If you could bring back any tv show, what would it be?
What does what we watch on tv say about us?
When I was a kid, I used to like to watch tv shows centered around happy families. I think thats because I didn’t know what that was like, and I was curious. I feel like I lived vicariously through the fairies I watched on tv. I recall experiencing different emotions than what I felt at home, and I liked that feeling.
These days, I don’t watch much tv. When I do watch, I watch a lot of crime shows. I feel like I watch these because I am drawn to trauma and drama. We are drawn to what feels familiar or to maybe figuring things out. I would find strange comfort in these dark things, because that was the only thing I ever knew. When I look back on my life until now, it could be an episode of law and order or criminal intent.
What do your tv interests say about you? I think it tells us something. Maybe a story reflecting back our lives to normalize it or maybe a reflection of what we want to be?
© 2026 – SoulSequel
32 responses to “Television”
Do you mean a reboot, or rerun? Both are happening as we speak.
I would love to see School House Rock come back, as we need it now more than ever! Plus people really seem interested in Civics lately. Hhhhmmmm, I wonder why? :)
It depends on my mood as to what shows I like to watch. Lately I have been watching the PBS series of Concerts at the White House, that were put on when the Obamas were in the house. When I first watched them, I would get all melancholy. Now, I watch them with pride, and I am reminded that this is who we are.
Here is Blind Melon covering 3 is a Magic Number, a reboot!
@Gina I loved school house rock. I liked after school
Specials, too. Do you remember those?
@Scarlett I certainly do! I learned a lot from those after school specials. They covered some heavy topics. My current favorite show where I learn stuff is Drunk History. Have you seen that?
@Gina haven’t seen that one, but I wonder if those after school specials helped us resolve stuff…
@Scarlett
I just revisited a bunch of them! I never thought I would see them again.
Conjunction Junction: Verb the action-hero, Lolly-lolly-lolly-get-your-adverbs-here.
A personal fave, was “Interjections!”.
With creative writing and a catchy tune, they could teach me in just a few minutes things that months of “schooling” failed to.
And I can still “perform” a proper sentence even when “Grammerly App” is nowhere to be found!
If we are talking about make new episodes, Psych. Loved that show so much. Glad that they have a TV movie coming out around Christmas. Others that ended too early are Sirens, Defiance, and Dark Matter.
Well, I actually just remember one show that I may bring back. I love Psych so much, but it did have a fair amount of seasons. I think I’d really bring back Constantine. It is a superhero show that came before Arrow and The Flash. It may have survived if it came out on CW after those two did. It was so good and left on such a good spot for a second season, but it was canceled. It deals with a guy that messes with the magics from all types of religions and myths. Keanu Reeves was in the movie version of it.
I’m not sure what it says about me. I love comedies, superhero, sci-fi, and those drama shows like Law and Order: SVU, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles. Then there are those weird shows like Mr. Robot and The Sinner. Not gonna say I love The Sinner, but it has my attention and only has eight episodes, so why not?
I like to laugh, maybe because I hurt quite a bit. I like when crimes are taken seriously like they are in those drama shows. Certain sci-fi shows just hit that nerd spot of space exploration or religious myths or even some things like werewolves and vampires with shows like Being Human (US version.) Guess superhero shows kind of fit that as well. Just interested in a world that isn’t this one. Maybe it does say something about me after all.
@yin I never watched psych but I heard of it. Maybe you are interested in a world where justice exists. Not sure Justice exist in the real world, or At least if it does, it has a lifespan.
@Scarlett Yea, Psych is one of those goofy shows. Kind of dumb but talented people going around solving crimes. The one guy has like a photographic memory and he goes around acting like he is a psychic for the police department. I think I’d classify it as “dumb humor.” Kind of like some Martin Lawrence type of stuff.
I really do want justice to exist. I don’t want a multi-tiered justice system where some people are punished and people who are 100% guilty get to go with maybe a slap on the wrist. Or the areas where police harass the citizens is another injustice. Justice is determined on the cops, judges, and the jury. There are many areas for it to go wrong. I don’t know the answer to our problem, but it does need a lot of work. Maybe starting with who gets put into these positions. When the people of Law and Order make a mistake, at least they try to correct it as best as possible. They also try to go after those with powerful positions. One time the captain said no to that at the end of an episode, but they tend to go after them. Just wish these crimes were taken as seriously in real life.
My take, is that we are a society that lives almost entirely at the behest of our feelings. We become addicted to them. And these crime-and-dysfunction shows are very effective “hits” of our favored drug. And we as a society show an alarming “addictive tendency” to require bigger and bigger doses, to get the same desired feeling-effect!
I’ve discovered a feed of the 1965 classic hit, “Lost in Space”. It bears very little resemblance to modern incarnations. It’s “adventure and peril” meets “family values”! The special effects vary from “remarkable for the time” to actors wearing ultra-cheezy costumes.
And I find that I don’t really mind. I grew up in “imaginative” times, where we were not spoon-fed special-effects mush that we didn’t have to chew on a bit, lest we strain our digestive system! The sexism of a bygone era is there (the “boys” all go off to do demanding and dangerous stuff, the “girls” remain behind to care for the “homestead”.) But even in this, there are some very strong female roles “breaking out”. (Maureen Robinson is a ROCK! June Cleaver in an astronaut jumpsuit!)
And it’s poignant to see young children who are free to explore and learn and be irrepressible . . . yet to have their eyes pop open and say “Yes Sir!” to their father when he exerts his parental authority.
(And then see him respond when they disobey and learn a hard lesson . . . with a mix of mercy, understanding, yet also at times, punishment. )
How far we have come!
But in what direction?? Forwards, or backwards?!
Some things needed to change. But some things were working out just fine, but now are gone.
@griz I am concerned you may be stuck in a matrix. I often get the feeling that you want to go back to the days of ‘yore. Maybe it would be nice to have a time machine and revisit the past, but I don’t think its realistic to think that things are going to get back to that now.
Sure, kids spent more time outside, but do you think this really made them more present?
Personally, I think our environment shapes a lot of these “feelings” that you speak of. For example, babies aren’t born racist.
At any rate, I did spend a lot of time outside as a child, but was I present? not much, I was recounting the past of traumas and dramas, and thinking about the future, how and when I could get out of there. Victim mentality? maybe. those feelings as a child sure were real and big, though. No one told me to be a victim, but I didn’t know how to set boundaries back then. I no longer feel like a victim. I feel in control of my own life and self.
as to feelings, I see it differently than you do. I see feelings as a part of us, a part of our consciousness. My hope would be that every human would learn to develop their critical thinking skills, but until they do, I think its on us to love them and their feelings. All thinking, and no feeling makes Jack a dull boy.
@Scarlett
Those who fail to form a valid connection with the planet, will see no evil in trashing it; no reason to preserve it for future generations to live upon. And it’s the ball of mud upon which all our game and “advancements” are made. Science is a LONG way from catapulting us away from our cumulative mistakes, to go start repeating the same mistakes on some other pure planet.
Those who can no longer see the physical environment or interpret its abundant clues, will have less and less awareness of the warning signs that tell us we are becoming lost as a species; that reveal us as something very akin to a cancer on the earth.
Like you, I didn’t register as a child that I was “a victim”. I was just a traveler; and adventurer. I benefited from having someone define my past as such. It helped me connect the dots and put a few more pieces in the puzzle in place. But the victim mindset, is when “victim” becomes (and remains?) our identity. Everything is re-framed through it — and we spiral down.
I think people misunderstand what I offer about feelings. I never try to cast them as “not a part of us”. They are a valuable part of me; and I pay attention not just to them , but to the messages and the wisdom they bring.
One Eastern meditation technique I know of involves “identifying points of pain”, and then focusing through them. It is how Eastern monks perform physical feats that seem to defy pain.
But there are far more insidious (and hidden) kinds of pain than just physical pain/discomfort.
Do I remember that you got your own copy of “The Medicine Wheel” by Donato? The whole theme of it, is to explore all the directions of the Medicine Wheel and then find a point of power and balance at the centre.
I throw a strong counter-balance against being owned and addicted to feelings and emotions, because our society’s Medicine Wheel is tilting drastically (perhaps catastrophically?) in that direction.
Our “instincts” are of our primitive animal self. They need to be “let out to play” from time to time; and listened to when they make noise.
But we are (or could be?) more than just animals driven by instinct and feelings. We need to know when it’s time to reign in the beast-self, and be the scholarly-self; or the mature-self; the intelligent-self; the sage-self.
@griz your explanation here makes much more sense. Yes, I still have the medicine wheel and I read every word. I practice mindfulness techniques that stem Buddhism. I like to be eclectic, though, and look at different schools of thoughts. I see it more like, this group believes this and that group believes that rather than labeling them as right or wrong.
As to my feelings, I’m okay with feeling my feeling. I use self regulation on my feelings, but sometimes I find I can’t handle them alone and seek outer resources. My feelings are a part of them and I don’t want to deny that part , but I see whT you are saying about tipping the med wheel. It’s a good point.
@Scarlett
Consider that the game of labeling things “right and wrong” may still be of our ego seeking to prove its own righteousness (right-ness).
I too have explored and ontinue to explore different belief systems. But I try to go deeper: and in doing so fine they are not all that different from each other. What “itch” are they trying to scratch? How are they going about it? Have I had the same itch, and how have I tried to scratch it? Did it work? What about the collected body of witness from others regarding that itch?
And perhaps deeper still, why is that itch there in the first place?
Rather than right or wrong, I tried to examine things on a spectrum of Truth and lie. Of processes that lead to life more abundantly; and processes that lead to death.
How can one know these things? Pure and healthy water is hard to find. But those who have drank it over time become better at recognizing polluted or unhealthy water. They recognize the effects and crave the pure.
Jesus took it a step further and struck the analogy of Living Water. To drink it means one never thirsts again.
It’s like the itch one never has to scratch again.
And then you see all the Itchy people in the world, and want to help them not itch! (vs just helping them scratch!)
i use netflix to watch shows, and once in a while a show will get taken off that i dont want to stop watching/rewatching. shows that arent up to date in comparison to seasons available on cable or i guess online. soooooooo hard to know im missing like 3 seasons of a show :D argh!
im waiting for new season of Luke Cage. i guess i like shows that aren nothing to do with my own life, but arent scary or traumatic to watch.
so what i want back is a show im not going to name for fear of sneaky snarky spoilers :D but i want it back so i can get caught up!
didnt have a tv for most of my childhood years so there isnt anything like that. but i guess i wish there were more HGTV shows on netflix. having a house is a dream so any show involving looking for houses or flipping houses, i like those. i like seeing how people would decorate. i like seeing pieces of peoples lives.
what do i watch now? mostly sci fi. working through greys anatomy cause its never ending and i dont like when series end :D but im nearly through it! why do i watch it? drama i guess. Torez is my dream wife
@BelleMadre My cousin works on Grey’s Anatomy as a lighting technician. He has given me some dirt about different things around the show, but I will not spill the beans except to say…They all love Shonda Rhimes and they call her Big Mama. His fav actor was Sandra Oh, (who I just read is a Canadian.) Sandra brought in a margarita bar every Friday for every person on the set. Cuz and his wife took a cruise around Europe when Shonda paid for a vacation for every person who worked on the show. It depended how long you worked on the show as to how expensive your trip was. My cuz has been on the show from day one.
Grey’s is set in Seattle, but actually filmed in the San Fernando Valley, California.
@BelleMadre I have never seen Grey. When I watch tv now, I often watch it on Hulu because it is really cheap!
@Scarlett yep i sure am a fan of cheap ;)
Are you a fan of Will and Grace? I was actually going to post a topic similar to this…because that amazing show will soon be back on the air! They ran a special last night on it, it was very nostalgic and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
When I was a kid I used to enjoy the family shows that was often showed in the late afternoon and in the early evenings. Wonder Years, Growing Pains, Who’s the Boss, Home Improvement…it’s so sad that shows like these are pretty much non-existent.
My favorite types of shows to watch are comedies or crime-dramas. Though I do rather enjoy dark comedies more than light-hearted ones and for the crime shows, I usually like the series that are psychological and analytical.
My intrigue with these types of shows closely reflects my interests. I love to laugh and sometimes what I find humorous some may find off-putting. And I like learning about psychology and in many crime cases, it’s one’s psyche that creates the motive or action. I think it’s kinda crazy how we’re all so different. People can be exposed to similar circumstances and react uniquely to those experiences. See “what went wrong” when crimes occur is like a puzzle.
@mj I am so excited that Will & Grace are back! I was at a music festival in Vancouver, BC this past summer, and I saw Eric McCormack run by me. Later that night, he got on stage with the Bare Naked Ladies and sang a song with him. Turns out, the neighborhood the festival was in is where he grew up, and he is buds with the band. He looked great.
@Gina The chemistry on this show is just on point! I can’t wait for it to start up again. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed that show until I started seeing the “Returning this fall” commercials for it. I swear, I even got teary eyed.
@mj Yes! I loved will and grace.
The Ed Sullivan Show and Carol Burnett Show would be great to bring back. Sometimes I watch All In The Family just to see the tension around Archie Bunker and I loved Edith. Archie was an asshole and Immortal Pirate announces that fact every few minutes. He hates the way Archie talked to Edith and believes a man should NEVER tell a woman to stiffel, or shut up. But, I enjoy the show and remember life in the late 50’s and the 60’s when my Dad was always saying, “Shut up!”
As for my television watching, I enjoy History and Science. If I watch an adventure, it is Deadliest Catch. I can sit and watch men catching the crabs all day long.
@ladybarbara The carol Burnett show was great! I also liked Mama’s Family in later years.
@immortal_pirate I loved to watch that show. When I was a young child, it was a radio show that I listened to at bedtime.
@immortal_pirate Ohhh neat! I had never heard of this one
Ugly Betty was my stuff before it got pulled. I think it ended smoothly though so I’m not completely heartbroken. I’ll go with Penny Dreadful instead. I like supernatural horror. And guess what? October is just a few weeks away. Eek!
@2Thrash Yeah, I like horror, too. Do you watch American Horror Story?
In October, I always look forward to the original Halloween movie coming back. It feels like my brain is conditioned to watch it.
@Scarlett I do but I still have the new season dvr’ed and unseen. I know what you mean about Halloween. They have JLCurtis returning as Laurie Strode in a new installment!
Well, I am thrilled there is a new Star Trek coming to TV: Star Trek Discovery and Michelle Yeoh, of one of the most gorgeous films ever made: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is in it!
@Gina The Star Trek that is by far the best is the one with PIccard
@Scarlett I love all of them for, except Star Trek Enterprise. Couldn’t get into that one. I have a soft spot for Captain Janeway and 7 of 9. In my opinion, I think Star Trek is way better than Star Wars.