The Joys Of Television

I am, if I’m gonna be totally honest with you, a tv addict. At the end of the day, when I’m tired and cranky and pissed off about work or just plain old fried I come home and sit down on the couch and turn on the tv. I don’t “snuggle up with a good book” or write or do anything else even remotely productive for my intellect. No, I sit on the couch and watch tv like a mindless slug.

Now, without being too defensive, I will say that a lot of the tv I watch is sophisticated tv. I’m not watching Jerry Springer all day. I’m watching The Wire. Boardwalk Empire. Mad Men. But at the end of the day, it’s still tv. I’d be benefiting more from reading. And I can’t help but want to punch people when they say they don’t own a tv.

But, since I’m accepting this fact about myself, I will freely admit that I am terribly fond of tv and would never willingly give mine up regardless of how my intellect might advance because of that.

One of the things that I love watching on tv is Halloween episodes. Many tv shows, not the sophisticated ones I mentioned but the popular ones that you can mindlessly indulge in, have Halloween episodes. Episodes in which costumes, decorations, and parties are paramount to getting the characters to do funny things. Episodes in which the writers were clearly looking for an excuse to shake things up in the regular line-up. Episodes in which my favorite elements or the holiday are emphasized by the characters I know and love.

My absolute favorite Halloween tradition celebrated by one of my most favorite tv shows is the Treehouse of Horror on the Simpsons every year. I count on that tradition like I count on candy and pumpkins- the holiday wouldn’t be right without it. I’ve been watching the Simpsons since it first appeared as a ten minute clip on the Tracey Ullman show and I’ve been watching the Treehouse of Horror since the first one aired in the second season. It was a staple of my childhood and has been a part of my Sunday night for my whole life. It is the best thing on tv around Halloweentime and I’ll be talking about it this year when it airs.

There are also a number of Halloween specials that air in the month of October. Like “The 100 Scariest Movie Moments” which counts down the top scares in scary movies. Horror movies are more abundant than usual and the classics (like Halloween) are on every year. The classic kid’s specials like “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” and “Nightmare Before Christmas” are on every year. “Ghost Hunters” and “The Scariest Places on Earth” run marathons all month long and usually have live Halloween night specials. Not to mention all the made-for-tv movies that are on.

I, needless to say, lick it all up like whipped cream. Cause if there isn’t enough Halloween spirit in real life, there’s always tv.