Stepping Out of the Closet

It never fails.  Someone will ask me, “Hey, did you see that show, _______, last night?” Um, what? What show? How long has this been on? It’s in its third season! Yeah, that’s me. A day late and many dollars short. I don’t do it on purpose. I thought I watched a lot of television. Maybe I’m just watching the wrong shows. Maybe I’m just not watching what everyone else is watching. It’s rather embarrassing, really. I’ll start watching a show and really, really like it. Then I’ll mention it to someone and they’ll tell me that it’s been on for, like, four years, or something. Or, I’ll go out to lunch with friends and they’ll all be talking about this show they’ve been gah-gah over, and I feel like I’ve walked into another universe. And that’s the looks I get from them all when I ask what they are all talking about; like I’m an alien.

So, I tried to turn over a new leaf, as they say. I was there when Moonlight first aired.  I saw the first episode of The 4400. Does anyone remember Angela’s Eyes? Yup, I saw it from the first. Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Yes, that’s right – they’re all gone! Dead Like Me? Gone. Veronica Mars? Buh-bye. There were a few that stayed around long enough for me to feel part of the same universe as everyone else. Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Heroes, to name a couple.

Then there’s the shows that I had to catch up with via Netflix, reruns or the internet. By then, all the chatter was finished. I had no one to gab about these great shows with. And it’s not just tv shows, it’s movies too. I saw The Empire Strikes Back three weeks after it opened, and then I found out it was the second in the series! I caught the Harry Potter bug when The Goblet of Fire was filming. How sad is that?

It’s the same with music. I’ll hear a song on the radio that I love, and when I mention it to my oldest daughter, she bursts my over large bubble by telling me that the song came out, and hit number one, two years prior.

I don’t know how this all happened. I used to be so in tuned with what’s going on. When did I lose touch? I can’t remember when I entered that closet I’ve been in, and I certainly don’t remember closing the door behind me. But I will regain that ground I lost, by golly! I will, once more, be the tower of wisdom of all things pop culture that my friends and family knew in days gone by. I am determined!

So, there’s this new show called America’s Next Top Model, and….