What Made You? Top Five TV Shows…

After an initial idea from Mae Clair, over at Story Empire, I’ve been inspired to write a series of posts exploring the multimedia that impacted, inspired and impressed me… and essentially, made me the writer and person I am today.

Over this series of posts, I will be exploring the books that influenced my writing, the movies that shaped my views of the world, the tv shows that leaked into my subconscious and then consequently dribbled into my creative works, and more!

And… I’m asking you to join in the comments or create your own posts asking, What Made You?

This week – TV SHOWS – what Top Five TV shows most impacted on your life?

Following are the Top Five TV shows that captured my imagination, and inspired or entertained me. I have chosen TV shows that directly influence(d) me in my writing to this very day.

AMERICAN GOTHIC

I can’t remember if this TV show was responsible for warping my then 14 year old brain into what it is now, or if I was drawn to this show because of my already warped brain. All I know, is this 1995 dark drama went hand in hand with my angst-ridden, goth-dressing, bad-poetry-writing teenage years, and remains one of my favourite shows (cheese and all) today. It was the ideas of Good VS Evil, and Gary Cole’s enigmatic super arch-anti-villain Lucas Buck, that did it for me. Okay, that and the deep south American drawl (I’m a sucker for that accent). So, while my friends were hip-deep in Friends, this show with its supernatural themes and bad-boy devil leading character was what I was watching.

KINDRED; THE EMBRACED

‘Kindred; The Embraced’ holds a place in my life somewhat similar to that of ‘American Gothic’ (above), with the notable exception that I’ll probably never watch it again. Unlike ‘American Gothic’, ‘Kindred’ doesn’t come with a side-serving of cheese – it is pure cheese. Think ‘True Blood’ without the gore and sex, and a lot of politics. That’s ‘Kindred’. But, to the angst-ridden, goth-dressing, bad-poetry-writing teenage me, a show about suave, powerful, rich, attractive vampires was pure gold. Plus, I still love the idea ‘Kindred’ was build upon – White Wolf’s RPG about clans of vampires and their integration (and domination) over the modern world. So, yes, the acting’s bad, the dialogue corny, makeup pretty terrible, but the concept is powerful and who doesn’t enjoy watching Brian Thompson in a hammy role?

THE X-FILES

Okay – time to admit a deep personal secret – at high school, I was known by the nickname “X-Files”. Yes, not very imaginative, but it does give you some idea how big a fan I was of this show. Think, teenager wearing long black trench coat to school… Get it? I was determined to be a forensic psychologist when I ‘grew up’, I knew I’d marry David Duchovny, and was of course convinced aliens were real. I still believe one of these things – you decide which one. This show had a HUGE impact on me, and is primarily responsible for my love of the weird and wonderful… aside from the other two shows mentioned above. Are you seeing a theme here?

FIREFLY

Firefly came a bit later in my life; I wasn’t a teen when this brilliant show entered my life – maybe in my twenties. But, it had a big impact. It was sci-fi (which I’ve always enjoyed), but also kind of weird western… in fact, it was a bit like Star Trek meets American Gothic. How could it fail to impress me? It didn’t. ‘Firefly’s’ still one of my favourite shows to date, and still one of the greatest calamities in history that it only had one glorious season, ‘Firefly’ impressed me with its quirky characters, interesting and unpredictable story-lines, and of course, stellar cast of actors. This series is a little piece of gold, and still touches me in the feels today. Shiny.

SUPERNATURAL

I thought I’d finish with a show that came into my life quite late, but is probably the quintessential essence of ‘influencing TV shows’. ‘Supernatural’ is a little bit of all the above with a lot of humour, great characters, and some truly fascinating ‘monster of the week’ bios. Through this show I’ve been exposed to many different types of monsters and myths, history and lore; a lot which pop up in my own types of writing. Yes, it can be overly melodramatic at times, but that just adds to its charm. ‘Supernatural’ is like a comfy blanket – its warm, cozy, and just feels good. Oh… and did you see the cast!

Over to you now! What’s been the Top Five TV Shows that made you? Share in the comments and stay tuned for next time when I examine the Top Five Movies that Made You Who You Are…