Shameless Pleasure #4 - Old Sitcoms

I am almost afraid to share this next Shameless Pleasure.  By sharing this, I feel some of you may judge me as shallow, uninspired, lacking intellect, sticking my head in the sand while the whole world goes to shit, etc. It may say something about me deep down when I share this one…here it goes…

I love rewatching old TV sitcoms.  And when I say rewatch, I mean EVERY single day. 

Friends and The Big Bang Theory are my favorites. I watch Friends while I eat my lunch, while I’m cooking dinner, and when I get ready for bed.  And in between that, I watch Big Bang. Like all the time.

I hesitated to share this because I KNOW it’s a total waste of time and instead of watching sitcoms I should be doing something else productive or at least choosing a news program or documentary, you know, something more intellectual to watch.

But most days, I just can’t do it. The news depresses me, and I mostly just want to escape into something I enjoy. It’s easier to just watch something familiar than try and find something new in the endless options we have on our Tvs.  So many choices so overwhelming. How can we have so many channels and there is never anything good to watch? Bottom line, sometimes I just wanna veg out and not have to be “on”.

Before writing this blog, I did a little research on my “bad habit” and found that I am not alone in my shameless pleasure. And I learned there are some really good reasons why we do it. Well at least I think the reasons make sense to me and I have some new justification – haha

So why we do it? Well, think nostalgia, familiarity, comfort, tension release, escape, choice paralysis, mental health reset, etc. So lets dig deeper on a few of these…

Nostalgia

Sitcom reruns can evoke positive memories and feelings associated with the time when you first watched a show. 

I love reminiscing about when I was younger! When I watch sitcoms, I recall those days. Sometimes I can even recall where I was when I watched it the first time. And its cool to be able to say I was the first to watch that episode  

Familiarity

The familiarity of the characters, storylines, and jokes can provide a sense of security and predictability, allowing you to relax and enjoy the show without the stress of anticipating plot twists or character development. Or having to follow along with every little detail.

Sometimes I just don’t wanna think that hard!

Comfort and Community

Rewatching can create a sense of community and connection with others who share the same love for the show. 

My daughter now loves these shows too, especially Friends thanks to streaming. It’s so fun to watch them together and quote lines and jokes. It’s a great way to connect with your tweens, teens, and young adults!

Also, because we know the plot and characters, we can watch with less effort, letting us just enjoy the show rather than processing details. I know, again probably not something I should be proud of but sometimes I like to be lazy.

My daughter refers to these shows as background shows. It’s the background to whatever else she is doing, folding laundry, writing a paper, studying – although I prefer, she’d focus more singularly while studying!

One of her favorite background shows is Gilmore Girls, a drama not a sitcom, but she has watched every episode at least 5 times. Here’s a few others she likes (me too btw):

·         New Girl

·         That 70s Show

·         How I met your Mother

Finally, I enjoy laughing and smiling.  Even though I know the punchlines, sometimes they can still make me laugh out loud. Those shows in particular were just really well written and can still make me laugh – which feels so good to do!

Now that I am a voice actor, I even try to tie my rewatching to “studying the acting craft” – haha. Its kind of true. I do watch and practice the commercials.

Now that I have shared this one, part of me feels inclined to tell you about all the books I read and the documentaries I also watch to make sure you don’t judge me too harshly but whatever.

Life’s to short to feel guilty about the things we love!