Televison today

I came home sick today from work and am laying in bed watching cable television. Fortunatly I was able to tear myself away from an infomercial about Wizetrade long enough to see that a couple episodes of Star Trek Next Generation were on. I don't consider myself a heavy television or cable viewer, though I suppose that is relative. Anyway, I find myself frustrated with commercials and often scanning for something more interesting with increasing frequency when I do watch. It's no wonder several people I know have TiVo, some other form of DVR, or do most of their tube-time watching movies ordered through NetFlix. We've signed up for NetFlix and got through a few movies, but the last one has been sitting on the coffee table waiting to be watched for almost two weeks.

Sesame Street began airing in November 1969 when I was less than one year old and I consider myself someone who grew up in front of the television. Kermit will always be my hero, Thundercats rule, Wonder Woman rocks (though watching it now makes me feel kinda silly), Buck Rogers, The Munsters, The Bionic Woman, Start Trek Voyager...so many others.

Today's reality shows have never been able to reel me in..well, maybe Boy Meets Boy ("That's bullshit James!"), but what I find really frustrating are the episodes of the series on cable and television today. Don't get me wrong, I like to watch Lost, the new Battlestar Galactica, and even American Idol, but what I have realized is how much each episode of shows like Start Trek Next Generation and many of the shows I grew up with can stand on their own. They did change over time, but you didn't necessarily need to watch every episode to understand what is going on with the current episode. I suppose that sells more boxed sets these days and is part of the reason why some series are broadcast over the Internet on demand. Prison Break, 24...I don't have the patience to watch the entire season from end to end! So, maybe we just ignore them all and wait for them to show up on NetFlix or cable on demand and pay even more. It's about the money after all. Well, another fulfilling episode of Star Trek has ended. When I'm better I need to dig around and find that Muppets calendar I had where I saved the picture of Kermit modeling his Calvin Klein jeans. Time to have that one framed.