Saturday, May 25, 2013

Details on the shows I watch...

Ever since I put up the post about how many TV shows I follow, people have been asking me how in the hell I can watch all these shows? Don't I have a job? Well there are a several factors that help me out with this. First, I don't have a girlfriend/wife calling for me to spend time with her, or kids to wrangle. I don't go out drinking or partying. In fact, most of my free time is spent at home. Take a moment and think about how much time you spend having dinner with your partner's family, or going out to do something they want to do. Or entertaining guests, or watching sports. Have you got it all? Now, add up all that time and then fill it with nothing but TV shows and you'll get an idea not only of how to get it done, but also how I pass most of my days.


Second, I don't watch live TV. This means that I don't watch episodes as they are broadcast. I download them and watch them per MY schedule. So, I can watch Thursday shows on Friday or Monday shows on Wednesday, etc. The other benefit of downloading my shows is that I don't watch commercials. So, what is normally an hour long show is really only 45 min. So in a typical 3 hour block, while YOU can watch only 3 shows because of the commercials, I can watch FOUR.

Third, I have an absurdly long commute to work. Part of that commute is an hour long ride on a train, so that's 2hrs a day that I watch TV every day. Because of my commute, and the schedule that commute necessitates, I only have about 2 hours after work to get stuff done for the next day and most of that is taken up by cooking dinner/lunch. While I'm cooking, I watch TV. And since I don't go out to party or drink or out to clubs, my weekend is usually free for me to watch my shows.

Fourth, All 52 of the shows I listed don't air at the same time during the year. This allows me watch new episodes consistently throughout the entire year while avoiding re-runs as much as possible. Here's the break down:

Fall Shows:
These shows broadcast NEW episodes usually from Sept-Nov and then go on break until Jan-Feb for the holidays. Sometimes, if the network has enough cancellations, the shows won't come back until as late as MARCH so the network has room to put in replacement shows that they'll use to try to get ratings for the 2nd half of the year. This is when I watch my WINTER shows. And when they end their year in May or June, I watch my SUMMER shows until next Fall.
Arrow Bates Motel Big Bang Theory Bones Castle
Criminal Minds* CSI Dexter Elementary Following, The
Glee Go On Grimm Hannibal Happy Endings
How I Met Your Mother* Last Man Standing Mentalist, The Nikita* Once Upon A Time
Person Of Interest Revolution Smash Supernatural Talking Dead
Touch Vampire Diaries, The Vegas Walking Dead, The


Winter Shows:
These shows broadcast NEW episodes usually from Jan-Mar and then go on break until next Jan. They usually have only 13 episode seasons, so they fit right in the holiday gap of the Fall shows. Yes, there can be some overlap, but not much.
Being Human Californication Da Vinci's Demons Defiance Game Of Thrones
Haven House of Lies Lost Girl Real Time With Bill Maher Restaurant: Impossible
Warehouse 13*


Summer Shows:
These shows broadcast NEW episodes usually from Jun-Aug and then go on break until next Jun. They usually have run 13-18 episode seasons, so they fit right in the summer block. They also tend to not have very much competition since everything else airing is usually re-runs or dumb reality TV shows.
Burn Notice* Continuum Covert Affairs Franklin & Bash Necessary Roughness
Newsroom, The Royal Pains Suits


Special Exceptions:
These shows don't really fit into any specific category in terms of seasons. Mostly because they air in the UK and they have a different schedule for their shows. House of Cards however is a Netflix show, so because the original content is originally broadcast over the internet and it's the first show Netflix has created on its own, it doesn't conform to standard TV seasons.
Doctor Who Orphan Black Sherlock House of Cards



And there you have it folks. The answer to the question you've all been asking yourselves. How do I do watch all these shows? Very carefully. And at specific times of the year. By the way, I've also marked shows that have been cancelled or will be airing their final season next year. Anything cancelled will be crossed out. Final seasons are marked with a red asterisk (*).

So it looks like I'll have a few free slots available for new shows! 

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