I’ll admit: I have a hard time starting new shows. This is mostly due to the fact that I get WAY too emotionally invested and can’t stop thinking about it for a good long while. So, I’m pretty picky and choosy about which shows to start and when to start them (it took me almost a year to get over Game of Thrones). So, in the meantime, while I get myself ready for the next emotionally devastating binge-session, I will rewatch some of my favorite shows. These are a few of my most watched ones.
Anyone who is a Jane Austen fan knows about this series (particularly the wet shirt scene with the fantastic Colin Firth). Initially, I first saw the 2005 version, which was very good in its own right, but having read the book, it was the 1995 mini-series that truly made me fall in love with the world of Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet has always been a heroine of mine, and I don’t know many women who don’t think of Mr. Darcy as a true object of desire. My mom, another avid fan, first introduced me to this mini-series during the Christmas season when I was 14. Now, as a rule, I rewatch this series every Christmas. I love how closely it follows the original story, and to this day, Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite love stories.
I feel like with Betty White having been such a big icon in recent years, the popularity of The Golden Girls only grew since it first aired in 1985. And it doesn’t surprise me. The things they discussed back then are still relevant to today. If anything, it’s better because they had less of a filter back then. I first watched The Golden Girls when I would spend the night at my grandparents’ house (it was one of my grandpa’s favorite shows next to the news), and today I still associate the show with a time in my life that was simpler, when I felt comfortable and cared for. From that, this show has become one of my biggest comfort shows. Honestly, if I had to choose a show to live in, it would be The Golden Girls. After a bad day, or during my magical time of the week, I love putting on these hilarious women to inspire, comfort, and make me laugh.
My mom LOVED murder-mystery shows when I was growing up (she still does). My siblings and I grew up on the Alfred Hitchcock movies, film noir, Cops, anything on the ID Channel, The First 48, etc. But one of the shows we watched the most was Columbo. It follows a polite, frumpy, cigar-smoking police lieutenant who doesn’t seem to have a first name:
“What’s your name?”
“Lieutenant Columbo.”
“Your first name?”
“Lieutenant.”
Columbo differs from standard murder-mystery shows because our hero, Columbo, doesn’t come in until after the murder has already taken place. So, from the beginning, we follow the murderer. We see who it is, why they did it, how they did it, and how they tried to cover their tracks. When Lieutenant Columbo comes in, he is immediately taken for a fool because of his rumpled appearance and his seemingly absent-mindedness, but he uses this image to his advantage to fool the killer into letting their guard down. He is the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing while also being adorably goofy and fun.
Hannibal 2012 - 2015
This one might be a little odd, especially compared to the light-hearted shows I previously mentioned. I would say this one is the opposite of light-hearted. It’s just one of those aesthetically pleasing, well-crafted shows that is a delight to watch and rewatch. The series is based around the familiar characters from Thomas Harris’s famous novels: The Silences of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising. But the story we follow is that of Will Graham, an FBI agent with the special gift of pure empathy. Will utilizes this gift to place himself in the shoes of serial killers to understand their behaviors, thought patterns, etc. in order to catch them. But getting inside the minds of murderers begins to take a toll on his psyche and enlists the help of a renowned psychiatrist to be his anchor. Unfortunately for Will, that psychiatrist is Dr. Hannibal Lecter before the world knew him as “Hannibal the Cannibal.”
