Obscure Cultural References

We took the TV out of the house in January of 2001. I'm a pretty cranky TV viewer. I get very absorbed and I get very testy when interrupted. As a single mom, I used to videotape the shows while I was watching them, so that, if the phone rang or my very young daughter needed me, I wouldn't freak out about what I was missing.

We did bring the TV back into the house for about two weeks after 9/11. I needed to be connected visually to the rest of the world, especially here where I felt so far removed from the "real world," as we call it.

But, we quickly tired of the intrusion and the TV went back into storage. When we first put the TV away, the reality TV phenomenon was in its infancy. We're talking "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" was on every night of the week but none other of the shows which were soon to come. We've missed it all, Survivor, The Bachelor and all the rest of their ilk. I've never seen an entire episode of any of them.

No TV in the house and yet I've never been opposed to TV shows or movies. West Wing, then Charmed, followed by Gilmore Girls, Desperate Housewives and Smallville on DVD all have their places on our shelves.

And now, I'm watching Studio 60, The Nine, Ugly Betty and Heroes on the internet. I wish Gilmore Girls was available too. I love the fast talking, bandying about of obscure cultural references. The storyline is almost secondary.

But what about the commercials? I so don't miss the commercials. When I travel and I'm in a hotel room being bombarded by commercials, I'm struck by how insidious they are; by how many products there are out there that I don't even know that I need until someone is paying someone else for the opportunity to tell me so.

I do have to admit, however, that I make a concerted effort every year to see the Super Bowl commercials, either by watching the SuperBowl itself or by viewing them online. Of course, with them, it's all about the performance, not the product.