“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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