a nostalgic pang for the joys of long ago

Still recovering from stomach flu, so I took a sick day from work today. This morning I turned on the TV, and what did I see? A Doctor Who marathon on the Sci-Fi channel! (It's still going right now as I type this.)

Now, I'm old enough to remember the days when that would have made me cheer out loud. Before there were DVDs, or VCRs (yes, I go that far back), discovering that a station is broadcasting a marathon of your favorite show when you're home, not feeling well, and expecting to be stuck with the usual not-so-scintillating daytime TV was one of the best things that could possibly happen to you.

So I felt a little pang of nostalgic sadness when my only reaction to the marathon was "Oh, season two. I have those DVDs."

There has been a cost to the wonders of technological advance, and that's complacency. The joy of the unexpected marathon has gone.

On the other hand, seeing that the marathon was on did entice me to break out the DVDs. Although I ended up going for season four instead.

And on the final other hand, if it had been a Classic - era marathon, the joy would have been back. My Classic-era DVD collection is piecemeal, and there are many episodes I haven't seen in decades -- and that doesn't even count the multitude that haven't been released yet on DVD.

a nostalgic pang for the joys of long ago

Still recovering from stomach flu, so I took a sick day from work today. This morning I turned on the TV, and what did I see? A Doctor Who marathon on the Sci-Fi channel! (It's still going right now as I type this.)

Now, I'm old enough to remember the days when that would have made me cheer out loud. Before there were DVDs, or VCRs (yes, I go that far back), discovering that a station is broadcasting a marathon of your favorite show when you're home, not feeling well, and expecting to be stuck with the usual not-so-scintillating daytime TV was one of the best things that could possibly happen to you.

So I felt a little pang of nostalgic sadness when my only reaction to the marathon was "Oh, season two. I have those DVDs."

There has been a cost to the wonders of technological advance, and that's complacency. The joy of the unexpected marathon has gone.

On the other hand, seeing that the marathon was on did entice me to break out the DVDs. Although I ended up going for season four instead.

And on the final other hand, if it had been a Classic - era marathon, the joy would have been back. My Classic-era DVD collection is piecemeal, and there are many episodes I haven't seen in decades -- and that doesn't even count the multitude that haven't been released yet on DVD.