Friday, May 29, 2009

it was 20 years ago today...

Fine, I'll admit it. I've been watching Doogie Howser, MD on Hulu. Mostly just a few episodes from season 1, you know including the one where Doogie takes his gf Wanda's appendix out and has to give her a pelvic exam to diagnosis it. (I obviously was unaware what a pelvic exam was when I was 9 and missed the reference.) Neil Patrick Harris looks like a baby... a baby who has no(?) clue that he will grow up to be an amazingly beautiful gay man. Plus, he's a prime blogging example... well, a pre-Internets example anyway... we all read over his shoulder while he documented his thoughts in a computer journal at the end of every episode.

In addition to reliving some of Steven Bochco's finer television moments, I've been revisiting 1989 in other ways. Well, culturally, anyway. Take Lloyd Dobler. The man who thought kickboxing was the sport of the future and opined the greatest break-up line in history: "I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen." Lloyd Dobler is the man. And while I haven't watched Say Anything in ages, I feel like I am in that place right now... on the edge... looking for that dare to be great situation... You're an inspiration, Lloyd.

Finally, and likely the most macabre piece of this flashback, I've Netflix-ed Twin Peaks. While I remember being quite aware of this show (I mean, "who killed Laura Palmer?" is another pop culture phrase of my generation) and of David Lynch (did I ever tell you that I LOVED Dune around this age... yes, I know I'm weird) I didn't watch it. So seeing it now is quite the experience. First of all, I find it hard to comprehend that this was on network television during the Cosby-era?! The complexities of the characters alone... not to mention fetishes and call girls and transvestites. Oh, and lots of coffee and gratuitous shots of donuts. And while I'm not sure how this ties into my story, being neither a prom queen nor an FBI agent... it feels appropriate to be watching this at age 29. Whether it's the mystery or the flux, there's something about Twin Peaks that's drawn me in.

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