Somehow, in the past six months, I seem to have become much less of a TV watcher. It is interesting – I always rolled my eyes at people who said “Oh, there are just too many more-valuable things to do than watch TV”. TV is fun! There is some good storytelling on it! And sometimes, I just feel like my brain is going to start oozing out of my ears if I do not sit on the couch with some knitting and some vacuous entertainment for a while.
But I’m starting to see buzz about the fall TV schedule and I have to say I’m just not that interested. And in a weird fit of anti-snobbery, I’m worried that I’m becoming one of those “I’m too good for television” people. But I think more of it falls out of the trend towards more tightly-scripted, arced television shows. It seems that it is harder and harder to find shows that you can watch occassionally and still enjoy – with DVRs, shows can more easily expect viewers to keep up week from week. The season-long plot arcs have allowed television to do more interesting things and elevate itself as a storytelling medium, but there is part of me that feels like it has also made television watching into a chore, where you can’t miss a week or you are “behind”. And I have come to the personal conclusion that I do not need my entertainment to start adding to my to-do list as well.
And really this relates to my theme of relaxing about completing books from a few posts ago. Except for a couple of shows, I’m just not going to worry about whether I catch every episode. And if it turns out I do not enjoy the show that way, I am just not going to watch it. (I know – revolutionary!) Which shows am I going to stick with? I’ll watch Heroes, assuming it remains as good as the first season. I’ll watch The Office, assuming the increased focus on the Jim/Pam relationship doesn’t get annoying. And I’ll watch Project Runway, assuming they continue to make absolutely insane clothing. But other than that, I think television is going to happen if I happen to be home and in the mood for a break.
Glimpses of the websurfing habits of a computer science professor, obsessive crafter, occasional gamer, and all around geek
Isn’t “Project Runway” addictive? But I keep saying I’m not watching the next season, because I HATED Jeffrey. So I was pissed that he won.
I’d watch a lot more TV than I do if I didn’t have a partner who made snide comments about it when I do. She’s one of those anti-TV snobs you mention.
She likes to remind me that she didn’t even own a TV when we met. Ugh.
There is of course some good stuff on, along with the really bad stuff. I could sit and watch C-Span2 Book TV all day on a weekend. Of course, I don’t. I’d have to heard about it if I did.
Book TV is great! And I was pissed about Jeffrey winning too, but I will still come back for the next season.
I didn’t have a television through most of grad school, so I know I *can* go without one. But I like it, and if I really have to I can say it is a good way of keeping up with my students’ cultural context :)