There are a few standout shows throughout my life with characters who felt like family and friends. Thirtysomething, Northern Exposure, Chicago Hope, ER, Hill Street Blues, M*A*S*H and more recently, This Is Us, and The Big Bang Theory have gone the way of all winds into re-run land and soon (next week) Young Sheldon will join them. I have laughed and cried (some shows have necessitated a nearby box of tissues since I was certain to cry.) This Is Us rarely failed to disappoint in that regard. Young Sheldon which offers insights into the central character, Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory and how he got to be the way he was-intellectually brilliant but lacking in emotional intelligence, will take its bow next Thursday. This week’s episode had the audience saying goodbye to the Cooper family patriarch George.
Anyone who has watched TBBT, knows that George dies when Sheldon is 14 and is about to move from Texas to California to attend Cal Tech. He references it as a pivotal event in his life although the father he describes in the TBBT is worlds away from the man we have come to know and love in the prequel. Yes, he was often seen with a beer in his hand, but was not the good for nothing drunkard who adult Sheldon describes. Sheldon also recalls his father having an affair, but the clever writers find a creative way to explain that misperception which brought about giggles of delight and a sigh of relief.
Even though the audience was aware that George was exiting the stage, when the moment came, at the end of this week’s episode, there was a gasp and tears at the delivery of the news. It felt like someone I knew had died. It was also a poignant reminder not to take anyone in our lives for granted. The show’s finale will highlight the ways that each member of the Cooper family handles the loss. It will also bring back adult Sheldon and Amy who he married during TBBT. My guess is that the takeaway is about Sheldon writing his memoir that included his childhood in Medford, Texas and the various relationships he had with family, teachers and friends and the ways they shaped the man he would become.
So, why are we so attached to these drama and sit-com characters? The writers create them from their fertile imaginations, the actors are talented enough to embody them so that they come to life before our eyes, and the showrunners direct their interactions. Art imitates life as we can relate to their joys and challenges and see some of the characters as familiar people from our own lives, albeit exaggerated. When we get frustrated with their behaviors, wanting them to say or do something different, we have to remember that we have no control over them as if they were part of an interactive game. Minus the occasional improvised line, they are at the whim of their scriptwriters.
These characters mirror the best and worst of ourselves and remind us of the goodness we are capable of if we allow for it. They evoke emotions that we may not permit ourselves in our daily lives. Karen-Dill-Shackleford, PhD, a media psychologist based in Santa Barbara, CA refers to these as “parasocial relationships, or one-sided relationships that we have with the media that we consume.” We can talk to them, but they can’t respond to us. I laugh when I recall my grandmother watching her soap operas (she called them her ‘stories’) and admonishing the characters for not listening to her advice. Somehow, they never got the message and did what they wanted, at their peril. It may also feel easier and less emotionally risky to immerse ourselves in the lives of these fictional people than with those in our daily lives.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that the writers want us to empathize and relate to the characters. They want us to feel what the characters feel and they want us to be invested in the outcome of the situations they find themselves in. It’s what keeps us coming back week after week for years and sometimes decades.
What are some of your favorite shows and characters? How about your favorite memorable and recognizable lines from long-running shows?
This is a touching speech from the last episode of The Big Bang Theory. I have watched it over and over and cried every time since I have come to know the characters by heart. And one the coolest and most poignant parts is that Sheldon gives props to his dad 15 years after his death.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
