Too Much TV

I am really making an effort to scale back my television viewing habits each evening during the week because it's out of control. I watch far too much TV after my day job ends and I'm trying to devote an hour (at least) each evening to reading. (I need to be writing also, but that's not happening at the moment, unfortunately.) The sad thing is a lot of the stuff I'm watching at night is crap like reruns of  shows like The People's Court and Hot Bench. I could surely be spending my time doing something else. 

In addition to carving out some reading time during the week, I also made the decision this month to cancel my Netflix subscription. I've been with Netflix for years, back when they used to send DVDs in the mail to you. (Yes, I'm that old.) I've stuck with Netflix for a long time, but I'm ready to give them the boot now for one main reason: I don't care for the bulk of the stuff they're offering right now. Rarely do I find anything I really want to watch on Netflix anymore. The last thing I watched and was interested in was Squid Game. I finished the series and largely enjoyed it. But, after that, nothing. I watched the first episode of the Vladimir series (because I read the book that it's based on) and haven't gone back to finish it. I'm just not interested. I did finish the book, but found it a little disappointing also. Still, I was interested in watching the series. A huge part of my problem with Vladimir is the casting. Rachel Weitz and Leo Woodall are both horribly miscast in this. (Were no Americans available?) Lately, just about every time I turn to Netflix, I end up flipping through the choices of shows and movies and leaving the streamer having watched nothing.

One bright spot in my TV viewing these days has been with HBO/Max, particulary with The Pitt. That show is great for me right now. This week's episode really wound me up for a variety of reasons, but I was glad to finally see the showdown between Santos and Langdon. As annoying as Santos is on the show, the was on point with her criticism of Langdon's behavior when she read him the riot act this week. One opinion I've read in the recaps, etc. for The Pitt (and this season, in particular) is how men and women are treated in the workplace. I don't work in the medical field, but I know all too well how women are often dismissed and unfairly criticized in the workplace (usually by men). It's sad. I had a male manager tell me once that my problems weren't "real" problems. Really? Would he have said that to another man? I doubt it! That kind of stuff grinds my gears, but The Pitt is doing an excellent job of exposing that kind of behavior this season and I'm loving every minute of it. Maybe I'll bump my cheap HBO/Max subscription up to one that allows me to cut the commercials after I drop Netflix.