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.