Friends for the 00's

And we're back - to a rousing reception and much fanfare, people have lined the streets, they closed off George st and we all received SMS's from the Pope - oh no that was World Youth Day Sydney 08'. Nevertheless, with WYD coming to an end this week there are some interesting observations to be made by those of us constituting the normal population of the city. We have peeked into the pilgrim world with curiosity, bemusement, and perhaps the fear that belies the former (apologies for the lengthy sentence):

1) With all the face paint, large groups of various nations adorned their respective flags and were sprawled out across the city - some of us were half expecting a soccer (euro:football) world cup. I may have even seen a group of italians with the ball they love best (not meatball).

2) Being the chaste, cleansed and enlighted souls they are, I was surprised to find a report on a group of pilgrims who had entered a large shopping centre in the city (Myer). They were caught shoplifting. There may be reasons for this, including the following:
- It was a conspiracy organised by atheists/Jedi's who disguised themselves in WYD gear in order to undermine *conversion rates*, I mean Youth Day celebrations, and increase taxpayer angst.
- The pilgrims had discovered fine print below the tablet which contains the 10 commandments. The footnote attached to 'thou shalt not steal' details exceptions to this commandment, those exceptions being woolly jumpers, tracksuit pants, clubbing shirts, and those awesome novelty alarm clocks. Wait..theres a knock on the door..someones outsitde...oh it's Irony.

With all the hoopla surrounding the Papa's visit, it's difficult not to get caught up in the blessed atmosphere of the last week. Thus, I find myself in a pensive, reflective, perhaps even spiritual mood. And as such, I have a confession to make: I am and have been..a sitcom tragic (or a sitcom slut, as suggested). From the moment Vinny Barbarino swung into the classroom in Welcome Back Kotter to the daily dose of theme song opening line 'Now this a story all about how, my life got fliped, turned upside down..' and the teenage boy fantasy that was Rachel Green (seasons 1-6 being particularly spectacular) - sitcoms have become an escapist, time-consuming, educational and affirming feature of our idiot boxes. They are a tapestry of the absurd (Kramer, Joey, Balky) and emotional, peppered with light and ultimately inoffensive social commentary. When Martin Crane provides wisdom to the stubborn and pompous Frasier, which he ignores and ultimately pays for this ignorance, he is affirming a core belief of the working and middle class that the smartest guy in the room isnt always the one with the degrees and the money. This may be false, but in tapping into the belief of the masses, it is also a brilliant way to make a show popular.

More recently, shows such as Scrubs and 30 Rock have veered from the conventional and time-honoured (read: lame and unrealistic - but thoroughly enjoyable) format, opting instead for time jumps, special effects, and other filmic techniques otherwise reserved for hollywood. However, a new player has emerged, combining the best of the old and new schools, and thus becoming the Friends of our generation (Y, in case there is confusion here) and it is, legen - wait for it - dary.

How I met your mother has brought back the sitcom - with a simple yet clever idea, a set of five well concieved characters (where other shows would have 6 or 7 characters to put forth much the same). It is full of plot holes and inconsistencies, like Friends, but the characters SMS, have college debt, youtube, ipods, reminisce about the 90's and were too young to really know the 80's. It also includes the ultimate bachelor character perhaps ever placed inside the microcosm of the sitcom world. Evidently, you can see where this recommendation is headed - watch it, just don't steal the DVD. We move now from World Youth Day and back into the regular week, which can't be summarised sitcom style, in 2 mins before the ad break.

Big Man 'G' Bless, and signing off

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