We're Gonna Have A TV Party Tonight: An Introduction

I love TV. I know it’s not really cool to love TV, but I always have. Some of my earliest memories are waking up early to watch He-Man and the Masters of the Universe while my mom got my older sister ready for school. In the early 90’s, I spent the whole school week looking forward to Friday night. TGIF. Embarrassing now, sure, but man, did lil’ 4th grade Cody look forward to the ever-expanding Tanner household and Urkel’s hi-jinks every week. Then came the X-Files, which scared me to no end for the first few seasons. I lived vicariously through Dawson Leary, the blond-haired blue-eyed movie nerd that had the girl next store jealous of his relationship with the semi-delinquent new girl in town. Soon I became enamored with late night TV (so much so that I’ll address it in a later post, I think). Eventually, I got friends with cars who played in bands. Punk shows took precedent over TV shows. My late teens and early 20’s were filled with ill-informed opinions on the art of cinema, and I’d watch heavy foreign language Films (never “movies”) which I didn't understand, but made me feel kind of smart, instead of anything on network television. This gap in TV is probably fine, because right now I can’t think of any great TV I missed out on from that era. (It bears saying that cable TV, let alone premium channels like HBO, was so far out of my reach that shows like the Sopranos and The Wire weren't really missed, but ignored altogether.)

 Then came LOST. I can’t even remember why I watched the first episode. It must have been because a Hobbit was in it, or possibly because I thought it involved dinosaurs. (I’ll still watch the first episode of anything that involves dinosaurs. I’m looking at you, Terra Nova.) I watched the first episode of LOST, and was intrigued. I don’t even think I planned on following up with the 2nd episode, but I was living at home and it was on. Still not quite sold. Then, episode 3. Walkabout. The first John Locke episode. That reveal at the end! It was great. I could think back to the earlier episodes and see how it was set up. Mind blown. I did everything I could to convince anyone I knew to watch it. I don’t know that I was able to convince anyone at that point. Everyone thought it was a dramatized version of Survivor. And the serial format of LOST made it hard to jump into. Finally, when the show was released on DVD (remember DVDs?) I could give my copy to someone to watch. Sometimes they would have it for weeks, never getting around to watching it, but finally, when they did, they would watch every episode in a matter of days. And it was so fun talking about it. I loved hearing what people had to say as they were watching, knowing what was going to happen before they did and listening to their theories. Dealing out my own crackpot theories, which changed week to week. Of course, not only would we talk about LOST when we were talking about LOST; we would discuss mythology, and religion, and physics, and time travel, and storytelling. For good or bad, LOST became a social shortcut for me. Instead of comparing the usual specific cultural credentials (bands, books, movies, etc.), I could just drop an offhand LOST reference. If they responded, we had something to talk about for the next couple of hours. If they didn't, at the very least I could try and convince them they’re missing out. (Side note: if I did this to you, I’m sorry. That was probably pretty annoying. Unless I convinced you to watch and you loved it and now we’re best friends, in which case, you’re welcome.) I loved talking about LOST, and everything that comes with it, so much that my pal Madeline and I started Orange Peel Mouth, a blog dedicated to the show. We may have never shed any real light on the mysteries, or even approached it in a unique way, but that wasn't the point. For me, the point was in that comments section. I could spend the day typing thoughts and theories and posting them, and then reading others’ reactions, plus their own theories. It was a virtual water cooler to gather around (I just cringed while typing that, but unfortunately it’s a pretty apt description.) After LOST’s disappointing ending (which I never really had the heart to cover on OPM - maybe I’ll finally do that here, as well...) there was nothing left for me to write about. I didn't miss trying to write show recaps (something I was terrible at and don’t really plan on doing again) but I sure missed having surefire thing to talk with my friends about every week.

 Which brings me to this blog. TV is fucking great right now. “The New Golden Age of Television” and what-not. I watch a lot of it. So much, in fact, that at any given time I’m either watching something, thinking about a show I’m currently following, or feeling guilty that I devote so much time to television. I’m hoping if I can get myself to write about it, it will feel less like a time-suck that I’m kind of ashamed of, and more like a hobby that I can share with friends. Of course, like most bloggers I’m really hoping that the comments section gets some action, but I’m going to try to not let that dictate what I’m doing. There’s plenty of shows I watch on a weekly basis (thanks to the modern convenience of the DVR, I don’t have to set my schedule with a TV guide...) I’m not sure which ones I’ll write about on a regular basis. I’m not going to force myself to write weekly recaps of every show I watch. I don’t want to turn this into a chore. But if something is worth talking about, or if there’s something in particular that I want to hear other’s opinions on, I’ll try. I may also look back on some old favorites, or talk about an upcoming show or episode I’m excited for. I’d really like to host a re-watch, where we can pick a show available to stream on Netflix or Hulu, and all watch together and touch base here once a week. If anyone is interested in that sort of thing let me know. Personally I’d like to start with my current favorite, Mad Men, but I’m definitely open for suggestions. There’s a plethora of series I haven’t seen (the aforementioned Sopranos and The Wire, for example), so perhaps a good place to start is there.

I know I’m probably picking a terrible time of year to start a TV blog. The Sixth Season of Mad Men is ending next week, and there will be a pretty huge void until Breaking Bad returns for it’s final eight episodes in August. There’s three episodes of HBO’s Family Tree left, and I've yet to find another person who’s watching (it’s good!) Next weeks is the season finale of Veep. Other than Breaking Bad, there’s not a whole lot to look forward to until the fall. Until then, I suspect this blog will be slow going, hopefully with a weekly re-watch entry and a few TV related ramblings randomly posted.

So, what are you watching? What to do you want to watch? Whether you watch “live” week to week, on Netflix or Hulu, or are buying seasons on iTunes, Amazon, or DVD, let me know.