Maybe it’s the summer, but I seem to be watching things I never thought I’d watch. For instance, as I write this I am watching S*x and the City – or as my wife referred to is as Cosmo: the TV show. I’m not sure why I’ve latched on to this series. It’s possibly because it’s cleverly written, with plenty of wit (and occasional puns.) Maybe it’s an attempt to figure out women. Or is it just to figure out what TBS will show at 10:00 PM. Whatever the reason, I might find the need to rent the DVD set to see what I’m missing.
Another thing I never thought I’d be watching: Reality Television. In this case it’s reality with real humor. I’m talking about Last Comic Standing. I have to blame my wife for this. Recently Comedy Central ran a marathon of the first series, and she uses that channel as background noise. It’s like the Surreal Life and Pop Idol (ahem, American Idol – for my fellow Americans…) all rolled into one. So it’s not just people getting on each other’s nerves by being cooped up in a house with a bunch of strangers – it’s also a stand up comedy program. The next reality show I’d be interested in is one that Sean Hayes (of Will & Grace) talked about on David Letterman recently, where the viewing public would vote at every stage of the development of a TV pilot.
While it isn’t a recent development, I’ve also been watching a lot more of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (where the ad people missed out on referring to the second series as the QEII – and making some queen joke…) I have to admit that this program (along with the BBC’s Changing Rooms, What Not To Wear and Ground Force) just has that moth to a flame – pardon the pun – appeal for me. Maybe it’s a case of “See what they are doing to that poor person/people – god, that better not happen to me!” but there is also tips that you can take away from these programs (the biggest is to not allow Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen anywhere near your home…)
Of course that biggest addition to my viewing habits has to be Law & Order: Criminal Intent. My best friend is responsible for this entry, and – by the fact that it follows – Crossing Jordan. Both are well written, with interesting characters, and are -for the most part – self-contained stories in each episode. I tried watching 24, but that requires committing to 24 weeks – and that is a really difficult thing to do. ER wasn’t really a problem for me, as it was part of a block of programming I was already settling in to watch (and even if you miss an episode, it’s not that difficult to pick up what you missed.) and Gilmore Girls has never been a problem – even when there were 4 programs on at the same time! So the addition those two programs isn’t really that big of a deal, but I figured I must be into them because this past Sunday I taped them (I was working while they were on.) That is a sure sign of commitment.
One last addition to my “I never thought I’d watch list” is Celebrity Poker Showdown. I only watched because Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls was on, but found it to be very interesting to watch. The commentary by Dave Foley and his pro-poker sidekick is fun to listen to, and the celeb’s in this installment were great (also had Matthew Perry, Chris Masterson, Sean Astin and Sara Rue.) I’ll try to tune in this week when Dave Foley’s former News Radio co-star Maura Tierney shows up for a game…
So there you have it. I too can get caught up in the popular stuff too. Let’s just hope that this doesn’t signal the decline of western civilization, as we know it. Though I’m still not going to watch Pop/American Idol, Fear Factor, the various “Dating Games on steroids” or the Apprentice (especially since it ruined my Thursday night line-up.)