Nostalgia
We recently got Netflix streaming and I have rediscovered a particular show that I used to watch when I was a kid. I don't know if any of you remember it: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Brad makes fun of me for watching it but I have found that I really like it for several reasons.
First is that there is a lot of nostalgia attached to it. My sisters and I used to watch it with my parents when it came on every week and as I watch it now I can hear my dad in my mind make fun of Teri Hatcher who plays Lois Lane. He always called her a ditz and I swear Dad had some smart aleck comment to make every single episode. Then Mom would always comment on either A. Dean Cain who played Clark Kent and how he just didn't act dorky enough and how he was just too GQ to play Clark Kent (Although I think Dean Cain was mostly the reason we wanted to watch it anyway... he was so yummy!) or B. She would marvel at how much better the special effects were that illustrated Superman's powers. Sarah and I always had to tell Dad to zip it and it makes me laugh to think of him trying to push our buttons.
The second reason I have liked watching it is that it's not only entertaining, but it's also probably one of the last prime time TV shows that have since aired on national television that could be considered morally decent and thus be called "family television". Of course, most of the storylines are pretty unrealistic but I've actually read Superman comic books and they did a pretty good job of copying the kind of stuff that happens in them. I guess comic book plots come out kind of cheesy on TV. But a little cheesiness is still entertaining. Plus, you never encounter illicit sex or sexual inuendos which is refreshing. I have been amazed to compare how different shows in the 90s were compared to now. The change in standards has happened so gradually that you wouldn't see it except to compare a show from one generation with that from another. The difference is astounding. It makes you pretty shocked at how much we've come to accept as "acceptable TV." Anyway, it's been nice to reflect.
The second reason I have liked watching it is that it's not only entertaining, but it's also probably one of the last prime time TV shows that have since aired on national television that could be considered morally decent and thus be called "family television". Of course, most of the storylines are pretty unrealistic but I've actually read Superman comic books and they did a pretty good job of copying the kind of stuff that happens in them. I guess comic book plots come out kind of cheesy on TV. But a little cheesiness is still entertaining. Plus, you never encounter illicit sex or sexual inuendos which is refreshing. I have been amazed to compare how different shows in the 90s were compared to now. The change in standards has happened so gradually that you wouldn't see it except to compare a show from one generation with that from another. The difference is astounding. It makes you pretty shocked at how much we've come to accept as "acceptable TV." Anyway, it's been nice to reflect.
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