The novel is my favorite literary genre (with memoir close behind). I love the story and plot, the language and patterns, the images and the texture novels offer. But what I really love is the amount of time they allow me to be with their characters and to see the characters interact with each other. Call me a woman, but I am interested in relationships!
And the great thing about long-running TV shows is that you get to be with characters for years (both literally and figuratively, depending on your pacing). And you get to see relationships form and evolve. And every once in a while you come across a show that features relationships and characters so realistically that when it ends, you feel like a bunch of your friends have died.
And that brings me to the show that I finished last night--Friday Night Lights. I got hooked off of some free DVD teaser we picked up somewhere. That I loved it despite the fact that it heavily featured both football (which has never held the slightest interest for me) and high school (which I didn't particularly like) was surprising. I figured that it was addicting in the same way a soap opera can be and continued into the first season thinking of the show as a guilty pleasure, something light to occupy me during middle-of-the-night nursing sessions. Before long though, I realized hey, this writing is good, and these actors are good, and--wow--the writing is really very good! At that point I looked up the critical response to the show and, guess what? Very positive. And now, five seasons later, I'm mourning its ending the same way I mourn the ending of a book whose universe I wanted to keep on living in. Only more so.
And that is the merit of good TV.
4 comments:
Knowing that you love TV makes me love you more. :-)
I love TV too and sometimes feel guilty about it. But there really is some excellent television out there among all the muck.
I like this post! I have found good tv shows through 'Hulu" and like you I mourn when the series end. One that I liked (for better or for worse) was 'Life'. I was really sad they they didn't continue it into more seasons. I'll have to try the one that you wrote about!
This is a conversation Amy and I have all the time. I'm not a fan of the time investment it takes to get into a tv show. The only shows I can get into are cartoons, with a few exceptions. The genius of a movie is that the can make you feel like you know these characters so well and tell an entertaining story about them in under 2 hours. It's great. Then I'm done.
Our new favorite show is TrafficLight. Check it out, it's pretty good. Still to be determined if it will be a long lasting one. Entertaining nonetheless.
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