Sunday, May 10, 2009

A Sunday Reflection . . .

Saint Jude / Patron of Lost Causes



I have become a committed TV
watcher. By that I mean for the first time since childhood I am planning life around what is on the television that night. I'm too old to be embarrassed by it, but at the same time, I am not proud of it either.

It is to be expected I suppose. For the last thirty years or so, if I haven't been working, I have been at a little league game, or performance, or recital of some kind or other, or hitting ground balls in the front yard; all things I enjoyed, by the way (okay, and the occasional night out with the boys). But now with only one son living at home, and he on his own, my wife and I have evenings free and have begun to waste said evenings watching regular prime-time television.

I have never been so normal. I like it. I think.

American Idol. . . 24 . . . Boston Legal. . . Life. . . Office. . . I'm hooked. They, or it, has got me. How do I loose myself from this enjoyable grip?
"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."*
I admit, in the hierarchy of evils, excessive television watching is at the low end of bad, nevertheless, goodness is a habit achieved at the expense of the other law working in me. There is some self-denial in any good act, some thing to which I must say "no" as I am saying "yes" to the Good. Some remote to put down and some book to pick up.

At least it seems to me. I say this knowing that two opposing but commonly accepted views are always pulling at me, that the real evil is in believing in the existence of the Good (Nietzsche), or that Faith is perfection of the world and not the redemption of the world (nearly every religious broadcast). I'll oppose those notions, remote in hand or not, because I believe the Great Philosopher who said that virtue is the habit of doing good. There is just no explaining that away.

Which is why I like Boston Legal, it neither denies depravity or promotes the angelic.

That's Tuesday and Wednesday night, 8 - 11pm. In case you were wondering.

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* Saint Paul's epistle to the Romans

4 comments:

Jake Good said...

I love the Office, but then again, I started watching the BBC edition before the NBC edition was announced... Not to brag, but most people don't even realize there was a BBC version that it's based off of.

Ricky Gervais is ridiculously funny...

And this week's Office was one of the best of the season, along with last week's. Great show!

Francis Shivone said...

Jake -- Office is the best series ever, in my view. And last Thursday was one of the best. Whoever created the "other" camera action is brilliant.
I have never watched the BBC version, but like a lot of our better shows, they started there. Thanks.

Lynn said...

With me it's movies. I only actually *watch* them the first time. The ones I like, I just put on as background for my knitting, and if there is dancing, I look up for that.

Sitting here at the computer with my chicken Caesar salad and reading through my Bloglines. And then I am going to curl up on the couch with the last few rows of the left front of the current sweater, and "Fiddler on the Roof" before heading to Firstborn's for M-day dinner.

Sunni R. said...

I thought I was the only person who watched and enjoyed "Life." Dad loves Boston Legal.