Death and a Funeral

Of all the adventures I've had since my last post (yeah, I'll stick with "adventures"), what brings me back here is a TV show. Last post I was lamenting the end of Smallville, which almost killed me, and now I'm in mourning over the end of another great show. A little history: I don't generally watch a TV series when it first airs. I have this thing about having to see every episode from the beginning in order, and that's damn near impossible. The one exception is Alias, and I saw every episode in order from the beginning. I remember way back to Allie McBeal. I was looking forward to seeing it, but I found myself driving home to Savannah from Atlanta and missed the first episode. I never watched it. 24, possibly the best show ever on television, I didn't start watching until it was in reruns on A&E. I can't imagine having to wait a week or longer to see a new episode of that awesome show. I missed the first 10 minutes of Lost and have managed to avoid any spoilers while it waits for me in my Netflix queue. I didn't have HBO and never saw Sex and the City until I was able to rent all the DVDs, and then I was able to have marathon viewings of that amazingness. And so it is with my current obsession, MI-5.
With the exception of the above mentioned shows (and I reserve judgement for Ally McBeal and Lost), I'm not a big fan of American television. All the reality-show crap has really soured me on anything home-grown. If I'm not working on Saturday night you can find me watching old Brit-coms on PBS. Netflix has afforded me the opportunity to get involved in a number of British shows like Inspector Lewis and the brilliant Sherlock, but MI-5 had me engrossed for most of 2012. Think of it as the British version of 24. Ten seasons! In order! Whenever I want! Knowing I could watch MI-5 anytime I wanted made insomnia seem not so bad.
Being able to watch an entire series in a short period of time means I get really involved with the characters. If I had to wait a week between episodes, I'm not sure I would feel the same kinship. I don't have to come down from the roller coaster ride until the following week, and can ride it as long as I want.  The thing about MI-5, and 24 for that matter, is that the writers never hesitated to kill main characters. And when they died, I died. I feel like I know these people. I spend so much time with them I feel like they are my friends, and then they are dead. It's gut-wrenching. When Adam died I was like, "Damn!" And when Ros died I was beside myself. Ros was my all-time favorite. But the episode I watched this morning during my latest bout of sleeplessness almost made me swear-off TV for good. Ruth. Ruth, of all people. Perhaps the best character of any show I've ever seen. Dead. And of course when it seems she and Harry will finally be together. Devastating. My heart is literally heavy over her death. But in a shrewd move, she was killed in the last episode. Had they tried to go on I'm not sure anyone would have continued to watch. I know I wouldn't have.
Shallow? Yes.