TV Bondage

13 May

Posted by TV Chick as General Babble |

I was chatting to an acquaintance the other day and she told me that she and her mother are making their way through the Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs and having a good time. She was lamenting that they were almost finished with them and that she would miss the time she got to spend with her mum. They had made regular “appointments” together to watch an episode or two and it’s taken them nearly a year to get through 7 seasons of Buffy. I scoffed because I can get through 7 seasons in a month, but then I can’t watch just one episode. But I digress.

I think it’s sweet they were doing this. She was sharing her love of Buffy with her mom and gathering a pile of memories she’ll always look back on fondly. It’s also cool of her mom to sit down and watch a show like Buffy because I can tell you that the show often gets dismissed as a teen show. But nine times out of ten, once they start watching, they’re hooked because it’s more than a teen show.

But I’m not writing this post about the awesomeness of Buffy, though I could go on and on (and on and on) about it. No, I meant to talk about shows you could pick with your parents or friends, or siblings etc. and turn them into fun memories. The discussion I was having quickly turned into alternative shows they could delve into next because she seemed reluctant to stop having this quality time with her mom.

Of course I said, “Angel,” and they probably will move onto the Buffy spinoff but she was also wondering about shows she could share with her dad. I mentioned Bones, How I Met Your Mother, 24, Lost, Pick a CSI any CSI, but none of those met with enthusiasm.

I think, in order to try out this TV bonding ritual, one of the people involved has to love a show and want to share it with a loved one or close friend. You have to bear in mind that tastes may not be the same. I’ve done this with my daughter, with 24, Buffy, Angel, Bones and now Doctor Who. Luckily we have similar tastes and I totally love the quality time I get to spend with her as we enjoy the show together. But, I could not get her interested in West Wing, darn it.

But once you find a show, my suggestion - and it’s totally just that, a suggestion - is buy or rent one season of a TV show you want to share, work out a time each week when you can sit down/snuggle up/get cozy and make some popcorn, ignore the phone and watch one or two episodes. Or one disk, depending on whether you’re renting Maybe spend some time speculating or discussing the show afterwards.

A lot of people are doing this, and the idea is nothing new. But it’s worth mentioning anyway, and it really is quite lovely. Now, I’m sure there are folks out there who will say, “Why not go to the park, or go for a walk or do something productive instead of couch potatoing in front of the television.” Ignore them Productivity is all well and good, but having a central thing you both can focus on and get into, in my opinion, isn’t a bad thing. You talk to each other more, you give yourselves another common interest to share and it opens up so many possibilities for quality time.