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I, like most people in my generation, have an eclectic array of TV Programs I enjoy watching: crime shows, comedy shows, late night, dramas and, of course, reality TV.
Which show I watch often depends upon my day and my mood. I grew up, however, with a limited number of TVs in a six-person household (two parents and four children) and so, we watched the “agreed upon” TV show. Back then, we only really had three channels to choose from, four if you counted PBS, and so our choices were limited and simple.
Today, TV is much more complicated, with not only premium channels, but also, since TVs are now somehow “smart” devices, there is Netflix and Hulu and Apple TV… yielding about a million programs to choose from. I was a young adult when people started handing out roses and voting others off the island and also, when the premium channels started giving the major broadcasting networks a run for their money with amazing drama programming like The Sopranos. These drama series, free from commercial interruption, became an hour-long escape from everyday realities. They felt more like mini movies and, on a production scale, I would imagine, felt that way to the producers as well, resulting in a season of 12 episodes with a full year, or even more, in between seasons.
Like millions of others, I am a fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, it is about to air its final season. Even more unfortunate is the fact that I, again, like millions of others, had to wait about a year and a half to find out “what happens next”. So much can happen in life in a year and a half—isn’t it a risky programming move to make audiences wait that long? Not that I like it, but I think it is BRILLIANT! Not only does the long delay in between seasons keep me interested, it keeps me invested by making sure that I continue to subscribe to the channel so that I, like millions of others, can see what happens next. And since there is such a long delay in between seasons, I find that I need to re-watch the prior season so that I can actually remember what happened. And then, of course, why start re-watching just the last season when I can start with the first season? If I can’t remember what happened 18 months ago, I certainly can’t remember what happened eight years ago!
In the end, these types of shows are one of my favorites simply because I can go back and re-watch them, discovering things I missed the first time around. I begin to feel nostalgic for a time gone by in my life and then happy that, no matter what has changed in my life, I can still hold on to that piece of me that started enjoying the show in the first place. I, particularly, also have to remember to remember this feeling…when the cable bill comes!
FINALLY! FINALLY!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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