I have just found additional proof that change is bad. Especially when it comes to a TV show I like.
What do you mean the season’s over? What do you mean it’s off the air after three weeks? When I was young, aside from walking uphill in the snow both ways, television shows were there for you. They only took a break for a few weeks in the summer and obediently returned in the fall along with a few new ones. Anything decent lasted at least two years. Others you grew old with. You could plan your life around your Tuesday nights or whatever, and, of course, there was no recording something. That’s what summer nights were for … reruns!
I am grinding my teeth over the sudden arrivals and departures of shows that catch my fancy. I’m just getting to know all the characters and making time every Sunday evening for “Downton Abbey” when it disappears again. I admit, I did record one or two, but I was never more than a week behind. For me, that’s devotion.
Suddenly I realized that swell two-hour episode of “Downton” was another season finale. “Upstairs, Downstairs” didn’t play this coy game and it is still a classic, no? And they won’t even give a definite date for “Downton’s” return, beyond “in 2014.” I feel like I’m dealing with a self-indulgent child.
Enough with the finales. I’m not a big fan of the carrot on a stick approach to life. If you keep the show I like on the air, I will keep watching it. Every episode does not require a screaming cliffhanger. In fact, my doctor suggested that if my blood pressure ever does go up, that would be the reason.
This dilettante behavior by the entertainment industry is clear proof that our society is piling into that heck-bound hand basket. Since when should television stars get more vacation than we do? Who says their show shouldn’t be their entire existence? Slackers. It was certainly good enough for “Ozzie and Harriet.”
I do applaud the increase in reruns in general, however, since my typical TV-watching schedule includes whatever’s on when I have 20 minutes to sit down. That is usually between 5 and 6 p.m. and I am enormously grateful I never saw an original episode of “Castle.”
What? I’m ridiculous, outdated and unhip? Shut up and go watch something on my iWatch? Fine. I’m going to look for a “Laverne & Shirley” rerun.
Jean Gillette is a freelance writer still trying to figure out her new remote control. Contact her a [email protected].
