How to make people say “Why do you even know what that is”
Some of us, and I won’t say any names, I’m talking about myself, have a penchant for watching movies and television shows that are 30 years or older. And it is not that there’s nothing worth watching from this calendar year, you can ask plenty of friends about how I try to convince them to start and watch Loot, Hacks, Poker Face, or Abbott Elementary. There is just something about watching a piece of media skating through the edges of time that makes your friends, family, and bosses ask: “why do you even know what that is.”
And because of that age old question, I wanted to analyze a few of my current “why do you even know what that is” television shows. This way I can hopefully convince you to join me in this curse of referencing the media way before your own time.
First up we have the general crowd pleaser of Columbo! This one is referenced all the time because everybody loves Columbo. You may have seen a reference to Colombo anywhere, but have you watched it? It began from two pilot episodes, "Prescription: Murder" and "Ransom for a Dead Man", before being picked up for series. It popularized the structure of a “howcatchem,” the inverse of a “whodunit.” Despite the show's formulaic structure, the likability of its protagonist keeps you coming back for more: Lieutenant Columbo puts on a guise of 'inept investigator' to lure the murder in order to help him catch the murder. He is able to "just one more thing....." with his questioning so casually, he can catch his subject when they least expect it.
Next up I would like to recommend one of my latest picks: Sledge Hammer! It’s another procedural show, but while Lieutenant Columbo pretends to be inept, Detective Sledge Hammer is actually inept. Sledge Hammer! is a spoof of the rebel cop, inspired by Dirty Harry—if you are a fan of the Naked Gun this would be a good show for you. It is only two seasons long, but this satire maintains an austonding level of non-serious absurdism that I can’t help but be be entertained by. It is probably the most “why do you even know what this is,” out of the three.
Tied for third we have NewsRadio and When Things Were Rotten. NewsRadio is a workplace comedy that takes place at, you guessed it, a news radio station building. What makes the show is the characters, especially because one is played by Joe Rogan before he lost his hair and caused Joni Mitchell to pull her music off of Spotify. Speaking of Spotify, I only became aware of this next show because I was listening to Mel Brook’s audiobook, and he mentioned you could find the old episodes for free on YouTube. If you enjoyed Robin Hood: Men in Tights, this is the first attempt that fell on its face. This show is all gags, as is the nature of Mel-Brookiean media, including the following: slapstick, two characters played by the same person, anachronisms, anti-monarchy, all things not subtle. Just like this essay.
Honorable Mentions: Mork and Mindy, Cybil, Wings, Ally Mcbeal, Spin City, Planet of the Apes (the 1974 TV series), The Power That Be, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, Ned and Stacey
Now, I’m not saying that it is mandatory for you to watch these shows. I just want to open your eyes to the wide expanse of media that is out there for you to consume and boggle people’s minds with. You too could be a part of the small percentage of people enlightening your friends about the hit 80s show My Two Dads (which was not actually progressive for its time, and was just instead two heterosexual men in love with the same woman, so in love with her in fact that they adopted her daughter. Kinda weird). Or, My mother the Car, in which the main character’s mother is reincarnated as—you guess it—the family car. It’s not that current day shows aren’t good, it's just nice to see a glimpse of the past and how far we have come now.