Free basing television

Let me start by explaining that until recently I had not seen an entire episode of Lost.

Occasionally, I avoid television with its cold glow and its insidious companion the ass enlarging sofa. I have a love hate relationship with my television and recliner, and I list them as co-dependent relationships. Generally, I don't like what's airing, and I avoid spending any cycles trying to find anything that I'll like for fear of becoming a couch potato. I have honed a television force field that keeps me in the dark about potentially entertaining programs for fear that I will otherwise find myself unable to not watch. I've been slowly dismantling my entertainment machinery first by letting go of cable, then the Tivo service, and reducing video game play.

Why no TV? I know plenty of people who can talk about TV very entertainingly. In fact there are times when I enjoy listening or reading these descriptions more than I enjoy consuming the actual medium. I myself do not share this talent. I tend to swallow shows whole without actually chewing, and come out at the other end a little dazed and without comment. What this left me with was a lot of time devoted to an occupation from which I got little social mileage. In short: it made me boring.

But I like television shows. I especially like "good television" and at the risk of flinging about a subjective term like its gospel I think I can point to some safe nominations. I appreciate a well crafted, character driven story line, good use of sound track, and a gripping drama. If a writing team adds suspense or mystery of any sort then I'm helplessly hooked. I love that "what's going to happen next?" feeling. I gobbled up shows like Six Feet Under and The Sopranos. There's nothing wrong specifically with television programs. What I find difficult is my preferred method of ingesting them, a method I believe I can point to The Sopranos for popularizing.

I freebase TV whenever possible. I will pull out a season or two of a show on DVD, plop down on my recliner in my jammies, and watch television until there's nothing left to watch. I think it's the best way to consume television: all at once. I watched the final two seasons of the Sopranos in a matter of days while I was laid up at home on antibiotics. This is similar to how I caught up to the Sopranos years ago. The feeling of staying on the couch and watching images on a screen for hours on end eventually made me feel sluggish and altogether unhealthy, but I enjoyed it all the same. So when I got together with my friends around the holidays this year, and they presented me with a plan to get caught up with the last three seasons of Lost by January 31st, I was reluctant to answer the call.

I went over to H's house Friday after work. Well, I kinda skived off work deciding that working between Christmas and New Year's is not for me. I went over to his place to knit. I was well on my way to finishing the hat I started on circular needles, and I missed our last knitting session. While I was there he threw Lost into the DVD player and that was pretty much it for me. Smart man. I think H knew there was a strong possibility that I might not get cracking on my mission so just like a good dealer he gave me a taste. Lost has all the elements of programming against which I am defenseless and concentrates them into a powerful elixir. In short this show is like crack, and I am clearly on the rock. H lent me season one Friday night, and I finished it before I went to bed Saturday night... Technically Sunday morning. I was at his doorstep Sunday for season two. Initially I was concerned that I did not have enough time to watch approximately 60 hours of television before January 31st. Now my concern is getting through the inevitable withdrawal while I'm waiting for season four to air. I'm comforted that I'll be forced to watch the show on a weekly basis. I'll be using that as a methadone program until the season ends this Summer.