Page 241 - Musings 2021

Ram: In six overs, or eighteen minutes, the fate of the entire universe can change. The world
has been saved in eighteen minutes, haven’t you seen the avengers? The entire world was
saved in the space of eighteen important minutes. Even in cricket, eighteen minutes could
mean a hat-trick, five sixes, another hat-trick, a no ball, and a last ball run out.

Shyam: Yeah, none of that is true. Why don’t you just stream it on your laptop?

Ram: Right back at you. A live match deserves a big screen. Heck, Raina’s cover drives
deserve a theatre hall in itself.

(Ram begins to swing his imaginary bat again)
Ram: Why are you so keen on watching Young Sheldon anyway? It’s a show for ten-year
olds.

Shyam: That’s completely untrue. Young Sheldon is the perfect show. It has a tight storyline,
the perfect punchiness and have I mentioned how each character is perfectly cast? Have you
ever seen a loose end left dangling on the show? That was rhetorical, don’t answer.

Ram: This seems waaaaaaaaaaayyyy too intense an analysis for a sitcom.

Shyam: Sitcoms are like any other show. You look at them through the same lens. The
problem with most sitcoms is that they don’t match up to these categories. To make up for
this, we excuse them as “casual” or a show that’s meant to be “masala”. But that’s exactly the
problem….

Ram: Okay I need to stop you right there; Raina has come out to bat and he looks set for a
whirlwind innings. I’m not asking anymore, if you don’t give me the remote, I will take it
from you.

Shyam: (ignoring Ram) ...m. The whole reason these parameters are made is because it
quantifies the facets of a show that the audience may enjoy, consciously or subconsciously.
For example…

Ram: I can tell you that you’re going to be unconscious in the next couple of seconds if you
don’t hand me the remote now...

Shyam: (ignoring Ram) take episode 9 of season 2 for example, it is the perfect example of
what happens when you subvert a... you know what, let me just show you

(Shyam begins to scroll through the episode list)

Ram: Stop ignoring me! I know you’re just throwing all this jargon at me because you think
you’ll irritate me long enough to stop asking. Well, just so you know, the antics you pulled
with Chotta Bheem when we were five won’t work here. Give. ME. The. Remote.

(Ram starts moving toward Shyam, fists clenched)

(Shyam raises his hands)
Shyam: Okay fine, I’ll give it to you. But first, give me the cheese sandwich.

241