Edutainment
SITCOMS, Then and Now
There are shows out there that are experimental and might not suit kids at all. An example for a completely inappropriate show for kids is the Game of Thrones (GOT).
Hey, psssttt….let me tell you a secret. I was a kid of the 80's, yeah!!! That’s right the 1980's. I know what you'll are thinking “that's old”, well let me tell you and believe me those were simpler times. We weren't house bound too much since we didn't have all the gadgets and technology lying around. We did have a TV and a VCR, with video tapes to watch from, no CD's. We didn't even know those round holographic discs were, coz they didn't exist. When we had the time to watch TV we had one channel Doordarshan. One channel, that's it. What's that you’re asking? “Oh! How did you survive with just the one channel?” Well we did and it was awesome. We had a variety of shows to watch from. Let me take you back to our time and tell you about a few of them…
AlifLalia: A show with a green genie in it. This was way before we knew the Hulk.
Byomkesh Bakshi: The Sherlock Holmes of India
Chandrakanta: hahahaha… what can i say….we had a villian named Kroor Singh who probably should have had his eyebrows tweezed.
Chitrahaar: Our dose of those filmy songs.
Fauji: aaahhhh!!! Those glorious days when we got to see the now superstar Shahrukh Khan in his army avataar.
Mahabharat: who can forget those Sundays when the entire household would come to a standstill to watch the show sharp 10:00am.
Jungle Book, Haddi Raja, Surabhi, Malgudi days (my favourite show), Shaktimaan, the list goes on…
Then came the age of cable TV. Now this was a stage where things started taking a turn. Cable TV gave us the option of more than one channel. Families fought for the remote. Decisions couldn't be taken as to which channel should be watched. We had shows like The Wonder Years – the story about a young boy, his friends and his relationship with his family.
Small Wonder was about a girl named Vicky, who actually was a robot that was created by the father and posed as the daughter in the family. Bizarre, but it looked so real that all of us were enthralled.
Indian shows came up bigger and better. We had Antakshari on the Zee channel that became very popular, they took a simple household game and gave it a glamorous makeover.
Aahat: you guys might laugh but it gave us the chills those days. The show haunted the audience across the country and we would talk about how we had goosebumps the next day to all our friends.
And the most super and successful show Kaun Banega Crorepati. The phrase “computerji lock kiya jai” entered the Indian lexicon and gave a new life to Amitabh Bachan's career.
Fast Forward…
…to the new generation. Not only are there hundreds of channels to choose from on television but also they are streamed on the internet. Sites like Youtube are hugely popular as any missed episode can be watched there with the click of a button and finally there is an option of downloading TV series even before the shows are officially released in India.
The 80's and 90's era really had no need to monitor the content that was being aired because all the shows were there for the viewership of the general public, kids and adults alike. Some series that are now being aired are so mature and explicit that there is little or nothing left to the imagination. I am guessing it’s every parent’s nightmare to allow kids to be around television, laptops or iPads without their supervision. But then again this generation is so different; kids minds develop more quickly than any of us did at their age. They are also exposed to a lot more things. This is due to the easy access to information., thanks to the net. Having said all that, I must say that most of the shows that are being aired are just about brilliant. So many genres, comedy, thrillers, romance, sci-fi and drama. With so much to choose from I’m sure all of you must have watched some or maybe all of these different shows.
How about the series F.R.I.E.N.D.S.? Most of us are guilty of watching this series over and over again. The story revolves around 6 friends so very different from each other. When the show came out with its pilot everyone was hooked. Monica the obsessive one and Chandler's wife. Ross a paleontologist, Monica's brother and the intellect of the group. Rachel with her sense of style and Ross's love interest. Chandler, Monica's husband who has a job whose name no one could remember. Phoebe, the quirky one with the weird dressing sense and an even weirder collection of art. A masseuse by profession. And lastly Joey; who doesn't love him? The popular one with the ladies and his “How you doin?” was loved by one and all.
Such was the impact of the show that almost everyone could either relate to one of the 6 characters or wanted to have a group of friends just like them. The entire cast stole our hearts and left us feeling empty when the show finally ended after their 10th season, a show that had a perfect balance of humor, sarcasm, romance and emotions.
The Big Bang Theory created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Parady was another series that has a clear hold on the audience for the 10th year running. The light hearted series features an endearing cast of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj and Penny. They fully embraced their genius and social shortcomings. Even though the world thought differently about them, they stayed true to themselves and understood the value of friendship and loyalty. More characters were added to the series as the years went by and they merged into one happy family. For the fans of The Big Bang Theory I bring to you some facts that you knew or didn't know…
Did you know that Kunnal Nayyar who plays Raj Koothrappali was hired coz he was 'charming'?
The show had 2 pilots before the show was picked up to become a series.
A new jelly fish was discovered and was named 'Bazinga'
Mayem Bialik who plays Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon's girlfriend in the series has a ph.D in neuroscience in real life (it's true, I’m not kidding).
Jim Parsons(Sheldon Cooper) has never watched Star Trek, like ever. Surprising really.
The phrase 'BAZINGA' caught on like wildfire. It was used by Sheldon many a times on the show to denote that whatever he said before it was meant to be a joke. The origin of the phrase was coined by Stephen Engle a writer for the series who would use it whenever he'd play a prank on a fellow writer.
Some kids felt that they needed parental guidance for the first few episodes of the series as it contained mild sexual content which raised a lot of questions. The show was generally watched by kids at an age of 10+ years and was considered inappropriate for the younger ones.
The series helped many kids to embrace their nerdiness and social awkwardness. It helped them feel better and other kids accepted them to be a special lot. Thanks to the show.
Other shows that were wildly watched were Modern Family, FamilyGuy, Suits, Sherlock Holmes, Breaking Bad, The 70's show and so many others that have gone on to be super successful with a large audience .
Asking a kid whether it was appropriate to watch these shows which had sexual innuendoes or foul language, he told us it was not anything he hadn’t heard before. He says he's given permission by his parents to watch these shows. And if he doesn't “get it” what was being said, he says that he can approach his parents and have an open discussion with them. I guess parents are being more vocal with their kids as they feel they can be better teachers in explaining than wanting their kids to get the explanation from elsewhere.
Closer home, TV content in India is censored to a 'T'. Foul language beeped out and certain scenes don't even make the cut. But Indian audiences from the teens to the adults are no more considered “Innocent”. , they are open to watching shows with all the gore. Since there can be no censorship on the web, series that have bold content and those that address issues that the country faces and could be a complete no-no otherwise for television make their presence felt online.
Soap operas like BalikaVadhu and Sasural Simar Ka on Indian TV are not only what's gaining viewership. TVF Play, almost everyone has heard of it, if not it’s worth it if you could look it up. They have come up with various series that have been brought out on the web. Watch the first season of TVF Pitchers, about the trials and tribulations of 4 young entrepreneurs who quit their day job to pursue their startup venture.
Permanent Roommates is another show by the TVF team about a couple in a long distance relationship for years and face the prospect of marriage.
Humorously yours, follows the life of standup comedian Vipul Goyal and the tagline of the show is “The drama behind the comedy”
Scoopwhoop's Baked Chronicles explores the misadventures of three university flat mates who decide to start a midnight food service.
Bang Baaja Baraat, Not Fit, a Dice Media and TVF collaboration bringing India a mockumentary.
All these shows bring about some life lesson to take away, but yet again for what age is it appropriate?
There are shows out there that are experimental and might not suit kids at all. An example for a completely inappropriate show for kids is the Game of Thrones (GOT). It showcases violence. But it’s all left up to the parents isn't it. Some parents feel that it is ok for kids to be exposed early to the things happening around them and to have a very open take on various things coz sooner or later it’s all going to come out in the open. Schools, friends, the net, TV are all places for kids to pick up on things that might not be fitting.
Others are more conservative in their approach in bringing up kids. They follow the policy of everything has a right time and place to learn. They would like to shield their children from what's out there.
There is no right or wrong here, but when the time comes hope that you understand that your parents are the first teachers you've ever had and they can give you the best possible guidance. Yeah, sure we know you've done and watched things on the sly (haven't we all). Well parents have been there and done that way before you, though they will completely deny it. Signing out with one last thought, though there are a never ending number of series out there to watch, do keep in mind they are make believe and reality is a completely different ball game.