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Monday, January 5, 2009

Entertain me, box of lights!

Is it bad to say that T.V. makes me happy? Is it so wrong that when I'm having a bad day or feeling blah, knowing that one of my favorite shows is on that night lifts my spirits? Don't misjudge what I'm saying - I don't watch T.V. nonstop. I know my limits. In fact, friends will often tell me about shows they watch and love and I'll have to tell them that while I'm sure the show is really good, I just don't have any openings right now. That having been said, I do love me some good T.V.

Excluding syndicated shows and other shows that are no longer on T.V., my favorite shows (in this order) are:

Lost
Psych
The Office

I have one or two other favorite shows but they're guilty pleasure shows and won't be revealed in this blog post. Maybe if you promise you won't mock or judge, I'll tell you. (Here's a hint: one of them starts with "A" and ends with "Idol.")

Anyway, this is a big month for me and a couple of my favorite shows. That's right, new seasons of both Lost and Psych start this month. Psych is on the USA network, so it has two seasons (winter and summer) and Lost, well, Lost just does its own thing. Not having any clue when Lost is going to start every year is just one of the many mysteries this show has to offer. I know that some of you get sick of those of us who can't stop talking about Lost in anticipation of it's imminent return. Well, if you don't want us to talk about it, maybe you shouldn't bring up words that remind us of Lost! Words such as: island, boars, smoke monster, Keamy (whew... I almost lost my train of thought at the mention of Keamy...), hatch, or even just the word "lost." These are trigger words that get us Lost fans thinking about our favorite show and once we start, well, we can't stop.

This wasn't meant to be a post about Lost, so I will move on. Hard as it may be, I will move on.

You know what I love? When you ask someone if they've ever seen one of your favorite shows, and they say, "I don't really watch T.V." Ok, that in and of itself isn't bad - I mean, some people don't have a T.V. or don't have cable, or work long hours or go out with friends in the evenings. That's fine. What I love is when people end that sentence in this way: "I don't really watch T.V. (pause) I read." What do they expect me to take from that? I think I know. And I think I don't like it.

Once, while I was a missionary, I went a year and half without watching any T.V. And while I didn't miss any specific shows too much, I hope it's not bad to admit that once or twice, I did miss the catharsis of vegging out in front of the T.V. The feeling of letting your mind go blank as the programs manipulate your emotions, making you happy, then sad, then angry, then back to happy... It's so mind numbingly wonderful from time to time.

I think I've revealed too much.

What I meant to say was that I enjoy the plot twists, the engaging dialogue, and of course admiring the actor's skills. Either way, I'm looking forward to my favorite shows returning with new episodes this month. An added bonus for us Lost fans: the words "spoiler alert" will now be a regular part of our lives again. It's been too long.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

YAY LOST!!!!! I am soooo excited to have our Oceanic 6 back...and even Ben and "The Others."

I love t.v. as well. In fact, I almost always list it as my hobby on questionnaires. Yep, I am that interesting.

Elizabeth Downie said...

I know, I missed our old friends too. I'm sad that we'll most likely never see Keamy again (oops, spoiler alert! haha).

I'm glad you're honest about your love of tv. I bet that's why we get along so well. I have a feeling Justin's going to start to hate us as soon as Lost starts. I bet he's already saving up his ppl so he can come in late on Thursday mornings until Lost is over.

Anonymous said...

I believe I'm already feeling a little bit of contempt coming from that side of the room. It hurts, but I can't stop talking about something that is so life changing.

Dallan said...

First the picture of Sawyer, now a post pretty much devoted to Lost. I may have to stop reading your blog until the premiere if you keep this up! I stumbled across a few spoilers the other day and selfishly read the entire article. Just let me know if you want the link!

Anonymous said...

I, too, love TV. And not just current shows ("Chuck," "Samantha Who," "Man vs. Wild," etc.), but reruns. I'll watch an episode of Friends just because something that day reminded me of a scene from it. Might be a bit backwards, but that experience you described of just letting go and being entertained for an hour or so is sheer bliss! :) And hey, you DO read...a lot...and still manage to watch TV. You, my dear, are well-rounded in your entertainment sources! :)

Katherine said...

I'm so happy that you wrote this post! I also love it when my favorite show is on, or when I can veg out with an episode of Psych on DVD. It's not like our lives revolve around these shows, and, quite frankly (I know you like it when I'm frank), we probably read more than those people who don't watch TV.
P.S. Who knew the words "spoiler alert" could be so titillating??

Katherine said...

P.P.S. Unlike Dallan, I like your choice of pictures...dreamy!!

Elizabeth Downie said...

Isn't it funny that the word titillating is kind of titillating? And yes, I do love my favorite shows.

Dallan, I'd love that link!

And Sarah, I agree - I love shows like Seinfeld and Friends. That's why I love TBS so much :) I need to check out Man Vs. Wild! Remind me when it's on next time I see you! I might have an opening ;)

MMMegan said...

You rock. And so does Lost. Wahoo.

Katherine said...

Ha! That's true about the word titillating! And Sarah, I forgot to add a shout out as well to my secret love, Chuck!
You know, E, maybe part of our love of the you-know-what tube comes from when we saw that live taping of "Less Than Perfect" (speaking of Zachary Levi) in L.A. That was so fun!

Anonymous said...

I just heard about this today, that you were within mere feet, breathing the same air as my soul-mate, Zachary Levi!! :)

And, schedule a block of free time next Monday at 10pm, Discovery Channel, and you'll meet my other TV soul-mate, Bear. :)

Brady said...

Is it LOST time yet? I really only watch a few shows on TV, mostly I read. ;)

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth I'm saving up my PPL so I can take every Thursday off. Not just the mornings. You and Kathy's smoke monster discussions tend to creep into the afternoons and I'm not sure I can handle that. I'm pretty upset the show switched to Wednesdays. A three day weekend would have been much better. I think I'll write ABC.

P.S. how can the Bachelor, Gossip Girl, and Hannah Montana not be on your list of faves right now!?

Elizabeth Downie said...

I already told you that I'm really busy working on my letter writing campaign and won't stop until the smoke monster wins an Emmy.

You should just give in Justin. I told you you can borrow season one of Lost anytime you want. Join us. You know you want to!

Anonymous said...

Yes Justin, come to the dark side. It's much more enjoyable over here....You'll find that you love the smoke monster too.

Mary Burnette said...

I still don't see that you are the queen of cookie baking on your blog!
Bill & Mary

Angie Cheney said...

Love this post Elizabeth. LOVE LOST TOO, of course. And just for the record, I read an AWFUL lot, so that helps to counteract the "good" amount of tv I watch too. I never watch ABC except for LOST, so I don't know when it starts. Please tell me!

I heard sad news (for me) that Christian Slater's My Own Worst Enemy is cancelled (http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/my-own-worst-enemy-nbc-cancels-christian-slater-tv-show/). It was a really good show! I loved it. I'm bummed.

Elizabeth Downie said...

Hey Angie, I never saw the Christian Slater show but I heard it was good! I'm sorry it got canceled - I hate when my favorite shows get canceled.

Lost starts January 21st - I guess it's on Wednesdays this season. The website says it starts at 8:00! I'll be posting more about Lost, I'm sure. I'm glad to know who else is into it! It's going to be so good!

Angie Cheney said...

Thanks!