As (Previously Not) Seen On TV

For someone who works in television, I watch embarrassingly little of it. One would think that I would use this opportunity to become one with "the boob tube," all in the name of research. At the very least, I should be going nuts, gleefully thumbing my nose at all of the adults who told me I watched too much of it growing up and those who made fun of me for my carefully-organized and labeled VHS collections of Melrose Place, Lois & Clark, The X-Files and Alias episodes. (I may or may not have been a late adapter to the DVD craze.)

But I don't.

There's a great, very catchy song by The Limousines called "Internet Killed the Video Star." I can relate. I admit that I spend too much of my "research" (and, frankly, my writing) time checking Tumblr and Twitter and Facebook and the like. I'm not proud of it, but there it is.

So this summer, one of my goals is to get caught up on television. Obviously, I can never fully catch up on every show, but I'd like to be able to watch a few new-to-me shows next season and know what's going on. I have a few plans in place for what I'm going to watch, but I'm open to suggestions from the peanut gallery.

Here are the things I absolutely plan to watch...

Bones - Many, many of my friends in real life and on Twitter are devoted to this show. (Some would say hopelessly so.) My mom and step-dad have recently joined the club and have been trying to get me to do the same. And now that that thing happened in the finale and Twitter is all a-twitter, I have to say that I'm intrigued.

Sportsnight - No, I know this one's no longer on the air, but if I had a nickel for every time someone has asked me whether I've watched this show, I could buy a pizza and a bottle of Two-Buck-Chuck. When I first started watching The Good Wife late last year, I posed the question, "Josh Charles, where have you been all my life?" Apparently, he's been here. So yeah. Watching this one.

Parks and Recreation - Maleficent and I often discuss how annoyed we are with this show. Not that there's anything in particular wrong with the show, but, as big fans of The Office, we were psyched about Parks and Rec. We watched the first few episodes of the first season and were disappointed that it felt like they'd taken Michael Scott, changed him into a woman, and plopped him into the Parks and Recreation Department of a fictional Indiana town. It wasn't long before Casa Descanso lost interest. Though we never quite got around to deleting the timer, we didn't shed a tear when the DVR made a late night snack out of the unwatched episodes. After hearing from my friends about how much better and how heartwarming the show became during seasons two and three, I'm excited to check it out. I do love me some heartwarming workplace comedy. "Office Olympics," anyone? My heart is very full right now...

The Wire - Yes, I know. I should watch The Wire. I'll get to it this summer.

(I do love that many of these shows are available on Netflix Instant, which, thanks to technology, I can watch on my iPhone at the gym. Hooray!)

I also need to get caught up on the last half of this most recent season for The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Community. I may actually try to work Pretty Little Liars in here, since many of my friends seem to be fans -- and because Norman and Crystal (two people I very much like) are involved with it. Is there anything I'm missing? Any shows you think I should start watching?

If I could recommend anything for you to start watching over the summer, it would be The Good Wife, Chuck, and Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights is my The Wire in that you should fear my judgment of you if you've not watched it. (Hint: The first four seasons are on Netflix Instant!)