Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Grand Plans I Probably Won't See Through (Vol. I)

Brace yourselves guys, here comes a bombshell:

I am thinking about quitting television.


Calm down calm down calm down calm down let’s not get all CRAZY! First of all, that's not entirely true. I don’t so much want to quit TV as substantially cut back. Secondly, while I know that about 85 percent of this blog is devoted to television, Red is the unquestioned TV maven around here. My life choice won’t have much affect on GitW.

I also plan to continue watching some sports, and major events like the Oscars. I will not be casting my television into the street and living a barren existence completely devoid of its warming glow.

The thing is, there are lots of things I want to do – books I want to read, movies I want to see, songs I want to learn to play, stories I want to write, and a few other things that involve actually getting off my butt – and I never seem to have the time for. I’m never sure where the hours in my day go. I suspect more of them are spent zonked in front of Office and Seinfeld reruns than I realize.

I have about ten shows that I consider “my shows:” Mad Men, Lost, Breaking Bad, Big Love, True Blood, Friday Night Lights, and the four Thursday night comedies on NBC. One of those is ending soon, and the others are all on at different times of the year. I could conceivably only have one or two designated TV nights a week. Then, as those shows are all eventually cancelled, I’ll try to avoid finding new ones to replace them.

OK, here is why I am bothering you guys with this glimpse into my shamefully dull personal life. (I do, as usual, have a (lame) reason). I need to be told if there is anything I am missing. Aside from that list of “my stories,” are there things on TV that I simply MUST be watching and come to think of it, why AREN’T I watching them, and you’ve kind of just lost respect for me upon finding out I’m NOT watching them?

Because if there is good stuff I’m missing, I will reconsider this whole restructuring of my life thing. Otherwise, it’s lights out once all those shows are off the air. (Which I assume will be in 2026, when Gracie Bell Taylor graduates from East Dillon High in 2026).

10 comments:

words...words...words... said...

Run! Run while you can, before it's too late. And please send word of what it's like on the other side. I hope it is as glorious as I have heard. From TV.

Red said...

Weeds! Dexter! Poor Showtime gets no respect.

Also, FNL only has 2 more seasons...the one that starts this month and then one more after that. So that won't be occupying your life too much longer.

Malcolm said...

In case your cable service has it and you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend Turner Classic Movies. They show a wide variety of quality films on a consistent basis. In addition to well-known classics like "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca", TCM also unearths hidden gems that are worth watching. Although a bulk of their lineup is made up of movies pre-1970, they also run a fair share of modern classics like "Saturday Night Fever", "L.A. Confidential", and "Stand By Me".

Also, they have a Saturday night showcase for classic movies called "The Essentials" that is co-hosted by Jack Donaghy himself! He proves to be quite the scholar when it comes to film history.

If I still haven't convinced you, TCM is so hip that they featured Neko Case as a guest programmer last December:

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=274290

Nicole said...

Modern Family is fantastic and funny. Check it out and I'm sure you'll agree.

Red said...

Oooh. Good call, Nicole.

Liz said...

Red: I watch Weeds and Dexter, but on DVD. That doesn't count. Did I not mention that TV on DVD don't count? I have a (nonsensicle) logic as to why, but I won't get into it here.

Malcolm: Similar as the answer to Red - movies don't count. I like to get them off Netflix though, they're not edited that way.

Nicole: Everyone tells me Modern Family is really good, but I think it might be one of the ones that doesn't make the cut on this new journey. I should try at least one episode though.

words...words...words... said...

I stayed away from Modern Family for a while because the title was so generic and awful that I surmised it had to be terrible. But I was eventually bullied into watching it, and it is glorious. Although I do want to claw my eyes and ears out every time Ty Burrell is on the screen.

Word ver is "viatra"...is your blog a careless typist that is trying to tell me something??

danielle970 said...

I def agree with Dexter and Modern Family. But you should also, without question, be watching Breaking Bad. Best. Show. Ever.

Hasn't the DVR sort of solved the "must sit here for a full 2 hours while my shows are on" problem? You could conceivably DVR 10 hours of tv a week and only spend 6 hours actually watching it. Unless you're talking about cutting out the reruns and reality tv. In which case, right on, sister!

Malcolm said...

Liz: You never specified that movies didn't count. :-) One reason TCM is awesome is because they show movies (many of which aren't available on DVD unedited and commercial-free.

As for TV shows, I consider "The Rachel Maddow Show" essential viewing. Of course, this may depend on one's political viewpoint. Her show is one of the best political-based programs on TV because she gives it to you straight, does it in an entertaining way, is more than willing to debate with people who disagree with her, and will call herself out when she makes a mistake.

Liz said...

Dee Dee: I mentioned Breaking Bad as one of "my stories." Fear not! I don't really watch Reality TV, but yeah, I want to cut out watching reruns and just basically having the TV on at all times. You are correct that DVR has stopped the need to drop everything and watch a show at a certain time, but I still tend to, because I want to be able to talk about shows like "Lost" the next day.

Malcolm: Basically, movies I haven't seen before don't count. I didn't realize AMC was commercial free, and some of these shows sound really cool. I will have to check them out.

I only really watch political shows when there are major events happening. I don't like hearing people shout at each other, and I try to avoid shows that just reinforce my own viewpoint. But then of course I find shows that go against my viewpoint obnoxious, so it's tough.