There is something to be said for nostalgia, and as far as it goes with TV right now it is essentially comfort food for the brain. In many ways the old sitcoms that were the favorites back in the 60’s through the 90’s were a great deal different than those of today. They were less edgy, didn’t make you think quite as much, and in many ways were far more family-friendly.
With today’s sitcoms you tend to feel the need to explain to children what they are seeing and why. Back then the issues that were covered within the various episodes weren’t thrust into your lap so much as they were handed to you in a way that could be understood and better examined. Some might say they coddled the audience and that’s entirely untrue, but they also had a great deal more respect and didn’t subject the people to the harsher truths of life in a way that brooked no argument.
We all know that life is hard, we get it. When we watch TV thought it’s nice to kick back and not have to think so hard for at least a half hour. There are sitcoms and dramas that cater to the people in this manner in this era, but they are far and few between when compared to the edgy and over the top shows that are currently at the top of the ratings.
Nostalgia TV is for everyone, but is particularly effective with those that desire a return to simplicity in programming. Instead of having to sort out the entire plot one small episode at a time people can be given the plot, the premise, and the point of a single episode in less than thirty minutes. That’s the wonder and the joy of an older sitcom, they got right to the point and there was little if any real guesswork to it.
Shows like The Golden Girls, Full House, Gilmore Girls, and so on and so forth dealt with many different issues that reflected society and what was happening at that time, but throughout each episode they found a way to resolve the issue they were dealing with and tie it all up with a neat little bow by the end. There was no need to agonize and theorize over what might come next and worry over hacks that would grant viewers a look at the next episode.
That just wasn’t done back then.
Nostalgia TV is a way to get back to the simple part of TV and enjoy the good old times when we didn’t worry about whether or not we caught one episode or not. Somehow, someway, somebody would tell us about it or we’d get to see it on a rerun. Those days were thought to be long gone until Hulu and Netflix started bringing back the old shows and streaming every episode for our viewing delight. Now you can watch all those episodes you loved in order and catch up on anything you might have missed.
It’s just fun, and that’s all it’s supposed to be.
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