TV ban - tis the end.

Hello there my lovelies. 

A few folks have been on my back - wondering what was going on with the TV ban, and why there were no further updates. 

Well. Can you guess why there have been no updates? Can you? Hmmm?  Yes. That's right. The lovely leopard print cover is off the television once again and my time is thick and gloopy once more.

Perhaps I exaggerate slightly. I've certainly not been watching quite so much. "So what of the experiment?" I hear you whisper in your delicate go thither tones. Alright, alright, I'll TELL you (to quote Danny Zuko). You'll be happy to know I managed to get through the whole two weeks absolutely television free. Even though it was made harder and effectively doubled by the fact I was put on garden leave, so had the daytimes to fill as well as the evenings. 

It was a funny old thing. The first few days, there was definitely an automatic reaction to want to put the tv on. It was fairly funny how I'd just catch myself wandering in the room, to realise there wasn't much for me to do in there. 

You may recall that my main goals were to find out exactly what I truly wanted to honestly watch and which boring programs I just mindlessly watched because I was used to it, and also to find out what I might do with my free time. I venture to suggest I now have answers to both of these. Certain programmes I realised very quickly I couldn't care about. 'V' for example. I knew it was balls, but I watched it anyway.Similarly, Dexter is out the window. I'd only watched 3 or 4 episodes, and although I enjoyed the general idea, the supporting cast are amongst some of the most poorly acted and one dimensionally written characters I've seen in a long time.  I'd like to keep a level head about TV in future - I've been guilty of watching an entire series of something i didn't reeeeealy lke, just because I'd started it. No more. My time is precious and will not be wasted to the same degree (some wasting will be undertaken).

Turning to the other question - what did I do? Well, I think it took about 3 days before my brain started working, and as soon as it did, it decided  to have an idea for a sit com. And blow me, do you know what I did instead of making a little note about it? Bloody right - I sat down and wrote the first 7 or 8 pages of a first draft. I also read a shit load, although interestingly, books almost took over the place of the TV as my default 'occupying thing', which although I'm sure, is much healthier, wasn't really the point. I also learnt a couple of bits on the guitar. Spent time chatting to friends online, doing a great many odd jobs around the house I'd been intending to do for a long time - a YEAR in the case of one particular job. Which took me 10 minutes. I also found a lot more time to concentrate on my acting - which really came across at my class. 

There were some things I thought I'd do, which I didn't do enough of, like learn piano (which i'd made a start on) - or write a lot more, or do an exercise class... but I can work on these.

The biggest and most amazing thing to come out of the whole thing, that I really wasn't expecting, is that I actually found myself feeling healthier. I found I had more energy. I suppose there's something to be said about getting into a lifeless downward spiral when just sitting in front of the telly. Maybe I ate more healthily because I had more tie to spend preparing, or shopping for fresher stuff, maybe it helped actually sitting at the table, rather than slouched on the sofa. I can't say, but it's true. And I can feel that going away slightly now I'm back on TV.

My last words on the subject, because this is a fairly length post. Are to tell you about the sheer JOY of watching my first bit of TV after the ban. It was the Monday after '24' had finished, so I had the final 4 hours of the series ...EVER! When I first put on the telly, it actually made me giggle a bit. It seemed strange to see the grey box with people inside it. It occurs to me that I've never had a longer time without television. Ever. It's always been there since I was a child. I got the tiniest glimpse of how the victorians must have felt after seeing the first moving pictures. It was...exciting. Now, I'm fairly sure that I enjoyed those few hours was partially down to good writing, great acting and the culmination of 8 years investment in the characters, but I have NO DOUBT that because my senses hadn't been dulled with endless crap, I got a far better experience out of it. I laughed in amazement, was scared for my character friends, was horrified by the events unfolding. I genuinely FELT major emotions. I laughed, I cried, I got nervous I was even shouting in my seat, cheering COME ON JACK----YES!!!!! It was a fantastic experience, and when it was over - I didn't want to watch anything else that night so as not to ruin the purity of that.

That's it folks. Yes, I'm slipping slowly back into the habit, but not so much that I've managed to write this for you. And maybe I'll have a read in a bit. 

Why not try it yourself? It's gotta be worth a try right? Besides, there's fuck all on at the moment ;)

love 

moog xx