The Boob Tube

"Hmm, what TV show should I catch up on while I eat my breakfast today?"

A question that sparked a debate, this morning.

Jenny is under the impression that 30 Rock is the new show for "intellectuals." How does this match up with your experiences? It certainly didn't match up with mine.  Trying to conjure up what meaning the Seattle population/culture might put behind the experience of an intellectual TV show, I came up with some semantic possibilities that are generally mutually exclusive and seem to cover most outlying cases:

1. To be watched for the purpose of elevating ones intellect; it must bring to light new information about a culture, maybe a past historical culture, a hidden culture somewhere in the world today, or a hyper-specific micro-culture such as among the astronomical, musical, or zoological community.  (Bill Nye, NOVA, National Geographic, Bill Moyer)
2. To be watched to merely feel smarter than another person or another group. Two subsections:(a.) it must be clever and witty, with humor which may take a few moments longer to process. (Frasier, many Britcoms like Are you being served?, and maybe this is what Jenny wants 30 Rock to fall under)(b.) or, by merely portraying a lifestyle that we perceive as being made up of the most intelligent types of people in our society, it makes us feel like a part of it, and thereby, smarter. (E.R., House, Alias)
3. To be watched because it is highly involving and cognitively stimulating; perhaps it has gone on for many seasons and has a myriad of plot twists and mysteries which prompt speculation and logical reasoning. (24, LOST, Monk)
4. To be watched to try to find meaning in life, to be enlightened to ways of living and being; maybe it transmits values or lessons that one will apply to one's own life, or by witnessing another lifestyle portrayed in a meaningful way, it will give perspective for one's own life. (Modern Family, Punky Brewster, The Cosby Show)

I watch a lot of stupid TV shows.  I need to have a certain amount of stupidity in my life, and that's not the role of an intellectual TV show, so 30 Rock would be appropriate to fill that void.  Unfortunately, I only watch stupid TV shows, courtesy of hulu.com.  A new goal I am setting here and now, is to eliminate at least 50% of the stupid ones, and replace those with better ones, the next time I'm eating breakfast and catching up with broadcasts.  I want influences in my life to be a better person! An evaluation of my vices:

The Office - Senseless and absurd. It used to be ok, but it has gotten so incredibly unrealistic and ridiculous that I can't bear to waste my time on it. I realized this at the wedding episode - but it is so hard to stoppppp, I want Erin and that other guy to get together! Sigh.
30 Rock - Bone-headed, vacuous and insipid. How can this possibly be intellectual? Now, trying to see Jenny's side of things, I did some research to see if anyone else on the web publicly claimed the show as smart. I found "25 Super Smart Shows..." which had reasonable explanations for the intelligence factor of most of said 25 shows, but all they had to say for 30 Rock was: "This comedy is the brain-child of Tina Fey and documents the goings-on of a fictional live sketch comedy show in New York. Based on Fey’s work at Saturday Night Live, the show includes a cast of ten major characters." Very good, mister - it is making you count the characters, and therefore makes you feel smart?? All I come away with from watching this show is Jenna referencing her disgusting asexual sex life, Tina Fey drooling and using grade-school body jokes to conjure up a laugh, big ol' beerbellies and people under-appreciating their families. Yuckity yuck.
Parks and Recreation - Meh. I watch it when I run out of watching the other stupid shows. But, I find that it's more appealing to me in its ludicrousness.  It's slightly more realistic, there's usually a good moral, and nice characters outweigh mean ones.
Community - Pretty stupid, but I'm pretty sure I like it. Good lessons.
Modern Family - Amazingly wonderful. This show is the savior of today's comedies. Thank you so much for existing and teaching us all about family - though we can be 50x more messed up or 50x more perfect, we're all in it together and we need to love each other!
Ugly Betty - Betty is a super-woman! The cast is diverse and though the plot is crazy, there is love!
Glee - No comment. But I just need to know what happens.

Ohhh myyy gosshhh I waste so much time!  K. I am keeping the shows that make me want to be nicer at the end of watching them.  Wish me luck! Nova, here I come!