Over the past six months or so something's happened in our house that I find interesting. Our daughter has spent many of her evenings with my wife and I watching stuff. I suppose that's not unusual, but it's what we're watching that gives me pause.
We've been watching movies and TV shows my wife and I grew up with, the kinds of things we used to watch after we graduated from high school and were in college. We've gone through most of the John Hughes movies (okay...not all of them...), The Wedding Singer, and a ton of other romcoms. This past week we finished the entire Seinfeld series.
Not only has it been fun for us, it's brought back a ton of memories. Plus, we get to remember what an amazing show it was. Of course, it was different. But what I noticed watching it this time is how organic if feels. I think knowing Jerry was a comedian first, then an actor, adds to the charm. If I can make a comparison (and probably a bad one...), the show was like electing a politician not from one of the two major parties. They're not beholden to anyone and they can do whatever they want. That's what Seinfeld did for nine seasons.
And if they didn't, it sure felt that way.
Binge watching is something I could not envision, even a decade ago when we bought the Seinfeld box set. In a matter of days you can see the whole show--it's like we're messing with time.
Our daughter will most likely be moving out in the next couple of years and she'll be starting a new life with new adventures. I'm glad we've been able to share with her those shows that help shape us. Plus, she now knows where we got some of the sayings we spout all the time around the house. So when I say, "Because people like to say _______," our daughter know why I'm saying that and where I got it.
I don't know what's next on the watching agenda. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't--in many ways--hold a candle to the series we just ended. Seinfeld was one of a kind.
