They say that opposites attract, and at one point my main characters Davie Jones and James Farrell get in an argument over their very different television viewing habits. Davie doesn’t own a TV set, she either watches her favorite shows on her computer or on DVD. James however has a flatscreen in his room, in all of his guest rooms, and even in a few of the bathrooms.
My own TV viewing habits are a mix between the two. I used to watch my favorite shows exclusively on my computer — and this was before the days of broadcast channels streaming their shows online, so I ended up watching series, either after they were completely over (ANGEL, FARSCAPE, SIX FEET UNDER) or a season behind (VERONICA MARS, GREY’S ANATOMY, THE WIRE).
This made life a bit difficult. I pretty much had to stop reading Entertainment Weekly or any online entertainment sites, and I couldn’t talk about current television shows at parties — which is hard every place else, but renders you somewhat ridiculous in LA. On the other hand, it left me with a lot of time to read, and I only watched the shows that I truly loved.
However, after I met my husband, I happily welcomed the TV set back into my life, and now we have a television in our livingroom and a television set in our basement for guests, workouts, videogames, and whatnot.
I watch THE PRICE IS RIGHT in the morning with a bowl of cereal and occasionally, I’ll watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES with my MIL before I go downstairs to write. Then I’ll watch JEOPARDY around 7pm, and the rest of my TV watching happens after my husband gets home. This seems like the perfect balance for me. I try not to ever watch television alone, much like drinking alone, it makes me feel like I’m straying into full-on addiction territory. But I think my current TV relationship is a pretty good balance for me.
I’ve heard the argument that TV rots your brain, but being a writer, it often feels like TV is a necessary part of my continued studies. I love thinking about structure, plotting, and writing while watching something enjoyable. I would counter-argue that not only does TV not rot your brain, but in many ways it fuels your imagination and makes you think — not the THE PRICE IS RIGHT per se, but I’ve never thought about life and death the way I did when I was watching two seasons of SIX FEET UNDER in a row. And DR. WHO is referenced heavily in my next women’s fiction novel.
But that’s how I watch TV. How do you watch TV? Have you given up your set or are you one of those people who likes to always have the TV running, even if it’s just background noise. Do you turn on the TV first thing in the morning or is it a purely afterwork experiences for you? Let us know how you watch TV in the comments and the winning comment will win a 32 CANDLES tote bag.
Speaking of which, you guys made it really difficult to pick a comment winner from last week, b/c I agree with so many of you about what might be nice to wear other than the 32 Candles T-shirt for a six week stint. But I chose J.Nicole from “Today’s book on a train” b/c I loved her “contemplation”:
Boyfriend tee (specifically from Target) & yoga pants. The most comfortable outfit that I own & don’t look like a complete schlumpinista in, haha!. I keep contemplating wearing it to work on a casual Friday to see if I can get away with it, heh.
Congrats, J. Nicole!
Photo Credit: Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL)