fandomhigh | TeeVee for Beginners, Friday Period Two

"Today, we're going to be talking about people," Mitchell said, once they'd all filled into the classroom. Anyone paying attention may have noticed the large table full of bags upon bags of crisps off to the side of the room. "People watching television, to be precise." You know, in case they'd thought he was going to talk about something a little less savoury. "Academics call television the 'electronic hearth', because where families used to gather before the fireplace, they started to gather in front of the television instead. It grew very very quickly from being a novelty to being in every household, in every family."

He gestured at the television. "Others call it being couch potatoes," he said, wryly. "People who spend too much time in front of the television. They have a little food, have a little drink, and let the programmes flow on past. Wasting their lives away, never looking for some meaning in life, never bothering to find out who they really are, what the world's really like." He smiled once. "The truth, as it generally is, lies somewhere in the middle. Television nowadays is a unifier, it brings people together, but it also sets them apart."

He wandered over to the table, patting it with his hands. "Now for the fun part," he said, "Snacks are a vital part of the modern television experience. Sometimes, it's entire meals, pizza and Chinese food." Mitchell was a great appreciator of the art. "But at this hour, that may be pushing it. Crisps," he picked up a bag and waved it around, "Are excellent television chow. I want you all to pick what looks like it may taste good, and if you're not sure, ask your fellow classmates about it." He set the bag down. "Today is all about people. About audiences, which we all are when we're watching the television. So go on, make yourself comfortable. Be an audience, meet people, see what the social contexts are all about."

He took a seat on his own couch. "Have fun. That's what television's all about."

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George obligingly held out the bag.

Dinah happily took a handful, then looked thoughtful as she munched. "Umm, Viki. Who graduated and left a few weeks ago. She could teleport, herself and other people. But she got lost, I guess." Her voice quieted a bit. "She'd been drifting from world to world for a long time. She didn't even really know how old she was any more, it'd been so long. She said she'd been in at least five armies, and she didn't know how to get home." She sighed. "She teleported out after graduation without saying good-bye. She didn't have any control over it. Hope she's still got the MP3 player we got her."

"No control? That... must be horrible." Because George had no idea what that was like.

"Yeah. She seemed pretty accepting about it, but even that was kinda sad." Dinah noshed some more, then looked thoughtful. "Weirder, but not as upsetting-- one of the professors, Professor Skywalker? Has grandchildren here. But he's only in his late twenties. Time travel." She offered him the bag again, smiling.

"... Right. Time travel." A beat. "... I think my roommate is from the past."

"Jennifer?" Dinah's eyebrows went up, and being thirsty, she held out her hand and TK'd a bottle of water to herself. "How far in the past? Ancient Greece? Medieval France?"

George blinked. "I think she's only from the fifties or something oh god I forgot you could do that."

"What? Ohhh, right." Dinah looked guilty, and took a drink of water from the bottle, then offered it to him hopefully. "Want some?"

"... Sure," George said, taking the bottle. "This place is too weird."

Dinah sadfaced at him for that. Awwwww.

TeeVee for Beginners, Friday Period Two

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