It’s taken a long time but I honestly think I can say that TV is not an obsession these days. I know, I know. I ran TV blogs for years, blogged about The Bachelor more times than I count and still do my fair share of GetGlue check-ins. And I do love a great TV show. Not much else can move me like a poignant CODA or a great father-daughter moment with my favorite characters. But something has changed in the last year or so. As this fall season is taking off, I find myself apathetic.
During the summer I took a complete TV break. I could have canceled DirecTV, thrown out the 52” and never have known the difference. I’ve really enjoyed the time in the evenings, particularly since I’ve started working out of the house more and I need that time to be productive.
I only have a handful of shows that are on my radar and even then, there are none that can not wait for DVR. A few years back, I had 2-3 shows every night and was sure not to miss it live. It kind of makes me sad all the time I spent parked in the recliner.
So here’s where I stand. This season, on the short list is Parenthood, Modern Family, The Vampire Diaries and Chuck and One Tree Hill when they come back. I look at that and the TV guru in me wants to shout what a weak line-up that is.
I’ve left so many shows on the chopping block (Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives), some have left me (LOST, Friday Night Lights), there are so many more I would like to get into (The Big Bang Theory, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation, Community, Sons of Anarchy, The Good Wife, Hart of Dixie) and I’ve even checked out some new ones (XFactor, PanAm, Revenge). Those are some FANASTIC, Emmy-winning shows in my wish list. The bottom line though is I’m one person with one life and I can’t do it all. And honestly, I’m not sure I want to anymore (I didn’t even get into the spiritual aspect of this!).
But I have to ask, are there any shows you feel like I just HAVE to give some recliner time? A post like this a few years ago is how I found Friday Night Lights and I would be super sad not to have some Coach T in my life.
My must watch show is NCIS. I am sure you are not surprised in that! 🙂 But I love it! I’ve put a lot of shows on the chopping block as well! I have gotten into Hawaii 5-0 but that is because of living there and seeing all the places I’ve been and lived at in one show brings out the nostalgia in me.
No, I’m not surprised 🙂 I really have to check it out just to see. Maybe you should recommend a favorite episode?
That’s cool you have a connection to Hawaii 5-0. It’s a really great show, just not a must-have for me.
So I think the episodes that are my favorite are at the end of season 2 and beginning of season 3 for NCIS. The names are “Twilight” “Kill Ari, Part 1” and “Kill Ari, Part 2”.
There is some back story that I can give you, if you decide to check them out. 🙂
I cancelled cable this summer, and stopped Netflix last month, and I honestly don’t miss any of it. I really thought it would be hard. I can watch most anything through my laptop (which I plug into my TV) but that one extra step has really gotten me out of the habit.
I subscribe to Doctor Who and Mythbusters on iTunes, and I watch Chuck and How I Met Your Mother on the network websites. Those are my must-haves. I can watch Food Network on Hulu. I miss Top Gear and Dirty Jobs, but not $80/month worth!
You’re definitely more of a scripted-drama person (and less of a nerd 🙂 ) than I am, but have you tried How I Met Your Mother? It makes me laugh out loud, and not much TV has ever done that.
Oh man, HIMYM is on my wish list…should have added that one! If my kids/husband were not around, I would for SURE cancel DirecTV.
And I do love some reality/science/home decorating shows but those went out the window first. I really could watch Food Network and HGTV all day long.
Yeah, I was feeling really over sitcoms, but I gave HIMYM a chance – and I got so hooked that I went back and Netflixed a most of the old seasons. It’s absolutely classic. Although definitely not kid-safe!
When we dropped cable and DVR, we naturally stopped watching so much TV. And even though I had “must watch” shows lined up on the DVR all the time before we dropped cable, once it was gone I really didn’t miss it. Now, I watch a few sitcoms ( The Office, Parks and Rec, HIMYM), but those I typically watch a few days late, when they come online. I’ve dropped at least 10 other shows that used to be regulars! The only one I regret dropping is Vampire Diaries. I need to catch up on it. For what it’s worth, the kids don’t miss having cable, either. They watch TV shows on Netflix when they watch anything.
Jenny, I think the kids would be fine with just Netflix, or really, just the Internet. I tried dropping our cable back to a cheapo version and Scott missed Fox News too much so we had to go back up one level :/
Now that IS one thing I miss- cable news shows. Most of the time I do not watch them but on occasion, especially a big news event, I miss being able to tune in to CNN. My husband misses the SciFi network a lot. 🙂
We’re still newlyweds, so tv isn’t a top choice in our household. Putting my foot down about nixing the tele from our bedroom helped. We dvr some but never end up watching them. We do watch a few shows together after supper though: Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives on Food Network (we love that show!), Modern Family, and Big Bang Theory. And I’ll admit, when Jeff is out of town on business I watch much more tv.
The only new shows I’ve seen & liked are Pan Am & Person Of Interest. With our schedule though, they’re likely to end up in our dvr wasteland haha.
Pan Am got interesting towards the end but I’ll be interested to see how it holds up.
One of my favorite newlywed memories is watching The Practice in bed on Sunday nights 🙂
I have found over the past couple of months that my TV obsession is not enough to sustain a whole blog about it! So that’s something, right? 🙂 My must-watch shows include HIMYM, Castle, NCIS, Community, Bones, Chuck, and Parks and Recreation (a new addition but SO worth the 30 minutes). Although Bones may fall off the list this year, and Chuck only has 13 episodes left. I also watch a few cable shows, though – Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, Warehouse 13. Thankfully they aren’t on all the time.
It’s funny. As soon as I decided to actually start my TV blog, I started realizing that I’m a little TIRED OF TV. (Wha???) It’s been a long time coming, but thankfully, I believe my obsession is fading into a less-crazy love. 🙂
Mary I’m so glad you commented! I love that a few on your must-watch list is in my wish list. I’ll make those priority if I ever get to them!
I’ve been doing the same thing. My DVR is full right now and I’m wondering if I should just make the leap and chuck the last seasons of HawthoRNe and Men of a Certain Age, especially since they both got cancelled. 🙁
It is TOTALLY worth your time to get into Mad Men, however, I will say that I started watching at the beginning of S4 and I didn’t feel lost at all after a few episodes, so it is easy to jump into. It’s so good, though, that I’m thinking of going back and watching S1-3, because it is like candy to me now. LOVE IT.
I think that is one I should just watch just because of its notoriety.
I tend to watch most of my shows when I have a moment on my droid from the Hulu Plus app. Totally worth the $6 a month minus the commercials. I am on a slightly different boat with mine but I love me some Survivor, Amazing Race, Top Chef, Glee and The Biggest Loser.
I have got to check out Amazing Race one of these days. I always hear good things about it but never have watched it.
I found that during the summer I had more time to read and enjoy life without being tied to the television. It made me think about what I was watching and how many hours I spent doing so. I’ve narrowed it down to Tia and Tamera on Style,One Tree Hill, Parenthood, The Middle, Vampire Diaries,Gray’s Anatomy, and Private Practice. The only one that comes on at 8pm is The Middle, so we watch that as a family and laugh our heads off. I can usually stay awake for the ones that start at 9, but DVR is my friend for those that come on later. I watched Revenge and Pan Am last week, but I didn’t fall in love enough to watch this week. We are watching Friday Night Lights as a family now and loving it!
Oh, so happy you’re on the FNL train!! Enjoy!