Television. I’m a fan.
Too condensed? Okay then.
I don’t remember my parents agonizing over tv when I was growing up, or at least not like things were when my own kids hit their formative years. Debates about how much tv time was too much got heated, moms squared off over who was planting their spawn to rot in front of the boob tube. We shot for moderation. I think they mostly turned out okay.
Anyway.
I had a few favorite shows growing up. Charlie’s Angels was one. And Wonder Woman with that awesome spin transformation into a butt kicking force of nature. Loved me some Love Boat, too. I’m sure there were plenty of others but those are the ones I actually recall well. Not exactly an intellectually stimulating list but hey, I was a kid.
My television habits haven’t changed a whole lot now that I’m grown. People tell me about these incredible series on the History channel or that they learned how to build a rice cooker on How It’s Made and I’m like yeah, cool, I’m on my twelfth run through for West Wing. Television is entertainment for me. But I can be weird about my entertainment. It can’t be too brainless. Like there’s “doesn’t require focused mental energy” brainless and then there’s “sucking brain cells out of your eyeballs while you watch” brainless. I’m not a fan of the latter.
Which means I usually end up loving shows that are entertaining yet still manage to teach me something along the way. Like? So glad you asked.
West Wing – It’s the grown up version of I’m Just a Bill from Schoolhouse Rock! Politics on the national and international stage, negotiations, diplomacy, campaigns, issues, and more. So much more.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – being a comedienne, honing an act, handling hecklers, life as a woman pursing an atypical career in the 1950s. Plus what it meant to go to the Catskills.
The Americans – This show is a goldmine for a girl who sucked struggled in history. Not only did I learn some of the U.S./Soviet Union stuff I missed in school it talks about really cool spy stuff.
There’s a fair amount of political offerings on my watch lists so I guess that’s a general interest. Any reality tv I like tends to fall under the “improvement” umbrella as in Watch This Extraordinarily Normal Family Remodel Their Home in 17 Days Without Killing Each Other or Here’s a Makeover Show that Seems Like It’s All About Fashion But Will Actually Make You Cry Over Touching Personal Growth. You know, the stuff that keeps Kleenex in business.
Linda hosts Saturday’s Stream of Consciousness. This week’s prompt is “television.” Talk about your favorite show, past, present, or future, or about the apparatus itself.
Our viewing choices are very similar. Think I watched every episode of West Wing when it was on and have watched some of them again. I spend most of my viewing time on HGTV, PBS, Food Network, Netflix for mostly documentaries and Grace and Frankie, Amazon Prime for various shows including Mrs. Maisel.
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Yep. Most of mine lean fast paced and sharp witted.
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You might think it’s weird, but I actually like shows like “How It’s Made” and “Modern Marvels.” I think they’re pretty entertaining. Not that we get a lot of TV like that now that we don’t have cable.
By the way, MeTV shows “Charlie’s Angels” every weeknight at 5 PM ET and “Wonder Woman” Saturday at 7 PM ET. We never watched them when they were new, but now we watch them faithfully.
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Nope, not weird, but definitely wired differently than me. I can’t figure out if it’s just that I don’t have the mental energy to concentrate since I usually do my tv watching toward the end of the day…any time I’ve watched that sort of show it seems my mind wanders. Love that they’re replaying the classics!!
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Loved the Love Boat, Charlie’s Angels and Wonder Woman. I think West Wing conflicted with another show I watched so I never got into it.
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Hubby & I are both huge West Wing fans. We’re lucky that we agree on so much when it comes to tv!
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That definitely helps. Hubby won’t watch Grey’s Anatomy and I hate LivePD but otherwise we’re in sync.
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Love Boat was a great stress reliever in my twenties. Good theme song – very relaxing. Wonder Woman was more inspiring. I bet she inspired a lot of women, at least subliminally.
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Yes indeed. Did you see the movie last year? I didn’t read comic books so it was really cool to see Wonder Woman’s origins.
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I didn’t see the movie. I bet it was fun.
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LOL – what was it about Love Boat that we couldn’t resist? It was dumb, but there was still a draw…!
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So true. Can’t remember a single thing about the show like a favorite character or storyline, but that theme song! 😆
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LOL – all I can hear is the plane, the plane, the plane!
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I like your description of the degrees of brainless. I prefer shows that make you think or shows that just are fun to watch.
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There are some pretty decent options out there right now. 🙂
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Great take on West Wing. Hadn’t thought of it, but you’re right about what it really is.
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And such fabulous writing. 💛💛
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It’s the dream, that show. Very comforting.
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Ah, when the grown ups were in charge…sigh…
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Decency. Remember decency?
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Longingly.
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mrs. oops!
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i grew up with a lot of the same series and loved them. love mr. maisel and recently binge watched ‘i’m sorry’ – hilarious!
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Haven’t seen ‘I’m sorry’ – I’ll have to check it out!
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You will love it ! Let me know –
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