A LETTERED SOUL, BOOK 2- MUSINGS ON ART AND CULTURE

THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN TAKING THE CLASSIC ROUTE-A NEW BATCH.

In January of this year itself, I devoted two essays to cover the wealth of classic television content that an exclusive channel on my cable operator had made available for discerning viewers. The pop culture aficionado that I was, I had instantly become a fan. Now almost two years since April, 2021 marked that betokened rendezvous, TATA PLAY HD has continued to gift me with heartwarming, funny, intense moments to fondly cherish.

In this new part before the end of 2022, I include few other standouts that made their way and charmed me.
Of course, I had always read and heard about these series but watching a title you had eagerly anticipated, in person, elicits an altogether different feeling of joy.

In no particular order, here they are.

***

CHEERS

Based mostly inside a Boston bar titled CHEERS, this comedic ensemble series is pure gold as it pitches the close-knit camaraderie among the employees and regular patrons against tensions from the outside world. In a nutshell, the snark, bite, topicality and earnestness of the everyday never goes out for a toss.

In the two seasons I've watched , it's no wonder that along with the writing and timing of the comedy, the central ensemble is its heart and soul. Like all great cultural touchstones, the performers and characters become indistinguishable here. Be it the loveable, sweet to a fault and sometimes hopelessly naive Coach, the blow hot, blow cold nature of the accountant Norm who loves his pints of beer, the know-it-all mailman Cliff or the feisty and admirably independent waitress Carla, all score a place in our hearts. To me, Carla, played by Rhea Perlman, is a particular favourite.

**

Of course, CHEERS is anchored by Ted Danson's charm and effortless screen presence as the titular bar's young owner and former sportsman Sam. But its true trumpcard is in the form of Shelley Long's Diane, an academic who begins to work here as a waitress and lets everyone learn a thing or two about themselves and the evolving zeitgeist with aplomb. She is supremely intelligent, grasping the nerves of a given situation and while she does give out an air of overconfidence, her brand of honesty usually triumphs. Long has exquisite timing, whether she's learning an order by rote, delivering an empowering speech about the futility of beauty pageants, practically assessing a team's chances of victory or calling out some of the patrons' inherent homophobia. Her and Danson's verbal fireworks stick the landing because he has much to undo in terms of his inherited biases while she has much to impart to him and his ilk. They are all well-meaning individuals at the end of the day. Together, they tide through the days.

Some fun is also to be had when Cliff's knowledge rankles another visitor and comedic elements are mined from toxic masculinity tropes . Carla's sudden pregnancy becomes another instance to balance the index between humour and emotions as this extended chosen family joins in the milestone and contributes to a welfare fund for her child. Supreme hilarity then ensues when her seemingly coy sister turns out to be a bolt out of the blue.