There are these moments - few and far between - where I stumble upon a brand new show and it speaks directly to me, every part of me. My mind, my nostalgia, my heart and my hormones, the whole lot. It's the most satisfying and fulfilling feeling to discover a show that feels like it was made just for you. There's something special about tv, especially tv like this. You can count on it every week to be there. And just be there to make you happy, even if it does sometimes make you sad. Some of the best and most successful new television triggers memories. How can something new and unfamiliar and dramatized, essentially, trigger a memory? Something that's happened in the past? The same way I explain the transmission of television light and sound out of that awkward box we all stare at. It's not a result of electrical power or any sort of logistical science. I don't believe in science. I believe in ethereal power. Some godly force. Some meant to be, magical lucky charms kinda junk that drives it all and home.
It goes back to birth and Laura Ingalls. Or the black out power outage, and yet the Goonies was playing on tv. The Price is Right at Nanni's, or Cheers when scary Nonna babysat. Throwing tantrums during Young and the Restless. Learning what drugs were during 90210. "But he has a baby picture on his mantel, why is David Silver doing drugs?" Or hitting puberty during an episode of the Cosby show. Or doing my grade 5 speech on Friends... the list goes on and on and on...
TV may not "feed my family" but I want it to.
1 comment:
The Price is Right reminds me of being in Kindergarten, drinking tomato soup out of my plastic Muppets cup, watching the screen.
TV sure does transport us.
Post a Comment