Once upon a time all televisions had black and white pictures and green convex screens set in oversized cabinets, like baby elephants in the living room.  Remember the "warm up" period when you turned them on, the choice of two or three channels broadcasting during banker's hours compared to today's non-stop transmission, and the hypnotic graphics of the test pattern?

Those black and white patterns seemed so official, like when "they," the powers that be, tested the emergency broadcast system.  I remember a series of tones and then..."this is only a test, in the event of a real emergency you will be instructed to..." those cryptic words in an authoritative voice let us know big brother was out there and we were free to be reassured or alarmed in equal measure.  That was television then.

Most of the technological glitches were worked out years ago though the worst thing about TV viewing remained, until recently, the lack of flexibility in programming.  Your favorite show would be on at a particular time on a particular day of the week and that was it.  If you missed it, your chance to see it was gone.  By implication, the best thing about TV today is that due to innovations in broadcasting, you often get several chances to watch your favorite program.  Or, if all else fails, you can watch it on DVD.  I love the box set.

If my TV reminiscences haven't already exposed me as the fossil my children think I am, this next paragraph will.  As evidence, I have only just watched the final episode of The Sopranos, a series which has been off the air for three years.  That puts me about ten years behind the rest of the world but I have my reasons.  For one thing I live in a foreign country which gets American television shows later, sometimes a couple of years later, and I wasn't able to catch it when it was broadcast on British screens.  That is where the beauty of the box set comes in.

Having been told many times by my more contemporary friends that The Sopranos is a must see I bought the complete series for my husband's birthday this year.  He was daunted when he realized that he had so many hours of viewing to undertake but after the first twenty minutes, our entire family was hooked.  We became Pavlovian in our responses to The Sopranos theme tune, craving manicotti, ziti, and red wine.  We found we couldn't watch just one episode.  Instead it was always a case of "shall we, just one more?"  Never before a family of television addicts, we began to depend on watching it, fearing how we would miss it when the final episode was over.

I've had this experience before with television series in box sets.  It's not like watching TV.  Instead, seeing the box there waiting to be viewed is more like having a new book on the shelf that you're looking forward to reading.  Also like a book, it can be introduced to new audiences long after traditional broadcasting would have vanished into the ether.  The experience is viewer-centered; something those of us who grew up with old style television can really appreciate.  

Next on my list of twenty-first century viewing is The Wire.  Are there any other recommendations out there?

© Julia Barr 2010

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