Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com; Everett CollectionThere’s an interesting piece in the L.A. Times today (“When Twilight fandom becomes addiction”) that concludes by asking if being a Twihard is necessarily anymore dysfunctional than being a sports fanatic. It’s a fair question. And one that you can expand to include whatever current (or recurring) pop culture addiction is disrupting your life. I say this as someone who spent a good two hours last night reading Jon Bon Jovi fan fiction (and occasionally faux-sobbing “I’m reading Jon Bon Jovi fan fiction” aloud, to herself, in acknowledgment of the shame spiral), because I’ve become equally obsessed with Jon and his effect on women since seeing my first Bon Jovi stadium show earlier this summer. I’ve polled a few other brave PopWatch bloggers on their most dysfunctional obsessions. What’s yours? No judgment!
Kate Ward: “I am so obsessed with Charmed re-runs on TNT that I force myself out of bed every morning to go to the gym to watch them. Last week, I even trudged to the treadmill after hyperextending my knee the day before. I ended up walking with a limp for the rest of the day, just because I needed my daily dose of Brian Krause. I’m CRAZY.”
Annie Barrett: “I was so obsessed with my mom’s copy of Christie Brinkley’s Outdoor Beauty and Fitness Book (published in 1983) that not only did I hide it in my room so I could consult it at any time…but I brought it with me to college and then New York, and continue to leaf through it once a year — as soon as summer hits!”
Michael Slezak: “I have listened to Fantasia’s ‘Bittersweet’ 74 times since downloading it last Tuesday. (This is according to my iTunes playcount and does not include the dozens of times I played it on YouTube before purchasing, or the dozen or so times I have watched the new video for the song.)”
Sandra Gonzalez: “A few weeks ago, I was obsessed with picking the perfect song to play in the background of my wedding video. So I surfed different videographers’ sites and watched probably a hundred videos in one weekend trying to figure out what kind of song worked best. I settled on Train’s ‘Soul Sister,’ only to realize a friend of mine used it recently. I was pissed. Oh, and I’m not engaged.”
Darren Franich: “On some occasions, I have listened to Jason Derulo’s song ‘Ridin’ Solo’ on repeat for six hours in a row…and still wanted more, more, MORE! The song samples ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and then drenches it in all kind of techno-pop. If the ‘Ridin Solo’ were food, it would be an island made of candy. And I would be eating the island.”
Your turn.
I got into a fight with my girlfriend not too long ago because I wanted to keep plowing through “Dexter: Season 3″ at 11 p.m. during a weeknight and she wanted to go to sleep so she could be rested for work.
Her priorities are all out of whack!
I had the same disagreement!
The Dvds will last longer than this relationship.You just gotta weigh your options-Girl?/Dexter Dvds?
Buffy the vamp slayer
I randomly watched the pilot in may and since then I’ve rewatched the whole show on dvd all angel on dvd re read the whole buffy season 8 manga anddd played the buffy videogame with the lost story from season 5 but I must say I dnt regret it not for s second can never get enough of buffy willow anya cordelia and oz some of the best characters on tv
It’s a comic book, not a manga (manga would be specifically anime, which Buffy is definitely NOT).
My obsessions are LOST, Harry Potter, Led Zeppelin, and whatever indie-rock band I happen to be fawning at the moment (right now it’s One Night Only)…
*fawning over*
I’ve recently discovered the TVTropes website. It’s awesome. That’s really all that I have to say.
How did you ever escape long enough to post?
Uh-oh. I’m about to head over there for the first time ever. I’m afraid of how much time I’m about to waste. Just the URL sounds fantastic.
You can get sucked in there. When I used to write papers on TV shows I would give myself 2 extra days just for TV tropes.
I’ve never heard of it. Will I regret visiting the site?
Will it be another EW for me (as in, I’ll waste so much time on it that I forget that I have actual work to do)?
Yes. Yes it will. I clicked over there about three hours ago after reading Seth’s comment, and I JUST closed the window (and only after adding the site to my Bookmarks Bar).
Curse you! Now it’s bookmarked and I have another excuse not to get any work done.
Okay, part of me really wants to see what this site is all about…but I have a feeling if I do I will never get any work done ever. Is it worth it?
Lol! I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who finds that site addicting! I’d create an account, but I’m sort of afraid that I’d only get more into it! I’m always checking the pages for my favorite shows to see if anyone’s added anything since the last time I checked!
I wiki-walked into TVTropes’ clutches whilst studying for a biology exam, and haven’t been able to escape since.
A psychiatrist was conducting group therapy with four young mothers and their small children. “You all have obsessions,” the doctor observed.
To the 1st mother, he said, “You are obsessed with eating. You’ve even named your daughter Candy.” He looks to the 2nd mother, “Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child’s name, Penny.” He looks to the 3rd mother. “Your obsession is alcohol. This manifests itself in your child’s name, Brandy.”
At this point, the 4th mother gets up, takes her little boy by the hand and says… “Come on, D i c k, we’re leaving!”
I can’t get enough of that Lost tribute song/video “I’ll Never Be Lost Again.” Why do I play that so much?
That’s what I was coming here to post! Me too! Why do I play it so much. And now humm “rollin’ with the polar bear…”
We have to go baaaccckkk
Same!!!!!!
My favorite part is “Like Kate only loved herself…”
I actually did like Kate after the finale and loved Kate and Jack…but until the finale, let’s face it, she did only love herself.
Also: “I wanna Faraday back to September 22 with Mr. Cluck’s Deluxe and watch Jack save the crew…”
It’s really sad that I can recite it word for word.
“We have to go back!”
My favorite part is, “Ain’t nothin’ sadder than watching Hurley cry”. I LOVE that video!
I watched it just now and…I cried. I even cried when they showed Shannon’s death for some reason.
I need help. Where’s Christian Shephard? He needs to help me “move on”.
Where’s the video?
I record reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 and Gilmore Girls every weekend on Soap Net and get very sad when I don’t have anymore DVRd and I have to wait until the next Saturday.
No worries, Amy – I have a 90210 obsession too. Just get your fix now, before Disney replaces SoapNet with yet another kiddie channel!
I have that same problem with Seinfeld… no matter how many times I watch them, I still DVR them and watch them (except for the one about the Nazis. Oh and the one about the dog. But otherwise, yeah!) And I get sad when I don’t have any more to watch…
“Oh, and I’m not engaged.” LOL!
Other than my obvious Twi-session (and by the way, I completely agree with the assertion that it’s no worse than being a sports fan), I have an inexplicable weakness for cooking competition shows – all of them – and I wouldn’t eat 90% of the food they’re making, but I can’t pass one up.
Oh my God, you sound like my mom. She is so obsessed with any cooking show- Top Chef, Paula Deen, you name it. My foolproof gift for her is always a Food Network cookbook. She’s apparently currently obsessed with Bethenny Frankel’s cookbook (yeah…she’s obsessed with RHONY just like I am).
I’m currently onboard the latest seasons of “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Next Food Network Star” and “Top Chef.” (Why are they all on now?!)
And I don’t even really cook!
…and yet you’d still have a decent chance of cracking the final four of “Hell’s Kitchen.”
You should check out “Masterchef Australia” (We live in Canada and have downloaded it). It just aired episode #60 for this season. It’s really entertaining, and airs 6 nights a week and features amateur chefs.
I really like the idea of a truly amateur competition, sounds fun! I’ll have to try to track that one down.
There’s an episode of The West Wing where Josh berates one of his employees for wearing a Star Trek pin around the office; now, Aaron Sorkin had problems with his fandom, but how is that any different from Josh wearing a baseball cap in his office, besides the fact that society has deemed some forms of fandom more “normal” than others?
Anyway, I’m currently mad for Wimbledon. I refresh about six different sites when I’m at work to keep up with what’s going on.
I am obsessed with “Drop Dead Diva.” It’s a fantastic show with one of the most talented lead comic actresses to grace the small screen in Brooke Elliott and I watch every episode at least ten times. The third episode is at 25 times and counting. There isn’t much on TV, but that still ranks as obsessive. The last time I watched an episode this much was Buffy’s “One More With Feeling.”
I used to be OBSESSED with Gilmore Girls reruns. It didn’t matter if I’d already seen the episode x times and I wasn’t going to buy the DVDs, but if it was on TV, I was watching it. I still occasionally watch a little (like earlier, I watched about half an episode).
I’m currently obsessed with SYTYCD. I never watched the show before this season, but I figured I’d like it because I love watching people dance well. I think I’ve watched every episode this season at least twice.
Based on the information above, it is clear to me that we should buy houses in the same neighborhood, have children that grow up and marry each other, organize a weekly game night and invent a secret language.
Oh, wait…You said “USED to be obsessed” with GG reruns. Hm. I suddenly feel us growing apart.
This made me laugh out loud.
LOL!
Besides Twilight and anything to do with Jane Austen, I recently discovered the TV show “Roswell” on Netflix and am totally obsessed.
omg yes roswell!!! found it first on hulu then immediately went after it on amazon and then netflix! i cant stop watching the youtube fan vids either!
I’m almost embarassed at how obsessed I am with Roswell, like since high school when it was first airing on the WB. And please do not get me started on the Max/Liz fanvids on youtube. I’ve been known to waste entire days watching them. Okay, yeah… I need help.
I too LOVE Roswell. Watched it obsessively when it was on and just re-discovered the episodes on Hulu. I am a freak for it.
THIS.
I was (and still) am so obsessed with Roswell. Proud owner of all the DVDs and cant get enough of them. Honestly, some of the episodes still make me a little bit weepy. There may or may not be Roswell fanfiction tucked away safely on an old broken laptop…
The Inbetweeners. I just discovered this show and I have watched the episodes on my DVR more than once. Completely obsessed.
YES! I knew I was going to love this show with this line from the first episode, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…except Polio”
And the obsession has only grown from there. I have seen them all multiple times.
I am obsessed with Kelly Clarkson! I google news her just about every day. I follow her on twitter @kelly_clarkson. I have all her albums, have the few dvds she has released, i have every magazine she has been on the cover of, I have her autograph frammed and I have seen her 4 times live!
Yeah Im a lil too obsessed!!!
My obsession with Lost and Arrested Development has caused me to make every conversation about them. Seriously. A friend was talking about some gross granola bar and I said “Have you ever wished they would make an actual Apollo bar? What about that Arrested Development episode when they’re talking about how some TV sets are so elaborate and then all that’s in their cupboard is a granola bar?”
Also this is REALLY embarrasing, but for some reason I am now so obsessed with Glee’s cover of “Like a Virgin” that on occasion I have sang and danced along to. I think I should stop though…the dogs are judging me.
‘Hey brother!’
…not as embarrassing as me being semi-obsessed with the “Glee” cover of “No Air.” (Which I just listened to today.)
(What can I say? I enjoy that song, and they virtually stopped playing on the radio around here after the Chris Brown incident.)
But do you sing along to it? Plus I live in an apartment building so…I’m 100% sure my neighbors think I’m insane.
Yes. Yes I do.
My girlfriend was in a singing group in college and I…was not. That means the talent disparity between the two of us pretty much mirrors the one between Rachel and Finn.
I was in a singing group in college but my voice sounds like Quinn’s, so…..not much better.
My Glee obsession is Defying Gravity, with a close second of Take A Bow. Anytime I’m alone in my car (and with 4 kids, that’s not often!) it’s on, and I am belting it out with all I’ve got. It has to be when I’m alone, because I’m pretty sure my attempt at the high notes would permanently scar anyone’s eardrums who heard me.
Wow…I’d actually forgotten that was Chris Brown. I think that somewhere in my brain, I’d decided it was someone else entirely…
Hey, I’m totally obsessed with Glee’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” but only the part where Jonathan Groff sings “turn around bright eyes!” twice in a row. I’ve probably listened to just that part 200 times. Neat.
I think that lately I’m just a little obsessed with Glee, period.
I guess one of my major obsessions is Coldplay. I love their music, I love them as a band, and it helps that I love Gwyneth Paltrow, so I was totally okay with her marrying and having children with Christopher Anthony John Martin. I’ve seen all of their videos, I own all their albums and most of their singles to get the b-sides, I have their 2003 live album/dvd, etc! Love them. Just a little bit.
ok i totally relate-i seem to like her in Thrillers-she’s gorgeous-Se7en,Talented Mr.Ripley,Sky Captain,
My obsession right now is True Blood.
ADAM LAMBERT!!!