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Being a Gen-Xer, there's not too much of today's pop culture that I can relate to. The most glaring example is TV.
The new brand of "comedy" which has permeated modern TV culture is lost on generations that grew up on critically acclaimed sitcoms like The Cosby Show, Home Improvement and Family Ties.
There are some exceptions though, going as far back as Everybody Loves Raymond, The King Of Queens, Two And A Half Men (the Charlie Sheen edition) and (more recently) The Big Bang Theory.
But bad as most sitcoms are today, many of the dramas are even worse.
Yes, we're still hopelessly hooked on the legal-/medical-/emergency-themed dramas first popularized in the 80's and there are some really great suspense thrillers too.
Yet there seems to be a dearth of originality in TV circles which has resulted in the re-booting of every hit show from the period spanning somewhere between 1983 and 2000.
From 90210 (with Jenny Garth now playing a mom), Twin Peaks and Melrose Place to MacGyver, Dallas, Hawaii Five-O and now Magnum P.I., Hollywood seems content to never create another original series.
But you know who's to blame? It's people like me - Generation X.
That's right, the same generation that enjoyed about 25 years of stellar TV is now holding the reigns of the major networks.
Instead of following in the footsteps of their baby-boomer predecessors and blazing a new trail of TV excellence, these lazy execs and writers have decided to take the easy route and exploit the inexperience of millennials by re-hashing every single show which aired long before their time.
It had got so bad that I had largely sworn off all new TV shows. That is, until last Saturday night when I got the most pleasant surprise.
At around 8 pm CT I was channel-surfing when I stumbled upon this show that was in the entertainment buzz recently.
As usual, I had written it off in advance as just another mundane, dishonest, modern-day attempt at "creativity". Hadn't even given it a second thought.
For some reason - maybe because I had nothing better to watch - I decided to give it a chance. I'm so glad I did.
Very quickly, I got pretty caught up in the main character and his back-story (a sure sign that I'm going to like any show).
The storyline was original, yet interesting. The acting was impressive, and I was especially pleased to see my talented, grossly under-rated "friend" Joe Morton among the cast.
In case you missed the top banner, the show was God Friended Me.
Like every protagonist worth following, this one had a traumatic past which had dumped a heavy chip onto his shoulder, a chip which was holding him back from the fulfillment he so desperately sought and a paternal relationship for which he yearned incessantly.
Then things started to happen... interesting things, intriguing things, exciting things, even heart-warming things... I was hooked!
Besides the great acting and interesting back-story, I think what really drew me to this show is the fact that it reminded me of two of my favorite shows: one from the 80's and the other a decade later. The thing is, this feeling of deja-vu wasn't brought on in the way that you'd expect.
God Friended Me isn't a re-hash, you see. It borrows a major concept from each of its predecessors but in one case it changes the type of protagonist and in the other, it repackages the meat of the story for our digital age.
Let me explain.
Back in the 90's I used to watch a show called Early Edition. It was about an everyday, young loner whose life was changed by a mysterious cat.
Every morning, the cat would bring a newspaper to his apartment door. But there was something very unusual about this paper - it would always be dated one day ahead!
So every day, instead of working for a living, this young man would try his best to avert every single death, emergency, crime and tragedy reported in the "early edition". Saving the day, every day.
Similarly, an 80's show called Highway To Heaven (copied somewhat a decade later by Touched By An Angel) told the story of an angel who was sent down to Earth on probation in regular, human form, where he teamed up with a retired cop to help people in need, change their lives for the better and to restore or strengthen their faith in God.
God Friended Me combines the plots of these two shows, but it exchanges "buddy" road trips for "solo" social media sessions and uses a normal guy (rather than a celestial being) to do God's work.
I think it's great for two reasons. First of all, it reminds us that social media can be put to good, wholesome, positive use.
Secondly, it teaches us that you don't need to be a supernatural being or superhero to make the world a better place... each and every one of us is empowered with the will and ability to make a difference in this world, starting with our own neighborhoods.
I'm very lucky and grateful that this show landed in my lap (so to speak) because it reminded me that just because a whole slew of things or people of a particular type appears to have certain traits, that doesn't mean that I should assume that all things or people in that group share those same traits.
That kind of thinking can lead to some very destructive practices and policies, like stereotyping and racial/ethnic profiling.
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So I've decided to give millennial TV a fair shake, and I'm definitely tuning back in for the next episode of God Friended Me.
Happy watching!
Donna
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