So there are a few reasons I don’t blog much anymore about our “No TV For One Year” experiment:
1 – it turned into a “No TV For One Year In Our House Experiment,” since I kind of ended up watching most of the World Cup (we were at my in-laws) and occasionally watch some football (at my parent’s house on Sunday afternoons).
2 – I don’t think about it very much. It seemed like this huge sacrifice in the beginning of the year, but once I got into the habit of not sitting down to watch it in the evenings, I just got into the habit of doing other, much more practical things (like playing on-line poker or catching up on all the blogs I follow on Google Reader)
3 – Of all the things I envisioned getting accomplished once I killed the TV (things like reading more books, writing more, playing more games with the family), the only one that has really happened has been “getting to bed earlier.”
I’ve come to the conclusion that, while giving things up is not a bad thing, it’s just as important to make sure you are deliberate about finding things that will fill the void. Otherwise, one time-wasting activity simply takes the place of another.
What am I most looking forward to about watching TV in 2011? Sports. Only three years until the next World Cup. And borrowing Bryan Allain’s complete collection of Lost and watching it from beginning to end, continually reminding him via blog and twitter that I get to experience it for the first time.
Oh, yeah, and Jersey Shore. Can’t wait for that.
Since I’ve been out of the TV loop for a year, what should I be sure not to miss in 2011?
Hmm…
V is back in January.
No Ordinary Family has become interesting.
Bryan’s actually gonna let you borrow his Lost collection? Wow!
Not much if a TV watcher myself, so nothing else to recommend. Oh, wait, if you’re a masochist, you could start following Cardinal’s football!
Thanks for the suggestions Chad.
Lost is a good place to start. Tanya and I got on the lost bandwagon about 6 months ago and we are now getting ready to start on season 5. To be honest, you probably won’t want to invest your tv time into anything else until you finish lost, so that’ll keep you busy for a while..
And I’m sure it’ll just be nice to wake up to a little sportscenter in the morning again..
No better way to watch tv than by season, on DVD. Looking forward to it.
We have done the tv/ no tv thing off and on in our house and I agree that being intentional is the key. But isn’t that the key with most of life? Someday, when I get really brave, I may try a month of being totally unplugged from all media and electronic gadgets? Wouldn’t that be a fun experiment with no tv, internet, radio, email on the phone, etc. Why don’t you guys do that first, tell me how it goes and then I will give it further consideration.
Per your shows to consider in 2011:
Charlie and I starting watching the Dexter series on Netflix and we are hooked. The characters are fascinating and the writing is top notch. Since it deals with the concept of a serial killer who only goes after murders, it is very psychological and certainly has violent moments. The show grapples with concepts of good/evil, fate/self will, vigilante vs judicial justice and so on. We have found ourselves quite fascinated with the characters and story lines. I’d be curious to see what you would think of the series. I challenge you to watch 2 episodes and not be hooked.
Happy Turkey Day to you and yours. :)
Happy Thanksgiving McVickers! We miss you!
And we’ll let you go first with the technology fast. Good luck!
And here I sit at nearly 1 a.m. with the tv off catching up on my google reader… But I gotta say, love the streaming netflix!
If you want to watch something that will bring you lots of laughs-it’s Modern Family.