Welcome to Comfort TV

 

Why do so many people love old television shows, to the point of collecting seasons on DVD and watching them over and over? I’m sure there are a wide range of answers to this question, but one of the most prominent is that they are the pop culture equivalent of comfort food.

I had planned to write a book on this topic. Having several TV titles to my name already (details in the ‘More About Me’ section), I thought this might be an interesting area to explore. But publishing has changed and bookstores are closing, and old TV shows are not a topic most editors expect to ring the cash register (especially from authors old enough to remember when cash registers actually did ring).

As a professional writer since my days in college, whether on assignment for a company or as a freelancer, I thought I should always be paid for my work. So when the concept of a ‘Comfort TV’ book wasn’t picked up, I put the idea away and moved on to other concepts, some of which I enjoyed, others I wrote to pay the cable bill.

But now I’m in my late 40s, and I’ve started to better appreciate the experience of writing simply for the joy of expressing one’s thoughts on a favorite subject. I wanted to share television memories with those who have the same feelings about TV as I do.

This blog is the result.

Topic? Classic TV. That means different things to different people. Heaven help them, there are those of a certain age who consider Full House classic now. I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and absorbed through syndication many of the great shows from the 1950s and ‘60s. That is the classic TV era for me, and that is where I will find inspiration.

I would be delighted to hear from you. Like many classic TV fans, I prefer staying home and watching Aunt Clara frustrate Darren on Bewitched to going to clubs or bars or even movies. Many of us who feel this particular affection for old shows tend to live somewhat solitary lives, but through the Internet we’ve been able to find others who share our passion and don’t think it’s silly. Websites like Home Theater Forum, and my friend Chris Mann’s blog Retroality are other great places to visit, and my hope is to join them in offering some unique and hopefully humorous thoughts on the television landscape that readers will share and enjoy.

Comfort TV is simply a place to talk about wonderful television. It aspires to no more than that.