M. Suzanne Terry

There’s a meme going around on social media that asks you to list the five shows that you would have someone watch to get a good sense of you and your taste. Yesterday, a coworker asked me to identify my favorite fandom. These tasks were harder than you might think.

I love TV. I don’t get to watch it very often, and I certainly don’t keep up with shows very well, as I do not have cable and forget to keep up with streaming. But I love TV the same way I love all storytelling. I think the stories we choose to tell and the ones we pay attention to do say a lot about us.

So here is my attempt at answering the 5-show question.

1. Ally McBeal – Ally McBeal was on the air when I was in grad school. It resonated with me on several levels. Ally’s struggle with feminism and trying to hone who she was as a woman in the world sort of mirrors what I was sifting through at the time, and that was what drew me to the show. What got me hooked, though, was its portrayal of loneliness and what that looks like on different people. As someone who has felt alone/lonely for large portions of my life, I often feel misunderstood when writers try to address the issue. They almost always get it wrong (or, at least, wrong for me). Ally McBeal was right on the money. Also, John Cage is my favorite TV character of all time, so there’s that.
2. The Newsroom – I knew an Aaron Sorkin show had to make the list. I like every show of his I’ve watched. I admire the way he writes. I love The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. But I love The Newsroom the most. It speaks to the importance of integrity and being great at whatever you choose to do. Where it really wins with me, though, is the rampant idealism, often expressed through the Don Quixote theme that runs through it.
3. Firefly – Firefly is my fiesty side. I grew up watching…no, that’s inaccurate…being subjected to westerns. Traditional westerns are hard for me, because I didn’t always see the “good guy” as someone who was all that good. A lot of them were jerks, frankly. Even when the characters on Firefly are jerks, though, there is usually a reason behind it that is consistent with a code of honor that I can get on board with.  And in this world, people who are different aren’t necessarily wrong. In fact, people who are different seem perfectly capable of operating a ship in the middle of nowhere just fine. Firefly is what I wish all westerns were.
4. Elementary – I love all things Sherlock Holmes. Love the books, love (almost) every interpretation that’s been filmed. Elementary stands out, though. I particularly like this version of Sherlock and Mycroft. I also love that Watson is female in this series. I like gender bending original stories, and this show does it well.
5. Pushing Daisies – A theme you may have noticed in this list is an absolute adoration of whimsy. Pushing Daisies is my favorite whimsical show. The writing is perfect. The characters are amazing, and the acting is fantastic. It’s a tragedy that it only lasted two seasons.

I’ve watched Gilmore Girls so often I can quote it, but it’s often just background noise. So that doesn’t really scream “reflect me and my taste” to me. Smallville is the only fandom I kept up with for any length of time while it was happening, and I am definitely a sucker for superhero shows (Flash. Arrow. Supergirl [omg Cat Grant!].). But there were seasons where the fandom critiques and fanfiction were all that got me through it. The five shows listed do a great job of reflecting my general taste.