78	* FoodFight: Finn starts one in the chip shop in 'Big Wide World'.
79	* TheFreelanceShameSquad: The girls who laugh at Finn holding Rae's hand in college in 'Alarm'.
80	** All the students laughing at Rae and Finn coming out of the disabled toilets in 'Radar'.
81	* GangOfBullies: The boys who taunt Rae.
82	* GenderEqualEnsemble: The pub gang.
83	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: in "Inappropriate Adult", Chloe kisses Rae at the club, much to the cheers of onlookers.
84	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted when Chloe opts for an abortion after falling pregnant [[spoiler: with her PE teacher's baby.]]
85	* GreenEyedMonster: Rae to Chloe.
86	** And as it later turns out, Chloe to Rae.
87	* HandOrObjectUnderwear: When Chloe sets off the smoke alarm by smoking in the changing room while Rae is trying on clothes, Rae has to go out onto the busy street wearing only a skirt and bikini top and covering herself with an inflatable crocodile lilo.
88	* HatesBeingTouched: Tix. The only person who she ''does'' allow to touch her in any way is Rae.
89	* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: [[spoiler:Archie to the rest of the gang except Rae after the events of 'Touched'.]]
90	* HollywoodMidLifeCrisis: Linda gets a new boyfriend, Karim.
91	** In 'Alarm', she starts crying over mundane shows (such as ''Series/WheelOfFortune'') and wearing her daughter's clothes.
92	*** Subverted, however, as it turns out she isn't going through the menopause like she thought; she's actually [[spoiler:five months pregnant.]]
93	* HopeSpot: The last episode of Series 1 ('It's A Wonderful Rae: Part 2') implies that Tix is going to get better as it was a "really good sign" (Kester says) that she made it through the night. However, she [[spoiler:subsequently dies]] sometime between the end of Series 1 and the beginning of Series 2.
94	* HotGuyUglyWife: Karim and Linda; it's discussed in-universe.
95	** Finn and Rae, at least she herself thinks so.
96	*** [[spoiler: Rae's issues with this lead to her breaking up with Finn in 'Radar'.]]
97	* HotTeacher: Chloe’s boyfriend. [[spoiler:{{Justified}}, in that he is a PE Teacher. ]]
98	* TheImmodestOrgasm: Linda when she is having sex with Karim. Rae hears everything through the wall at 5 am in the morning.
99	* [[spoiler:IncompatibleOrientation: Rae has a crush on Archie, who later turns out to be gay. They instead become incredibly close friends. ]]
100	* IndulgentFantasySegue: ''Very'' common in this show.
101	** In 'It’s a Wonderful Rae: Part 2', [[spoiler: Rae suddenly drags Chloe from the cafe they're sitting in out onto the street, dropping her in the road. Rae then gets into a van and proceeds to run her over by reversing over before it's revealed that the whole sequence was all in Rae's head.]]
102	** In 'Big Wide World', when Rae is leaving the hospital and imagines Dr Kassar being disappointed that she is leaving as he never "got a chance to do a sex" on her.
103	** In 'Alarm', she imagines touching Finn's hand in his car and him ripping off his top and shouting at her to "get into the back seat now".
104	** In 'Radar', she imagines herself dousing the 'Hi Boys' lingerie poster with petrol and setting it on fire.
105	** In 'Girls', she images her own head exploding with blood splattering on Chloe when Chloe is explaining a long complex list of things not to mention or talk about to Stacey's [[GirlPosse Gang]].
106	** In 'Voodoo', Rae overdoses on her prescription pills and drowns herself in her bathtub, with Finn bursting in to save her. [[spoiler:It is just her imagination and she doesn't take the overdose, deciding instead to try and help herself instead of relying on others to do so.]]
107	* ItsAWonderfulPlot: Rae is given this treatment in 'It's a Wonderful Rae: Part 2', with Tix as her guide through an alternative future. [[spoiler: It turns out that mere minutes have passed and Rae is not in hospital, but in the middle of the road after colliding with a car. ]]
108	* {{Jerkass}}: Some of the characters, although all of them are really [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerks With Hearts Of Gold]].
109	* JustFriends: Danny gives a lecture on how to avoid this situation when dealing with Finn to Rae.
110	* KnightInShiningArmour: In a FantasySequence, Rae imagines Finn as one. While reading a medieval fantasy book, Linda Carver imagines herself as one.
111	* LonersAreFreaks: Chloe says this to Rae:
112	--> '''Chloe''': Look, you're not going to make friends if you're sitting on the sidelines all the time.
113	--> '''Rae''': Are people talking about that?
114	--> '''Chloe''': They might be. Look, you don't want people thinking you're ''weird'', do you? You don't want people thinking you're not ''normal''?
115	* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:Chop to Izzy and Finn to Rae in 'It's a Wonderful Rae: Part 2'.]]
116	* LoveHurts: In 'It's A Wonderful Rae: Part 1' and 'Part 2', this is just one part of Rae's troubles. [[spoiler: Rae's crush on Finn causes Chloe to tell Rae to leave her and Finn alone.]]
117	* LoveTriangle: Chloe likes Finn who likes Rae who likes him too.
118	* LowerClassLout: The three chavs who constantly harass Rae when she's out.
119	** Kendo, the drug dealer who [[spoiler:Izzy might have ended up with if Rae had died.]]
120	* MoodWhiplash: 'Big Wide World' sees Rae finally plucking up the courage to join her new friends in the pool, only to get wedged at the end of the slide, her self harm scars clearly visible. Even the music grinds to a halt. The mood quickly changes again when she makes light of the situation, and gets Chop to help her out.
121	* NaiveNewcomer: Rae, initially, when she joins Stacey's GirlPosse in 'Girls'.
122	* NeverSentAnyLetters: Rae has received postcards bearing inspirational quotes from her dad since he left her, apparently sent from the Outer Hebrides. [[spoiler:Rae learns that they were actually sent by her mother, Linda.]]
123	* TheNineties: Series 1 is set over the summer of 1996.
124	* NosyNeighbor: All of Stamford when Rae rents out sex books and condoms and claims they are for her mum. Dangerous because the man Linda has is an illegal immigrant and they don't want anyone to find this out.
125	* NothingButHits: The soundtrack includes quite a few tracks which are not the typical Greatest Hits associated with The Nineties, along with occasional tracks from earlier periods depending on the setting.
126	* NotWhatItLooksLike: In 'Radar', Rae is afraid to get help when she and Finn get stuck in the disabled toilets as she is afraid people will think they've been fucking.
127	* OhCrap: Rae's reaction to getting stuck on the slide in 'Big Wide World', with everyone staring at her scars on her legs. Averted, as she makes light of it and simply asks Chop to help her down.
128	* OnceMoreWithClarity: In the episode 'Not I', Rae reads Chloe's diary when she is missing. We get to see [[spoiler:all the major events of Series 1 and 2 from Chloe's point of view. We get to see how Chloe perceived everything as it was happening. It turns out Chloe is not at all as mean as Rae had thought she was at previous points.]]
129	* OneSteveLimit: Averted. There's Linda Bouchtat, Rae's mum, and Linda Carver, a loner bookworm girl at college.
130	* ParentWithNewParamour: Linda’s boyfriend, Karim.
131	* ThePeepingTom: Mrs Dewhurst (the elderly neighbour) thinks Rae is one, as she caught her looking at her naked breasts when Rae opened her curtains. Mrs Dewhurst ''does'' warm to Rae as Series 1 goes on though, ([[spoiler:possibly because it's implied she fancies her]]).
132	** [[spoiler:Archie]] in episode 2, a later episode implied it was not the first time.
133	* PornStash: Linda buys a tv with a built-in VCR for her room. When Rae ejects the video, it's a porno film called ''[[Film/MissionImpossible Missionary:]]'' ''[[ParallelPornTitles Impossible]]''.
134	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Both Rae ''and'' Chloe get ones against [[spoiler:Stacey]] in 'Girls'. See [[Awesome/MyMadFatDiary the CMOA page]] for details.
135	* RightBehindMe: In 'Girls', in an attempt to fit in the Stacey's [[GirlPosse gang]], Rae describes a lonely nerdy girl called Linda Carver as the biggest loser in school and berates her thick glasses and her reading of books. Linda is, of course, right behind Rae the entire time she says this.
136	* RightThroughTheWall: Not neighbours, but Linda and Karim having sex in the room next to her bedroom and keeping Rae awake at 5 am.
137	* SecretDiary: Part of the plot of 'It’s a Wonderful Rae: Part 2', causing a rift between Chloe and Rae.
138	* SettingUpdate: The book the show was based on was actually set in TheEighties but was updated to the TheNineties. Subsequently, the show first aired in TheNewTens (2013 – 2015).
139	* SexAsRiteOfPassage: In 'Alarm', Rae and Izzy make a pact ('[[CanisLatinicus Pactus Shagus]]') to lose their virginity before college starts. [[spoiler:Izzy succeeds almost immediately; Rae doesn't.]]
140	** Rae loses her virginity, not to [[spoiler:Finn]] but to [[spoiler:Liam]].
141	*** She ''does'' finally sleep with [[spoiler:Finn at the end of Series 2 in 'Glue'.]]
142	* SheCleansUpNicely:
143	** Rae for Archie’s date in 'Touched', after Chloe and Izzy's makeover.
144	** How she appeared in the second half of 'Girls'.
145	** [[spoiler: Her appearance at her mum's reception in 'It’s a Wonderful Rae:Part 2'.]]
146	* ShoutOut:
147	** A scene from ''Film/JurassicPark'' recreated, with Rae in the role of the T-Rex and Archie trapped inside the car:
148	--> '''Archie:''' Clever girl!
149	** In 'Ladies and Gentlemen', in which Rae gets her period, as she is being examined by Dr Kassar and is afraid her period is going to overflow, we see him running frantically from the room as the blood pours out behind him, à la the elevator in ''Film/TheShining''.
150	--> '''Dr Kassar:''' Run, it's the mega-period!!
151	** The bullies pick on Rae by calling her [[Franchise/StarWars Jabba]].
152	** The plot of 'It's a Wonderful Rae: Part 2', with Tix showing her [[ItsAWonderfulPlot what her friends' lives would be like if she died]], is borrowed from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife''.
153	* ShutUpKiss: Finn and Rae, during their first kiss in the boys' changing room.
154	* SlapSlapKiss: Rae and Finn in the disabled toilets in 'Radar'.
155	* SlumberParty: In 'Don't Ever Tell Anybody Anything', while Rae's mother is out of the country. However Chop, who always had the intention of it being a 'sexy' sleepover party, ends up inviting a lot more people than expected.
156	* TechnologyMarchesOn: In-universe. In 'Radar', [[spoiler:Rae and Finn get trapped in the disabled toilet in college and are trying to get out without attracting any attention. Rae asks Finn if by chance he has one of those "mobile telephones", and he replies to her that he isn't a millionaire, so of course not.]] Justified and TruthInTelevision, since it is 1996.
157	* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted. Kester is an extremely good therapist to Rae, and appears to be better than her previous one.
158	** Chloe is also offered therapy following her abortion.
159	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Rae (tomboy) and Chloe (girly girl).
160	* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Either Chloe or Rae's perception of past events as told through her diary in 'Not I'. We as the audience aren't exactly sure who was being more truthful in their diary.]]
161	* WeightWoe:
162	** A lot of Rae's issues stem from her weight. Her own self-loathing about her size aside, she's also called names in the street and frequently finds herself in situations where her larger body is forcibly put on display.
163	** Chloe is terrified about gaining weight, to the extent that she stops taking her birth control medication as weight gain is a possible side effect.
164	** Tix is bulimic and is often found in the bathroom throwing up. She obsessively counts calories and forces herself to exercise even when she's exhausted. [[spoiler: This leads to her eventual death of a heart attack, as her body was too weak to recover from it.]]
165	** Rae's mum is a much lighter example; she's frequently on strange diets such as the alphabet diet when she can only eat foods beginning with a certain letter, or the 'Russian peasant' diet. But she usually gives in by the end of the episode.* YouAreGrounded: Rae, by her Mum, many times throughout.
166	** It's why Rae has to sneak out for her date with Archie in 'Touched'.
167	** Also the reason why Rae can't go to the rave in 'It’s a Wonderful Rae: Part 1'.
168	* YourMakeupIsRunning: In 'Touched'.

Context Series / MyMadFatDiary