For some of us, there are things we just refuse to watch or read. Whole genres that are blocked from our view. Places we will not be dragged to.
We spent last weekend in Michigan, visiting my father and sister, staying at my sister's house. They were incredibly kind and generous hosts. They provided a comfortable room and bed, delicious meals, fresh towels, and great conversation.
Some of that conversation centered on different television shows. Falling Skies was mentioned and I realized that I had forgotten to record it at home. There was also a discussion of Nathan Filllion the actor, and that my sister, Carol, had recently watched the great science fiction series Firefly and it's movie follow up, Serenity. She loved it but said she had to watch these shows alone, as Mike, her husband and my brother-in-law, refused to watch anything with even the slightest taint of science fiction or fantasy. A commercial came on for The Great and Powerful Oz, and Carol mentioned she wanted to see it, but would have to rent it and see it by herself. Being incredible fans of many science and fantasy programs, movies and books, Alison and I were a little startled at Mike's decision. We never really got an explanation from Mike as to why he disdained such a widely popular genre, without even being willing to sample any.
This is not to pick on Mike. I think many of us exclude one genre or another out of hand. For some, it may be the only way to cope and filter the large volume of entertainment choices out there. I do try to be open to shows that are in genres I don't normally watch. I'm not a big fan of family dramas or dramadies, but I did enjoy Party of Five, and was a really big fan of Gilmore Girls. I tried Parenthood for two seasons, but finally decided to let Alison watch that on her own. I am very selective with police procedurals, but do watch a few, Right now I am watching CSI and The Killing, but the vast majority of CBS (except CSI and The Mentalist), TNT (except Saving Grace, which is not on any more) and USA (except Psych) crime shows completely lose me.
So are there any genres that I are in my No Entertainment Zone? Well, off the scope of the Ripping Good Yarns categories, although I do watch an occasional realty competition, I have a virtually complete disdain of realty based shows, particularly those based on an individual or career. I would sooner watch a test pattern than Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo Boo. The one exception has been American Pickers, with it's propensity to discover interesting antiques. I don't watch it very often, but it is something that I can sometimes share with Alison. There are a whole fleet of shows Alison watches on HGTV, where my eyes just glaze over and I shut them out.
The biggest exclusion that I have that would incringe on Ripping Good Yarns territory are medical shows, both fiction and non-fiction. I cannot stand to watch disease of the week type shows. Hanging out at the hospital with arrogant, omnipotent doctors is not my idea of a good time. As an adult, this ban has been pretty thorough and complete. The only exception (other than a few episodes of Chicago Hope) has been M*A*S*H, which was as much or more a show about coping with war as it was a medical show.
So there you have it. My No Entertainment Zones. If you have any you would like to share, please comment here or on Facebook. Or if you have a medical show that you think someone who doesn't like medical shows should try, let me know that as well.
Sometimes, even No Entertainment Zones should be flown into.
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