Sympathy for the Devils

I was going to chide my grown niece on facebook for posting about how she couldn't wait to watch the latest incarnation of Melrose Place. Then I paused for two reasons. First, because God seemed to be reminding my heart that I watch shows a lot "worse" than Melrose Place. Secondly, she deleted a post on her wall, in which I was teasing her "and kids today and their horrible taste in music" on facebook. Oh, she was going to a Brittney Spears concert for heaven's sake! (I even posted my old man smiley to emphasize the fact that I was teasing and acknowledging the generation gap, and that I was, perhaps, a fuddy-dud. I think, she didn't get it. I love her anyway!)

OK, back to TV shows that showcase naughty behaviour. Melrose Place and all the soap operas were never part of my "must see" entertainment universe. I recall watching Dallas with my parents when I was a kid and I remember the hype around all that. As a young adult I watched the same soaps or "stories" my mother and grandmother watched, and then leaned into my own tastes. I loved Star Trek, in all it's incarnations. I loved ER and Homicide: Life on the Street. Those were the shows I recall anticipating each week. I suppose besides the sci-fi stuff, I like things that are a little more gritty and realistic rather than the glamorous world most soaps are set in.

If you've schelleped around this blog, or know me, then you probably know LOST is my favorite TV show. And it isn't a "bad" show, as far immoral and illegal activity are an integral part of the show and characters, like The Sopranos, The Shield, and other shows of that edgy nature. Though there are some baddies in Lost's cast of characters. It's more of a sci-fi drama. Melrose is a soap opera, probably with adultery, fornication, ruthless power plays, and back-stabbing antics galore. But it probably pales in comparison to my other favorite entertainment du jour: Sons of Anarchy. It is a TV show about a really bad biker gang. They break all the commandments. And then some. It's definitely a rated "R" show, not for the kids and certainly not for everyone. My favorite character is the biker mama, Gemma. At first she seemed like a ruthless Lady Macbeth, but this season has seen layers and layers peeled away from her, and even some tenderheartedness toward God and forgiveness themes in her. It's a very interesting show.

So I have been mulling over the notion for quite a while now: Why do I like shows like that? Goodfellas is one of my favorite movies, and that's about gangsters, and don't get me started on The Godfather (epic & classic). Is it because I get to safely see a lifestyle that is so utterly foreign to my own? Is it because the themes of good and evil are biblical, fascinating, and it's simply a modern take on drama more ancient than Shakespeare, who is obviously an influence? Maybe it's escapist amusement. Maybe it's all of that. If you've read the bible, particularly the Old Testament, it is filled with many depictions of un-holy behaviour of all sordid sorts. So then, bonna-fide soap operas, or the "stories," as my Mom and grandmother called them, just aren't my cup of tea. But the bad behaviour of bikers and gangsters, and all the drama that unfolds around that, well put the kids to bed and pass the popcorn.