TV Free Week

This year TV Free week is April 21 - April 27. The reason for the event is to try to get people to do other things than sit in front of a television set.

When I first heard about this back in the 90s, I was absolutely perplexed as to why anyone who is a huge television fan would agree to giving up a week of programming arbitrarily. Also is it breaking the rules if you are out and stumble upon a television, you listen to a program on the radio, a podcast or the net?

If I was put into a position to give up television for that long, I can't say I'd be able to do it. A part of me would be paranoid that my electronic devices would go insane and I'd be left with no recordings to watch later. Perhaps that would defeat the purpose of the week keeping hours of television episodes to view.

Can a person binge on television, I fear that's what would happen if I'd have to be without it for too long. As it is, I think it is harder for someone who watches numerous soaps to go a week without television than the average person. I do wonder if TV turnoff week will make the soap ratings go down either further.

Moderation is important when it comes to any hobby. Finding shows that are interesting is key. I admit to watching more television than most, but out of the vices one can have it is one of the least harmful.

For more information about Tv turnoff week and screen-time awareness visit http://www.screentime.org

What this blog is about...

This blog is about soaps, other serialized programs and various things that strike my fancy, which may or may not be about these kinds of programs. There will be summaries, commentaries, and strolls down memory lane. Currently I record AMC, Days, GH, GL and OLTL, so the majority of the entries will be about those programs. In another entry or more, I'll blog a bit about my soap viewing history.

The title of the blog is a play on the term "it's only a soap" that at times is used in a derisive manner, since soaps can be seen by some as just "mindless" entertainment. No television isn't typically as serious as brain surgery, war, famine, but just like the real world things can change with little or no warning.

Watching soaps in some ways is like being a sports fan, our favorite actors and characters are like the players, the producers, writers, and network and/or production company are like the coaches, managers, and ownership. Just like in sports, the people in the office sometimes make the wrong decisions and we the viewers in the process get hurt.

So that's what It's Only the Soaps is about. If you agree with my thoughts, musings, ponderings, rants or raves, that's cool, but I really don't expect that to happen all the time.