I almost skipped Sunday Salon today, for no good reason, but then I remembered the award that Jodie from Book Gazing gave me — the Heartfelt Award — where she specifically mentioned she liked my Sunday Salon posts. Reading that made me really happy and thinking about it inspired me to work on a post instead of lounging on my couch watching Veronica Mars.
And coincidentally, the topic of Weekly Geeks this week is guilty pleasures — what do book bloggers do when they’re not reading and blogging. Since one of the major things I did all week (instead of reading and therefore destroying my chances of a Sunday Salon topic) was indulge my guilty pleasure of tv on DVD.
For some reason, this year has made me totally obsessed with tv on DVD. I rarely watch broadcast television, in part because I think I got used to having TiVO at home and now can’t stand to watch commercials. Plus, my antenna is iffy at best, and nothing makes me more angry than to have a show turn to little pixely boxes part way through.
In the last nine months I’ve watched three seasons of How I Met Your Mother, all of Arrested Development, one season of Gilmore Girls, three seasons of The West Wing, one season of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Extras, assorted episodes of Bones, The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and almost all of Veronica Mars. And I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting about.
Good grief, that is so much television! But at least most of it is good tv, right? Right?
I can’t tell you how I find the time for all that. What I love about tv on DVD (and online, occasionally) is that I get to skip commercials and don’t have to wait a week between episodes. The only show I watch regularly in real time is The Office, and it practically kills me each week waiting to see what disgustingly adorable thing Jim and Pam are going to do next.
Honestly, I think I have a problem. But it’s one I want to keep indulging, at least for the time being…
What’s your recommendation for more shows I should watch on DVD? Do you have a favorite tv show? A favorite guilty pleasure tv show?
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Oh how I miss Veronica Mars. I don’t know of another TV show that I mourn as much as VM, seriously. (But at least Pizz is on Private Practice…)
I love Arrested Development! I’m proud to say I watched it while it was on the air, but I’m sad it no longer is… but there will be a movie! And I know it will be good.
How I Met Your Mother is also fantastic, as is the U.S. Office. If you have not watched the U.K. Office starring Ricky Gervais, then I highly recommend that too. And really , so is Season One of Gilmore Girls (none of the other seasons are as fantastic as that one, in my opinion… it doesn’t have a single bad episode!).
I have to admit I am a hardcore old-school Buffy fan, so if you’ve never checked out the show, I’d say you really should. It’s sci-fi, yes, but it’s also hilarious and heartbreaking, and the second and third seasons are some of the best to ever be aired on television. I also really liked season 1 of Felicity for a similar reason (it so perfectly captures that first year college experience!), and Alias is pretty great for the first 3 season as well… Also, it sounds silly, I know, but the first season of The O.C. is also unexpectedly awesome!
Oh, I love Veronica Mars! I miss her so much! i now own all three seasons on dvd now, so I can get my fix when I need some great writing and acting etc. I love this post, I know all about guilty pleasures with the tv!!
Let’s see, favourite tv – well, VM is one. House is another. The Office of course. Oh – 30 Rock! My husband and I both love this one, the writing is fabulous and it’s funny and sarcastic and really good comedy. Kind of like Arrested Development but set in a TV studio instead. My guilty pleasures are also mysteries, and BBC productions of novels. lately I’ve been devoting my time to North and South (the BBC one, not the dreadful 1980’s version with Patrick Swayze!) and the story of John and Margaret *sigh* a fabulous ending…..
thanks for the lovely post, and long may VM live! I wish they’d bring her back as an adult or do a movie or something. I need some new VM soon!! Lol
I just watched all of Arrested Development on my between-semesters-break, and I wanted to have its children.
I’m a big fan of TV on DVD too – I almost prefer it to movies :-).
Was it the first three seasons of The West Wing you watched? Those were the best ones.
Freaks and Geeks – all one season of it – is a show I never saw until the DVD was out – loved it.
We are currently in the midst of a long-term project: watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD with our 14-year-old – just started season 4. If you’ve never watched it, you have to do something about that :-).
I became hooked on Arrested Development and How I Met Your Mother this past year – I strongly recommend the new show Better Off Ted. It’s got the lovely Portia de Rossi in it, and it’s absolutely hilarious.
Wonderfalls is a gorgeous show canceled before its time, about a girl who works in a Niagara Falls souvenir shop, and little plastic animals start telling her what to do. It’s practically a perfect show. Travesty to have been canceled.
And yes, I second the Joss Whedon recommendations. The first season of Buffy nearly put me off it, but from then on it just gets wonderfuller and wonderfuller. Its sister show Angel is a lot of fun too, and of course Firefly is a wonderful show.
I spent the past week watching Season 8 of Stargate, so I”m in no position to judge 😉
Happy Weekly Geeks 🙂
Have you seen House, or Joan of Arcadia? I like these, in addition to Bones, The Office, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls …
I only watch tv on dvd. My current one is Scrubs. Also, I second the Firefly recommendation!
I’m with you on the VM and AD love, and I third the Firefly rec – anything by Joss is amazing. My newest obsession is Doctor Who. Netflix has the first three seasons available to watch instantly, and I just got the last disk of the fourth season in the mail. Other shows I love: Dollhouse, Chuck, South Park. There are a few shows I really need to try (How I Met Your Mother especially), but for some reason I just can’t get into The Office. Ooh, and I love Summer Heights High! It’s a New Zealand show about a high school. It’s a mockumentary, and the same actor plays the three main characters. It’s hilarious!
Oh. And don’t forget a couple of seasons of ER as well. Greatest medical show ever.
And this is a REALLY guilty pleasure I just thought about, so I didn’t mention it in my own post, but I just LOVE Golden Girls and actually own the first three seasons on dvd 😉
Hey you’e naming all my favourite shows! I love the invention of box sets (althought there’s a bit of a media trend now to talk about box sets as if they are the sole reason for obesity). They let me watch the good tv which the UK puts on at stupid o’clock (really BBC2 how am I expected to stay up to watch a nightly episode of The Wire if you put it on after midnight and I gget up at 6:30).
I don’t watch much TV and rarely watch DVDs. My guilty pleasure TV show is Dancing with the Stars.
I think I watched the three seasons of Veronica Mars in a weekend!
I stumbled upon Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip somewhere, and enjoyed it so much, that I had to go back and watch everything else that Aaron Sorkin had created. West Wing was on the list, and I ended up buying its boxset, just because it was incredible – slight blip around Season 4-5, but the last two seasons picked up again.
I really wish Studio 60 was still on TV though.
Don’t know if you like that kind of thing, but I quite liked Alias, and am a big fan of House. Have Prison Break, Dexter, and Numbers on my ‘Watch list’.
So you love Veronica Mars, welcome in the gang !
Rob Thomas (vm mastermind) has a new show with the adorable Paul Rudd, you can watch it on netfix. This year was the first season, it’s a comedy this time but with the same dry, dark humor and sarcasm as it was in vm. And there are older VM alumni in main cast and in guest cast : it’s just brilliant and very funny.
My guilty pleasure is Greek (it’s aired on abc family…i know i know) but surprisingly it’s very funny, it has pop culture references, it’s describe quite genuinely college life, it’s just well acted and well written for a teen show (it’s remind me Undeclared; judd appatow show after freaks and Geeks).
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.