With the exception of sports, news and occasional reruns of Star Trek or The X-Files (yes, I am a geek – but a charismatic one), I was never much of a TV buff.
However, in the last two years, I have become a devotee of four (count ‘em – FOUR) shows. And by devotee, I mean that social events will be rescheduled if necessary to permit my watching them. In one case, my obsession has gotten so bad that I record the show as I’m watching it. These shows are:
- The Amazing Race;
- Survivor;
- Lost (and yes, I’ll be recording and watching tonight’s episode); and
- 24.
Fittingly, these shows represent the two ends of the current TV spectrum: reality and totally out-there, thrill ride fiction. A few thoughts here:
If you want to really impress your friends, ask them this question: “What event single-handedly created the reality show boom?” Answer: The 2001 screenwriter’s strike, which sent network honchos scurrying after innovative ways to keep their schedules afloat. Most of the resulting reality shows are so much dreck, but Survivor and The Amazing Race rise above the pack for opposite reasons. Survivor puts us inside scheming players’ heads; The Amazing Race and its task-focused approach doesn’t bog the viewer down with group psychology but instead presents a thrill-packed and educational travelogue. And I am hopelessly hooked on both.
Meanwhile, Lost does an engrossing job of storytelling and character development. It’s sort of like Twin Peaks without backward-talking midgets and hopelessly convoluted storylines.
And then there’s 24. I managed to stay away from this show for three years. When Mrs. Zoom suggested we give this season’s premiere a try, I was highly resistant. Three shows were enough, I told her. And yet, we watched. Oh my.
If there has ever been a TV series this exciting and engrossing on a minute-to-minute basis, I want to know. Don’t tell me West Wing: I’m sure it’s good, but it also seems talky. X-Files would, on occasion, leave me breathless, but not every … single … second.
So there it is. I’ve come clean. I'm a multiple-offense junkie. CBS, FOX and ABC: you may pay me accordingly. NBC: you’re fired.
1 comment:
I'm with you, Doc. Lots of sports, and not much else, but the "much else" is growing. Historically, it was The Simpsons and that was all.
Then my mom got me 24: Season One on DVD. I found the series to be more addictive than chocolate-covered crack. I bought Season Two and watched every episode of Season Three and (so far) Four.
Another addition to the TV Chronicles of Phil came over Labor Day weekend, when Spike TV was running a marathon showing of CSI. For years, CSI had occupied a spot with The West Wing as "the best show I never watch and people are pissed at me for it". With nothing else to do, I tuned in and was hooked.
Arrested Development was also added this year, in large part because it starts right after The Simpsons. Fox could run a test pattern there, and it would get 5.0. Easily the best underappreciated comedy on TV. I highly recommend it.
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