Binge Watching

How great is it that we can binge watch shows now? It is so awesome. No waiting. No commercials. Hours on end of escapism. Can't sleep? No problem. Catch another episode.

So, confession: I love TV shows. Reality shows (nothing with hillbillies...sorry hillbillies), cop shows, movies, internet shows, comedy, drama, suspense. Love it.

This summer, I was just out of shows. I know, it seems like this would never happen, but it does. So I was on HBOGo, and thought it would be sort of fun to watch Oz. This was HBO's first drama series, and for its time, was very provocative and cutting edge. It is pretty racy, portraying prison life, while providing a political and socio-economic commentary on a broken system that warehouses the poor and those of color. It was on like 25 years before Orange is the New Black. So that in and of itself is sad, because OITNB is basically saying all the same things, but with women instead of men. Which means it's all still a problem.

Anyway, back to the show. It was really good. I think there were like eight seasons, and it has some big stars in it before they were big stars, and some people that were on Eight is Enough, and then also some people you never saw again. Oh, and the dude from Ghostbusters. I think he just died. Ernie Hudson. Maybe he didn't. I need to Google him.

As I was watching it, I realized how inbred TV shows are. The doctor is the same chick that was the captain in Dexter. And the head of the El Norte gang or something was the main detective that married and divorced the captain in Dexter. There was also a bunch of people that went on to The Sopranos, like pretty much everyone. One of the main guys went on to Law and Order SUV (more on that in a minute). The dude that played the Governor always plays a mean guy. The main villian wears a hat that defies gravity. It was good. The intro was hella long because that was in during that time, but you can fast forward over that.

I have no idea how this guy's hat stayed on.

So then I decided to commit myself to Law and Order SUV FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. Yes, you heard that right. There are like 18 or 5,000 seasons of this show, but I went way back. Detective Oliva Benson was so young! And guess what? Pretty much everyone from Oz is on SUV. Like everyone. The undercover cop. The stand in Oz leader. The nazi. The Irish guy. The main guy with the muscles. The Governor. Everyone. I'm literally like 10 seasons in now, and they are still showing up and I think, that guy seems familiar. Oh yah, he was on Oz.

Pretty much TV shows and acting is like any job. People get hired, then they recommend their friends, and then a bunch of people who used to work together end up working together again.

Oh my gosh! Ernie Hudson is not dead! He was just in the new Ghostbusters movie. I got confused because he gets killed in Oz. Whew!

Anyway, if you're a mom, try watching some good (or not even that good) TV shows for some downtime. Right now, I'm waiting for my husband to go out, so I can catch up on Real Housewives of the OC. I like to watch it free of judgement.