Yes, pretty soon the analogue signal for television will be retired (hopefully, its jersey number will hang from the rafters of American culture) and the digital signal is all that will remain. I am not actually sad to see the signal go, I am just bummed that 50 years from now, grandchildren won't be able to make fun of TVs with dials on them.
So, I am doing my part to make sure the phrase "around the dial" never dies by using it to do a quick recap of all the TV shows I've been watching.
You see, I don't watch a lot of TV anymore....but I still watch plenty of TV shows. Confusing? Let me explain. I have almost entirely abandoned my TV in favor of my computer. Now that iTunes, Hulu and Network websites exist I barely even have use for a television. I can just watch the shows I want to watch online and when I want to watch them. So, instead of dedicating a blog entry to each show, I would like to condense them all down into two quick blog entries.
This is how they will be organized. Today's blog will focus on the shows that I deem important enough to actually watch live on television (all 2.5 of them), and tomorrow's blog will focus on the shows that I watch exclusively on the Internet.
I present to you: (Metaphorically) Around the Dial with The Collective(ly) Unconscious.
Lost
Lost has been the best show on television for some time and it is only getting better. If you have never seen it, I am not writing this to convince you to watch it because let's face it: it's just too late at this point. But we are reaching the point of the show where we can count down the number of episodes to go. It is 27 episodes left and counting. The creators can now stop shuffling their feet and start wrapping up story-lines the way they have presumably always wanted to. Season 5 of Lost has been so good that it actually makes me rethink the quality of previous seasons. Season 2's plot line about Mr. Eko and Season 3's plot line about Ben's tumor seemed cool at the time, but now that I now what the story can truly look like, those plot lines seem like a waste of time. I can talk for hours about what makes this show so excellent but there are dozens of other blogs out there at lostpedia.org and Jeff Jensen's TV Watch.
I will say, however that episodes 6 and 7, "316" and "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" were the perfect example of what makes this show great. Two deceptively simple stories about two men. Jack has always been a Man of Science, but now must face the possibility that the impossible exists. And Locke has always been a Man of Faith, but now must face the possibility that Faith is not enough and he has lost true love in the never-ending quest to discover meaning. And if that's not enough, there was still that badass fight sequence in which Sayid killed a guy with an open dishwasher.
The Daily Show/The Colbert Report
I was truly worried that the two Honest Harlequins would lose their "mojo" when one of the best actual Harlequins ever left office. As it turns out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been absolute must-watch TV. Stewart has gone as far as comparing America's new Golden Boy, Barack Obama's speeches to George W. Bush. I believe having two entertainers who aren't afraid to make fun of someone regardless of ideology, race, sex, or political party is an essential part of our generation's Democracy.
That's all for now. Watch Lost, Daily Show and Colbert Report tonight and come back tomorrow to see what I watch exclusively online.
2 comments:
The season finale of LOST will probably give away all of the secrets of life and death and then the world will explode and we will all find out that Ben is actually God.
I also wondered if Daily Show/Colbert Report would lose their sparkle when GW left office. But now I only love the shows more because they make fun of Baracky. This further proves my point that I made in my persuasive speech that the Daily Show (and Colbert Report, which I didn't mention in the speech but do include in life) are the only balanced news shows on television.
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