Sunday, April 11, 2010

“The Good Wife” and All That Showbiz

For the first almost two years of our marriage we didn’t have a TV.

No Television
We didn’t miss it. Really we didn’t, except in March during college basketball season because my husband is a big fan. So, he would get together with friends and watch it at their house. Other than that we got used to not having it around. My husband and I live very active, busy lives and there is not much time for a TV addiction.

Our First Television
While pregnant with our first child, someone donated their television to us. It was a small one, but big to us, and we propped it up on our beat-up coffee table in the corner. We were able to tune into two network stations and that was only when we put the “rabbit ears” up, the flexible kind, and we would tape them to the wall and sometime we would have to hold them just right while watching a show. The picture was never clear and always fuzzy, but we got used to it. Come to think of it, we have never bought a television and our current one was also given to us.

“Charlie’s Angels”
Growing up I would watch “Charlie’s Angels” when I got home from school and then my sister and I would sneak in “Three’s Company” in the evenings sometimes when my mom was not paying attention to what we were watching (she didn’t like that show).

“Friends”
When I moved away after college and shared a condo with three other roommates, I would watch “Friends” because I so much identified with what they were going through and watched the show until the very last one. Now, I would watch it if I was around on a Thursday night, but never fret if I missed one. Later on in life I would watch the re-runs occasionally and catch the ones I missed.

“ER”
Later I started watching the series “ER.” Yeah, back in the day of George Clooney as Dr. Ross and Anthony Edwards as Dr. Green. I loved their friendship and how they talked while playing basketball and Dr. Green would cover for Dr. Ross when he came into work with a hangover. After Dr. Ross skipped town, the show was never the same and it started getting old. Before we were married, my husband when come over and watch the show with me.

“Grey's Anatomy”
Just last year my husband and I rented three seasons of the dvd series “Grey's Anatomy,” but never watched as it aired and now we lost complete interest in that show (too much casual sex for us to support). After Danny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) died, I just didn’t like it any more (just loved his character).

New Shows
Clif’s mom is temporarily living in our spare bedroom, transformed from garage and she couldn’t live without her pylitheria of TV station selections so she had cable installed in the house. We started watching “Modern Family” and Flash Forward.” We set it up so it would record if we miss it. We will be losing cable at the end of the month.

The Good Wife
Then one day when I was online I saw an ad for the “The Good Wife.” I watched the pilot episode and knew I was hooked. I set it up to record in case I wasn’t around Tuesdays at 10pm, but I usually don’t miss it. What is fun is that Julianna Margulies is the main character and she also played Nurse Hathaway in the ER series, George Clooney’s love interest and they had twins together in the show, back in the day.

If you don’t know anything about this show:

“The storyline focuses on Margulies as Alicia Florrick, the wife of Peter Florrick (Noth). Her husband, a former Chicago state attorney, has been jailed following a very public sex and corruption scandal. She returns to her old job as a litigator to rebuild her reputation and provide for her two children.[6] The series was partly inspired by the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal,[7] as well as by other prominent American political sex scandals, particularly those of John Edwards and Bill Clinton” Wikipedia
I have always wondered how these women handled life after a very visible scandal. How do they and their children continue a healthy life after their husband and father’s scandal has been so public?

Yes, I’m hooked and I know there a lot of you out there hooked too because I see you all twittering about it.

TV as a Babysitter
Isn’t it funny about television though? We get a sneak snapshot in other people’s lives and sometimes forget about living our own lives.

When I used to bring my kids to 24 Hour Fitness, the child care workers would always put a TV show on to keep the kids calm. Sometimes my boys would just watch a movie the entire time I worked out. One time I came in and they were watching the” Wizard of Oz” and I told the workers that show really is not appropriate for little kids. (I was about nine when I saw that show and those flying monkeys scared the begezeers out of me.)

I know I’ve done it too: used the television as a babysitter. When I’m busy or have a deadline I will put the television on for my boys so they are preoccupied and not argue and fight for a little bit of time. I also don’t let them watch Cartoon Network (they might be in cartoon, but they are so rude to authority!).

Now they don’t really ask to watch television any more, they want to know if they can play the Wii or their pre-approved computer games.

How Much Do You Watch?
Okay, so some of those shows were probably not good for my mind, but yet I sit and watch them for the sole purpose of entertainment.

My husband and I watch about two and half hours of TV a week. That is not counting a movie maybe once a week and Monday night football when it comes back around. Occasionally I watch a bit of the "Today Show" and my husband catches up on sports news. The boys are only allowed to watch TV but only on weekends and only ½ hour of Wii or computer time during the weekdays.

What shows do you watch? How much do you let your kid’s watch? How much is too much? Do you have limits on TV, computer, and Wii or Xbox time for your kids or yourself?

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7 comments:

  1. I'm sure I watch entirely too much television! If it were up to me, I would have it disconnected....well, after the series finale of LOST, anyway :-) My family watches too much television. If anyone is bored, on goes the TV. I get so tired of the constant drone. Claire probably watches an hour a day on weekdays and more on weekends. We don't have any video games that grab her attention so she doesn't really do that, either on TV or the computer. My husband is a huge sport's fan so whenever there is a game or golf tournament on and he isn't busy doing something else, he's watching. A year or so ago we bought a giant TV! It's wonderful for watching movies but a bit over-the-top for day to day watching. The problem is that now that we have this big, expensive TV, the idea is that it needs to be watched - and we must have HD for proper viewing - which all adds up to expensive monthly bills, though we don't have DVR or movie channels. I have certain shows that I like..for example, I'm a huge fan of LOST. I also like Survivor and most of the time catch the ABC Sunday night lineup - Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. We also watch "So You Think You Can Dance" as a family whenever it happens to run a new set of episodes. We also like to watch HGTV on weekend evenings. We've recently started watching the Jamie Oliver show on Friday nights about getting schools to offer healthier lunches, mainly because I've been so focused on my family eating healthier. There are so many inappropriate shows on TV now that it's hard to find any you can watch as a family...likely why we end up tuning to HGTV when watching with Claire. Our favorite is House Hunters. We try to make Friday or Sat. night a Family Movie Night. I have to say I'm impressed with your lack of TV viewing and never having purchased a television! Good for you! ~Suzy

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  2. I'm sure I watch entirely too much television! If it were up to me, I would have it disconnected....well, after the series finale of LOST, anyway :-) My family watches too much television. If anyone is bored, on goes the TV. I get so tired of the constant drone. Claire probably watches an hour a day on weekdays and more on weekends. We don't have any video games that grab her attention so she doesn't really do that, either on TV or the computer. My husband is a huge sport's fan so whenever there is a game or golf tournament on and he isn't busy doing something else, he's watching. A year or so ago we bought a giant TV! It's wonderful for watching movies but a bit over-the-top for day to day watching. The problem is that now that we have this big, expensive TV, the idea is that it needs to be watched - and we must have HD for proper viewing - which all adds up to expensive monthly bills, though we don't have DVR or movie channels. I have certain shows that I like..for example, I'm a huge fan of LOST. I also like Survivor and most of the time catch the ABC Sunday night lineup - Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. We also watch "So You Think You Can Dance" as a family whenever it happens to run a new set of episodes. We also like to watch HGTV on weekend evenings. We've recently started watching the Jamie Oliver show on Friday nights about getting schools to offer healthier lunches, mainly because I've been so focused on my family eating healthier. There are so many inappropriate shows on TV now that it's hard to find any you can watch as a family...likely why we end up tuning to HGTV when watching with Claire. Our favorite is House Hunters. We try to make Friday or Sat. night a Family Movie Night. I have to say I'm impressed with your lack of TV viewing and never having purchased a television! Good for you! ~Suzy

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  3. My hubby grew up with NO TV. I grew up with limited tv. 30min a day, after homework and chores. So when we got married we weren't going to have one around. Then my Principal bought us a nice one for a wedding gift!! Couldn't refuse that, right? :)

    We only have Basic Cable. 8channels.

    I allow my son to watch KPBS kids shows, here and there. Usually when I'm making dinner, or when he's sick.

    Even though we have a tv, we rarely seem to watch it. I kinda feel out-of-the-loop with all the shows that are out there. Lost, never seen it. Glee, don't know what that is. Ugly Betty, never seen it. Grey's Anatomy... I'll admit, I really liked that show, but my hubby and I agree it's not very tasteful. He wasn't comfortable with me watching it. Same for The Bachelor.

    I used to flip on the tv after the kids were down, but it seems like all the shows are murder mysteries and I can't handle that. :P Dead bodies, blood... eeks!

    So... we have a tv. But we rarely use it. :)
    I'm kinda glad. It would be nice to have the high-channels to watch educational shows (food network, Discovery channel, etc).

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  4. Actually we do watch House Hunters Internationals occasionally just bc we both just love to see how other houses look in other parts of the world. No, we have not seen Lost, Glee (I still don't know what that is, but see advertisments for it), or Ugly Betty. Yes, we watched Grey's Anatonmy for a bit (DVD), but now we are so over it. Not missing anything.

    We have to be careful what the kids watch for sure. Like I said, no cartoon network, but we have found the new Ironman cartoon is so good and so clean that I don't mind them watching it at all. It is 1/2 hour and that is enough. It is amazing how many things we can do without TV in our lives, but yet I can see how easy it or computer/video games can become a habit in one's life too. Here is to all things in moderation and appropriate selection, eh.

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  5. I agree, Sharon! Ooh, i'll have to check out IronMan for Nix. He's really getting into superheroes. :)

    One side story-- we were out to dinner the other night and SERIOUSLY not lying... a family of four (Mom, Dad, two kids around the ages of 10 and 12) were sitting at a table. The parents set up a mini-tv for the kids to watch a movie. No one talked the WHOLE TIME while out to dinner. Now that is SAD!!! :(

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  6. Such a timely topic for me! I don't watch TV all the time but I am aware that I can do more productive things with the time I watch TV. I know I would benefit so much more from reading some great books that are stacked in my room, or reading the Business Week magazines that pile up. I appreciate the timely topic. I will certainly better evaluate the benefit/or lack of my TV time.

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  7. @Tira - now that is sad about bringing the tv to the restaurant. Now that is not living one's life. I think Ironman is actually the best one of seen, but he still blows things up and they are high school students so I don't know if a younger child would be interested. Hmmm.
    @ JoAnn - good for you reading and catching up with the business happenings. I get so behind in that area too!

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