My Manifesto

Welcome, readers, who are likely finding this well after its original posting, to Prime Time Well Spent, a blog dedicated to the things we do to avoid reality, namely: Watching TV, going to the movies and generally dicking around, rather than making an attempt to take part in society or becoming better people.

I felt that for my initial post to the blog, I should both tell you about me and explain what the title means to me.

Who I Am:

Have you ever had a conversation with someone you don’t know real well, but you suddenly find you have really similar tastes in pop culture?

“Hey! Do you watch ‘Schmaltzy Dramedy?’”

“I love that show! Do you watch ‘Contrived Sitcom?’”

“Totally! Did you see the latest episode of ‘Premium Drama That Used To Be Better?”

“Yeah. It used to be better. Have you seen ‘Obscure British Comedy Being Remade Badly By MTV’?”

And when you do mention a show he doesn’t watch, he’s super excited by your description? And you think all the stuff he watches that you hadn’t heard of sounds awesome? Well, in this conversation, I am both guys. I watch EVERYTHING. Or, that is to say, everything worthwhile. And a shocking number of things that aren’t.

What The Title Means:

A few Sundays ago, I recorded eight hours of original TV programming. Not specials. Not movies. Regular series on various networks. Four hours of that was spent on shows I either no longer enjoy but still watch, or shows I have never enjoyed but still watch. I don’t have the best of explanations for this. Seems like a waste of time, don’t it?

But the fact of the matter is I get something out of even the worst of television. The other day I was on an airplane and someone was watching some Disney Channel sitcom I have never really seen, and as I glanced over, even without sound or context, I saw a joke on screen and thought “That was a gag from “Charles In Charge.”” I recognized the same joke from a show that hasn’t been on the air for two decades, and wasn’t especially good when it was around.

I get as much out of a bad episode of “Who’s The Boss” as some people get out of the best episodes of “Mad Men.” There is something to learn about television (or movies, books, music or whatever. We’ll talk about all of it) from both the best and the worst the medium has to offer. The only shows I avoid are the ones that teach the same lesson over and over. Looking forward to talking about those lessons with y’all.