I Used To Hate TV
It’s weird. I think about a year ago, you couldn’t pay me to watch anything on TV. Seriously. People would say: ‘Hey did you catch ER?’ and I would say ‘That garbage is still on the air?’
I was what most would deem a TV snob. But now? Now, I watch ALL KINDS of crap on TV. Tons of it. I blame my DVR thing-a-majig. Here’s what I record weekly.
Prisonbreak (Season 3) – It’s probably one of the dumbest shows on TV, but I can’t help it. Season 1 was sooo brilliant and over-the-top, I was an instant fan. And, despite thinking I’m an episode away from dumping it, they pull some shenanigans that keep me hooked in. Plus, I’m a big fan of bad guys and there are some really unsavory characters in this show.
K-Ville – I love the way this show is shot. One second they’re enjoying a drink at the bar, the next second they’re taking gunfire and chasing the bad guys down the street, guns blazing. It’s got kind of a cool dynamic between the two main characters and I love that the white dude has a shady past. Again with the bad guys, yo.
The Biggest Loser (for my wife) – This show is (literally) taking up a lot of space on the DVR. Each episode is like 2 hours or 90 minutes. I don’t watch it, but I guess she just loves it.
The Bionic Woman – I wanted to see what this remake was going to be like, totally convinced that it would be crap. Guess what? WRONG! It’s probably one of my favorite shows right now. I know it’s not true to the old show, but you know what? Who cares! A butt-kicking woman with bionic implants (not those kind)…how can you go wrong?
The Sarah Silverman Program – Cringe-worthy comedy at it’s finest. You either love Sarah Silverman or you want to picket out in front of her house. I happen to like her. Then again, I’m a big fan of uncomfortable comedy.
The Contender (Season 3) – Here’s a little something you probably didn’t know. I love me some boxing. Even more? I love me some reality show boxing. The only drawback? I have to put up with Sugar Ray Leonard who can’t say anything without mentioning how great he used to be. My kid enjoys this, too.
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera – Easily the funniest cartoon on TV right now. Take Family Guy and stick it, I say. It’s fast, hilarious and has some of the coolest villians ever. Plus, it’s just funny. My wife thinks I’m nuts for DVR-ing it, but I can’t get enough. Eeelllll Tiiiiigreeeee!
Intervention – What is it about people with messed up addictions that keeps me coming back for more? I don’t know. It’d be really crappy to say: ‘Well at least my life isn’t THAT bad’ but it’s true. I get sooo interested in the stories behind people’s addictions that I find myself watching episodes I’ve already seen. Plus, I think one of the interventionalists is hilarious. He’s always got the same line when confronting the addict: “So, I’ve been here since yesterday and I just see people here that love you like crazy. So they’re going to say some things and then you’re going to say some thing and then we’re all done.” Every. Single. Time. God bless Jeff VonVanderen.
But Thomas, what about shows like…
Heroes (never watched it, would like to on DVD)
The Office (I’m strictly DVD on this)
Grey’s Anatomy (same with this)
So much for the TV snob, eh?
Of the shows you’ve listed, I like K-Ville and the Bionic Woman. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t watch Heroes. It is one of my two favorite shows, the other is CW’s ‘Supernatural’. It is great! :*)
Mr. Shumway and I talk regularly about how we want to get the Heroes seasons on DVD and watch them. We don’t really get into shows unless we watch them from the beginning. We missed the first Bionic Woman and after all the positive comments from others, we think we missed out, but can’t bring ourselves to watch it “already into the season”. We watch the Office both on TV and we buy the DVD’s. The first season was the best, IMO, and the while the later ones had their hilarious moments, they’ve never lived up to that first season. But we are such office nerds, we still are totally loyal and buy the seasons every year and set our DVR to record it every week. Yeah, the DVR puts a whole different spin on TV…we watch things we never would have before because it’s so easy to push a button and know the TV will take care of finding out when it’s on and recording it. Can I tell you a secret? Mr. Shumway and I are Star Trek Voyager nerds. It’s on twice a day on Spike (a worthless network otherwise), and we record it and watch it in the evenings after the kids are in bed. Shhhh!
DH – I just read online that K-Ville is in jeopardy of being cancelled!!! Started strong, but it’s struggling against Dancing With the Stars (wretch!). And I really do want to watch Heroes, but I need to see Season 1 first. I’ll get there…
Sniz – I’m with you. If I miss an episode, I won’t watch the rest of the season. I’m religious that way. But, as for Bionic Woman, I think you can watch the first two episodes online and get caught up! It’s sooo worth it.
As for The Office, I resisted the USA version for the longest time. I absolutely LOVED the BBC version of it and after much coaxing, tried the American version. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first few episodes, but after about the half-way point and Season 2, I was hooked. I’m gettin’ Season 3 soon. Hopefully this weekend!
BTW – Your Star Trek nerdiness is safe with me. I’m not a fan of anything but the original (yes, I’m a snob) but I’ve got much respect for nerds of all sorts.
It’s been a few seasons since I have attempted to get into any of the new fall shows. I watched “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” when they first started. However, I got several episodes behind on both shows and threw in the towel on trying to catch up.
Because my blog deals with pop culture, I was more interested in sampling some of the new shows for the 2007-2008 season. The Bionic Woman is getting better with each episode. I would be interested to hear what Lindsay Wagner thinks of the update.
I am also enjoying Pushing Daisies. The visuals and the narrative style give the show a Tim Burtonesque quality. I don’t know if the writers can sustain the premise of the show, but it’ll be interesting to see them try.