With the elimination of cable TV from our lives, Steve and I have taken to watching cables series on Netflix. One of the dangers of watching past seasons of shows is already knowing what's going to happen... due to the proliferation of TV in pop culture. I read a lot of entertainment news... and thus, I know what's going on in shows I've never even watched. I am bound to know at least tidbits of story line from almost any show I find on Netflix. But... that's OK. And, I'll tell you why.
The other day, we were watching the second season of Mad Men. After finishing an episode, I mentioned to Steve that I already know what happens in Mad Men, generally speaking. I am only partway into the second season, but I know what has happened since then, and I know what's happening now. I read entertainment news, after all, and it's a popular show. But, I told him, it didn't make me less inclined to actually watch the episodes. I said that it is the mark of a good show when you can know exactly what's going to happen... and still want to watch it anyway. (Yes, I am quite wise.)
Over the years, many shows have fallen by the wayside in my viewing rotation due to this phenomenon, or rather, its flipside. Sometimes if I miss an episode of a show, I will read the recap to see what happened before deciding whether to just skip an episode or to actually catch up on my viewing. What has occurred with a few shows is that I'll miss one week, then another, and so on... and every week I will read the recap and be satisfied by that and feel no need to watch the episode. Then, the show transforms from one that I'm actively watching to simply one that I feel obligated to keep up with, out of some twisted sense of loyalty from the time I have invested in the series thus far. After realizing I had a few of these "passive" shows, I decided it was time to take the plunge and permanently cut them from the rotation. After all, if I am only interested in knowing what happens and not in watching the actual show... the show is not good.
I have problems abandoning shows I watch. The first show to fall off my schedule was the soap I watched growing up. These were characters I had watched for almost 20 years! And, if I could cut that... everything was fair game. Now, I am pruning my television queue like crazy. Bye bye Grey's Anatomy. See ya Bones. Adios American Idol. It's quite freeing to drop a show that you no longer enjoy watching. You realize how much of a burden watching the show really was. That sounds ridiculous, but I'm serious! You only get frustrated and disinterested with bad shows, and it makes watching TV unpleasant. TV is supposed to be entertainment. If I'm not being entertained, what's the point? This circles back to my whole reason for cutting out cable TV in the first place.
When you eliminate bad shows from your life, you free up room for good shows. Thus, your happiness and viewing pleasure increases. You can be friends with TV again, instead of treating it like a homework assignment. When you use TV wisely, it can be a wonderful tool. When abused, it can be the worst of enemies... the dreaded timesuck. Hours can pass, and you wonder (a) Why am I watching this?, (b) What has this accomplished? If you cannot answer these questions, you have fallen victim to the timesuck. But, remember, TV only becomes a timesuck if you let it.
So, please, use your TV wisely. Do not become a victim of the timesuck. Just say "no" to bad shows.
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