TV Faves

I was bumming in front of the TV last night when it occured to me that if the films I watch influence my writing, maybe the television shows I tune into have to say something, too. Maybe my TV choices have even more to say about what I write because I flip on the cable so very rarely. Aaron and I went without a television altogether for two and a half years before the Canucks had a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup and we had to jump on the digital bandwagon and get ourselves a station that actually aired hockey in the US. In that TVless time I lost all interest in it. But it's coming back to me now... slowly.

So, I want to explore this a bit. What are my favorite television shows?

Like most of the rest of North America, I just love The Office. It's so awkward it makes me cringe, and that's why I can't get enough. The characters are spot-on and the humor is just my style.

I discovered Scrubs in syndication when I was channel-surfing during advertisements as I watched The Daily Show. Okay, I'm way behind this particular bandwagon, but this show is laugh-out-loud funny. And yet, there's a real vulnerability to it. I love how deep the characters go when you scratch past the quirky surface.

Corner Gas was another find while channel surfing (it airs the same time as The Colbert Report, another staple in our house). It's a Canadian sitcom about a gas station in Dog Prairie, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere (i.e. Saskatchewan). It feels like one of the old-timers, those classic sitcoms that were gripping and funny before reality TV came along and made everything uncomfortably real.

Okay, now we're getting to the nitty-gritty. When the Baart household reinstated our TV, the only thing we watched for months on end was The Daily Show. Half an hour of television to unwind before bed. Jon Stewart cracks me up. I laugh so hard I nearly fall off the couch. Believe it or not, that's not an exaggeration.

And then came The Colbert Report. Steven Colbert is a crack-up, too, though not quite as funny in my books as Jon Stewart. Except, of course, when he's doing "Better Know a District." If you're reading this Steven (ha-ha) please do more "Better Know a District" segments! Oh, and I forgive you for bashing Canton, SD last night, even though I feel an affinity for the town because I've passed through it countless times. Maybe they'll retaliate on CNN like Canton, Kansas did. Here's hoping.

Well, there you have it. My top five TV picks. Do they say anything about my writing? Hmmm... I think definitely not. More than anything, I believe these shows reveal a deep, inner desire to UNWIND when the day is done. To laugh, not think. Works for me.