One of the news in November '06 was about the death of a Hollywood director, Robert Altman. Even though i don't remember seeing any of his movies, he did have some impact on me, through the serial M*A*S*H*. Altman had directed the movie M*A*S*H* (his first hollywood hit), and the serial was a derivative of that. And he had set most of the tone of the serial.
Way back in 1993, when we finally got cable at our place (after much cajoling!), the M*A*S*H* reruns were being broadcasted on STAR TV. The serial was about a army medical unit stationed in Korea during the Korean war. Now back then, i hadn't even heard of korean war, and had heard something about Vietnam, but i liked the serial, and slowly it began to grow on me. I used to book my slot in the evening to watch it, and no one else is allowed to watch anything else at that time.
I think what i liked about the serial was the fact that they used to have a nice balance of the fun and work. The surgeons, when not in surgery (sometimes even during it) used to spend time playing pranks. But they really worked hard at saving the lives, and feeling hopeless when someone died... i guess it was a lot like life. Sometimes things don't necessarily work out the way you want them too...
Perhaps, many of my friends will not be able to relate to my liking these serials. Call me a sentimentalist, but i used to like the light comedy serials that did not take itself too seriously, and the viewer wouldn't either. I also liked serials that aren't in a rush to finish, but used to take a slow meandering path. Now, don't go thinking that i also like the 'saas-bahu' serials. I don't! i vehemently hate them. They don't go anywhere, they have no sense. Anyway, to get back to the main topic, these serials always had a bit of life thrust in them. MASH, Wonder Years, even Doogie Howser M.D.! Ofcourse if i watch them again today, perhaps i'll like the feeling of nostalgia that i'll get, rather than the serials themselves.
When we are in our teens, the little advices that are present in these serials seem like a big philosophical discourse to us. We think that hey its such a profound statement that Doogie is typing in his computer (a pre-pentium piece, that now we'd see only in museums, or the railways booking counter!). As we grow up, the statements seem a hackneyed. But even today, perhaps i'll ask a teenager to watch them, because at that age it is a big philosophy. For me they have been a learning experience... about friendship, school, heartaches and heartbreaks, even a crush that we had. Sometimes they tackled some heavy topics, such as death, revenge, jealousy! These serials taught me a little about the difference between right and wrong, and also that sometimes there is little difference between the two.
I'm not claiming that i am a know-all, and certainly don't claim that whatever i have learnt, is from those serials. I am what all my learnings have made me. My teachers have been at home, in school, in the playground, in the books, the TV, the movies, my friends, and countless others. An ant teaches me persistence, my dog teaches me ... actually nothing, but he's fun to be around with! He's not even loyal; he'd go with whoever is ready to take him for a walk, and roll on the floor for whoever is offering him a bone, or sweet!
Another point, i know i'm biased towards english serials, but there have been a few good hindi serials as well. The one that i really used to like is a very old serial 'Neev' in the late 80s. I don't know how many people still remember that. But, i liked it. It was about a boarding school, and the teachers, and the students. I think that serial even so long back, made more sense than all the K-serials put together in this age!
I don't know why i have written this post. I suppose i'm just getting a bit nostalgic about the days gone by... the wonder years!
4 comments:
'Neev' was a nice serial..I didn't watch MASH..but now I think that I should watch it...
Cheers,
M*A*S*H :D Classic
a gud way to get nostalgic... and then remembering past days in a unique style...there had been other gud hindi serials as well in 90s when I used to watch Tv and do remember them..gud post dude :)
Hey Pari!
nice bit of history there.. something we all share in common i think.
Ill speak for myself here when i say that all these 3-4 serials specially doogie, wonder years were part of the growing up process. The characters were real, situations were what anyone wud face in a normal day but the ways and means to tackle them were unique. that being said the bottomline always was to weigh all the things in life with an unbiased and pure heart and be honest about solving them. thats what i think gives the ability to name these serials as classics.
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