K's countdown

TV and I have a close personal relationship, just like most Americans who grew up in the '60s and '70s. As a kid, I loved TV and comic books (that's an obsession for another time). I liked Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy, Addams Family, and I Dream of Jeannie. I loved science fiction shows, but there were few of them. I really loved game shows: when I stayed home sick from school, I would plan my viewing and watch one after another.

I grew up in a TV world that's unimaginably bleak today. My channels: 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Big 3 networks, one independent, one PBS. No cable, no UHF, no DVD, no VCR. It makes you shudder, doesn't it? And yet, we made do, because we didn't know any better. So when I got hooked up to satellite TV in 1997, I was fascinated by the universe of channels. I have this problem: I want to know everything that's going on, all the time. And one day, as I was scrolling through all those channels in the guide, I started to wonder: what are all those shows? Would they be interesting, wacky, bizarre, even if sampled for just a few minutes? What if I did it for a long time, say 24 hours, switching regularly and randomly? I filed the idea away in the back of my mind with other strange and stupid plans. I mentioned it to B1-66er (henceforth "B"), who immediately latched onto the desirability of such a pointless event.

Here's the thing about B: when you meet him, it won't be long before he'll go deep on some subject. It might be music, technology, probability, religion, politics, geography. He'll talk about something you know about, offering interesting and occasionally shocking facts that you didn't know before. You'll flip the bozo bit on him, thinking he's self-impressed, a blowhard, and an exaggerator. But here's the thing: you'll find out you're wrong about him, and he's right about whatever. THAT'S the truly shocking thing. B talks big, but he knows big, too. That's why, even though I originally imagined 24HoTV as a solo event, it's already infinitely better with B participating.

Eventually, the planets aligned and presented an acceptable weekend for our TV binge. Plans were made, rules decided, pizza rolls obtained. Adult responsibilities and other distractions have drastically cut my TV viewing time. But for 24 hours this weekend, it's all about the tube. We're going to see what's out there.