Have any Television shows had an impact on you?

Steven123

Steven123

Angel's Buddy
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I was just thinking about this before when listening to the radio, there was a call in about a show (I missed the start of it) and the woman was saying that basically that show and the people on it had saved her sons life in terms of where he was headed etc..,

And it got me thinking just in general, have any of you ever had any positive experience or impact etc to draw from a certain show or character? I know with me, although shows like Buffy & Angel didn't really have a direct impact on me as such, I didn't grow up to be a vampire hunter or indeed a vampire haha, but I know that in the area I lived in when I was young, it was bad for youth offenders etc and a lot of people that I knew at the time took that road, but it was Buffy & Angel etc that kept me out of trouble as I was often in the house watching it haha.

But not just that, I think it was easy to relate to both shows, especially Buffy as it was growing up at the same time as they were in the show, going through high school etc and going through everything that they did individually and as a group, and with Angel I think the lessons drawn from it were no matter (in aspects) what you have done in the past, you can still do good for yourself and others in the future.

I often used to think if it was the same for them at the time with them all being relatively young and this being their first big time roles in a long running series, if they were growing up with it as well.
 
I watched both Buffy & Once & Again when I was 13/14. The Willow and Jessie story lines really helped me at that time. 🙂
 
Of all TV shows, Buffy has affected me more than any. I wasn't a big TV person, still am not, though I watch more TV these days than I used to.

Mostly, it has been about my writing. In the years since I got into Buffy, I've written over 1.5 million words of fiction, most of which is published on Twisting the Hellmouth (Buffy crossovers). I've also written a few hundred thousand words of original fiction, a little of which is up on wordpress. Most if what I've written, I hope will end up being a fantasy novel series. So, I credit my connection to Buffy with bringing me back to what I think may be my life's calling -- and certainly is something i adore.

Why it had this effect is actually pretty important too... I got into Buffy as stress relief from my life and its various trials, including family and personal health issues, and going back to school for a second degree... It has been great for making me feel good when I felt stressed or depressed. I wouldn't go as far as saying Buffy saved my life, but it may well have saved my mind, and it definitely helped me win my 'soul' back! 😎

Finally, there are a bunch of cool people in my life because of fandom -- some I have actually met in RL. So, yeah, Buffy has definitely changed my life... for the better.
 
Steven123
Steven123
Hopefully you can keep me a copy of that book back one day when it gets published, I want a signature mind haha
Much like @DeepBlueJoy being a part of the Buffy fandom has made me a better writer, though my love of writing started elsewhere. I've been involved with the BtVS fanficcing world since 2011, but vaguely remember reading stories years earlier. Now, of course, I've come here, met so many wonderful people, learned a lot, gotten much better with my art and so on 😉

Right now, I would say, that Supernatural is changing my life, in many ways. The messages coming from the show itself is giving me strength, and hope, and energy to do more with my life. Already, since becoming a fan, so many positive changes have come to my life; I've quit smoking, I've joined a project twice a week that gets me out of the house, I have plans to finally get started on some medication, and I almost feel ready to go out there in the world and become more social. I owe most, if not all, of that to my recent foray into the Supernatural fandom.

And not all is, as I said, due to the show. Some of it is fandom. I've been warned about how toxic the Supernatural fandom is and yet I've not seen much evidence of this in the past year. Instead, I've seen such beauty and power and just a bunch of wonderful things, coming from both sides of the fence; the fandom and the cast. I've 'met' like-minded folk, been introduced to gorgeous art (ie fanart) and have had my mind expanded on subjects even outside the show itself. It has truly been an amazing experience (and when I tell people to watch the show, part of it is because I want them to see this wondrous fandom for themselves, not just for the actual TV show)

Anyway, before I just continue to rattle on about Supernatural on a Buffy forum, those would be the only 2 shows that have made any real difference in my life.

A small (if embarrassing) shoutout to Twilight, which, at the very least, got me interested in reading again, back in 2009. That was a nice change (might not have gotten into Buffy fanfic without it)

😀
 
Mrs Gordo
Mrs Gordo
I’m glad to hear your life is on a positive trajectory these days! :)
I can share a lot on this, both in personal experiences and in observations. (And also history, one of my favorite being how the KKK was once hurt because a radio program of Superman had Superman take them on and described KKK code words and symbols so that sons looked poorly on fathers who used those same words. A bit more on that here.)

Instead, I'll share of just one way a show can make a difference, intended only as an example. Again, this is not the only media contribution (lots of books and TV shows played their subtle effects as well on this same thing as well as in other ways). Just to keep this relatively short I'm focusing on ONE thing. In fact, I'm leaving out another way this movie affected me. And though it's a movie rather than TV show, it works the same.

So when I was 11 I got taken to see The Crow. I loved it so much that I snuck in later (with my best friend, also 11) to see it again. I really related to Sarah. While my mother was not a junkie, she was an alcoholic, though that's a trivial difference to me (and my mom also looked similar to Sarah's mother, though my mom looked more dignified in how she dressed). Home life was extremely chaotic with some violence (mostly Mom & Dad against each other, once I learned fast to stay out of their way--I'd luckily spent the first 4 and half years of my life with my grandmother, along with some summers, so I had a little to contrast it with--and that, and other things, is also why I related to Sarah who could stay with Eric & Shelley until they were killed, and then had no respite from her mother and the messed up men she was with). I don't feel like describing it, just suffice to say that at age 11 I really related to Sarah in the movie.

For some reason I didn't take to cursing like Sarah (as just a guess, I think I wanted to go back to living with Granny and she'd never allow such casual use of profanity as my parents did, so that's probably why Sarah's profanity didn't rub off on me, as to do so would probably be like accepting that I was stuck with my parents). I did start to imitate her in other ways, and I even wanted a skateboard (which I saw as a girl thing as few people were into it around me and Sarah was the only one who stood out to me as having a skateboard).

My grandmother didn't care for my tomboy ways, which she saw the desire for a skateboard as just another manifestation of. And yet during my parent's divorce I spent several months with her in which I turned 14 (and I still wanted a skateboard). She had to go to a bigger city over (I forget the distance, but it was about a 2 hour drive one-way) and she took me to see the Texas Rose Festival going on (immediately before my birthday) and that trip is special for its own reasons that I'm not describing. But where it really became wonderful was when I learned she secretly got me the skateboard there (leaving me alone in the parade while she "ran some errands" and I did have an irrational fear that she wasn't going to come back for one reason or another), and that was a message to me that even though I was not everything she wanted me to be she loved me anyway.

The butterfly effect continued in that the skateboard meant a lot to me and I pushed myself not to give up on it, even on the pockmarked roads. Every time I fell I got back up on it (even without a helmet or pads) and the most dramatic was when my skateboard flew into a ditch infested with yellow jackets that had already stung me, but I braved those yellow jackets to get it back. What this did was to build character and confidence. Doing something easy doesn't do that (which is why people can brag of climbing a mountain, but not walking up a hill), but persevering through something difficult like that (and with the sentimental value added in) does.

This would continue even when I was forced to move back in with Mom (so she could exploit me for child support). By then I was pretty good and even impressed some other skaters who called themselves thrashers...and later, as a runaway, my skating skills impressed some in a krew who dubbed me Thrasher (and that contributes to why my name here is "thrasherpix" btw, though I'm no longer interested in skateboarding). And here I also learned a valuable lesson as my skateboard was stolen, a skateboard that could never be replaced because of what it meant to me which no other skateboard could ever have. That affected some of the choices I'd make when I turned to crime to survive, like never stealing jewelry when I had the chance because of the sentimental value that might be imbued into them, and which could never be replaced no matter how much insurance or money one had to replace the jewelry (without the sentimental memories) itself.

Of course being homeless as a kid was rough, but my perseverance with a skateboard (among other factors) also helped me to endure, and eventually to overcome. As a kid I only saw that movie twice at age 11 (not seeing it again until I was 18), and yet it had an incredible butterfly effect on my life that would shape who I am today. Had I not seen it, I could be someone quite different.

Again, that was just but one example of how the media affected me growing up, and I have a lot of respect for the media to affect the minds (especially developing minds) for better and worse.
 
In high school, Buffy being strong and speaking her mind etc was always an inspiration to me. I think that affected me alot especially in high school. Just never backing down, sticking to your guns even if others told you to pip down or do as your told.

When Buffy broke up with Spike in As You Were and then when she was so mature about the whole thing in Hells Bells it inspired me to break it off with the guy I was seeing at the time. I didn't stay broken up with said guy unfortunately but I think watching s6 that second time really gave me a better understanding that I needed to get out of that situation for my own personal sanity.

AtS has meant alot to me in the post-college era. I think I watched AtS s1-2 in law school pretty often. It just gave me some sort of perspective on doing small things to effect change even if they aren't altogether noticeable immediately. I was also working on a political campaign at the time and it seemed to go hand in hand.
 
It's amazing what television shows can do for people to be honest. Buffy and Angel gave a lot of self lessons I think, for you to be strong, face up against evil no matter what form it came in and things like that. But I think Buffy & Angel brought you in for what it was as well, it made you feel as though you were making as much of a difference as what they were, you felt a lot of the emotions that they went through, and not a lot of shows can say they have done that to as many people.
 
Buffy, obvs. I've mentioned reasons before, so I don't feel like I need to again.

But also My So-Called Life, because I was angsty and hormonal and didn't think anyone was like me, or having real issues. Most TV teen shows were all light and fluffy, but MSCL was realistic, and I related to Angela and what she was going through; at home, at school, with guys. Angela wasn't some blond, fit, effortlessly gorgeous valley girl, she was a real girl, she looked normal, she rebelled. I was Angela.

I haven't watched it for many years. I'm kinda afraid to, because it means reliving my youth in that respect, but that show meant a lot to me.
 
Athena said:
Buffy, obvs. I've mentioned reasons before, so I don't feel like I need to again.

But also My So-Called Life, because I was angsty and hormonal and didn't think anyone was like me, or having real issues. Most TV teen shows were all light and fluffy, but MSCL was realistic, and I related to Angela and what she was going through; at home, at school, with guys. Angela wasn't some blond, fit, effortlessly gorgeous valley girl, she was a real girl, she looked normal, she rebelled. I was Angela.

I haven't watched it for many years. I'm kinda afraid to, because it means reliving my youth in that respect, but that show meant a lot to me.
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I don't think there's anything wrong with being afraid to watch it because of bringing back memories, I have been like that as well, but I looked at it is, I can watch it, because I'm not in that time any more, I've moved on from that etc, easier said than done depending on the circumstances I know lol.
 
Ooh loaded question. I've watched so many shows since I was a kid but only a few of them stuck with me.

Star Trek: Next Gen

Coming from a working class family I wanted to imagine a future where ppl aren't so willing to throw others under the bus for money/wealth. I loved that your worth was your skills and knowledge for the most part 😀

BTVS

Too many reasons to count. The show told me I could be different and still be liked which is sooo important in highschool.

Charmed

The first two seasons of family was touching. I liked the idea of sisterhood.

Eugh. I think that there's more. But I can't seem to get with it lol
 
Steven123
Steven123
Be nice to imagine a future like star trek where your value is taking for what you can give rather than how much you are worth, very much agree
I didn't know about Buffy back when it was on and just started watching last year, but I think it would have had a big influence in my life. Around the time Buffy was on, I was an X-Files fan instead. I was obsessed. It was the first fandom where I read fanfic and followed discussion boards. I was at a low point in my life and was picking myself up and putting myself through school. The unrequited (at that time) relationship on the show encouraged me to go out and find someone even though I was in the process of building my life. I found my husband and we dated for 3 weeks before I transferred from the community college to a university in another city. He ended up following me and long story short, we've been married for 10 years.
 
Ethan Reigns
Ethan Reigns
Who needs eHarmony when you have X-Files and Buffy?
The first one that comes to mind is How I Met Your Mother, not so much for the content but for what it meant in my life. It's the first show I watched in English (yes, French people stupidly dub every show/movie) and I loved it so much that I watched it over and over again (now, five or six years later, I can still recreate whole episodes by heart).
Of course it taught me to speak English, but it also got me out of my shell and it was the first time I felt passionate about something, first clue that I'd become a huge nerd in years to come.
I also have so many great memories associated with that show (my sister and I refusing to sleep just so we could watch s05 before our plane took off, for example).

Then there's BtVS which I discovered right after one of my lowest points and it was exactly the right thing to start to get me out of my funk. Something so relatable while being the perfect escape.

And then came Firefly, Community and a lot of other shows, everyone of which taught me something at some point.
 
Come to think of it, after this question, I don't think in the past few years I've had an attachment to any new television series..., although I'm currently trying with Seal Team with DB.
 
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