a post about television

This will, I think, go down in history as the Year I Started Liking TV.

You see, for a long time I was the sort of precocious kid who hated TV and thought it was stupid and made you dumb and I was very proud of the fact that I wasn't obsessed with it. I watched Arthur in first grade and in middle school, I sometimes watched Ugly Betty before it ended. I watched Glee but mine was never the sort of passionate affair with TV I witnessed with other people my age. And I was perfectly okay with that. (I thought it made me special.)

But then, in January, everything changed. I discovered Downton Abbey.

I blame the internet, really, and peer pressure, and the unstoppable force of them combined. I kept hearing about this show, and I was bored, so I thought, what the heck? I gave it a try. And what do you know, an obsession was born. I am super-di-duper-ly psyched to watch the Christmas special tomorrow. I even had a dream about it the other night, although I know things will be better in the show because my dreams don't know what the heck is going on. Although I will probably be upset at the lack of Downton in my life once this season is over, I will be comforted in the knowledge that a) there will be a 3rd season! and b) I have a new show to watch now.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have caved and begun to watch Doctor Who.

It's weird what made me start, though. I hadn't even heard of it at all until I got to high school, where one of my teachers had posters of it everywhere and there was a club that watched it at lunch and everyone was talking about it, it seemed. But it didn't appeal to me at all. Then, of course, there's Tumblr. A lot of people I follow on Tumblr are obsessed with Doctor Who. I always just scrolled past these posts, though I became knowledgeable about certain things. I knew about the Tardis and Weeping Angels (which are apparently very scary) and I knew some names that kept reappearing. I knew, from Halloween costumes, that fezzes and bow ties were apparently a key part of this fandom. But even with all that tucked away, the show still didn't much interest me. I don't know what happened, exactly, to change that. But somehow, a few weeks ago, I found myself obsessing over some of the actors. I watched interviews, looked at pictures, and read articles.  It was ridiculous. After a while, I had the completely brilliant thought that maybe I should actually watch this show. Yes, I do things backwards. Deal with it.

So I went to my old buddy Netflix and before I knew it, one episode had turned into five. I'm starting with Season 1 (from 2005) and will attempt to make my way up to the present day. It might take a while, but the episodes aren't terribly long and you know me, I don't have much else to do. ;) And I've heard it gets even better, so I have many an incentive to keep going.

So, this is me, now. A year ago, I never thought I'd say I love television, but it's true. Obviously, there's a lot of rubbish stuff out there, like reality TV (I have a whole other bone to pick with that), but the trick is to find something that can make you laugh and cry and think and is maybe just a bit cheesy. And British. Clearly it hasn't been a successful show if you don't come out of it talking like the Queen of England Maggie Smith.

And that is an entire post about television. kthanksbye.