Dirty Little Secret

One thing I am never quite sure how I feel about is how much I like TV shows*.  I have a lot of friends who brag about how they never watch TV or they don’t own one (But really, with all the streaming content these days, you can be TV-obsessed without owning one). I wouldn’t say I am obsessed, but I probably follow more shows than is appropriate.  This, for the record, mostly just cuts into my sleep. Which, frankly, as the weather is getting colder and more people around me are sick, is probably not a good idea to keep up.

The fall season started badly for me.  I was in Florida with my dad and his DVR and doing a lot of sitting around while he recovered from surgery.  I’ve never owned a DVR before, but WOW.  You can RECORD 2 shows and WATCH a THIRD one.  Which basically means you’ll NEVER CATCH UP, or never sleep, or lose your job.  What this means is that I watched the season/series premiere of basically every show on network  television (except those I already knew I didn’t like).  This fun little period of time added so many things to my weekly watch list that… well, it’s just unacceptable.  But no, I haven’t lost my job.

So while giving Brittney a review of what I thought of a particular show, I decided to devise a rating system for myself.  It is highly scientific.

6 = Must. Watch. Every. Week.  The second it comes out.  Like right now.  Is it out yet?  I’ve seen every episode of these shows multiple times.  I can probably recite my favorite scenes from memory.
Examples: Bones, Glee, The West Wing

5 = Good, very enjoyable, probably addictive.  Happy to catch up on the weekend if I don’t catch it during the week.  I may re-watch episodes/DVDs, but I don’t have them memorized.
Examples: House, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy

4 = Happy to watch when I run out of other content, but am not sad to miss weekly.  I’ve likely not seen chunks of the series if it has been on a while, but am probably familiar with the major plot elements I missed.
Examples: NCIS, Psych, Criminal Minds

3 = I probably like the concept, but something about the execution turns me off.  This may also apply to good shows gone bad.  If the show is still on, I probably still try to watch occasionally and then regret wasting my time.  I may be vaguely familiar with major plot arcs (Save the cheerleader, save the world!).
Examples: Private Practice, Heroes

2 = Won’t watch voluntarily, but won’t feel too stabby if I am subjected to it.  I know nothing about the major plot elements of these shows.
Examples: 30 Rock (I know, I’m a freak of nature), Talent-based reality shows (SYTYCD and the like, not Survivor or any of that ilk)

1 = Terrible.  If I ran TV, I would cancel these shows, burn all copies of them, and delight in it.
Examples: Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives of Anyplace, Everybody Loves Raymond

All that said, what the flip is UP with TV this week??  No new Bones (6), Glee (6), How I Met Your Mother (6), House (5), or Grey’s (5).  Maybe the networks are trying to force me to sleep.  That being said, Casey and Cappie got back together on Greek (5) this week and bow howdy was I excited about that!

Shut up, don’t judge me.

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