TV Habits II

Have a look at last year's post, to understand this one. This should be the third in a trifecta (I love that phrase) of movie/ entertainment posts, as I benefit the from the blessing of increased lucidity in this month. My aim in this is pretty much the same with all writing - get it out of my head, and onto some form of record, thus freeing up mental RAM. A short pencil is better than a long memory, definitely, though it looks like we have more digital equivalents now. Once I'm done, I intend to switch writing high level-thinkery posts. Or just finish that poem that I've been trying to write for two and a half months.

So…yeah. TV habits. A lot changes in a year, and my habits are now different. That we now have a freesat box that has an embedded hard drive probably has something to do with it, as any series that I want to watch can be recorded later. Which is probably not a good thing, but meh.

From last year, I think I've stopped watching two of my three faves. Heroes has been discontinued, and I kinda agree with the decision, even if I will miss it. The show was going nowhere, and it seemed like it was continually trying and failing to reproduce the magic of the first season, where multiple story arcs cleverly crisscrossed and converged to a brilliant finale.

House…well. As far as I know, the show is still running. Only I don't watch it. It was brilliant, and I loved the idea of a flawed-maverick-medical genius Sherlock Holmes, but I think, again the show has lost it's magic. If you haven't seen it, a few episodes still stick out as being exceptional, and should be watched - Three Stories (S1E21), No Reason (S2E24), the whole of Season 4, and Broken (S6E1-2).

Hustle is still about, and I still like it, though I miss the chemistry the original cast had. Will probably watch it when it's back. No real change there.

To new stuff now, and I might as well go and look at the stuff I've set to record on the freesat. Spongebob and The Avengers made the cut - there was never any doubt about these two. (Yes, I'm still a kid at heart)

Then there's Frasier. It's funny to watch two brothers so educated and cultured, with such high opinions of themselves end up in chaotic and sometimes quite bizarre situations. The show is not just comedy and chaos though…some incredibly delicate situations are portrayed and played perfectly. The armchair psychiatry that one picks up has proved remarkably useful in some situations too.

Less frequently, F1. This I can only watch with my brother, oddly. I have a passion for tech and an interest in cars, and my brother has a passion for cars and an interest in tech. F1 is the perfect intersection of both, and we can discuss for hours the ramifications of rule changes, component failures, tactical pitstops, tyre degradation - the whole lot. You probably don't want to listen to us do so, though, unless you want to be bored to sleep. I have come to appreciate F1 as a sport in it's own right as well - an incredibly heady mix of talent, technology, and tactics. I don't know why I only watch it with him though, and feel odd watching it when he's not present. I guess it's a social thing as well that we bond over.

And finally - White Collar. I love this show. When I talked about being able to appreciate stuff done right in the movies post, this is what I mean. Every detail of the show is done perfectly - casting, production, direction, acting, and the script. A brilliant take on setting a thief to catch a thief, which works on plenty of levels. Just watch it.

Done. Till next year. I hope to report something better then.