Susan Year Itch

TV on DVD Guide

I will always love movies, but lately two hours of action (or four hours if you’re still into Bollywood) just isn’t enough for me. I need 22 hours. No, make that 44. Make it six years of action. I want to follow actors through the aging process, criticize each new haircut, and congratulate myself when I notice that a minor character has dropped off the face of the earth for no reason. I want births! Break-ups! Proposals! Divorce! I want surprises! Cliffhangers! Triumphant returns of nearly-forgotten flames who make both the heroine and the viewer gasp with surprise.

And also, I want to be able to get home from class at 10 pm and be in bed by 11.

Such is the beauty of Netflix! I can get almost any TV show I want on DVD, sent disc by disc to my house. I still get the thrill of anticipating the next episode, only I wait two days for it, not a week, and I get four episodes at a time, not one. With a productive yet depressing schedule like mine,* it’s mandatory to have something to look forward to. In fact, most of the other graduate school suckas I know – or really anybody I know who works long hours and still squeezes in a band/school/second job/sport – are similarly obsessed with starting from the beginning of a series and working their sweet way through. In fact, I see my friend Ashley a fair amount and I think it’s pretty much 80% of what we talk about (the other 20% being the customary “How are you and how’s school?” questions). She’s doing Grey's Anatomynow, and I just wrapped up Veronica Marsand am blowing through Gilmore Girls.

Actually, now that I mention it, that’s how I interact with most of my friends. I feel a little closer to my friend Christophile, who’s in grad school in DC, because I can tell on Netflix that she’s just started Entouragefrom the beginning. My roommate Kelly and I have conflicting schedules, but it’s a good thing, otherwise I wouldn’t get any homework done because I’d be hooked on whatever show she’s into this month in addition to my own.

It’s comforting to know that it’s not just me who’s tired of a constantly stressful life that rarely changes. And I’m not the only one who instead takes solace in other people’s lives – fictional people, yes, but because they’re fictional, their daily activities are so much more fascinating than mine.

As an added bonus, I can spy on Rory, Lorelai, Logan, the other Logan, Sheriff Lamb, Sawyer, Ross, and Rachel ten times more often than I would if they were just movie characters. And I can do it in neatly packaged 47-minute increments, leaving me enough time to get some enjoyment out of my evening but not riddling me with guilt that I haven’t left myself enough time to read Milton.

There are some caveats to becoming a TV on DVD addict – there are a limited number of really good shows. After you finish one, you experience a strange sense of loss and skepticism that you’ll find another one up to par. My friend Emily and her boyfriend just ran into this after they finished The Sopranos. Luckily, she started Lostdirectly afterwards, but what if she’d tried Will & Graceor Romeby accident? She might have sunk into post-Soprano depression permanently. Or at least until the next season starts.

For this reason, I’m going to give you a list of shows I think have that special something, and shows that I haven’t gotten to yet, but I’ve heard are marvelous.

Shows I Can Vouch For:
Veronica Mars – a UPN show (now CW) that is extremely clever, surprising, and confusing if you don’t pay attention. Includes both small town and high school drama and occasionally features a tiny bit of cheesiness. Try if you liked: Gilmore Girls, Buffy, X-Files (there’s a lot of conspiracy theory).
Gilmore Girls – WB show known for its super-fast and super-smart dialogue. Known in my circles for Luke Danes and Jess Mariano, the surly love interests. Small town minutia and realistic teenagers. Pretty sure they reference every band you like.

The Sopranos – HBO, so includes lots of cursing and blood. I watched this in total and then tried to switch to 24, but couldn’t take the non-cursing, non-bloody network show seriously. I might try it again now that it’s been a couple years and my Stars Hollow fixation has mellowed me out enough so that the 24 action might seem exciting again.

Lost – Don’t resist jumping on this bandwagon. There’s a reason it’s so popular.

The Blue Planet – A BBC documentary series about the ocean that is mesmerizing, addictive, and often tear-provoking.

The Office – the BBC version. I laugh at the American version, but Jim is no Tim and Pam is no Dawn etc. You must watch this 12-episode-plus-an-amazing-special at least four times. I recommend subtitles and someone to cringe behind.

Arrested Development – Ah, the must-see of 2004. We’ve all lost interest in the last season due to repeated “It’s cancelled! It’s totally not cancelled!” debates, but it’s still one of the funniest shows ever made and will always be a DVD favorite.

Mr. Show – Long dead but still alive in the minds of those guys you know who only speak in quotations. The good thing about having Mr. Show discs around is that you don’t need to watch them in sequence. Takes the stress out of Netflix.

Friends – It’s like 22 minutes of candy while you’re waiting for someone to pick you up or make you dinner.

Shows I Plan to Give A(nother) Shot:
Six Feet Under
Desperate Housewives
Buffy (if I get desperate enough, and only because Kelly owns every season)
Monarch of the Glen
24
Extras

*Work, gym, homework, class, homework, limited phone time with long-distance HD, bed.