28th Jul, 2006

Shameful Secret

After 30 Something years I will out myself and reveal that I LOVE TELEVISION. I know it is au courant to dismiss this piece of electronics as an idiot child, but I take delight in finding the savant. Some of our wonderful friends turned us on to new and delicious watching experiences. Sean and Shae first showed us Firefly which tuned us in to the brilliance of Joss Whedon. We then enjoyed all of the other universes the man created. How could I have dismissed Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I thought the name was too stupid and never watched once)?

We returned the favour to S&S and finally had cohorts who enjoyed the early seasons of Alias and the only seasons of Arrested Development with us.

Along with shows on DVD (how addictive is that? No commercials and you can watch as many episodes as your early morning calls will allow), I’m hooked on “Live” shows like Lost, where I have to suffer through at least seven days before I can learn if Charlie is hooked on Heroin again or what new nickname Sawyer has for Jack. I’m also waiting impatiently for the new season of Battlestar Galactica. I was a fan of the first rendition of the series (back in 1978 when I was 10 and can’t be held accountable for my taste). The new version has adopted the new type of television I enjoy lapping up. The character development is as crucial as the plot to the series. My hat is lying on the floor to all the incredible writers who suck me into their world.

Films show snippets of characters lives and can’t delve into the minutiae of their quirks. When you can spend 150 hours with a family of characters vs. 120 minutes, the movie theatre is less captivating then my comfy pants filled living room. I’m not saying that everything on TV is of interest. I’ve never watched any Idols, or full seasons of Dancing, Skating or Shaving with Celebrities. Its not likely Donny Most with an uber red wig would turn to breaking the judge’s fingers to garner information about the Others who are rumoured to live in a hatch in a banana stand for the last 24. So why would I watch?

I love the heat and relaxation of the summer, but it does put my addiction on hiatus. Thank the Gods S&S have turned us onto 24 this summer. It may be a rough 3 weeks though, as vacations and work tear us apart from the dutiful Jack Bauer…oh and uhm each other too.

Come On! Share with me your tubey little secrets. Television has not turned my brain to mush. I now have a better idea for what emergency supplies to pack in my carry on. Anyone know where I could get a radio transmitter battery? I will never say, “You’re kidding, right?” If one of my dearests declares they are really working for a secret government agency…and I will not lollygag if they tell me to go to XYZ location for my own safety.

Thank you television. I feel entertained and safer now.

Current Mood: Next Hour Anxious
Current Music: Beep Boop Beep Boop

Posted by: Moonkin

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Responses

I have to admit that I never got into so many of the really popular shows like Lost or… I dunno. All those other ones.

I did enjoy the first few seasons of Alias. I also liked Nikita. Loved Firefly since it first aired in 2002. Remember how thrilled I was to find out that you liked it? And how I squeeed when you gave me the DVD set? I have loaned out those DVDs to people and created a few converts!

My tubey little secrets? Well, I don’t watch much Idol, but I sometimes catch a few episodes or so of Canadian Idol, if there are some singers I really like. Last season I was really into it. This season, I can’t drum up any enthusiasm at all.

I LOVE the dance shows. “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”. SYTYCD is particularly good this season. They’re down to the last six dancers now, and they’re sooo good, I couldn’t really say who should leave from week to week. I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision. I really enjoy the dance shows much more than the singing ones.

By: hamadryad11 on July 29th, 2006
at 11:58 am

You are cute! Thanks for your comments. They mean a lot to me. How is your writing going? I’m still working on outlines and plots etc? In between watching TV unfortunately.

By: Moonkin on July 29th, 2006
at 3:26 pm

You’ve mentioned it before, and I think you’re totally correct. TV series have a lot more opportunity to get deeper involved in the characters and plot over and above a movie which has to wow you in under 3 hours or it’s lost. I remember the differences when first starting to churn through watching Buffy (very rough) and in much later seasons, crying my eyes out because it was so sad and I felt so connected.

I rarely, if ever, give that much emotional investment into a movie unless it has some external connection to me (such as LoTR, and even that was 13 hours all in). It is also *that* much harder to write for TV I would think because you have an open ended thing, which movies don’t (and hence make somewhat artificially).

Just my thinky-bits.

By: Nick on July 30th, 2006
at 1:45 pm

So, I’ve just noticed that you friended me, and I *think* I know who you are! In which case, nice to hear from you, in some format or another - I often wonder how you’re doing!

As for tv, the only series I’ve ever actually watched is Firefly! Glad to know all the folks here are already converted, so I needn’t make the efforts to convince any of you to watch it.

As for the emotional investment, yes. In Serenity, ***almost spoilers coming, for any strangers reading who haven’t seen it yet***, I actually went through the “denial” stage of grief until the very end of the movie, when the sad truth was made completely clear. I really didn’t think that was what had happened. And then, when I found out, I was mad. The second time I saw it in theatre, I went to the washroom at a convenient time, so as not to witness it again.

And on the side, I like this journal. It’s like reading a story, with actual insight. (I mostly just use mine to whine in. Perhaps I should change that. When I started, it was just people in my program that used it, so we just used it to whine to each other about school, and I never got out of the habit, I suppose.)

By: aherne on August 11th, 2006
at 12:18 pm

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