I would argue that the best era of teen tv was during my teen years. The late 1990s saw such awesome shows as Dawson's Creek, Felicity and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I know that before that time there was Melrose Place and 90210, but I, alas, am not very familiar with those shows. Since my teen years, there have been a few excellent shows, like Veronica Mars, the O.C. and, arguably, Gossip Girl.
Generally these shows portray the trials and tribulations of upper middle to upper class white teenagers throughout their high school and early college years. They usually portray a small, tightly knit group of friends. This group is generally fairly evenly balanced by gender, to better facilitate lots of combinations of inter-group dating.
Nearly all teen tv shows can be counted on to play on certain conventions of high school life to further the plot. Nearly every teen tv show has a "group project" episode where characters who hate each other are forced to work together on a project for school. More often than not, this episode is a parenting simulation. By the end of the episode, these characters generally discover that they have feelings for each other. It is terribly cliche, but it gets me every time.
Almost all teen tv shows have a "prom" or other significan dance episode. In this episode, one couple generally falls in love and someone has their heart broken. You can count on it. It is often the second to last episode of the season and generally is completely unrealistic. Like the "group project" episode, it is wonderful.
If I were to teach teen tv, I would have students compare and contrast an episode of a popular teen tv show (or an entire season!) to their lives. We would analyze how the world of tv teens is constructed and how and why it is so different from real life. We would also discuss the appeal of show that is so disconnected from reality.
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