My Life and Times

I know of only a handful of people who actually saw or remember this show. Some remember it fondly, others get it confused with "My So-Called Life" (which ironically stars the same actor, Tom Irwin). This was one of the most creative shows I had ever seen, with a concept that could have led to an almost endless number of episodes and ideas. The "Jessie" episode stands out as the most poignant 30 minutes of television I can remember. Watching how they handled a time-period/event that had already happened (i.e. the 1989 S.F. Earthquake in the pilot) and then seeing how they handled the future in '91 (i.e. New Year's Eve 1999) kept this show entertaining and original in it's brief run. It would have been a classic by now had it been allowed more time to find an audience than the six-episodes ABC gave it.

I cannot recall how I first discovered this little gem, I just recall falling in love with it almost immediately. I watched it religiously. I had to hunt for it, since in San Diego it seemed like they moved its time slot every single week... it was on Wednesday at 8pm, then Saturday at 9pm, then I had to locate it at almost 1am... but I found it, and I watched it, and I loved it. Then it was gone.

Why? Was the acting sub-par? Hardly. It was some of the finest performances on television.

Was the writing bad? Not a chance. It was witty, intelligent, tender, and amazing. It was written as a story of a man that was telling his own life story, of what it was to live and learn in the 1980s. And it was told in such a way that, each time you thought you knew him, you learned something else to make you appreciate all that he had gone through.

So what was it? I haven't the faintest. It did, however, begin a trend -- each time I have really begun liking a television show, it gets canceled almost immediately. From "My Life and Times" all the way up to "Firefly" -- I just cannot seem to win.

Perhaps it was the fickleness of the 90's or the fact that we were actively forgetting the identities of the 70's and 80's but when this show debuted it came off to such great critical acclaim and then like most critically acclaimed shows, it vanished. I am proud to have seen this series. As someone who considers himself a true lover of scifi and not just pulp or space operas this was a vista as open as any epic scifi novel. With the gentileness of one listening to their Grandparents tell stories of their youth and "salad days" we watch as elderly retiree Ben Miller regails all that will listen (including us) of his loves, losses, triumphs and pitfalls. The show was definately ahead of its time. When most scifi shows were exploring space, this one was more concerned with exploring the human condition, of the future and society on family and I think that has made all the difference. This was definately television too good for television.

The series was created by the same guy who gave us the emotionally powerfully "Beauty and the Beast" TV series.

I loved the way that, no matter how sad the events in Ben's life would be, you knew that as an old man he would be able to look back at it with peace. Hopefully, we all will be able to share what we've learned in life with our grandchildren.

It was really able to put life's events in perspective. Like one of the previous comments said: It was just too good for TV. I can only hope that the series will be made available to view again through some means.

Perhaps my all-time favorite show. I still remember the earthquake which prohibited Ben from seeing the birth of his child. It truly showed how things which are so important to us can be overshadowed by other events. We should not place too much value on anything.

Maybe what ended up making this show so great, fresh and well-written was the fact that it didn't have a chance to become redundant or stale. The show which stated that the only constant in life is change was, in fact, a victim of itself. In this day and age when shows are just thrown together it was so well written that every event was tied together - nothing was left hanging. I just wish I had taped the show so I could relive those shining moments of true literature on TV.