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It all started so innocently.
My son, Stacy, suggested I sign up for Netflix and watch some old TV shows. His first suggestion was Damages with Glenn Close. Fifty-nine episodes and 42 hours.
Then he recommended Friday Night Lights. Sixty-six episodes and 50 hours.
Now I’m hooked on Breaking Bad. Sixty-two episodes and 47 hours.
When I complete the final episode of Breaking Bad I will have squandered 139 hours on old TV shows—that’s more than 17 working days.
And I really don’t understand why I’m so addicted. Since I’m not watching these shows at the same time as my friends, this does not create conversations I can share. And even worse, I find myself rooting for bad disgusting people—crooked attorneys and drug dealers. I think I’ve lost my value system.
To make matters worse, people keep suggesting new shows—Twenty-four, Weeds, Prison Break, Mad Men, Downton Abbey, House of Cards, The Wire, The Sopranos,—will it never end? Whatever happened to fun shows like the Munsters, I love Lucy, and the Andy Griffith Show? I sure could use a smile from Opie right about now.
I guess I’m sucked in because these shows always end with a cliff hanger–and I don’t have to wait a week or more for the next episode. But what happens if I invest all this time and I’m not happy with the ending?
And it’s not like I don’t have anything better to do.
Thanks to my DVR I never miss an episode of 60 Minutes or CBS Sunday morning.
What about my required reading–Al.com; The Birmingham Business Journal; Birmingham Magazine, b-Metro and other magazines and periodicals that are required reading for work?
And my on-line reading—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn—articles and blogs recommended by those sites.
Did I mention that I have a real life that includes a family and a job?
When I was a child growing up in Birmingham, we had the ABC Television Network (Channel 6), a combined NBC-CBS (Channel 13), and Educational Television (Channel 10). Throw in a few AM radio stations—and that was it. Anyone remember when WSGN was the hot radio station?
Now I think of those years as the good ole days.
When I told a friend I was writing a piece on Netflix, he quickly suggested “The Walking Dead.” Now that sounds like a show that will cheer me up. Anyone have any better ideas?
David Sher is a co-founder of Buzz12 Advertising. You can read more of his posts by looking for the “David Sher Posts” category in the sidebar of Buzz12’s website.
