Television may be Gone but It's not LOST

About a month ago we cancelled our Dish Network.

I’ll give you a moment to digest the enormity of the sentence that I just typed.

Okay, everybody back with me?

It’s true. For the past 30-plus days our household has been completely without a television feed. We didn’t replace it with cable (I have very STRONG negative feelings about Comcast – the cable provider in our area – and its shoddy way of doing business). We haven’t purchased a digital converter box to take advantage of “free” television. No, none of that for us. We are totally without a television signal of any kind.

Now, before I proceed I should explain something. Our choice to cancel Dish wasn’t some kind of radical political statement. We’re not into any of that “Kill Your Television” nonsense. It started out innocently enough as a way to cut the monthly budget. Actually, it was just a joke when first mentioned. Back then, we thought of paying for television as a “necessity” not a luxury. But as time went on we realized we were kinda wrong. We were surprised to discover the staggering availability of programming on the internet. I'm not telling you anything you don’t know. Between Hulu, network websites and our Netflix membership, there are plenty of television shows to be streamed, downloaded and watched really easily. Sure you have to wait 24 hours or even a week sometimes to see new episodes… but patience is a virtue, right?  Our reasoning is, if we’re already paying for a Netflix membership AND for an internet connection, why pay for Dish too?  I mean, it's not like we EVER get Cardinal games on TV down here!  AND we have a cable that runs right from the computer to the TV so we don't have to huddle around the computer screen to watch anything online.

The more we talked about it, the less crazy the idea started to become. In addition to saving money we figured that losing 3 hours in front of the television each night, might be good for us. We could work on projects around the house, play games, talk, read or even watch movies. Three hours a night, 21 hours a week, 84 hours a month and 1,008 hours a year; we were taking them back! Imagine the possibilities. Afterall, it’s much more “sexy” to believe, “We’ve given up television as a lifestyle choice. It’s a decision we’ve made to improve our everyday existence, not just to save a few dollars.”

So we called Dish Network, cancelled our subscription, sent back the DVR (there were only a FEW tears shed… no, but seriously, it did hurt a little bit) and set out to live our new television free, activity filled life together. I won’t bore you with the list of projects we’ve accomplished in a short month. But, suffice it to say, we’ve done some stuff. It’s actually been really nice. We even eat dinner at the dining room table again! Which was at first it was little awkward. You know, like having to talk to one another during a meal? But, we’re getting used to better at it.

Now, don’t let me fool you. Like the textbook junkie that I am, I haven’t completely removed the television monkey from my back.

My name is Molly and I am a television addict.

Remember how I mentioned all those readily available avenues to watch television? Well, I'm taking full advantage of them. Were you wondering why I haven’t posted anything in a few days? I’ll tell you why. Last Friday I decided to start watching Lost again from the very beginning.  I'm just doing it to prepare for the series Finale next month. All five seasons are available to stream to my computer through Netflix. It’s totally amazing. And so, my addiction is in full control. I have watched 21 – yes 20 + 1 – episodes over the past six days. At forty-three minutes per episode that’s roughly 15 hours of television. And, I’d like to say that’s all I’ve watched, but it isn’t. Hulu, Netflix and network websites are like pushers feeding my habit and scratching my itch.

So, I guess I'm back to admitting that we gave up television simply to save money. Were we really fooling anyone anyway? Because unless there’s some sort of full-on intervention (and don’t you EVEN dare), I'm not giving this vice up… ESPECIALLY in the middle of a month long LOST marathon.

* You can PURCHASE this photo along with several other Lost cast photos on ABC's website.  This photo is borrowed with great appreciation from the same site.