Series Finale

Well, that it. Another TV season over. It just might be my last.

Now, I'm not an anti-TV snob. It practically raised me, and I'm glad it did. When I was a kid, I would take the TV Guide Fall Preview and read it cover to cover. I would actually write out programming lists, with the shows I would choose to watch for each day of the week. It kept me company after school. I'd set my alarm on Saturdays (for reals!) so I could be up at 6:00 to watch Star Blazers. My life revolved around the box.

However, each year as I've gotten older, I watch less and less TV. Part of it is just growing up, and being too busy doing other things. When I was a kid I could never imagine not watching a World Series game or the season premiere of a popular show. That's because kids have nothing but free time. I know plenty of adults, however, with a lot more responsibility than me that are still hooked on the tube, so it's not just that.

Quality control is a problem too. Television has definitely gotten worse, but not in the way that you think. There are still truckloads of good programming on every day, but because of cable and satellite there are so many hours to be filled that tons of shit that would never have even made it in the door 25 years ago gets primetime slots. The pool is diluted, making it harder to find the good stuff. But it's out there if you look.

No, the main problem is that I have zero shows that I consider "must watch" programs. Like I said, when I was young I had two or three shows a day that I "had" to watch. Shows that were in my schedule week after week. But as time constraints took over, the number of those shows dwindled until it was one a night, then a couple a week. Now, it's down zero. (Well, maybe one. I'll explain.)

The West Wing was one of my appointment shows. It used to be on Wednesday nights and I watched it every week. If I was home, I planned my evening around it. If I wasn't going to be home, I made sure to set the timer on the VCR. If someone asked me to do something on Wednesday, I had to figure out if there was a new show on and how I would make sure I got to see it. That's appointment television. Seinfeld was that way for me too. L.A. Law back in the day. The Simpsons when it was still good. The X-Files.

Ah ... The X-Files. The real culprit behind my TV malaise. I loved The X-Files. Didn't really get into it until about season 4, but once I did, I was hooked. This was a show you had to watch every week, not just out of loyalty but out of necessity. A lot of shows had long term story arcs, with running characters and themes. But not like this. If you weren't up on the back story, you were lost. You definitely had to make sure your VCR was in working order to be a fan of The X-Files.

Here's the rub. Somewhere along the line, The X-Files started to suck. But I had to keep watching. I had invested too much to quit. Even as it led me down a dark and depressing path, I had to see where it went. It let me down more and more every week until finally it ended. A mercy killing.

The X-Files was popular though. It inspired loyalty in fans, which is what TV execs look for. So they seized on that and brought the concept back to life. Alias. 24. Lost. Prison Break. Any reality show. Long, involved, multiple episode story lines that require viewer loyalty. Great idea, but as The X-Files showed, awfully difficult to execute effectively. That's why I won't watch these shows. Ever.

You can't dabble in these shows. You have to watch every week or there is no point in watching at all. Well ... I refuse. I was burned once. I'm not letting it happen again. Mulder and Scully ruined me. But since most of the shows on TV follow this formula, I don't watch a lot of series TV anymore.

Which brings me back to The West Wing. I suffered though this final mediocre season, because I had to. Well, it's over now and I'm free. Not only from The West Wing, but from TV itself. That was my last appointment TV show. There are no more shows left on television that I will say are "my shows." There are likeable shows out there. If I'm home and something like Scrubs comes on, I'll probably watch if I don't have any good Netflix lying around. But The West Wing was the last show that I watched every single week, and now it's done — and so am I.

At least I thought so. ER was another of my regular shows. I used to watch it every single week, but lately if I had something else going on and I missed it, no big whoop. It's more like a soap opera, in that you can take a break for awhile then step back in and catch up pretty quick. But with the upcoming move from Thursday, and the general decline in interest, I had prepared myself to walk away from that one. Until last night's season finale. Hoo-boy. I'll be back for at least one more episode, you can count on that.

Finally, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. I don't have TiVo. Probably never will. It took me years to wean myself off this commitment and I consider it a positive development. I like my new casual, take-it-or-leave-it relationship with TV. Bookmarks are the reason I can't get off the Internet; the last thing I need is to be collecting TV shows. So no more appointment television from now on. Just the occasaional ball game and a random documentary here or there. It looks like the beginning of a beautifulhealthy relationship.