TMI: Too Much Television

For a blog that is supposed to be filled with random thoughts, I guess it should be unusual to have so many posts about TV [though there's nothing about random number generation that prevents this from happening either]. The topic of how much television I watch has even been raised quite often this week as I've interacted with separate circles of friends (childhood, college, work, ex-coworkers) and family who've never had much chance to intermingle. [I guess that's George Costanza's colliding worlds theory raised to a new level -- oops another TV reference.]

The topic may not be a complete coincidence as I'm probably the one who either brings up a TV show or is the first to answer a question about what's going on with the TV shows heading into their season finales this May (plus a couple of people from each circle are now aware of my blog).

So here's my current DVR recording schedule (actual viewing time varies):
Sunday: The Simpsons, The Sopranos, desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy
Monday: Prison Break, 24
Tuesday: House
Wednesday: Amazing Race, Alias, Lost
Thursday: The OC, CSI (though I've somehow forgotten to record the last few episodes)
Friday: nothing (until Sci-Fi Fridays resumes with new episodes)
Saturday: Saturday Night Live

But that's just the Must-See List...

I'll also occasionally stop flipping channels for shows like The Office, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Las Vegas, The Apprentice, The 70's Show, Cops!, Real Time with Bill Maher, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, South Park, Love Monkey (unwisely cancelled by CBS, but VH1 is airing the remaining episodes), Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, The Unit, Nova, Austin City Limits, Project Runway, CNBC, Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, E!, ESPN, Fox Sports Net, movies that I didn't watch in theaters, and syndicated reruns of very old shows that I may have missed for some reason or other. However, the general role of this "B-list" is to break the silence of my apartment (or hotel room) while I do other things like read magazines, surf the Internet, or catch up on e-mail / junk mail / bills. [I stopped watching The Shield a few years ago because I couldn't do 2-3 other things at once while that was on.]

When I see/hear the late night info-mercials about how to get rich without spending your own money, the latest workout equipment, natural cures for maladies I've never heard of before, or "Girls Gone Wild" videos, then I know I've been awake too long.

This Wednesday made me realize that I have to make a New Year's Resolution to add no new shows from now on (and let attrition take care of the existing list). Alias, The Amazing Race, and a special episode of House were all airing at the same time. My DVR allowed me to record two of those shows, and I had to do some intricate rewiring to attach the VCR to a separate cable line and record the third show blindly. Fortunately a SF Giants vs. Brewers game ended quickly or I would have gone more insane than I already am.

At least I should be able to cease obsessing over TV once summer rolls around provided none of these series end with a "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger.