Why I love reruns
November 22nd 2008 03:36 pm
I’m sitting here half-listening to a rerun of Everyone Loves Raymond. I never watched the show when it originally aired because I didn’t think Ray Ramono’s standup comedy was funny. However, I have discovered that I like the sitcom. The writing is clever, and the characters seem real. If the show had not reaired on cable, I never would have known that it deserved all the accolades it received during its initial run.
Now that I think about it, most of the television shows I watched as a kid were reruns—I Love Lucy, The Little Rascals, The Three Stooges, Father Knows Best —they were on in the afternoons when I came home from school. I would sit in my dad’s leather easy chair, eat Cheetos, do math homework, and giggle as Lucy stuffed her mouth with candy when the assembly line sped up. I loved these shows because they were part of my daily routine. I could count on them at a time when few things in my life were consistent. Just when I thought The Three Stooges was getting too stupid, Mo would do something to Curly and Larry that reminded me of the tricks I played on my brother. After all, Mo was the smart one. And just when I tired of Spanky and the gang, they did something silly that made me think being a kid wasn’t so bad; adults couldn’t do silly things without looking foolish. As for Father Knows Best, I would pretend I was the oldest character Betty, which wasn’t a stretch because I am the oldest sibling. But my parents didn’t have a perfect marriage like Jim and Margaret, my brother wasn’t cool or cute like Bud, and I didn’t have a younger sister (yet). I stopped watching Father Knows Best not long after my parents’ divorce became final. I guess I couldn’t live in that fantasy world anymore.
I didn’t discover a lot of shows until they were in reruns. I was too young to appreciate M*A*S*H in its heyday, but I watch it all the time now. The same holds true for Sex and the City. I don’t have HBO so I never knew about Carrie’s neuroses until the show began airing on other cable channels. Thanks to TNT and USA, I am a true Law & Order junkie. Because of reruns, I started watching L & O during its fourth season; now I’m sure I’ve seen every episode that has ever aired (many two or three times each), but don’t test me on it.
I don’t know why I can’t read a book twice, but I can watch the same episodes of my favorite shows over and over again. I never fail to cry when Monica tries to propose to Chandler (only to say “there’s a reason why girls don’t do this!”) or to laugh when Jerry Seinfeld explains the difference between taking and holding a car rental reservation.
Thanks to reruns (and now DVD collections), I get to re-experience these small delights whenever I find my shows on television. God bless cable.
AWW — XoXo
