“For Your Viewing Pleasure”

 

            Streaming services opened an endless supply of television viewing for us with unexpected surprises ranging from sitcoms to drams. I can binge watch entire series that originally took years to see, within back-to-back blocks of time. Although I don’t turn on the television set until mid-afternoon each day, I’ve managed to stumble upon some wickedly funny shows as well as tissue demanding series like Firefly Lane and Broadchurch. Some shows I watch alone as I know my husband won’t watch the murderous plots of Criminal Minds. Sometimes, I end up watching something twice, like the first season of Grace and Frankie because I had to share its wit with him.

            Friends suggest, “Have you seen . . .” which I add to a mental list to view eventually. Everyone knows my penchant for disaster movies, and any sci-fi finds itself on my list, too. It’s a slow process to make it through every documentary, film, and show on my “To View” list which means I lag behind the watching habits of most of my friends. Add to that the fact that I limit my time in front of the television to about two hours a day, and you can understand that my catalogue contains a hefty number of shows to be seen.

            This week I finally began watching The Sopranos. With the first episode, I understood why more than one person suggested this show for me (and not my husband). The psychologist in me became hooked immediately with the main character’s angst and flaws. The writer in me likes the unique blend of humor and horrific violence. However, I realized immediately that this show is not one I can watch hour after hour. Two episodes at a time is my limit. Yesterday, I found episodes of The Waltons to counterbalance the brutal beating and killing of a character with the sugary sweet innocence of 1970s television.

            My youth, spent waiting from one week to the next to watch the next episode, didn’t let me realize the excellence within a program. Now, my viewing pleasure, provided through one of many streaming options, allows me to appreciate quality writing, performances, and production in a way an audience in the past never could.

 

Copyright 2024 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman