syndicated.

Do you ever think about what would be happening if your life was a sitcom? When I was little, whenever I was doing anything stereotypically age and gender appropriate I would pause what I was doing, turn my head to the side and smile at the (pretend) camera like the child stars in the opening credits of sitcoms (full house was my inspiration). In order to quell my fears of the wrath of mom or dad I used to play that sappy "teachable moment, I messed up but I learned from it and you guys still love me" music in my head as we hugged it out after the delivery of the punishment. I guess childhood was my very own imaginary Truman Show...

Whenever the main character in a sitcom grows up to a new stage, she/he/they get a new theme song, new friends, and a more up to date wardrobe since they've been stuck in the same stage for about twice as long as normal kids to re-attract new viewers. It comforts me to imagine the new "cast" as I approach life stage changes, and it always proves amusing to compare the real thing to what I'd imagined they'd be in hindsight. I watched Zach, Kelly, Screech and Slater get new friends in Saved By the Bell: The College Year (yeah, only lasted one season), and Sabrina the Teenage Witch also got all new friends when she moved on to college. Even though these friends weren't the old ones we'd grown attached to, the benefits of real life mean your old friends aren't subject to contract negotiations so they'll (hopefully) still be around once you get your new ones.

It's funny though, the 'in-between' time after college and starting off in the job world is a pretty untapped market for sitcoms. Have you ever seen one that centers around law school, med school, or seeking employment? Could it be, maybe, that the stresses are legitimate (and predictable) and it's just not all that funny? I guess in TV land we jump from starting off college to having steady friends (Friends, Seinfeld), jobs (the Office), marriage and parenthood (every other sitcom) and only then when work becomes steady and life becomes more predictable can we find humor again. No one is laughing at the realities of staying in to study, babysitting for spare funds, grad school debt, unemployment and being the low guy on the totem pole...except for those of us there laughing nervously, hoping it works out for the best. I can't wait to look back at my new cast as I look towards the end of grad school and my first days as a real nurse. Perhaps my own cast of co-workers will be a little bit Mercy meets Nurse Jackie....

Cue the teachable moment music.