Media dreams
The past couple nights I've had dreams derived from vicarious living through TV. Most recently I had a wonderful dream in which I met Tina Fey. Nothing sensual or anything like that. I wouldn't exactly call it "realistic" but it was about as close as you're going to find in a dream. I mean, it wasn't bizarro where she's working at a Baskin Robbins for instance. (I once had a dream that Roger Ebert drove a bus here in Portland, and people would ride his bus just to sit up front and talk to him about movies.) In the dream, somehow I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with her in a big fancy office. I adore Tina Fey--at least from what I can glean from her via TV.
The other dream had me watching TV and seeing scenes from a Star Trek TNG episode/movie that I've never seen before. I'm amazed at how the mind works--how one can manufacture a story, the setting, put the characters in it with the correct appearance, voices, etc. I'm not talking about fanfic where a person is plotting it out step by step, but as in this case watching a video in which the story actually surprises you. By now that story has faded from my recollection, as so often happens with dreams. But I remember at the end of it, the show went to a commercial and, lo and behold, there was the old 1980s ABC Sunday Night Movie bumper!
I have great nostalgic affection for that, since back in the days before widespread cable and VCRs, if you wanted to see a "big" movie on TV, you had to circle your calendars when one of the networks put it on. Examples: Superman, (as in this Youtube clip) Raiders of the Lost Ark, and of course the many James Bond movies (ABC must have had an exclusive deal.) I remember sitting down in front of the TV with great anticipation when a Bond film I'd never seen before was going to be on. For me a big part of the experience was the opening animation with the red, white and blue stars and build-up of music, then the deep announcer-voice guy coming on. I've never been happy walking into movie theaters late. I even like seeing the studio logo. All those pre-show trappings excite me rather than bore me--at least when they're well done.
But in that dream, why would my mind slide that 1980s bumper against a ST-TNG "movie"? Then it occured to me that Ernie Anderson--the guy doing the voiceover on those ABC sequences also did the Coming Episode teaser voiceovers for The Next Generation when it was in first syndication. Somehow my mind must have linked the two up in the dream based on the voice.
The other dream had me watching TV and seeing scenes from a Star Trek TNG episode/movie that I've never seen before. I'm amazed at how the mind works--how one can manufacture a story, the setting, put the characters in it with the correct appearance, voices, etc. I'm not talking about fanfic where a person is plotting it out step by step, but as in this case watching a video in which the story actually surprises you. By now that story has faded from my recollection, as so often happens with dreams. But I remember at the end of it, the show went to a commercial and, lo and behold, there was the old 1980s ABC Sunday Night Movie bumper!
Click to viewI have great nostalgic affection for that, since back in the days before widespread cable and VCRs, if you wanted to see a "big" movie on TV, you had to circle your calendars when one of the networks put it on. Examples: Superman, (as in this Youtube clip) Raiders of the Lost Ark, and of course the many James Bond movies (ABC must have had an exclusive deal.) I remember sitting down in front of the TV with great anticipation when a Bond film I'd never seen before was going to be on. For me a big part of the experience was the opening animation with the red, white and blue stars and build-up of music, then the deep announcer-voice guy coming on. I've never been happy walking into movie theaters late. I even like seeing the studio logo. All those pre-show trappings excite me rather than bore me--at least when they're well done.
But in that dream, why would my mind slide that 1980s bumper against a ST-TNG "movie"? Then it occured to me that Ernie Anderson--the guy doing the voiceover on those ABC sequences also did the Coming Episode teaser voiceovers for The Next Generation when it was in first syndication. Somehow my mind must have linked the two up in the dream based on the voice.