Small Strokes Big Oaks

I am a self-professed crime drama television show geek. It started with Law & Order: SVU during one winter break when I was ridiculously sick and watched about three seasons in three days since I couldn’t leave my bed and it happened to be streaming on Netflix. Then, I moved to the police-and-quirky-consultant sub genre with shows like Bones, Castle, and Psych. (There are spoilers in this post, so if you’re watching on Netflix, don’t read ahead!) I devour these shows like it’s my job, whether I’m watching them on Netflix or catching up with reruns on other networks or adding reminders to my iPhone to tune in to the latest episode each week.

I’m not sure what draws me to these shows. I’m not particularly a fan of gruesome crime drama, nor do I enjoy crime novels in my spare time (with the exception of the Nikki Heat series credited to the fictional Richard Castle – I’m on #4 right now), so I’m sure it’s not that I just enjoy a good murder mystery. I think what attracts me to these shows are the characters. I loved Bones’ Temperance Brennan and her “Squints” for their genius and quirky behaviors as well as Seeley Booth for his caricature of machismo but with a definite soft side. I giggled through Castle with its juxtaposed gender norms (a badass female cop and a childish writer following her around). I have watched every episode of Psych at least twice because Shawn and Gus’s ability to play off each other is so spontaneous and unexpected that I find I don’t remember every joke like I do with other comedy shows.

Good characters aren’t enough to attract me to a television show, though. I need substance, and I need good chemistry. All of these shows are interesting and smart but, more importantly, the characters work well together. There is a balance of seriousness and humor, just like in life. The characters grow and change together, as they learn from each other. And, in a new trend, these characters are entering relationships with one another. Brennan and Booth have a baby together, Castle and Beckett start dating after a series of near-death experiences force them to realize they love each other, and Shawn and Juliet start the most serious relationship either of them have had on the show.

What I love about this trend is that it shows that important, long-term relationships can take center stage and that they don’t end the show but rather add another layer to it. Part of the great chemistry I saw between the characters was the tension between the obvious love interests. Historically, these characters would have been kept single so as not to diminish their appeal and, also, because entering a relationship is often portrayed as a death sentence both for characters and for a television show. With these shows, writers are exploring new possibilities for these characters, making them even more relatable and likable, and allowing for pop culture to finally show us life beyond singledom and sexual tension doesn’t make you less desirable. It just makes you human.

Granted, we still have a long way to go when talking about same-sex or interracial relationships, but I do think this is a step in the right direction.

Image Credit: Zap2It