T.V. is My Friend

You know what? I’m done pretending. There’s something that I’ve grown up being ashamed to admit. It’s always been taboo to cop to this offense but after 32 years, fuggetaboutit, I’m done hiding my true self from the world.

You want to know what it is?

Are you sure, because this could potentially affect the illuminating glow in which you see me. Okay, here it goes.

I love watching television! That’s right, I said it! I love watching television and I watch plenty of it.

So what, I stayed in high school, went to college, even graduated. For as long as I can remember though, there’s always been a stigma attached to watching television excessively, therefore creating that shroud of deceit that all t.v. lovers had to hide under.

Well, forget that. I’ve been old enough for a long time to accept the consequences and repercussions of my actions even if that includes killing brain cells every time I watch my favorite show Lost, I mean 24, I mean 30 Rock, no I mean Heroes, forget it, you get the point.

I know the argument is that…wait, no I don’t know the argument. Do the radio waves emitting from the t.v. microwave our brains? Does the time on our couch or favorite chair cause cellulite and leg cramps?

Maybe.

But for me it has always been an escape. Television (quality television) allows you to get away from the real life drama that can be a drag and gets you all caught up in other people’s problems. My imagination borders the fine line between vivid and absurd but without it I would be a completely different person, so for that I’m thankful for the countless hours I spent in front of the boob tube as a child.

As I look back I realize that only in college did my love for primetime take a backseat to everything else (after all, there was sooooooo much “everything else” going on) and that’s fine but post college it didn’t take long to get reacquainted with old friends (Cosby, the Simpsons, Knight Rider) and to meet a bunch of new ones (Jack Bauer, Ray Ramano, Marlo Stanfield).

I get ideas and inspiration from the stuff I see on t.v. and as a writer, I’ll take inspiration anywhere I can get it. I remember my parents punishing me by not allowing me to watch t.v. when I’d done something wrong. It tore me up, why wouldn’t they just spank me and get it over with. Keeping me from Denise Huxtable or the latest Real World sex kitten was slow torture. You don’t do that to a young kid, you just don’t.

Anyway, my rant is fueled by overhearing a man telling his son that he needed to go outside and play more often and not watch so much t.v. Now the guy was right, his kid was an ounce or two on the plump side and I agree, television can play a part in our national obesity dilemma among our young ones. But t.v. can’t handcuff our kids to the couch and make them watch. The t.v. set won’t grab our kids by the arm and say “enough, go read a book or go ride a bike”.

But their parents can. As much television as I watched, there were always alternatives (can I call them alternatives if I really had no choice?). Mom made sure I was in camp every summer, Pops made a point to throw the ball around and chase me in the yard, I learned to ride a bike, etc. All of that exposed me to other things that I’d grow to enjoy and sometimes even more than t.v.

Point is, t.v.’s don’t kill people, people kill people. Wait, wrong quote. Let me try again.
Point is, all things in moderation. Stop blaming t.v. and movies for your shortcomings and your 200 pound three year-old. Television didn’t raise me, my family did. Television just entertained me and if my daughter wants to watch t.v. for entertainment I’ll tell her…

...television rots your brain, go read a book. ;-)

Cp