Because we haven't had television in the last few months, I've managed to miss all of the second series of PBS Masterpiece Mystery "Sherlock." I started streaming them on pbs.org, which is great (not to mention, free!). However, I waffled and waited weeks to have a completely free two-hour stretch, devoid of parenting, cleaning, yoga, etc to watch the series finale, only to find that pbs.org had taken it down from their site, and Hulu wasn't carrying it either. How disappointing. So, I decided to open a one-month-free(!) membership to Netflix.
Upon discovering that the free membership is much more limiting than a normal one (as in, no access to coveted tv shows like the new episodes of "Sherlock), I started looking around for something else to watch. True to form, I decided to settle into my comfort zone--80s sitcom land. One of my family's all-time favorites back in the day was "Family Ties," so that's what I decided to stream.
Looking at tv shows as an adult that you used to watch during your childhood is like discovering them for the first time, all over again. The subtleties, innuendoes, references and allusions are so much more apparent and striking when you're absorbing them from a 35-year old perspective. Like, maybe I knew that Steven Keaton was the station manager for the local PBS station, but that didn't resonate with me as a nine-year old the way it does now. For goodness sake, I donate to my local PBS station every year now. When I was nine, I just watched "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" and wondered who the "...viewers like you" were.
I also couldn't quite appreciate the culture clash between liberal ex-hippies Steven and Elise and their materialistic, conservative 1980's teenage children Alex, Mallory and Jennifer. I knew there were differences, but only now as an adult does the political commentary and societal humor of the time make sense.
In some way, I feel the timbre of this show resonating so strongly because I want so badly to feel that Bryony carries my values--love for the earth and nature; open-mindedness and acceptance of others no matter the differences; a compelling need to do great work to benefit humanity. I am Steven and Elise Keaton, at least in spirit. I have no idea who Bryony will be. Alex, bright and gifted, driven by a competitive spirit and a srong desire to amass wealth? Mallory, a little dense and shallow, but earnest and gifted in her own right? Or Jennifer, witty and sarcastic beyond her years, a perfect combination of her parents' 60s-era flower-power values and her own 80s-era "me generation."
I think the overarching theme of the show, one that I understood then and understand just as well now, is that it doesn't matter who your children turn out to be. You love them, and you love them hard. You accept them for who they are and they do the same for you. Those are the ties that bind and at the end of the day, that's the whole point.
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