About 6 years ago, while reading the Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly, I realized that there were too many shows that I was interested in watching for me to remember them all. The premier dates were all over the place and many of them aired on the same night and time as other shows that I watch so it was a mess trying to recall which days I wanted to watch what and when. I realized I needed to get organized.
That's when I devised my Starting Schedule System. (The "Starting" portion of the name is because this is merely a jumping-off point, the schedule changes considerably once shows have premiered and they stink so I bail, or they stink so the network cancels them, or they're shuffled around, or whathaveyou.)
I'm a big enough TV junkie that I keep up year-round with the buzz on new and returning shows. I follow the up-fronts in May and I know what shows get renewed, what the new shows are and what the scuttlebutt is on whether they're watchable or not. So by the time August rolls around and the premier dates are set, I sit down to make my plan.
Here's how the system works: I have a TiVo in my bedroom and a DirecTV HD DVR in my living room so I can record up to three shows at any given time. Now, because I don't like to miss shows, that means that I can only make room in my viewing habits for up to three shows that air in the same time slot on the same night. If there are four that I am interested in, a hard choice has to be made. After I've narrowed down which shows are making the cut, I decide which machine I'll record them on. That decision making process is fairly abstract and boring so I'll not bother you with that explanation. Once I've settled on the shows, and which room they'll be recorded in, I find their premiere dates and create my spreadsheet.
That's just the geeky part - the SUPER geeky part is what happens next. Once I have my recording matrix (for that is what I have named it) ready, I create my own personal schedule. That is, I figure out exactly what I'll be watching and when. It's as if I have my very own network and I'm setting up my prime time schedule.
Damn it feels good to know how I'll be spending my TV viewing nights come September!
Now let the mocking begin...
2 comments:
no mocking here....in fact can you send me your spreadsheets? :) you know I get all my show recommendations from you.
I don't watch everything you watch but I do watch most of what you watch.
It's so much harder to squeeze in all the shows you want to watch when prime time doesn't start untill 8pm like it does here. Most shows I end up watching the next day or even waiting until the weekend when I have time to devote to watching it properly.
Brenda my dear, THIS is why we're friends! Of course I'll send you my geek sheets.
Let me know which of the same shows we're going to be watching when you decide - I always like to know who I can commiserate with if the need arises.
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