As referenced in “Comedifans”episode 27 (yes, I keep self-referencing “Comedifans” episodes in
blog posts for whatever reason), I bought a new TV. It's a big deal
for me because I just don't buy anything. I never care to upgrade at
anything unless it is needed. But, I finally got fed up with looking
at a tube television in my living room, and decided to go all out and
be a man. I purchased a 42” VIZIO HD television, which is the
perfect size for my apartment without the television being too
overpowering for the space in the apartment.
While I may have purchased a HD TV,
I've found I'm still living in a world of television watching that
doesn't involve HD. One of my biggest faults as a comedian has been
that I just don't keep up with what is going on in comedy on
television (or in drama for that matter). There are just too many
shows on now between the major networks, cable, and the Internet, and
I can't handle what I should be watching, so I end up watching next
to nothing. I don't have cable, so I'm pretty much bound to what is
on the major network channels or making the effort to actually watch
shows on all networks on the Internet.
Even with access to the major networks,
this past Thursday, I somehow managed to be my usual self. With a
line-up of Community, 30 Rock, The Office, and
Parks and Recreation,
which are all shows I know to be funny and would want to watch or I
haven't seen and have been encouraged to watch, I stumbled upon ME-TV, a channel that I was not getting on my
antenna with my old TV and got sucked in.
ME-TV
is a network that shows only classic television shows. On a Thursday
night, I got sucked into The Bob Newhart Show,
The Odd Couple, and
Cheers. Watching The
Bob Newhart Show is always a
pleasure to me. Newhart is a legend that I always love watching, and
I could be so lucky to marry a Suzanne Pleshette-type woman in the
future. I haven't watched The Odd Couple
in a long time likely not since it was a staple of the Nick-at-Nite
line-up. It's still just as brilliant and hilarious as I remember it
to be. And, Cheers,
well it's Cheers. You
can't not watch Cheers.
Along with Seinfeld and
the early seasons of The Simpsons,
it is the best comedic writing in American television. So, NBC's
great line-up stepped aside. I was going to have a nostalgia night.
What makes ME-TV
the best television network out now is that it completely reminds me
of being a kid watching these shows. Their commercial breaks are
composed only of ads for other shows on ME-TV and for Colonial Penn
Life Insurance. That's exactly the way it was growing up. There were
always tons of Colonial Penn Life Insurance commercials with Ed
McMahon (who no longer has life...sad).
I learned the word
“compensated” from these commercials. Ed McMahon has now been
replaced by Alex Trebek. It didn't make much sense to me, but then I
realized that these commercials are targeted to people aged 50-85,
which are probably the only people other than me that watch ME-TV.
After hours of watching ME-TV, I even wanted to get life insurance
and also was fearful of what's going to happen when I become a senior
citizen. I also determined that since Colonial Penn does not care
about your health history, every responsible comedian whose made
suspect health decisions at this age but manages to hit 50 should get
Colonial Penn.
So,
despite the new television, I'm still living in my own world of being
a kid again. I'm watching ME-TV, hockey games on NBC, and popping in
my old classic show DVDs like The Adventures of Pete and
Pete and Saved by the
Bell. Hey, at least I'm enjoying
what I like on a sweet TV.
No comments:
Post a Comment