The Best Shows I Wasn’t Watching
By Julie Nisbet
I have never claimed to be a trendsetter. In fact, most of the time, I miss the bandwagon completely, and enjoy trends several years after they have gone out of fashion. Unfortunately, this applies to my TV watching as well, and some of my favorite shows became my favorite shows because of DVD box sets, iTunes downloads and the invention of Tivo. Part of me feels guilty about this, because I know that TV shows live and die by advertising dollars which are directly correlated to viewership. The other part of me really enjoys watching some of the best shows on TV without commercial interruption. So here it is folks, my three favorite shows which I have never watched in their regularly scheduled timeslot.
1. Arrested Development
I think I originally rented Season 1, Disc 1 after watching Dodgeball for the umpteenth time and realizing, once again, the extent to which Jason Bateman steals the movie. I really wanted to see Pepper in a different role, and when I went to the video store, Teen Wolf Too was checked out. I meandered on over to the TV section, and Season 1, Disc 1 turned into a three-day marathon of non-stop Arrested Development. I can’t do this show justice by trying to explain just how original and funny it was. The loss of Arrested Development was truly tragic, and I feel partially responsible because I didn’t discover its hilarity until after it had been cancelled due to low ratings.
2. 24
I still don’t watch this show during prime time because I’m only on Season 4 but I don’t feel as guilty because, clearly, it has enough viewers. I actually have to pace myself when I rent the DVDs because if I get too many at once, I literally wouldn’t sleep for 24 hours. It’s THAT addictive. Yes, it’s slightly cheesy, yes, Jack Bauer has saved the world in 24 hours several times over, but you know what, suspend disbelief for a few hours (or 24) and just enjoy it for what it is: a unique, fun, suspenseful and entertaining take on the serial drama. Plus, in how many other shows does the main character come back from the summer hiatus addicted to heroin? Oops…I hope you’ve already seen Season 3.
3. Scrubs
I was only introduced to Scrubs when I moved into my sister’s (Dr Lynnabelle) old house earlier this year. When Lynn moved out, she left me with her DVR because my Tivo was being held hostage at my old apartment. Since I knew I would eventually get my Tivo back, and along with it my regularly scheduled programming, I didn’t take the time to reprogram Lynn’s DVR, and instead watched whatever she had on there. It became abundantly clear that being a TV Slut doesn’t run in the family, as this amounted to episodes of Law and Order SVU, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Scrubs. Period. While I desperately missed my daily recordings of Friends, Gilmore Girls, Beverly Hills 90210 and Saved by the Bell, I embraced the opportunity and watched some Scrubs. Scrubs is now officially my favorite hospital show on TV, which is saying a lot for an admitted Grey’s Anatomy addict. I thought I had once again completely missed the bandwagon as there were rumors that this year would be the final season of Scrubs. The most recent reports state that Scrubs will be back for a seventh and final season next year. Mark my words, I’m learning from my Arrested Development mistakes, and tuning in…well, maybe I’ll just Tivo it.
