We all have our favorite TV shows. But let's take things one extra step: do you have a show that you can say influenced your life?Though it's a great escape, television can be a lot more than just a form of entertainment. There are examples out there of people who have considered careers, or changed how they thought, or gone on to do something awesome, or even just tried something new, because of something that they watched. I know of a few cops who became police officers because of the FOX show Cops (including at least one who was later on the show!) and others who said they thought about the career because of NBC's Third Watch. One of my friends wanted to be a marine biologist because of SeaQuest DSV.
As summer arrives and we celebrate the holiday weekend, let's share some of those stories. They're the ones that ought to be told more often. The ones that we'll hold onto long after our favorite shows have gone off the air.
To get you started, here's a list of some things that I can directly blame on my television.
In grade school, while everyone else was telling our teacher they wanted to be a firefighter or a veterinarian, I responded with "Captain of the Starship Enterprise." We can blame that on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Eventually, I found a serious career ambition. After growing up watching NBC's Law & Order, I developed an interest in criminal law, obtained a degree in Administration of Justice, and nearly became an Assistant District Attorney. In fact, I was so much a law geek because of the show, that for years my family joked that they'd play the iconic theme song at my wedding.
It's because of another show - ABC's Sports Night - that I walked away from my legal career and decided to try my hand at working in television. I introduced my best friend to the series and that was part of how we became so close. It also introduced me to the works of one of my favorite playwrights, David Mamet, because series creator Aaron Sorkin was compared to Mamet in an article I read.
In the same vein, spending too many late nights watching ESPN's SportsCenter led me to audition for their reality-competition series Dream Job, which in turn introduced me to the people through whom I got my first professional sportswriting gig. Through that, I met the man who gave me my first big break: professional poker player Phil Gordon. I'll forever be in his debt.
VH1 did a series a few years ago called Celebracadabra which, while a bust for the network, rekindled my love of magic from the second grade - so I got on an airplane and went to Las Vegas, where I actually graduated from magic school.
Most recently, NBC's The Voice introduced me to one of my heroes (literally), as well as led me to buy a guitar and become a musician. I'm still working on that.
What are some of the shows that influenced you, and how did they affect you? Tell me your stories, whether it was a life-changing experience or just something small. Let's celebrate the good things that come out of the medium we love!
Brittany Frederick
DigitalAirwaves.net
ChicagoCodeFan.com
Examiner.com
Fanbolt.com
Starpulse.com
Twitter: @tvbrittanyf
For me it's easy.
ReplyDeleteLOST.
Without Lost DarkUFO would not have existed and neither would SpoilerTV :)
Everybody who frequents (and loves) this website can say Lost changed their lives.
ReplyDeleteI can't. Sorry, I'm just not feeling like giving the credit to LOST, a show I've never seen :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear. If I had to go down that list it would never end.
ReplyDeleteI'll give the following:
Dexter, Supernatural, Damages, Veronica Mars, and Fringe.
Totally. LOST was a show that opened my eyes to the fact that everyone has issues. It isn't just me, but we all go through stuff. It allowed me care, love and see other people and their issues and what they go through. That show was a show with so much heart and beauty in it that I doubt any other show will ever live up to it in my eyes. It had some of the most beautiful moments in it that I can ever remember from a TV show or even a movie. I will always love that show and I miss it almost every day. It was almost like family.
ReplyDeleteBut this website wouldn't exist without Lost. Gotta have a bit of love for it!
ReplyDeleteDexter has influenced you? *dials 911* :P
ReplyDeleteWell, a couple of shows made me think I could write for those shows or act in them (ST:TNG, Friends). But Chuck was the one that pushed me into the writing aspect of it. OK, it's all fan fiction stuff, but 500,000 words later (and constant freaking out about not getting enough reviews), I'm still writing. The writing still sucks, but I'm still writing.
ReplyDelete... My first shows I saw without missing a chapter were Dr.Quinn and ER... but I'm studying architecture, so I have to say no TV show influenced me... lol
ReplyDeleteTheir was one maple syrup incident I blame on Boston Legal.....
ReplyDeleteI KNOW RIGHT!?
ReplyDeleteIt's just that I found myself thinking the same damn jokes that Dexter would think to himself and I thought it was funny. Eventually it just freaked me out a little. But also, everyone feels a little disconnected in their own right and this is just an extreme form of that. It sort've put things in perspective for how there are some awful people out there, and there are some annoying as hell people out there, and you just have to deal with them. Not necessarily by killing people, but just in general, the world sucks sometimes, so find your way to deal with it. :P
It's so weird to think about television impacting a large portion of my life, but it's totally true.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little kid I was convinced I wanted to be a cheerleader because of Kim Possible. Now I have somewhat more serious goals - like becoming a forensic pathologist - a career I never would have considered without the influence of Dana Scully (X-Files) and Meghan Hunt (Body of Proof) and even Temperance Brennan (Bones). These female characters changed the way how I perceived science and medical careers and inspired me to take the initiative. I'm going to spend two weeks later this summer at a forensic science conference for high school students. Thanks, TV. I couldn't have done it without you.
I find sardonic mockery helps sate the urge to kill.... that and cheesecake.
ReplyDeleteI love LOST, but in all honesty I find this site changed my life more than LOST. Sure, I spun some theories and obsessed with LOST, but I never woke up and turned on my PC to watch episodes with my morning coffee like i peruse this site every morning.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention my level of TV enjoyment has been enhanced by the site, the commenters (most of them at least) and without out any doubt my ability to annoy co-workers with spoilers has increased ten-fold!
Watching Lost was truly a television experience for me. I never missed a single episode and I always made sure that the show was never interrupted. I don't think there will be another show like that for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteAs for it changing my life...Well, I spent a lot of money on a better TV and surround sound system because of it lol.
Apparently pork sandwiches help as well.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes the blade finds the victim before you know it. ;)
Pork sandwiches? That's doubly convenient if a pig is the one annoying you! Mmmmm reminds me its lunch time.
ReplyDelete*sharpens clever*
For me i hate to say Being Erica
ReplyDeletemm not editing for some reason but meant to say i have to say Being Erica not hate
ReplyDeleteLol, I actually would get up early to watch an episode before school. And I hate getting up a minute earlier than I had to, but I would on Thursdays to watch Lost. Lost changed my life in so many ways. I love so many tv programmes, but there has never been nor will there ever be another show like Lost, for me at least.
ReplyDeleteI think driving around while eating a pork sandwich is one of Dexter's "hobbies"...from what I remember.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah!
ReplyDeleteI remember him talking about that. Pulled pork sandwich is the best driving food, after a banana... or vice versa.
Ha! Ok I am guilty of that too...
ReplyDeleteI should have written woke up "every morning" like I do with this site...
TV shows haven't been like that for me...they're more of an escapism thing for me but I totally understand people who get into hobbies/careers because of shows
ReplyDeleteI just started watching BE in the last months. Fun series. I think it uses music as well as any show I have ever seen to help complete the time jump atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Castle. Without accidently catching the beginning after Dancing With The Stars, I would never have gotten addicted, followed what I thought was the show's twitter account but was a fansite that had a chatroom where I'm very well known. It was someone in that Chatroom who told me I should write. I finally decided to listen and its become my passion. Its the same chatroom that has also helped me start acting more like my old self from when I was younger. Castle has changed my life for the better
ReplyDeleteActually, DWTS changed my life because it got me into Lost.
ReplyDeleteTV is at its best when engages in consciousness-raising. All the marches and protests going on in the '70s didn't do near as much as All in the Family to let me feel what the civil rights issue was about. Shows that focused on abortion helped me understand the complexities of that issue. Now it's gay rights. I might have understood these issues, in my liberal intellectuality, but TV helped me FEEL.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I tried that Farrah Fawcett hairstyle. Didn't work.
Lie To Me.
ReplyDeleteTotally made me a tv-show-junkie. And taught me a lot about people, human nature, relationships.
House and Grey's anatomy made me want to be a doctor :)
ReplyDeleteI owe changes in my life to several show . One thing many fans of the show Supernatural can say is the owe the feeling of the love and respect for family to the Winchester brothers and the cast and crew of the series. This is a big for the show. It is felt at the conventions and on the web sites It is still experienced on the set and on the show. I learned that I can believe in myself from the show also. My daughter got her name from the original Star Trek. On the episode, "Requiem for Methusalah", the android, had the name, Rayna. I thought the name beautiful and named her, Rayna Melissa.
ReplyDeleteI never knew what I wanted to do. I didn't really know what I would be with an university education until I got hired by a gaming company. I was taking a commercial art course at same time as working as a compositor. I never earned an art degree, because I could get work as an artist. I never thought this would lead me to animation production. Now my work is seen on TV. It was just the beginning. With the writing, I am about to try other aspects of the industry.
ReplyDeleteI was already in nursing school when ER was on, but the show taught me a few things.
ReplyDeleteAgreed completely. My love of LOST fueled my desire to join a fan community, which lead me to DarkUFO (and later SpoilerTV). The general high quality discussions in the non-spoiler section of the site (specifically the theory submissions section) made me stay.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion of these theories then made me realise that I consider TV to be one of the highest forms of art or literature (when done correctly). Good TV is like a symphony or a philosophical dissertation.
Then, when you guys opened up the doors to STV followers to start contributing, it lead me to begin writing again (something I dropped years ago but have always loved doing). I am now actively considering finishing my BSc in neuroscience and switching into journalism or media studies.
As I explained above, LOST is the show that influenced me the most as a young adult, but it was the kid's shows of the mid-90s that have made me who I am today.
ReplyDeleteBeast Wars, the 90s X-Men and Spider-Man, Reboot, Digimon, Captain Planet, Power Rangers, Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, Escaflowne, and SO MANY MORE explain why I love the things I love today.
I'm a rabid fan of all things fantasy and science fiction. I still have all of my transformers and action figures in a toy chest at the foot of my bed, I have a decent sized comic collection and absolutely love anime. As much as these are all fairly superficial things, I find myself so enthralled by the idea of nostalgia that my friends and I throw parties for the express purpose of taking ourselves back to that time and appreciating these shows.
As corny as it sounds, they made me want to be a better person and inspired me to follow my dreams.
Being Erica is my guilty pleasure :). It's surprisingly excellent in many respects. It makes me very happy that Canadian TV has more relaxed censors.
ReplyDeleteMany shows have inspired me and influenced my world views. The X-Files brought me onto the internet more than any classes did. Buffy allowed me to discuss metaphor more than being a teacher did. However the show that has changed me the most is Supernatural. It has opened a whole new world of friendships and opportunities. Without Supernatural, I would not have a global connection throughout the world. The earthquakes in Christchurch would have been a shame for me, something to feel sorry about, but because I now have a friend in New Zealand, it became more person, something to actually do something about. It also expanded my friendships. Living in the midwest suburbs, a lot of people look like me but my online friends each bring a different worldview that helps me expand mine. However, I would never have met them without Supernatural.
ReplyDeleteStill, the biggest thing that Supernatural has done is to encourage me to go beyond my comfort zone. It brought me to SpoilerTV, which in turn got me writing again after almost 2 decades. From there I've opened a blog and gotten real response from some of the most encouraging people in the world - other Supernatural fans. After that positive response, I branched out to White Collar and had the opportunity to do some phone interviews with people I really admire. Even my kiddos were interested when I talked about interviewing that guy who got the girl in the Ducky movie (Andrew McCarthy for those too young for Pretty in Pink.) They are never impressed when I talk.
Supernatural has lead me to Facebook (again), Twitter, and even to co-creating a website with other Supernatural/SPTV fans. It has me writing bad poetry, polishing my very rusty debating skills, communicating to people around the world, trying new technologies even through my frustrations, Live Chatting in the middle of the night, and causing my family to think I'm nuts. A lot of TV shows have interested me or inspired me, but Supernatural has made me a better, more aware, and more flexible person. For that, I thank the show's cast and crew and all the Supernatural friends that have encouraged and helped me along the way. TV really can change things for the better.
Supernatural seriously changed my life. I have met so many wonderful people through this fandom, and am going to my first con this summer!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Which one? If I'm not being too forward, some of us here have a website and we always like to ask people to do a short article on the cons they go to. Interested? We're at http://www.spnasylum.com.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, I was so mad when they cancelled it!!
ReplyDeleteWe have so much in common Dahne even though we live so far apart.
ReplyDeleteThe online friends I've made through Supernatural are amazing. We're so diverse and yet can always find some common ground through something as seemingly ordinary and insignificant as a tv show. Like you, I've been challenged to embrace technology in ways I would never have even considered before meeting my cohorts in Supernatural shenanigans:
Participating in online communities - particularly here at SpoilerTV;
Joining facebook, twitter and tumblr;
and now helping to create and maintain a website.
All because of Supernatural. And I'm even going to a SPN convention next year.
I'll stop rambling here because, really you've said all I wanted to, much better than I could.
I am not a morning person EVER, but I used to get up at 6 AM before school every day to watch Ronin Warriors (anyone else remember that?) on my local station. Still don't regret it. Ha.
ReplyDeleteI think most writers believe their writing still sucks. I look at things I wrote in high school and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Don't get too down there!
ReplyDeleteI think that's my favorite part of TV. I love good entertainment, but the thing that gets me really excited, that I fight for, is the constructive and positive effect it can have on so many levels. Hence my middle-of-the-night desire to start this thread...
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Taylor! I wish you the best of luck.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know how you feel. It was Ben Stone from Law & Order that made me want to become an ADA. I didn't, but years later I watched James Steel on Law & Order: UK and it made me reconsider...just a little bit. I'll always still have that love of law in me and that's entirely because of TV.
Well, okay then, just a little bit then :D
ReplyDeleteHaha. Thank you! I'm glad you have a slight appreciation, even if you've never seen it. :P
ReplyDeleteA big part of my life is TV (Fiction in general). I want to be a scriptwriter, a producer executive or any position where I would be able to create my own tv series.
ReplyDeleteAbout my personality, Veronica Mars showed me that We can survive ANYTHING and that we should not let other people step over us or hurt us in any way. Like if she could pass through all the horribles things that happened with her with her pride untouched, we can too.