About 2 years ago, on a whim, I picked up the first season of West Wing on DVD. I have been so f-ing hooked ever since.
I never once watched the show on televison, you know, like a normal person. So, my M.O. was to wait until each complete season would come out at Best Buy, rush madly to the store and then spend the next 2 or 3 nights watching all 22 episodes. My obsession was not a problem while I was living alone, aside from the generally pathetic picture of a full-grown man, sitting in a lazy boy, smoking cigarettes and being totally engrossed in a fictional presidency at 4am in the morning.
However, when I moved in with my lady friend, she did not quite understand this little peccadillo of mine, but she has learned to accept that a new season of West Wing in my hands means that I won't be coming to bed anytime soon for the next 3 nights.
Now, however, my quest to see the end of the Bartlett administration has come to a close. I recieved the 7th and final season for my birthday last week and have now watched all of the episodes. I'm sure my lady friend is happy but like a drug addict who has cleaned up, I can't help but miss my addiction just a little bit.
Basically, complete seasons of any T.V. show on DVD are the most subtle form of devilry ever played on people by the entertainment industry. That being said however, I totally plan on purchasing the first season of Lost soon. I've never seen the show but I have a good feeling that it will replace the ol' West Wing as my visual crack.
--JWS
It could be worse, you could be hooked on "Smallville" like my daughter.. (grins)
My husband used to be addicted to "The L Word" Go figure. I have a problem with shows that feature Rob Lowe, except maybe "Tommy Boy" ;)
Purchasing the first season of LOST is a great idea. You will NOT regret it. It was fantastic.
If you are looking for suggestions try 24. Its usually kinda pricey but there are 24 45 minute episodes so its not bad bang for your buck. Nothing worse than spending the $40 I did on Entourage, season 1 only to find there were only 8 30 minute episodes.
Don't encourage him, people. And for the love of God, don't offer other suggestions!
I want to make it clear that I really, really like The West Wing. But I can't stay up until 3am watching back-to-back episodes. I just can't.
When I moved into my apartment in Boston, I called the cable company and said "I want to see West Wing on NBC on Wednesday nights. That's all I need cable for." The young woman tried to sell me some digital, multi-channel, more than my rent package.
"No, I don't need all that. I want to see West Wing on Wednesdays nights. That's it." And so she tried to sell me something a little less, say, only twice as much as my electric bill.
"Seriously, if you had a package that only allowed me to watch NBC on Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm, that's the one I would want." She finally told me about a package that would cost $8.65 but only came with 7 stations. "Is one of them NBC at 9 o'clock on Wednesday nights? If so, that's all I need." To this day, I don't think she really understood.
Hey, everybody's got a show or two that they're addicted to. I'm glad to say that I currently have none, but at a point in my life, I would have shows that I HAD to watch 4 out of 5 days of the week. Not good...
I've never watched Lost either, but I hear it's awesome.
I am hooked on Lost, but here in Australia we only just finnished the second season, i'm looking so forward to the 3rd season, like a true "Lost" dork.
I did a similar thing with 24. There was an A&E marathon one holiday so I Tivo'd the entire first season and watched it in 3 days. It was enough to get me hooked on the newest season. Target had the 24 season boxes on sale recently for $16 per season.
I watched the 4th season of the Soprano's over a weekend in Toronto when i should have been out shopping and getting drunk....there was a snow storm...that's my excuse.
But yeah, Lost looks rather cool, i have yet to see it myself and was going to rent it a few disks at a time.
Symply - I had a friend that was addicted to Smallville and she would literally get up and leave out of any situation when it was time for it to come on.
JLee - That's a bit harsh. I'm not much of a Chris Farley fan, but he and David Spade are pretty funny in TBoy. With Lowe, I'm pissed that he left West Wing to be the lead in his ill-fated lawyer drama: The Lions Den.
Lucy - Yeah, the other half of 2Dollars has been a Lost disciple since the beginning and everyone I've spoken to says it's just amazing. I'll probably give in and get the first season over Christmas.
IDig - I've seen one full season of 24 and it is amazing, but I've learned several things about the overall plots from previews and from people in the office. So, I'm going to let that one stew for a while and start getting the seasons in a couple of years.
LadyFriend - Quiet you! Back in your cage!
Boston - That's true dedication and I like it.
Grace - Previous to West Wing, I was addicted to Angel, which is not the coolest thing for a twenty-something year old man to be addicted to. So, I agree that there are both ups and downs to TV show addiction.
Carmel - I'm glad to hear more rousing support for Lost. My decision is indeed sealed. However, I must say that I have taken great pains to know almost nothing about the show. If anyone were to divulge big plot secrets, I would be forced to travel to their homes and bludgeon them in their sleep...even if they do live on the opposite side of the planet. Just kidding. :)
Sort of :(
Robert - $16 per season. Less than a buck per episode. That's a damn good deal.
Miss Ash - I've considered getting into the Sopranos as well, but hearing people talk, some seasons are great and some are just lame and boring. The inconsistency makes me wonder.
--JWS