I Coulda Been a Producer!

In the slightly edited words of Marlon Brando (as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront, 1954), "I coulda been a producer!" At least that's what I feel I would be in a second life. If not a television producer, a cameraman (woman? person?) perhaps. Or set design. Maybe even writing. Who knows...but if the amount of dreams I've had in the middle of the night about living and working in Los Angeles, working side by side with Hollywood's greatest, attending award events, and living next door to Meryl Streep are any indication of the life I would like to live, I'm sure I'd be a California girl in another life. 

My earliest memories of watching television (other than Barney and the like) was the wild antics of Lucille Ball and her Cuban husband Desi Arnaz in the beloved classic I Love Lucy in reruns on TVLand. Lucy and her best friend Ethel made me want to stomp grapes, pack chocolates from a conveyor belt, and try Vitameatavegimen. They made me want to hang out with them and be their friend. From Lucy, I moved on to the town of Mayberry protected by the forever ridiculous Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) and Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), as well as town adventures with little Opie (Ron Howard) and Aunt Bee (Francis Bavier) in The Andy Griffith Show (reruns also on TVLand). 

 And then when I was old enough to choose my own television shows to watch, I latched on to a show I still have yet to let go of: 7th Heaven. For years (1996-2007), I followed the lives of Reverend Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), his wife Annie (Catherine Hicks), their seven children Matt (Barry Watson), Mary (Jessica Biel), Lucy (Beverley Mitchell), Simon (David Gallagher), Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman), and twins Sam & David (Lorenzo & Nikolas Brino) as they battled every problem from sibling rivalry, to drugs, to teen pregnancy, to religiosity, to marriage. I snatched them up on DVD the second they were released.

I think what really drew me into 7th Heaven were the characters. I was very much like Lucy Camden; shy and scared of disappointing her parents and friends. She did well in school and never disobeyed. She followed in her father's footsteps and became a pastor soon after marrying police officer Kevin Kinkirk (George Stults, he makes me melt).  Mary, on the other hand, was an example of what not to do. Originally, I had identified with her as well. We both played basketball, we both had strong opinions, and we both thought we knew what was right. But as soon as Mary was arrested for vandalizing the school gym with her teammates, she went down hill. I learned from her what I should not do and how I should not allow my peers to influence me so much. 

I guess throughout the years, I identified with each character multiple times. It was my obsession for years. I had to know what would happen next and how these people would end up. When the show was cancelled by the CW (formerly the WB), I was crushed. Yes, it had been ten years, but I still wanted more--I tend to obsess easily and I'm apparently prone to addiction, so much so that my roommate jokes that if I didn't have TV, I'd be laying in some alley somewhere with drugs. Luckily for me, I've obsessed and gotten addicted to relatively good TV shows instead of the more dangerous alternative!

And then came another classic, Gilmore Girls. I've seen every episode at least 20 times. I have full series marathons on DVD at least once a year. It's a tradition. To me, for all 7 seasons, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) were my go to women. I didn't start the series from the beginning. It started in 2000, but for the longest time, my mother refused to let me watch it. I think she had a misconception of what the show was about but who knows. But sometime in 2006, just as the series was coming to a close, my mom had a change of heart. And then just as Lorelai is addicted to coffee, I became addicted to the Gilmore girls and their Connecticut town of Stars Hollow. From Kirk to Miss Patty to Luke, there was someone for everyone to relate to. 

Rory was so me. Or at least I viewed myself to be Rory. Studious, ambitious, happy, loving. She ended up at Yale (I didn't, however BYU's "Y" is the exact same as Yale's...plus our school colors are the same...that counts right?). She majored in journalism and ran the school newspaper (I switched majors from journalism, but I did run a school newspaper...in 8th grade). She had crazy Paris as a roommate for almost her entire college career (and unfortunatly I had a stint with a psychoroommate as well). She was successful and smart and exactly what I wanted to be. We had everything in common (except the single parent thing...and the caffeine addiction thing...and the turning down a proposal thing...and the stealing a boat and getting arrested thing). I cried when I finally reached the last episode. Like literally cried. I still do too. Rory is off to do amazing things. Lorelai is back with Luke. Lorelai and her parents are back on good terms. Crazy Paris finally landed her man and her dream school. Lane had twins. Sookie and Jackson had their little munckins. And even Kirk, of all people, found love in Lulu.

Stars Hollow is still my "happy place," where I escape into their world for an hour. And if I ever get REALLY desperate for a peek at Stars Hollow, I turn on Pretty Little Liars, where they have slightly adapted the set used as Stars Hollow. They may have changed Luke's Diner into some preppy sandwich place, but in my eyes, it will always be Luke's Diner, where Gilmore Girls literally began and ended.

TV Obsession #3: Grey's Anatomy

Now this one my mother was right to keep me from for so long. I even thought it was ridiculous when the previews came on ABC. I thought there would be no way on Earth I would ever subject myself to that show...but, through the power of advertising, I snuck a peek when my parents were out of the house. And then I couldn't stop watching. I was initially attracted to the show because I love Katherine Heigl, and of course, who doesn't love a little Patrick Dempsey in their lives!?!

I've followed this show and seen every episode into its currently running 9th season (as well as its spin off Private Practice). Now, after thinking about why I like this show for awhile, I've come up with no reasons. I really honestly can't think of a reason why this show is good. There's ridiculous inter-office affairs, gross medical procedures, and every character I get attached to gets killed off. Yet I still watch. I assume its just another instance of the fact that I just HAVE to know what happens to these people. The earlier seasons were exceptionally better than they are now, but I can't bring myself to quit watching. I've invested too much time and money into this show to stop watching now. So yeah, I have no concrete and believable reason as to why I love this show. But I do. Sue me. 

And finally this brings me to the show I love most of all. A show my mother actually tried to get me to watch for years before I FINALLY turned it on one Monday night less than 2 years ago: Castle. 

It's got everything I love. Mystery. Novels. Adorable side characters. Romance. Angst. Perfection.

Castle follows the life of mystery novelist Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) as he shadows Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and her team of Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito (Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas) to base his next set of novels on them (mainly her--he's infatuated with her from the first second they meet, she's not so happy with his existence).
Rick first starts following Detective Beckett when a serial killer in New York City starts basing all of his murders on the murders Castle writes in his book. And thus begins the story of the most beautiful partnership I've ever seen on TV. **sigh**

 

And inevitably, although after waiting a very loooooooong 4 seasons, Kate and Castle FINALLY get together. And all is right in my world. Like seriously, I'm a very happy camper. 

Castle has thrust me into all different types of media. First off, the Twitter world of "fangirls" (and fanBOYS as well), where the crazies like myself gather to discuss the amazingness of what we just saw. It gets a tad intense. Twitter is so cool that you can actually talk to your favorite actors (I've gotten replies from the main actors!) as well as the people behind the scenes (cameramen, writers, set designers, creators, etc), getting a special type of sneak peek that is just so incredibly awesome! And that lead to the second type of media....fanfiction. Yes, you read that right. Fanfiction. Now, I was ridiculously hesitant to jump into the world of fanfiction after hearing so many rumors and creepy things about it. However, I think some of it is pretty darn good! I don't know whether to be completely ashamed or proud of the fact that my inbox is overrun with new story update emails and that I have stayed up a little too late into the night reading it. I think this means I've officially been deemed a "fangirl" and a member of the "fandom" and the "shipping" of these characters together (you invest in the relationSHIP of the characters--get it?). Yeah...still hesitant to claim fanfiction as one of my guilty pleasures in public, but it is. 

Thirdly, if I wasn't already completely obsessed, they introduced a new dimension to my television viewing media. They released the actual books that the TV show talks about, under the pen name Richard Castle. So yes, I actually read the books written by the fake author Richard Castle about his fictional character Nikki Heat, based on the fictional Kate Beckett and friends, in a TV show....yeah, talk about being meta! So before you ask, yes I've read Heat Wave, Naked Heat (the name is deceiving, its not bad I promise), Heat Rises, and Frozen Heat.

 

Now although all of these extra things could classify me as completely insane, I have my reasons. I've been thrown back into the world of books and re-fallen in love with the written word because of this show. I've learned about myself through this show (mainly by identifying somewhat with Kate Beckett). Everyone needs their happy place. And everyone needs an outlet. So don't judge.

So yes, in another life, I'd be a Hollywood girl, I'm almost sure of it. The film world fascinates me. Writing, producing, designing sets, filming, acting (not so much)...all would be things I could see myself doing in another life. My Lost Los Angeles Life.

While I am writing this for an assignment in my college course on media and human development at Brigham Young University, I am really excited to explore every type of media from television, to news, to print, to commercials, to music. Really any type of media that I come across is fair game. And you'll be sure to hear more about my obsessions :) Please feel free to comment and discuss as much as you'd like!