On the evening preceding this very fine day, it came to pass that upon our daily repast, I had the occasion to address my partner and spouse of twenty years and the two offspring of the male gender who having been birthed by others, nonetheless engender the reactions and emotions of those born of the self-same flesh. “It has come to my not inconsiderable attention that we, as cohabitants of this very domicile in which we enjoy social intercourse and various and sundry individual and mutually experienced activities and pursuits, we have need to revisit the prior enumerated, much discussed and previously agreed upon endeavors which we have entered into the doing of to our mutual benefit and comfort.”

Translation…..At dinner I said, “Guys, we need to talk about chores.”

Guess who just binge watched HBO’s Deadwood?

I am unapologetic about my love of TV and movies. I get lost in the mood of an alternate reality. I mark times in my life by TV shows. I accepted that I was different from the other kids when I clearly knew there was no comparison between The Addams Family and The Munsters. I witnessed the revolution in television storytelling with my unwavering loyalty and obsession with Hill Street Blues. The beginning of the end of a friendship started with my cutting an evening short to get home in time to watch an episode of HSB. When a friend, during a year-long process of spiritual practice, gave up watching television, I said, “Give up TV? I learned all my interpersonal skills from The Sopranos.”

I am a Hon from Baltimore, land of Homicide, Life on the Streets and The Wire. My husband, David, grew up in Seattle, land of Frasier and Say Anything. We share Sleepless in Seattle.

Binge watching series is a glutinous extravagance that I adore. Sons of Anarchy was my first binge watching experience when I discovered the benefits other than free shipping from Amazon Prime. Since then, I have occasionally binge watched series but my compulsion got kicked into high gear with this week’s Comcast Watchathon.

It is true, television watching habits are evolving and I love it. The short series format and independent cable productions not only give their audience more to watch, they give artists more opportunity to create worlds and tell full and rich stories. I am enjoying the bonanza. Pun intended.

I am affected by what I watch. My use of the two ‘c’ words has increased post Deadwood. I actually looked up the definition of ‘hooplehead’ and look forward incorporating it in conversation. I wonder what watching House of Cards portends….