TV, Cable, and all that jazz

In this age of laptops, YouTubes, and downloadable films, cable TV remains a favorite (if not constant) companion. It's the upper that sometimes gets me out of bed in the morning, the escape window that pulls me out of my funk, and the lullaby that soothes me to sleep at night. Maybe it's the images, the cacophony of sound and sight - whatever it is, it connects to the inside of my brain and snaps me back into life. (Whereas my favorite books would take some time to ferment, and I'd have to find a way to quiet down.)

All the charges of TV making you a passive couch potato still stand - however, I'd like to think that the shows, especially the ones in cable TV, compel you to interact, if not necessarily think. Why'd you think reality shows became a hit the past decade, since Survivor made its classic debut? All of a sudden, the audience is invited to participate, critique, yell, bet on their favorite idol - even if they are being drowned in entertainment.

Not all of it is mindless. Just check the channels of History and Discovery where you get a different interpretation of how the West was won, or how Asia's version of the Titanic took place tragically in our own shores and in one of our own vessels. Or you get a modern re-imagining of Superman that finally makes all those comic book stories make sense. Let's not forget how Jerry Bruckheimer brought the discipline and larger-than-life sense of cinema into his own TV shows, effectively making one-hour movies of series like CSI.

In the mood for nostalgia on a Sunday, that's what MGM is for - they have a lot of 1980s movies. Or the black-and-white Mission Impossible and Combat on MAXX.

And once in a great while, you stumble on an intellectual gem like Kings which re-enacts the Biblical story of David, Saul, and Samuel amidst the strife, political and religous intrigue and modern day machinery of the 21st century.

Sure, I don't get to watch all my favorite shows, but then again that's what DVDs are for.