An Open Love Letter to Television
Dear Television,
I’m not sure I even need to tell you this, but… I love you. I have always loved you and I’m certain I always will.
You were there for me when I was tiny and eager to learn about the world. I watched Barney the purple dinosaur and Winnie the Pooh and Arthur and I learned about numbers and colors and friendship and how having fun isn’t hard when you have a library card. You were there for me when I was young and bored and impatiently waiting to grow up. I watched Friends and A Wedding Story and dreamed about living in a big city with a cool job and a trendy apartment, and then marrying the love of my life with a flawless white ceremony. You were there for me in high school when I was killing myself to get a 4.0, but still needed to procrastinate till the wee hours of the morning. I watched iCarly on Saturday afternoons as my feet recovered from two and a half hours of pointe class; I religiously watched Oprah, who showed me what it meant to be a successful woman and that “if it feels too good to be true, then it probably is.” You were there for me my freshman year of college when I hated all my classes and the only thing I wanted to do was snuggle with my laptop. I watched 30 Rock (and cried after the series finale) and Parks and Rec and Saturday Night Live and Happy Endings, the shows that were able to make me laugh and made me realize I wanted to write the kind of show that would make sad people laugh. You were there for me when I got dumped and didn’t know what to do with myself. I watched five episodes of The Good Wife with my mom and cried through every single one (and haven’t watched that show since). You were there for me when my life started imitating an episode of Girls and I had to consult Hannah Horvath for the appropriate response. I rewatched “All Adventurous Women Do” and spent the night dancing in my dorm room to Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” You were there for me when I moved to Los Angeles and didn’t have any friends yet and spent weekends sleeping till two pm and crying on my futon. I watched Entourage and remembered how much I love Hollywood for all it’s ridiculous shenanigans; I watched Last Week Tonight and John Oliver schooled me in how to tackle serious issues with humor. You are there for me everyday, on all my devices, when I come home from a particularly demeaning day of temping, or on Sunday nights when I can’t bear to face another Monday without first falling asleep to the wise words of Lorelai Gilmore.
It was the great Jimmy Fallon who once said, “if you’ve had a bad day, if life sucks, you still have TV.” Because TV, you’re always there, and unless some Hunger Games dystopian shit goes down, you always will be. You’re my best friend and most loyal bed partner. I fall asleep to you every night and wake up to you many mornings. You are the one thing that never fails to make me laugh, even if you make me cry, too. You’re always down to hang out because you never have to sleep or work or or work out or decide you like your other friends better than me. Even when a show goes on hiatus or gets cancelled, you’re there on Hulu, Netflix, onDemand, and a myriad of sketchy and probably illegal websites. I can revisit Jim and Pam’s epic office romance or rewatch Olivia Pope slay her political enemies any time I feel like it. Your characters are funny and complicated and relatable, and they don’t lose touch or make snide comments about my weight or talk about me behind my back.
Movies are fine too, sure. They take your mind off the world for a few hours. But TV, you allow me to get to know and love and root for the same characters, month after month and year after year. I witnessed Walter White’s evolution from a derpy chemistry teacher to a murderous sociopath. I cheered on Leslie Knope as she championed the demands of her constituents and became a role model for women in government and women in general.
In conclusion, TV, you are my one true love. If ever I find a version of you in physical human form, my love for you will not waver; in fact, it will only deepen, as I will force this ostensible life partner to endure every season of 30 Rock and Louie and House of Cards and whatever else I find to be necessary at the time. Because no matter who else is in my life, I will always love you. The way Jim loved Pam and Andy loves April and Adam loves Hannah and Fitz loves Olivia. See you tonight bae.
All my love,
Cat
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