Today, I read an article from “Variety” with a photo of the cast from “The Sopranos.” The article was an excerpt of an oral history of the show from the cast as told several years after the fact. Man, I miss that show. I mean, I really miss it. I wasn't (and am still not) an HBO subscriber when the show was on, so watching all six seasons involved some tricky maneuvering. In addition to renting the various seasons on DVD, I watched re-runs on A&E that I'd record on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. The catch was that some of the episodes were shown out of sequence or I’d miss certain episodes so I’d have to see them out of sequence. To get my New Jersey mob history straight and all in line, I’d have to head off to HBO.com and read episode recaps. What I couldn’t gather from there, I’d hunt down elsewhere online. The effort was taxing but ever-so rewarding.
It’s funny how when you latch on to a really good TV show that you really love, the show and characters and settings and general atmosphere the show emits can make your life feel somehow enriched. I’m not sure that a TV show should be the source of such joy, but why fight it? If not for living for the next episode of “Northern Exposure” each and every Monday night back in the day, for example, I’m not sure my life would have had nearly as much purchase back then. Sad but true. I was stuck in a nowhere job with little prospect for things changing, and I poor as hell. The hour of escape that Chris, Maurice, Ed, Joel, Holling, and company offered me every Monday night made everything better, if even just for a short while.
Later, when circumstances changed and my future brightened up considerably, my wife and the kids and I would gather around the set every Sunday night to take in “Freaks and Geeks”during its criminally short one season run. We did the same for “X Files” before that, even though the kids were probably too young to really understand why Mulner was so nutty and Scully was seemingly always in a tizzy about this or that.
Today, I try to be picky about how I spend my time watching TV, but these days I’m not nearly as vigilant as I used to be, and it's something I'd like to change. Nowadays, when I turn the TV on, more often than not, it seems I’m doing it just to space off and not really engage in what I'm watching in a zombie-like gaze. I have a few shows that I make a point of seeing and investing in (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Louie,” "Parks & Rec," etc.), but when I’m not watching those, I’m just as apt to perpetually flip through stations in fear that I’m missing something better until it's time to go to bed. It’s a sickness I like to call "foolish indecision."
I never felt that way watching “The Sopranos” or “Northern Exposure” and the like. I was so invested in those characters, I felt for them. I cringed for them. I experienced their pain and joy. When Joel finally hooked up with Maggie, I felt like I was the one in love. When Christopher fell of the wagon and started shooting smack again, I felt like I had failed myself and all those around me. When the FBI was closing in on Tony and prison looked like a foregone conclusion, I felt like plotting my escape routes. When Big Pussy was thrown overboard to permanently sleep with the fishes, I actually shed a tear. When Joel finally made his way back to New York City, I felt like my life had taken a new route and everything was about to change. I don't know if TV's abilities to make me feel that way is to be credited to good writing, acting, and directing or just my own pathetic need to fill gaps. Who cares?
These days, plenty of people are that TV is the superior platform to tell a story than a movie. Throw out the reality television that plagues the air, and I argue that’s right. Characters evolve over years, not hours. Characters gradually grow up and age before our eyes. Shows become more brilliant or fade into mediocre. Time moves at a natural pace. Intricacies are allowed to exist more fluidly. I love these facets. I love the anticipation of not knowing what’s coming next. Maybe I could be spending my time in a better, more efficient manner, but ultimately, I like to be entertained and made to feel better. I like the idea of identifying with people I'll never know. I know TV is just TV, but creativity and manifests itself in all sorts of ways.
Here's to you, Tony.
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