If you haven’t figured out from other articles on this blog, I consume an obscene amount of entertainment media, especially on my beloved idiot box. How did this happen? How did the son of two very intelligent adults turn into a TV addict? Was it my upbringing, outside influences, or am I just a weak weak man. In the first of a 2 part series follow me as I take a look at my pre college years or as I like to refer to them; the filler years.
I honestly can’t place the first memory I have of TV. I lived in Milwaukee, WI until I was 8 and actually had a fairly busy social calendar. Sure I remember Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street and that scary ass Captain Kangaroo. I remember bits and pieces of my parents watching MASH but that’s about it.
As I grew older, it was off to Minneapolis for me. My daily planner took a hit as I was the only one at my immediate age in my neighborhood and with both parents working full time it was off to Latch Key. Now at the time I didn’t think my parents let me watch more TV then in Milwaukee but then again I do remember Hill Street Blues and Falcon Crest a lot better then other people my age. Perhaps my parents realized this, because I do remember them telling me not to watch “garbage” shows and was then encouraged to watch PBS. Of course PBS led me not to the land of Nova and Masterpiece Theater but to Monty Python and Dr. Who and thus my years of geekery began.
To those not in the know, Dr. Who is a poorly produced low budget British sci fi series that was one of many BBC imports shown by PBS. It had aliens, bad jokes, the occasional cute girl, and just enough of a continuing storyline to hook viewers. By the time I started watching the show had already achieved cult status and had its own conventions. I became an instant fan and in my first TV geek act, I asked my mother to knit me a 10’ scarf just like the Doctor. I also attended a couple of conventions including taking my 6th grade girlfriend to one of them. Even then I was a player.
It was around this time, 12 or so, that I gained TV independence. Except for late night weekend shows like Dr. Who, Python, and SNL, I was pretty limited to watching what my parents did in prime time. For some reason I was given more freedom and with that I discovered shows like Miami Vice, Knight Rider, and The A-Team. I’ll always marvel at the fact that I was allowed to watch a show about undercover cops in the world of cocaine but was told that Golden Girls was off limit because it’s just too gross. I was the first kid I knew who dressed up as Crockett for Halloween and unfortunately the first to buy Heartbeat by Don Johnson on cassette.
Junior high was more of the same but by the time high school rolled around a funny thing happened. I actually wanted my parents to watch TV with me again. This marked the first time I became a true arm chair TV critic. I began reading newspapers and magazines about upcoming shows and made sure to clue my folks in on what to watch. The high point came when I convinced my dad that he really needed to check out the pilot to Twin Peaks. I was in my embryonic stage in terms of becoming a David Lynch fan but I knew this show would be amazing and I knew my pops loved Blue Velvet. We got my mom to join us and here we were one happy family following the lives of our favorite coffee loving town. My love of TV hit a high point here as this was the first show my parents and I could really discuss where I felt not only like an adult but an equal.
At this time I was watching a lot of TV. Basic cable had blessed my house a few years earlier and I was already an MTV and ESPN diehard. As I got ready for college I worried about the lack of cable in the dorm rooms and finding a roommate who’d like the same shows as me. Much to my surprise my viewing habits and my love affair with TV were about to change.
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