It's My TV….It's My Peanut Butter

Okay, I’m gonna admit right off the bat that this is absolutely a case of someone on the internet overreacting about something silly.  But I’m gonna do it anyway.

I was all set to write an entry about something that happened during my research that was really exciting to me and probably wouldn’t be to anyone else.  But then I came home and I watched Monday’s Castle.  And I got offended.  And I decided the interwebs needed to hear about it.

In case you missed it *spoiler alert* this week Alexis had a friend from elementary school who came to visit.  Alexis got all dressed up in a cute little t-shirt she wore in fifth grade thinking it would be just like old times.  Only the friend showed up and *dum dum DUM!* she had gone goth.  Yikes!  Eep!  The horror!

In case you don’t get why I was so offended, I was goth in high school.  And I had a friend from late elementary/middle school who moved away and came back to visit senior year in high school.  She had a similar reaction to Alexis.  It made me mad and I accentuated my gothiness and played Rent twenty-four/seven (did I mention she was also a conservative Christian who made a lot of anti-gay slurs?  Clearly she was nothing like Alexis.)  The thing is that adolescence is all about trying things out and trying things on and I think that should be cultivated.  We should be encouraging teens to be whoever they are, not mocking them and acting like they’re scary because they dress a little different.

What I was even more upset about was Castle’s reaction.  We had to listen to him asking things like, “What makes a cute kid become a goth?” (that’s a really bad paraphrase, I wasn’t taking  notes)  I realize that we are supposed to understand that he was freaked out not that Alexis’s friend went goth, but by the possibility Alexis could just as easily go goth.  But why would Rick Castle care about that?  I know my dad hated me being goth.  He assumed it meant I was worshipping Satan and smoking pot.  But Rick Castle is like the awesome, laid back dad.  I would have hoped he would have just given his daughter a lecture about making sure any piercings she got were done under sanitary conditions.  Let’s be honest, Alexis’s dad has a lot more to worry about from that boyfriend of hers than any fashion choices she makes.  And if anyone should know that, it’s Rick Castle—he was a teenage boy once.  (Granted, when Rick Castle was a teenager his name was Joey Buchanan and he was into older women, but I digress)

Everything ended happily—Alexis went shopping with her goth friend and they “got to know their new selves.”  It just felt like the gesture was made a little too late.  I was already annoyed.

Note:  No film review from me this week.  Sadly, school has inhibited my Netflixing and I’ve run out of reviews.  How sad!  (for me, I doubt you care that much)  Anywhozel, we’ll talk television instead.

I wouldn’t call myself a mystery fan.  Not any kind of active hatred, I just don’t seek them out.  Don’t spend my free time reading them.  My mother has spent years trying to get me hooked on CSI and those type of shows (Mom loves mysteries), but I just can’t get into it.  Old Roommate Bridget used to watch some of those Law and Orders which actively freaked me out (I got her back by watching paranormal shows which evidently freak her out.)  (Off topic note:  Did you know that Animal Planet has a paranormal show now?  It’s basically “people who live in haunted houses and have pets.”  Even I have to admit this had gotten out of control.)

Anyway, long and short of it is, if you asked, I’d tell you I don’t watch mysteries on television.

Except I’d be lying.

I’ve just realized that three of the shows I’m currently following most closely are all mystery shows:  Castle, Psych, and Bones.  Hmm.  What’s that all about?

I don’t think I’m a particularly good mystery show viewer.  I don’t even try to figure out whodunit.  I don’t often care.  I just kind of sit there waiting for it to be spoon fed to me.  So why am I watching these shows?

Well, the first one’s easy.  I watch Castle for Nathan Fillion.  I have loved Nathan Fillion since his days on One Life to Live (best Joey Buchanan ever!) and a big part of my geek cred is tied up in the fact that I watched Firefly from the first episode.  There are other aspects of the show I enjoy (the familial relation between Castle, his mother and daughter is delightful), but it’s really all about Nathan Fillion.

As for Psych, it brings the funny.  In spades.  It’s got a great ensemble cast.  And I’m a sucker for an ensemble cast.  Also, the only theme music I can never make myself fast forward through.  It’s too much fun to bop along to.

I’m almost contractually obligated to watch Bones on account of it’s one of few television shows featuring anthropologists; as a folklorist I must support my cousin discipline.  Also, the whole ensemble thing again.  Also, Hodgins.  Who sometimes takes off his shirt .  And makes orgasmic grilled cheeses.  Mmmm.  Grilled cheese!

So I guess the outcome to this mystery (which I’m guessing all of you figured out by the second paragraph, because I don’t write good mysteries either) is: my ability to enjoy these mystery based shows without liking mysteries is that I just don’t care that much about plot.  I’m all about character.  And these shows do character well.  I assume they have plots, but clearly I haven’t been paying attention to them.

Law Enforcement Professional who chose said line of work after family member’s unsolved/unpunished murder/disappearance.

The fact that I know this is cliche and I don’t even watch procedurals is a clear indication of how cliche it is. Seriously, I can’t watch crime shows, they creep me out. Keep me up at night. Working with extremely limited knowledge, I can name off the top of my head the following:

Fox Mulder (X-Files, Sister abducted by aliens)
Bruce Wayne/Batman (um… Batman, parents killed in mugging)
Peter Parker/Spiderman (Spiderman, Uncle killed)(I’m a little unclear on continuity, but this one may not count as unsolved)
Kate Beckett (Castle, Mother murdered)
Temperance Brennan (Bones, parents disappeared)
John McBain (One Life to Live, father murdered, fiancee murdered)
Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars, best friend murdered) (okay, that one might be a stretch)

Okay, they aren’t all television characters, but they’ve all appeared on TV at some point. I’m sure many of you can add a whole host of others. And I do get why writers fall back on this cliche. Not only does it work well for motivation, it provides built in plot lines for future episodes. And I’m sure there really are people who go into law enforcement for this reason. But I’m done with it. I’m over it. I want something a little more creative.

Real life if often more random than that. I want to watch the story about the cop that turned to the law because he couldn’t get into physical therapy school. I want to see the anthropologist who’s just a big Indiana Jones fan.  The Vampire Hunter who just really like Brad Pitt movies.   There’s no reason any of these things couldn’t further the plot. Come on writers, you can do better.