I am in mourning today. The series finale of one of my favorite television shows will air tonight. Earlier this month, Hawaii Five-O aired its final episode, so I was already sad. Friday nights used to be the best night of television for me when I was on bedrest. The lineup was MacGyver, Hawaii Five-O, and then Blue Bloods. It was a beautiful night of crime and mayhem. Magnum P.I. has taken Hawaii Five-O’s time slot, but I am still not going to watch it, even if it is full of crime and mayhem. I like the old and the new Hawaii Five-O. I do not like either the old or the new Magnum P.I. I do not know why I like one show and not another.
Hawaii Five-O was on for ten years, and I loved all the characters. I have loved crime dramas since I was a child. I have watched The Hardy Boys, Charlie’s Angels, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Psych, Monk, NCIS, and so many more. The few crime dramas I do not like, I really do not like. I mourn the passing of each of the shows I loved when their time comes. (I do still watch several of those shows on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel.)
I think I like crime dramas on television because I quit reading mysteries while still in high school. Every summer through middle school, I checked out all the Trixie Belden and Encyclopedia Brown books my town library had. As my reading tastes changed, I discovered I did not like most mysteries written for adults, and now I generally read only books with wizards or spaceships. I think the crime dramas on television are well done and they fill my yearning for mystery. Unfortunately, television rarely produces fantasy in a manner I like to watch. Gratuitous nudity and extreme violence and language are not the fantasy I am looking for.
Today I am not mourning the passing of yet another beloved crime drama (although, I am concerned NCIS: Los Angeles may be preparing to call it quits). The series finale of a rare show that simply makes you feel good will air tonight. Situation comedies are not feel-good shows (Young Sheldon comes close). Situation comedies are designed to make you laugh, which does make you feel good, but a feel-good drama is an amazing sight to behold. I know many people consider This Is Us to be a feel-good drama, but the two episodes I saw seemed to be more drama, and less feel good.
Madam Secretary ended its series this past December (which I also mourned) and I classify it in the same category with This Is Us. It was more drama than feel good, but it still left you with hope at the end of most episodes. I think fans of This Is Us think the same way. The show I am mourning today is simply a show about people helping other people, and the world needs that type of show. The series finale of God Friended Me will air tonight after a mere two seasons.
I get that CBS has exceedingly high standards for keeping shows on the air, but God Friended Me is right smack in the middle of viewership. CBS renewed Evil which is at the bottom of the list of scripted show ratings with slightly more than half the viewers that God Friended Me had. Personally, I am not going to watch a show that delves into the truly evil. I think Criminal Minds was one of the best television shows ever created, but I quit watching after a few seasons because I do not want to see inside a serial killer’s mind. I do not want to be exposed to those types of thoughts. I do not want to see how depraved humans can be.
I do want to see an atheist accept “God’s” friend suggestions and do all he can to improve their life. Honestly, I will probably watch the series finale of God Friended Me on my computer tomorrow evening because the show airs at 7:00 p.m. and I do not go to bed that early. I will finish my mourning tomorrow.
My piece of advice to you is to hold on to hope. The biggest reason I watched God Friended Me is because I felt hope for humanity after every single episode. As much as I like a mystery, I would rather have hope.
Until next time,
Susanne
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