I come to you today with heavy heart. I was just going to do a blog about shows that have gone on to that Great White TV Heaven in the Sky, one of those shows being the late, great Lost. My freshman year of college, I didn't really know anyone. My RA, Emma, watched Lost too. I used to run down to her room and knock incessantly because I was so excited about what had just happened. A friend of Emma's, Ian Young, would be there and we would sit for hours and discuss and discuss and discuss. Well, I found out today that Ian passed away. I would like to dedicate this blog to Ian and Emma, both of whom need our prayers.
Some shows find a better life after death. Why? Because people get bored and ask their friends what is good to watch, and they wanna watch it right now. Immediacy. And nothing says immediacy like the entire series on DVD, online, or Netflix. Other people come across these shows through TV reruns, or even an impassioned fan who still mourns the loss of weekly entertainment. No shock here that I am one of these fans. TV is a fickle creature and networks are vicious and cruel to us TV watchers, letting us fall in love and then ripping them away. Here are some of my dearly departed shows that I think you should fall in love with, post mortem.
Firefly:
Cowboys. Space Cowboys? Yes please. Joss Whedon's late great Firefly is one of the biggest tragedies of television. Only 11 shows aired out 14 (all can be found on the DVD set) and some out of order. Joss, like his Captain Mal Reynolds (an anti-hero, bitter by his war time experiences and turned smuggler who becomes involved in a conspiracy with his enemy), did not give up so easily. A movie was made, Serenity, and did mildly alright but not enough to further any sort of production. Look for Joss' signature dialogue (Mal: And I never back down from a fight. Inara: Yes, you do! You do all the time! Mal: Well... yeah, but I'm not backing down from this one!), quirky characters, and all around good story telling. "Shiny. Let's go be bad guys."
Veronica Mars:
Nancy Drew with sass. Rob Thomas' genius was gritty and witty, with a mystery to boot! 3 seasons with mysteries, family drama (one of TV's best father/daughter relationships), romance (epic romance), and some of the best twists television had never seen coming. Kristen Bell (of Michigan roots) was our feisty heroine before she hit movie star fame. The premise: Veronica's best friend is murdered and Veronica, only allowed to be cool because of her, was relegated back to her place at the bottom of the social ladder. Her father, once the sheriff, was fired and now runs a private investigation office. Veronica finds out the truth and more. Seriously, go watch this show. "They gave me a choice. I could stand by my dad, or stand by Duncan and my dead best friend's family. I chose Dad. It's a decision I live with every day. And you want to know the kicker? I don't even know what's true anymore. Maybe everyone else is right. Maybe Dad screwed up the investigation. Maybe I gave up my circle of friends - my life - over an error in Dad's judgment."
Alias:
Girl spy who finds out she is working for the people who killed her fiance and goes to work as a double agent for the CIA. Oh, and her dad is a double agent too. Throw in a dash of Rimbaldi mystery, a cup of romance, and just a pinch of betrayal and you have the hit show starring Jennifer Garner. J.J. Abrams first true brain child was a smash hit that fell to the rating executioner. But after 5 seasons of a well-rounded cast, dead relatives being not-so-dead, lots of costumes, another epic romance, and an Emmy, the only regret to have is that you don't have the collector's edition Rimbaldi cube which contains all the seasons plus a hidden compartment with special features. Oh, but I do! "The irony is they never lied to me about what would happen if I told someone. It was the one thing they said that turned out to be true. Now I'm a double agent for the C.I.A. and I will be until SD-6 is gone."
Lost:
"Guys, where are we?" With that closing line at the end of a pilot, millions were hooked. Plane crashes, people must work together to survive. Seems simple enough. Polar bears, weird smoke monster, giant foot statue, and oh yeah The Others. Still simple? Not even close. But if you stayed on for the ride, it was truly worth the wait to get all (or most) of the answers that the show threw at viewers. Diverse characters, superb writing (just ignore some season 2) and some of the cleverest plot techniques television had yet to see. People who watched the show can't stop talking about it's end a year later and it still begs many questions. 6 seasons of a psychological thriller that pulls you in start to finish. "Live together, or die alone."
These four shows are some of my favorites and I encourage you to jump on the fan trains. I miss them but I know that they are always there waiting for me to put in another disc. As Desmond from Lost tells Jack, "See you in another life, brotha."
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