The Stuff That TV Dreams Are Made Of
As the new Assistant Editor for TV Worth Watching, I’m a recent addition to the website for those of you who pay close attention to the names listed here. But I’ve been around for a long time as a friend and a fan of both TVWW and TV.
Actually, fan doesn't really cover it. I'm a fiend. A devotee. Ok. Let’s be real. My name is Linda, and I’m a TV addict.
My jones began for me as a child. My father was my dealer and he gave me the drug every night. Dad died last year but I will always treasure the time we spent in front of the old giant TV – a magnificent console from the days when televisions were pieces of furniture to match the couch and the coffee table.
It was on Saturday nights when I’d hear him call my nickname, "Stuff." “Hey, Stuff! Come on! Our shows are about to start!” And that meant All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and, especially, The Carol Burnett Show were on.
I couldn’t wait to sit down with Dad and laugh my heart out at the antics of Archie & Edith; Mary & the WJM gang; Bob & Emily; and most of all, Mr. Tudball & Mrs. Wiggins (Tim Conway and Burnett, top.) And to this day, they continue to make me smile or, more often, howl and snort.
Dad was the one who always made me laugh, and gave me my love of all things funny and cornball. There were many times when he would drive me back to college and we’d talk about the latest episode of just about every sitcom on TV that season. It’s where I get my uncanny and/or annoying ability (depends on who you ask) to recount scenes – verbatim -- from sitcoms, stand-up routines, etc.
When Dad was sick last year and seemed to be having some trouble moving on to the next leg of his journey, I whispered in his ear: “Pop, it’s OK. Go on up and save me a seat. We’ll watch some All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett just like we used to. And this time we can have all the food we used to eat that you haven’t been able to have for awhile!” He passed not long after.
I like to think that he’s sitting up there in the TV room in the sky, having some pepperoni pizza and watching all the funny shows he’d ever want to see. And I’m doing what I can to make sure all the wonderful folks who come and visit TVWW enjoy the best TV has to offer. And that means not just comedy but the wonderful dramas, thrillers, documentaries…and on and on. That's what TVWW has meant to me, and now, what I hope to help pass along here – so much quality TV to see and where to find it.
If I could talk to Dad now, I’d tell him about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, that Michael J. Fox is back on TV and Bill Cosby is returning, too. Sitcoms aren’t exactly a sure bet these days, but I'd tell him about my current guilty pleasures – Mom, Trophy Wife, Suburgatory.
And, yes, I can also throw Sean Saves the World in there, too.
Television entertains and informs us. It educates us and brings us together during times of grief. It can make us laugh – really hard – in order to forget the troubles of our day. And when we watch together, as Dad and I did, or when we're part of a national audience, it's a shared experience that binds us together in its own, uncanny, lifelong way.
It might only be television, but it's an amazing, wonderful thing.