Put in vogue by the streaming hit “WandaVision,” using the small screen to block out the many problems facing the world today appeals to many, including myself. Kicking back with my laptop and the couch has been a much more preferable and less anxiety-inducing time waster as opposed to doom-scrolling social media.
Although it’s important to be aware of current events, constantly refreshing Twitter’s daily trend offerings can be an exhaustive and draining pastime. Instead, I’ve taken comfort in sitcoms and cartoons of the past like “Cheers,” “M*A*S*H” and various iterations of “Batman”.
The formulaic structure and repetitive plots where the right action is rewarded and the wrong action is punished have been incredibly refreshing in a world turned upside down. In a year where each day seemed to unmoor further from reality, spending more time with deliberately wacky and outlandish plotlines made increasing sense.
I didn’t watch “Star Trek” and wonder if Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock will come up with a solution to save the Enterprise and the lives of its 430 crewmen. I watched “Star Trek” to see how Kirk and Spock will come up with a solution to save the Enterprise.
In the world of TV, a winning combination of logic, shenanigans and the occasionally contrived deus ex machina will solve nearly any problem.
When four blue-gray concrete walls became my whole world, the Doctor was waiting with the TARDIS to take me away to alien worlds, distant time periods and sometimes both at once; my sense of adventure and curiosity lived in that little blue box.
One aspect of television that lends itself better to escapism than movies is the immersion. Twenty-three half-hour episodes can endear its unique world to the viewer much more gracefully than a simple two-hour movie. Character arcs become that much more meaningful when they develop over time instead of rushed haphazardly in the course of a few hours.
Watching classic couples like Chidi and Eleanor becomes so much more gratifying when you go on their journeys with them. As they fall in love, so do you. Filling your heart as you lie curled up under a blanket, the image of love on-screen becomes the last vestige of intimacy.
Nobody talks about TV quite like Abed Nadir. In the final episode of “Community,” he delivers a moving love letter to television, noting, “It’s TV; it’s comfort. It’s a friend you’ve known so well, and for so long you just let it be with you.”
In that spirit, TV has been with me for a while, but I’ve only begun to fully appreciate it recently. That said, I will not miss living vicariously through my favorite shows.
