a low-TV and no-US-crime-drama diet

I'm testing out a low-TV diet.

I should explain that I'm a TV addict. Much like an alcoholic who stays dry when he stays out of the pub, but can't resist when he's around alcohol, I can manage fine without a TV, but have real trouble staying away from it when I have access to one.

Right now we get the basic 5 UK channels by antenna (how quaint!). It seems that no matter how many or few channels you can get, there's still an awful lot of dreck, and very little quality. British TV is plagued by reality TV, home and garden shows, and variations on Big Brother - all of which I can't stand.

Anyway, I realized just how much time I was spending in front of  the box, and how many books I was collecting that I still hadn't read, that I really do want to read.

So I'm trying to ration myself to 1 hour a day. It doesn't work all the time (I was definitely clockwatching the first few days), but it's getting easier, once you stop automatically turning it on when you get home.

For Lent, rather than abstaining from foods, I'm giving up US crime dramas, my main vice. Channel 5 here carries all my favourites like CSI and Law and Order and the one about disappearing people, and they've all just started new seasons, so I will definitely be giving up something I enjoy.

These same shows drive Robert a bit crazy, mainly because so often you can drive a truck through the holes in the plot and the leaps of logic are pretty astonishing. Sadly, this critique hasn't deterred me. I blame it on Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and early introduction to such shows as Hill St. Blues, Magnum PI, and other cops-and-robbers whodunnit shows from my youth...

With any luck, I'll actually read a lot more of my books, or actually finish some lingering projects.