My Mindless Watches: From Guilty Pleasures to Nostalgic Treats
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
I’ve spent months (over a year at this point) working on my lists of the greatest television series of all time. One thing I picked up on during this quest is that there really is something in the series we watch mindlessly. I much prefer to watch challenging, dynamic, artistic, or ambitious works, but there’s a different kind of itch that gets scratched by the stuff I put on just to have something on. While I won’t pretend that any of these shows are masterpieces or anything, I will detail why I even like these series. In short, I’m willing to share my mindless watches, be they guilty pleasures or shows I watch for nostalgic reasons, because I think it’s the final cherry on top. It will bring the other television lists full circle. This isn’t a serious piece at all, but just a very casual write up, so don’t expect anything substantive here. Otherwise, enjoy as I embarrass myself!
Guilty Pleasures
Canada’s Worst Driver
Being consistently reminded that I don’t drive as badly as I may think is nice, and I can admit that many of the tests on Canada’s Worst Driver are completely unreasonable. However, as soon as an episode is on, I’m glued to the screen.
To Catch a Predator
Seeing Chris Hansen, Perverted Justice, Dateline, and the individual police departments take down America’s grossest creeps is something that shouldn’t be enjoyable, and yet it is. To Catch a Predator has a massive community that cheers on the arrests of monsters, and I’m all for it.
Dragon’s Den/Shark Tank
Either the Canadian version of Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank are my go-tos. I love seeing entrepreneurs either succeed with neat ideas and/or services (that I’m willing to try) or the worst ideas somehow make it this far. I like to pretend that I know even the smallest amount of business logic while I watch.
Family Feud
I grew up watching Family Feud and would watch it every day. I always wanted to be on the show and just have my family own another episode after episode. I find the current Steve Harvey years too obnoxious, however, and the original spark is gone; replaced by try-hard shock and juvenileness.
Hell’s Kitchen
The early seasons of Hell’s Kitchen were highly addicting to me. Gordon Ramsay and his team’s over-production of his series are impossible to ignore now, but the first few seasons married what I love about cooking shows and the kind of melodrama that I occasionally crave.
The Hustler
I actually think the game show The Hustler is quite fun, particularly because I am really good at guessing who the titular schemer is. Craig Ferguson is a great host, and I think the balance between trivia and contestant eliminations is well done. My only complaint is that there are far too few episodes right now.
Jackass
As a teen, I loved the Jackass team (on television or on the big screen). I shoved all of that aside once I reached adulthood, thinking I was above all of this. I have realized that I am not. I can’t prevent myself from occasionally revisiting Jackass episodes just to see how crazy this troupe is (and get as close to danger as my tame self ever will, I suppose).
Nailed It!
I like the celebration of failure if everyone is in on it, so Nailed It! seems like good fun. Seeing the worst cakes on God’s green Earth is a riot, and I feel like I’m no longer learning anything useful after an umpteen amount of episodes (outside of use buttercream, don’t over or under bake, and get crafty with modelling chocolate).
Riverdale
The first two seasons of Riverdale were as close to teen dramas (the kind you’d find on WB) that I ever got. They felt like a mainstream, young adult version of Twin Peaks mixed in with my nostalgia of Archie comics. The series has become inexcusably too much at this point, so I have lost ties with it years ago. It still felt worth bringing up, nonetheless.
Sex and the City
Sex and the City was quite pivotal for its time, but I feel like it has aged quite poorly (particularly on its take on feminism). However, I do like the series. Maybe it’s the ‘90s and early 2000’s aesthetics, or the likability of the squad, but I do enjoy watching Sex and the City. This does not include the awful films or And Just Like That…, so I do know where to draw the line.
To Tell the Truth
Any version of this game show is interesting to me. I’ll admit that I am terrible at playing along, but maybe that’s part of the fun: falling for the lies of crafty schemers. You can blame Catch Me if You Can for introducing it to me as a tween.
Wheel of Fortune
Ever since I was a child, I’ve watched Wheel of Fortune. There’s not much to it, but I love playing along. If I’m not mistaken, it was the lead-in for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (it’s the lead-in for Jeopardy! now, so that’s my excuse presently). Bad guesses when the answer seems so obvious drive me crazy, though.
My Nostalgic Watches
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
I guess my affinity for The Twilight Zone came from watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? (and Goosebumps, but the former show is better. Yeah, I said it). I do like revisiting the Midnight Society from time to time.
Arthur
I’m sad that Arthur is done after twenty five years. I loved the books and series as a child, and was all for the offensive memes that blossomed from out of nowhere in recent years. I still watch the odd episode and feel young again (until I’m reminded of my aching back and receding hairline again).
Bill Nye the Science Guy
This was big brain time as a child, and seeing a teacher bring in the television set to watch some of Bill Nye’s lessons was always fun and informative (it was the only science learning I actually enjoyed, which older me is sad about to this day). Seeing how Nye approaches certain subjects as an adult is fun, especially when I’m reminded of what I forgot as a kid.
Boy Meets World
I’ll say that Boy Meets World is quite a good show for what it is. It felt like the most adult show for young me, and I based a lot of my notions of high school on what Cory Matthews and company taught me. It’s like Saved By the Bell in that way for young me, but Boy Meets World has aged much better.
Clone High
Teen me always hoped that Clone High would one day come back, and it finally will! It’s such a silly show, but I adore its goofiness and eccentric characters (team Scudworth, and I don’t care). It’s such a short show that I love putting on its lone season and having fun every once in a while, Wesley.
Ed, Edd & Eddy
Of the many Cartoon Network shows I loved as a tween, Ed, Edd & Eddy still makes me laugh like a lunatic. Maybe it’s the rudimentary art style, or the bonkers sense of humour. Maybe a part of me longs for a time when Cartoon Network had programming as interesting as this.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
It’s difficult to reflect on this show after Will Smith’s Oscars antics, but I still grew up on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and will occasionally revisit the Banks household. It’s one of the very few sitcoms I liked as a child that I still have any sort of connection to, and I feel like it’s nearly impossible to be a 90s kid and not like this show to even a small degree.
The Magic School Bus
Is this the Magic School Bus? Why, yes. One of the best educational programs from when I was a kid, The Magic School Bus (the OG one, of course) was always a wild ride when Ms. Frizzle would take us to the ocean, volcanos, or into a dude’s leg (yikes). I adored the edutainment games as well, and believe me I revisit those as well.
Muppet Babies
I’ve always loved The Muppets, and my first introduction as a kid was Muppet Babies. I know there is a new version (likely to override the original series being riddled with rights related issues), but it isn’t the same. My love for anything Muppets was set in stone instantly the first journey these infants took me on.
Recess
The best of all of the Disney animated series, Recess was the coolest series on the block. I love putting it on periodically and remembering some of my favourite episodes. My girlfriend and I went as T.J. Detweiler and Spinelli for Halloween once a few years ago, so the nostalgia is real.
Rocko’s Modern Life
The first “weird” animated series I liked as a kid was Rocko’s Modern Life, and it’s fun to watch here and there. It was like my foray into The Ren & Stimpy Show (which is far more screwed up, admittedly), but this introductory show will always have a place in my heart.
Scooby-Doo
I loved everything and anything Scooby-Doo as a kid. I don’t identify with the newer shows, and my cutoff point were the live action films of the early 2000s, but anything before was game for me. Maybe this is where I became a fan of films noir and mystery thrillers (how did young me not understand the monster was always the most obvious person?).
Uh Oh!
This was the game show for Canadian children all over the nation. Who didn’t want to get slimed? Well, I actually was on this show, believe it or not (as an audience member, albeit, but classmates of mine back in sixth grade were contestants); team green for life. I haven’t come across the episodes I was in, but I still like rewatching the show anyway; it makes me feel like I’ve just come back home from elementary school again.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from X University (formerly known as Ryerson), as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.