#GuiltyPleasureConfessional: Living My Best Life in Barbie’s Dreamhouse

I wish I could say that I first watched Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse because of my baby sister. I mean I could lie and say it but I always want to be honest with you, dear readers. Plus, ohmigod is Life in the Dreamhouse good! It’s actually my Netflix go-to. Like I’ve watched it more than anything else on my Netflix account. Sorry, not sorry.

BarbieDreamhouse

I know what you’re thinking: what is an all the way grown ass woman doing watching a show about Barbie dolls? Living the best of my best life is what! They’ve been churning out four-minute episodes of this baby since 2012. Part reality TV show, part nostalgia party, this webseries caters to all my Barbie-loving, pop culture reference-obsessed feels. It follows the Malibu adventures of Barbie, her three sisters (tech-wiz Skipper, athletic Stacie, and covert child genius Chelsea), best friends (stylish Black friend Nikki, brunette ditz Teresa, extreme athlete Summer, and Wisconsin transplant Midge), boyfriend (Ken, of course, it’s Ken), pets (Blissa the cat, Tawny the horse, and Taffy the dog), and frenemies next door (narcissistic siblings Ryan and Raquel).

In this series, Barbie and the crew are dolls brought to life. Cars run on batteries, old school doll Midge doesn’t have articulated knees or fingers, and Barbie has worked 136 jobs each with an outfit to match. The dreamhouse itself is knitted out to an absurd degree, thanks to Ken’s DIY thoroughness. We’re treated to Real World-style confessionals from all of the cast. Even Taffy, Tawny, and Blissa get their moments on-camera complete with a handy voiceover translation.

Before you bail out of this article, just watch these episodes and see what I mean about the show being awesome.

[title type=”h6″]“Trapped in the Dreamhouse”[/title]

The first episode that I ever watched and the longest (about eleven minutes). Barbie and friends try to escape the Dreamhouse after Raquel activates Closet’s, the house AI, evil button. I knew I was in for a good time when they referenced Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and 2001: A Space Odyssey all in a single episode. I was already hooked.

[title type=”h6″]“Licensed to Drive”[/title]

Barbie finally gets her human-sized drivers license, even though she used to be a racecar driver. Ken tries to teach her to drive so they can all go to the beach but there’s some assembly required for her new car as well as a D battery.

[title type=”h6″]“Oh How Campy”[/title]

Barbie, Ken, Ryan, and Raquel go “camping.” It’s the first appearance of the Barbie RV, the only way I’d ever want to go camping. I want this to be my life.

[title type=”h6″]“Gifts, Goofs, Galore”[/title]

The crew try to find the perfect gift for Barbie, the girl who has everything. Literally everything. The best part is everyone trying to guess how old Barbie is.

Yes, Midge shows up in 1950s black and white with a goddam laugh track.
Yes, Midge shows up in 1950s black and white with a goddam laugh track.

[divider type=”space_thin”]

This show is completely cheesy, corny, weird, and short enough to marathon quickly. There’s a bit of challenging traditional gender roles and a lot of friendship and sisterhood. But most of all, this show is a lot of fun. Go to Netflix and start watching right now. You won’t regret it, I promise. And don’t forget your Schlond Poofa.

Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?

Tags:

  • Brittany N. Williams is a writer, actress, unimpressed Shakespearean Blerd, keeper of 90s theme songs, future Lord of the Fire Nation, and & New Orleanian by way of Baltimore, DC, Hong Kong, London, and NYC. Catch her laying waste to all challengers in Soul Calibur or slinging literary fire across the interwebs.

  • Show Comments

  • Nneka Anekwe

    Lmao @ Schlond Poofa. That was a good episode. I started watching this because of my daughter but quickly became hooked on it. I would have killed for a Barbie show like this when I was her age. It’s so cool to see a small part of my childhood on the TV that I can share with my daughter and she doesn’t even know it.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

comment *

  • name *

  • email *

  • website *