I begin with a blanket statement: Anyone with a job in this economy is grateful. This is not about complaining, it’s about acknowledging a situation and asking who else is experiencing it….
Recently, I developed an increased appreciation for an actor who shall not be named because his mother gets his Google Alerts. There’s something on his résumé that I’ve never seen, and I’m told that I’ll like him even more when I do. I’m refusing to watch it. Why? Because if I do, I’ll want to spend hours Googling and YouTubing every interview he’s ever done to decide whether or not he’s worth all the hours I’ve just spent Googling and YouTubing him — and I do not have that kind of spare time. This is a first for me: Denying myself the pleasure of a celebrity crush because I’ve got too much work to do???
I started thinking about the other ways I’ve cut back on entertainment — not because of money, but because of time. I realized I’ve changed the way I watch American Idol and Dancing With the Stars this season: I now only watch the performances, no judges’ critiques or scores. With America’s Next Top Model, I just watch the photo shoots and panel reveals, no teaches or house fights. (I even fast-forward through the deliberation and find out who was eliminated by seeing whose picture disappears from the group shot at the end of the episode.) And as for those three-a-day NCIS repeats I’ve been recording on USA to catch up, no more. I cannot keep fighting a daily space war with my DVR. (I know you’re 86 percent full — of NCIS episodes that I haven’t been able to watch for weeks).
Anyone else finding themselves cutting back on entertainment (or crushes) because they’re spending more hours at work? Or what creative measures have you taken to fit it all in?
Comments (1-17) of 17 Add your comment
Mandy -
Everything except the shoots and panel on ANTM is fat – justifiably cut out.
Nathan Fillion is 100% USDA Prime crush. No activity pursuing that crush is extraneous.
Most of the people I know still have jobs, but they’re working more because companies have laid off workers to cut back on staff costs, they haven’t hired temps to cover maternity leaves, and they expect more from the people still in the office. That being said, I fast forward through all the AI “filler” and sometimes even through performances (cough…cough…Scott…).
I do the same thing with those shows. I don’t think it’s about time, I think it’s about format. I would never fast-forward through Big Love or Mad Men.
I used to be a TV and movie junkie. Now I have two jobs (and don’t want to lose either one.) This means I get to watch about two TV shows a week, and forget about movies. I haven’t seen “Lost” all season, not because it isn’t awesome (it is), but because I don’t have the time to both watch and recover from anything that intense. I just watch “Bones” and “30 Rock” and leave it at that.
I have had to limit myself to 2 or 3 must watch the same week shows. everything else I stack up on the DVR for when(if) I ever get free time.. (like that is ever going to happen) My netflix is even taking longer to watch than my 3 a week..
I completely understand and sympathize. Heck, I’m writing this comment from my office, an hour after I should have gone home. HOWEVER, if the unwatched item from said actor’s resume is Dr. Horrible, it’s totally worth your time! And it’s only 45 minutes long, after all.
I watch AI and ANTM like that, too! The best parts (and most interesting, let’s get real here) of ANTM are the photo shoots, so I’ve been doing that for many a season. Those girls create drama out of their butts and it’s just more nonsense I don’t need.
On the other hand, I’ve been finding I have shows I’ve loved forever (Reaper, Bones, Scrubs, etc) that I just can’t bring myself to watch, and I think it’s because I’m too emotionally exhausted. Once monday nights are done (Chuck, Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Castle…), I’m tired! Too much!
Me too –! I watch the video replays and highlights online. I don’t have time to sit through commercials.
You can’t just leave us hanging and not link to or tell us the name of this mystery item on Nathan Fillion’s resume! That being said, I watch one AI performance every week, and nothing else of the show: Adam Lambert’s is the only one I bother with. I feel your dvr fullness problem – I constantly have to scan through and give up shows I’ve been saving forever (Pushing Daisies is going to have to go soon…but it’s just so hard!)
You can’t just leave us hanging and not link to or tell us the name of this mystery item on Nathan Fillion’s resume! That being said, I watch one AI performance every week, and nothing else of the show: Adam Lambert’s is the only one I bother with. I feel your dvr fullness problem – I constantly have to scan through and give up shows I’ve been saving forever (Pushing Daisies is going to have to go soon…but it’s just so hard!)
But if you skip the judges’ deliberation on ANTM, you get less time with the lovely Nigel!! Don’t you miss that?
I can relate. I have the entire season of Dollhouse on my DVR–unwatched. Just can’t seem to get to it. And I loooove Joss Weadon. And I’ve stopped watching Idol all together. I just read the recaps here. And now that my favorite team is off the Amazing Race, I might abandon it for just the recaps as well. I’m about 2 weeks behind on most other shows. Though, avoiding Nathan Fillion isn’t worth the effort–his charms will always win you over in the end. I am up-to-date on Castle.
I haven’t watched more than the last ten minutes of the Wednesday night results shows on AI in years, but the Tuesday performances have been my only ‘must see live now’ TV since PD was cancelled. (We’ll see how long I stick with Harper’s Island while it lasts.) I’m several weeks behind on my Dollhouse viewing because my stupid internet provider has screwed up my speeds so I haven’t been able to access streaming sites like Hulu for a month. Grr.
Oh, and isn’t obsessing about Nathan Fillion at least 1/4th of your job description? If you write another PopWatch about it…entirely justifiable!
I think I’m more efficient with my entertainment time. There are a few great things I love, and I devote ALL my time to them. None of this reality show business. I’m sorry, but AI is cheese and the greatest singer that’s ever gonna come out of there already has (Kelly Clarkson). So, yeah.
Why not take a clue from that actor’s mother and create some of your own Google Alerts for your crushes? It’s like a free clipping service for any actor. If you haven’t tried Google Alerts yet, here is a good Google Alerts tutorial:
http://www.alertrank.com/google-alerts-tutorial.html
Now you can really obsess.
yes, I find myself fast forwarding thru the results nights on dwts to by pass all the voted out pros brought back to dance again. If they were not kept, why bring them back, they must be boring to the majority of the viewers. I now go out to eat that night and then watch the highlights when I return home. I also fast forward the idol bring backs on result nights too. The reason people watch these shows are for the new folks the NEW, fresh air, not the boring same ole crap, If boring Cheryl wins this season of dwts, I will forget about recording dwts. bring on the fresh, alive, new exciting TV.