Addicted

I never thought it would happen. It started off harmless enough, an hour or so a day, no more. Then it become two hours, or three, and my homework started to fall to the wayside. I was losing sleep, unable to tear myself away from it.
I was addicted to that big, shiny box we call the TV.
Until now, I'd never been much of a television viewer. The occasional Discovery Channel special, or Project Runway episode when I was sick, and a movie or two when my friends were over. That was it. When people discussed reality television shows, I snorted at their silly fascination with other people's ridiculous lives. When they talked about Glee or some other plot-based show, I zoned out, failing to see the importance of a season finale or a maddening cliff-hanger.
Then a friend of mine introduced me to shows on Netflix. It started slow, with a few episodes of Big Bang Theory (the hilarious tale of a few socially inept physicist and their aspiring actress neighbor), then I got into harder stuff. Soon I was watching a season a day, and not just of Big Bang but of How I Met Your Mother, and even the occasional Better Off Ted (an older show about an optimistic single-dad and his job in a ruthless scientific research corporation).
Eventually, having run out of past seasons to catch up on, my addiction was limited to the occasional weekly episode. But how long will it be before the next relapse? That depends on whether or not there's another original idea on TV anytime soon. For now, the network is caught up in a slew of hospital dramas and law spin offs, all featuring doctors or detectives with quirky personalities. I'll pass on those. But if a network introduces a new pilot, something original and engaging, pass the remote. I'm jonesing for a new series.