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When I was a child one of my favorite shows was Night Court. To me Harold T. Stone was this really old guy. To Dan Fielding he was this young punk kid messing with his bailiwick.
I loved Fielding. And Harry and all of them. A few months ago I turned 36 years old. When I re-watch Night Court Dan looks about my age and Harry is this young punk kid messing with people. I still love them.
But what really got my attention today was that I found this new show called "The Great Indoors" it's a brilliant classic sitcom in the style of all of the great sitcoms I have been watching for years my favorite style of show. (even if my favorite show is of a different style)
As I watched a guy about my age (he's probably supposed to be 5 to 10 years older than me as he seems to have been a bit older in the 90s and more likely in college while I was in high school. He's not only having these 20 something young punk kids mess with his world but he's having to leave his world behind. But what struck me is it's the same story.
Middle aged guy has to deal with someone he will come to respect shaking up his world and changing the way the job gets done. It was like coming home again in a way.
I'll be honest I have always been a tad out of sync. Never quite meshing with people my age even my generation is in a vague state of flux. At times people my age are said to be the first Millennials and other times the last Gen Xers. No one really ever labeled us. We just kind of were out of sync. Too young to give a shit about Nirvana enough to even know who Kurt Cobain was but old enough to know their music was awesome. Young enough that for all of our childhoods computers were a thing and for all of our teen years the Internet was.
I picked up one of the first smart phones and I haven't had much luck with any dating app ever. Raised in an era where people like me were mocked for living with their parents (George Costanza like me had to move in with his parents) but with peers who many had to make the same choices and sacrifices. My one friend has been living with her mom and step dad since we graduated high school and raising three daughters there. My best friend moved his dad in with him and his fiance. My other friend was adopted into a family she often lives with when she can't afford her own place.
But through it all here it is 2016 and we are telling the same stories. It's kind of comforting. I like that I can turn on the TV and see shows that remind me of my younger times while still reflecting the complexities of today. I will confess I can't related to some of the entertainment directed at people my age because much of it seems geared towards people who make 50 grand or more and since leaving the army over a decade ago I have never made over 20 grand in a single year.
Everything in my life is geared towards "if you make 50 grand this is for you" the shows are about "first world problems" that low income earners like me wish we could have. Magazines about the cities I live and work in talk about places I have to save up for six month to afford to eat in as "Cheap eats"
TV is all I can afford and that's because i finally have roommates (My folks) that can afford their share of the bills. But most of what I see in TV is like I said "rich" people talking about their rich lives. People who got to go to really nice universities and colleges so aren't blocked from 90% of the jobs I am not allowed to have.
I am smart, clever, knowledgeable and well educated but I will never be allowed to work those jobs unless I get a piece of paper saying so. But these sitcoms are familiar and allow me some peace something to relate to something familiar. Something for me to watch. So I am glad they are still around.
I loved Fielding. And Harry and all of them. A few months ago I turned 36 years old. When I re-watch Night Court Dan looks about my age and Harry is this young punk kid messing with people. I still love them.
But what really got my attention today was that I found this new show called "The Great Indoors" it's a brilliant classic sitcom in the style of all of the great sitcoms I have been watching for years my favorite style of show. (even if my favorite show is of a different style)
As I watched a guy about my age (he's probably supposed to be 5 to 10 years older than me as he seems to have been a bit older in the 90s and more likely in college while I was in high school. He's not only having these 20 something young punk kids mess with his world but he's having to leave his world behind. But what struck me is it's the same story.
Middle aged guy has to deal with someone he will come to respect shaking up his world and changing the way the job gets done. It was like coming home again in a way.
I'll be honest I have always been a tad out of sync. Never quite meshing with people my age even my generation is in a vague state of flux. At times people my age are said to be the first Millennials and other times the last Gen Xers. No one really ever labeled us. We just kind of were out of sync. Too young to give a shit about Nirvana enough to even know who Kurt Cobain was but old enough to know their music was awesome. Young enough that for all of our childhoods computers were a thing and for all of our teen years the Internet was.
I picked up one of the first smart phones and I haven't had much luck with any dating app ever. Raised in an era where people like me were mocked for living with their parents (George Costanza like me had to move in with his parents) but with peers who many had to make the same choices and sacrifices. My one friend has been living with her mom and step dad since we graduated high school and raising three daughters there. My best friend moved his dad in with him and his fiance. My other friend was adopted into a family she often lives with when she can't afford her own place.
But through it all here it is 2016 and we are telling the same stories. It's kind of comforting. I like that I can turn on the TV and see shows that remind me of my younger times while still reflecting the complexities of today. I will confess I can't related to some of the entertainment directed at people my age because much of it seems geared towards people who make 50 grand or more and since leaving the army over a decade ago I have never made over 20 grand in a single year.
Everything in my life is geared towards "if you make 50 grand this is for you" the shows are about "first world problems" that low income earners like me wish we could have. Magazines about the cities I live and work in talk about places I have to save up for six month to afford to eat in as "Cheap eats"
TV is all I can afford and that's because i finally have roommates (My folks) that can afford their share of the bills. But most of what I see in TV is like I said "rich" people talking about their rich lives. People who got to go to really nice universities and colleges so aren't blocked from 90% of the jobs I am not allowed to have.
I am smart, clever, knowledgeable and well educated but I will never be allowed to work those jobs unless I get a piece of paper saying so. But these sitcoms are familiar and allow me some peace something to relate to something familiar. Something for me to watch. So I am glad they are still around.