Comfort shows ... banal or blissful?
"I AM... WOUNDED!"
Three cheers for whoever can guess which fan-favorite nineties sitcom this comes from. Hint: it features a Ph.D holding egomaniac, doomed romances, and apartments that are unfeasibly lavish.
Figured it out?
If you guessed Frasier, you would be "most correct". And if you guessed another, not-be-named favorite sitcom of the nineties and early 2000s, well, that's to be expected.
For most of my life, my family watched Frasier at least once a week (another favorite was Law and Order, but we will get into that later). Despite the fact that most of the show is wholly age-inappropriate, it remained mine and my sister's favorite, even to this day. I can't tell you how many times I've had to repress a slight laugh when reading "White Zinfandel" on a wine list, or how many monologues either of us have finished by saying "and Cam Winston must park his SUV monstrosity in the SUB-BASEMENT!"
But why is an admittedly outdated show held up to the test of time? Why do we return over and over to the same beige-clad apartment at the top of the Elliot Bay Towers? Why do we keep watching the same shows over and over?
I found myself thinking this when my mother recently had surgery. She and I were thinking of things for her to do while she was unable to move, but when she asked for suggestions of new shows to watch, I was stumped. I had to tell her that I wasn't watching anything new, just the same iteration of shows that I'd been watching for the last few years.
So is it merely the familiarity that we enjoy? Are we lazy? Afraid of wasted effort on something that may not be as good?
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, does it, if we are drawn back to the shows that bring us serotonin.
So cheers, fellow re-bingers, and take heart - it's a fairly common affliction, and it's not one likely to cause lasting harm... unlike some of our favorite characters:
To me it is a combination of two things. Yes; for one, I love the familiarity so I can quote the show along with it, similar to how everyone loves to sing along to their favorite songs! It confirms your humor or your feelings or your situations as it feels like a hug that you don’t always know you need. And secondly, comes down to your point on wasted effort. I mean there are shows I have watched that I absolutely loved and then they killed off the main man that, let’s be honest, was the reason I watched the show. So too this day I haven’t watched since because in my mind I can imagine he is still alive and thriving in his marriage. And I feel like I am gypped of this incredible character. So it is where I am tired of being disappointed once I am already attached to characters. My comfort shows personally cover some deeper things but there is always light in the show via humor and love and friendship. But at the end of the day I like knowing the show I am watching has a happy ending because isn’t that what all of us really want in our lives? And the world is tough enough, I like the old shows that give some hope! Anyway that is my two cents!
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