TV Land

Friday night, eight o’clock and I’m waiting for a show to start up that I will watch again. Hi Cobbers, here I am, a TV obsessed individual. When I was a kid TV was my babysitter. It was cheap, fun and all could be heard in every room in our house. Kind of like my mom…Anyway, I feel comfortable saying that I know a lot of TV. And I know weird things: For example,  “Spongebob” was originally intended to be an adult show; like “Family Guy,” but  underwater. So as a bastion of knowledge I feel compelled to tell you my all time favorite television adventures.

First off is “Dexter’s Lab.” I absolutely loved this show. It featured a ginger in a strong intellectual place but he was also an outcast from his family. His father had high expectations for him and his mother was a super mom. His sister was crazy and needed to stop touching his stuff, (which we all experienced)and Dexter handled it all while performing very serious science experiments, and then saving the world! His accent was strange, but oh well. Another reason Dexter’s Lab is awesome is you cannot get through an episode without a geeky spoof like Star Wars, Star Trek, and DC Comics making it easy for parents and kids to watch. Bonus for all you babysitters out there- season one is on DVD!

Next, I could sing the praises of “Hey Arnold!” forever. “Hey Arnold!” was the primary factor contributing to my strangeness. I mean, he is a nine year old who loves jazz and ties his sweater around his waist to look like a skirt. His show was ridiculously diverse and incredibly mature. The show’s creators weren’t afraid to touch on such topics as childhood abandonment and teenage obsession. Some fun facts about it include that we never actually find out what happened to his parents, and that the city he lives in is a combination of Seattle, Portland and Brooklyn.

Next is “Dr. Who.” This is the longest running TV show in history folks, and for good reason. This show is sci-fi while focusing on human problems. The Doctor is an alien who is the last of his kind and he will never be duplicated. He lives with the responsibility of the universe and deciding which civilizations get to live and which have to die. So obviously, things I deal with daily. Besides that point I love the allusions made to modern and classic literature as well as classic actors.

Ok, this is my total teen dramedy obsession: I love “Degrassi.” I have been watching it for nearly ten years from the beginning when it was all J.T., Manny, Emma, and Toby all the time. The classic characters went through their typical schooling in Canada at a high school on De Grassi Street where the original show, Degrassi Junior High is referenced through former characters being teachers and parents. It is that sick attention to detail and interweaving of stories that I love. Also that show just has fantastic actors- Nina Dobrev started on Degrassi!

My number one television program (or should I say telly) is “Skins UK.” I usually just call it “Skins,” but after MTVs failed attempt to recreate it I now have to specify. Thanks MTV. I digress. “Skins” is a drama show, yet they bring to light the ridiculous rate at which people are being forced to grow up in this world. The teens in that show have to deal with parental loss, financial insecurity, lack of education, loss of a best friend, disease, love, lust and the occasional sex scene. While they do a lot of things that are ridiculous (like stealing a coffin), they still are doing what just seems like a more exaggerated version of our lives. For any of you with Netflix I highly recommend it. HIGHLY.