Patricia Stoltey

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I Watch Big Brother and I’m Not Ashamed to Admit It

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I also watch Survivor, American Idol, The Amazing Race, The X Factor, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, and The Biggest Loser. The fact that some of these shows are semi-scripted and heavily edited doesn’t bother me a bit.

The only thing that does bother me is that I never had the guts to audition for Survivor or Big Brother when I was younger. My arthritic knees would never get me through those competitions without injury today. I’d probably get voted off during the first week anyway, just because my joints creak and that would annoy all those young folks.

Admitting I’m a fan of the vast wasteland of television is like admitting an addiction to computer games…or some forms of social media. It says I’m wasting time when I could be writing or doing one of the other million things I’m always wishing I had more time to do.

I watch cop shows like Longmire and Blue Bloods and Rookie Blue. Dramas like Grey’s Anatomy. The cat shows on Animal Planet. The Broncos football team when things are going well (and we have high hopes for that with Peyton Manning now on the team). Rick Steves’ travel shows when I find one I haven’t seen before. Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel. The five o’clock Denver News. A few minutes of Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Channel on weekdays. And the good series from HBO once they’re available on DVD (The Sopranos, The Tudors, Deadwood).

All this sounds like I do nothing but watch television and DVDs all the time. It’s not that bad. I don’t watch TV in the daytime. I record my evening shows and watch them when I have time. Some shows (like the ones with musical performances and judging where I mainly watch the performance parts) play in the background while I’m blog-hopping. And sometimes I actually delete stuff without ever watching it at all, like some of those cat and travel shows.

But the truth is, I love television. I’d be ecstatic if something I wrote ever made it to the little screen. Anyone else out there like TV?

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Comments

  1. I’m with Alex! I wish I didn’t love the train wreck that was America’s Got Talent, but it’s one of the few things my entire family can agree on and so, yes, we watch it every week. (We also turn sound off on commercials and yap about what we’ve just seen.)

    I also like Food Network and I’m an unabashed fan of Anthony Bourdain (on Travel Channel).

    Oh…and I watch LOCKUP on MSNBC.

    Yep. I’m with you Pat.

  2. i loved big brother when it first came on and for the first few years–i watched it again the other night for the first time in years–i would be more interested if they had more not so young people 🙂

  3. Alana, I’d love to hear the stories behind some of the shows such as X Factor and Survivor. And Tom Selleck, oh my yes.

    Medeia, I didn’t watch this much when I was working full-time in the real world. I was lucky to stay awake through the early news. 😀

    Rob-bear…dare I admit I record shows so I can fast forward through the commercials? Except for those baby investor spots…and the ones for Sonic.

  4. Television: endless commercials interrupted by bad programming.

    Well, that’s one definition of tv I read a little while ago. Obviously you have a different “take” on the situation.

  5. I watched a lot of TV, including reality shows, up till 2004/2005. I remember I moved into a new place, had more responsibilities at the day job, and started writing more. These days I barely watch it. I miss it, though. When I watch TV I get lost in the characters and situations, which stirs my imagination.

  6. Ha…a friend of mine was on the X-Factor and made the finals. Hearing how all that works was interesting, to say the least. And I love Blue Bloods. Also, Jesse Stone. So, ok–it’s all about Tom Selleck:)

  7. Alex, I’m happy to know I’m not alone. I haven’t tried watching America’s Got Talent yet because I don’t have any TV watching time slots left. 😀

    Hi Ken, I’m screening all the My Ghost Story episodes so I don’t miss yours. Can’t wait…

    Jemi, the only trouble with Idol is the frequently changing judge panel. Jennifer Lopez just announced she’s not coming back.

    Rachna, I make time for reading too. And writing/blogging is my daytime activity. And then there’s gardening and crocheting and travel…if only there were more days in my weeks and more hours in my days.

  9. TV is fun 🙂 I love Idol and So You Think You Can Dance – and I’d add TSN (our version of ESPN) and the Space Channel get a lot of my attention too! 🙂

  11. I’m a TV addict and not afraid to admit it! Tonight I’ll be glued to SyFy, watching the last show ever of Eureka. I’m also addicted to America’s Got Talent.