"Journalists are the most important part of the world. They really are."

This is the pronouncement, by Amanda, that kicks off the 2008 MTV reality series "The Paper." (And, I mean, even in 2008, that was kind of a stretch; today, it's downright adorable.) Perhaps you didn't know that? Perhaps you were in your twenties, or older, when the show first aired and thought it would be undignified for you to start watching it? Or perhaps you did know that, you were addicted to the show during its first airing, and you are now super-psyched to learn that we now have every episode. It is in honor of "The Paper" that we have created a new feature here on the blog: The Great Rewatch. Starting today, and every day for the next seven work days (tragically, only eight episodes were produced), I will post an episode and we can watch and enjoy it together. Let's go!

The first episode gives us a great introduction to Cypress Bay, and to the titular school paper, "The Circuit." The series kicks off with natural drama, as we meet the four newspaper staffers competing to be Editor-in-Chief:

Alex is the skinny kid with bad skin. If, over the course of the episode, he seems to you to be the most ambivalent when people start trash-talking Amanda, that's because he is. As we will learn.

Adam is the really excitable one. He's kind of my favorite.

Giana is just kind of bitchy. Sorry, Giana. It's pretty clear you didn't really care if you were Editor-in-Chief or not, but that you mostly didn't want Amanda to get it. How do I know this? Because you say that's how "people" feel, and I am very wise.

Trevor is like Giana, only bitchier.

And as for Amanda...I mean, I was Amanda. I stayed home working on my essays all the time. I bossed people around in an abrasive way. I would hope that by the time I was about to be a high-school senior, I wouldn't have declaimed something as douchey as "Procrastination is a foe that I have not met yet," but I probably totally did.

Best lines of the episode:

"Oh my God, how is she doing?" "Like you care."

"You should get her Cream of Bitch."

"Love ya. Kinda." "She heard that!"

"This was everything, and now it's gone!"

"Everyone's already plotting how they're not going to listen to her."

"I am much happier than I am acting."

"This is supposed to be the best day of my life. And you know what? IT IS."