PBS made me smarter

There was a time, long ago, when ordinary folks did not have cable, Hulu, satellite, or digital television.  They walked over to the television and turned it on.  "Channel surfing" was when a child sat by the television knob and changed the channels for their parents.  The TV was a part of the living room furniture, sometimes housed inside of a lovely wooden cabinet.  Average households owned one television and the family watched whatever mom or dad wanted to watch.
I recall sitting next to my father getting a history lesson while he watched The World at War on TV.  Was I enthralled with history at the tender age of five?  Absolutely not.  I was there because I wanted to spend time with my Dad and that's what he was doing.  Because I was so young, I believed for a time that the world was still at war and that Adolf Hitler was coming to get me.  My father reassured me that I didn't need to worry about Hitler but then jokingly told me to beware of my mother, whose ancestry is German.
Our family must have been big fans of PBS during my childhood because I remember watching Masterpiece Theatre with my mother.  There must have been something I liked about Upstairs, Downstairs even though I didn't understand the story.  I enjoyed the majestic musical introduction more than anything else.  The introduction to the show Mystery! was also a favorite of mine along with the host, Vincent Price.  Again, I didn't fully understand what I was watching but I did learn to recognize Hercule Poirot and to laugh when Rumpole spoke of "she who must be obeyed".

During my childhood, kids were already being told to stop watching television and go outside and enjoy the sunshine.  (This was also known as the "TV will rot your brain" speech that has been made by millions of mothers through the years.)  Without getting too deeply involved in statistics, I don't recall anyone I knew being rushed to the hospital for TV brain rot.
Those moments of sharing with my parents did spark some diverse interests in me.  Thanks to my dad, who continues to faithfully watch every military history documentary available, I have a deep and lasting interest in history.  Thanks to my mom, I have a special place in my heart for English authors like Charles Dickens, Robert Graves, Graham Greene, Jane Austen, and  Charlotte Bronte.  So, despite my mother's adamant warnings every summer, I don't think the television rotted my brain, at least not until much later when my dad started to experiment with buying cable and MTV invaded our home.

Sometimes during my work at the library, I have the opportunity to share the books that are the source of a patron's favorite movie, documentary, or TV show.  The History Channel produces the show, "How the States Got Their Shapes".  I love walking patrons back to the 973's so they can check out both of Mark Stein's books on the origin of our states and the unique people that populate them.  Someone might mention to me how much they enjoy the mini-series, Band of Brothers.  This leads us to Stephen Ambrose, whose body of work is large and varied, a veritable buffet for the history lover.
Many patrons are unaware that the show Downton Abbey is based on a memoir by Margaret Powell.  This memoir was also the basis for Upstairs, Downstairs.  There are also companion books to the Downton Abbey series as well as a book about Highclere Castle, the setting for the TV series.  Are we all enamored by the tremendous differences in lifestyle that are highlighted so clearly by this show?  Perhaps we are enthralled with the idea of loyal, deferential servants at our beck and call.  It might be the lovely setting and the fabulous costumes.  Whatever the case may be, clearly I am not the only child who learned to appreciate the world of the BBC at her parents' knee.  And maybe those memories are what drives us back to shows like Downton Abbey and books like Pride and Prejudice.