Learning isn’t everything. Try watching some of your favorite TV shows after learning too much: The Practice as a law student, Scrubs when you’ve been training to be a nurse, that sort of thing. It’s really hard to just sit and do nothing.
My parents were checking out Judging Amy recently, a show about a judge and various trials (along with the “trials of life,” of course). While the lawyers were putting their clients up on the stand to testify, I kept thinking, “No, don’t let her do that. She can’t ask a leading question like that! Object, dammit! You’re going to lose the case!!” But they never do. They have to fill in the story for the sake of the regular viewers while I’m shaking my head and hoping to God I never do that.
My older brother has the same problem while watching ER every once in a while. “That’s not the kind of medication he should be using. You should do a different test to find out what the problem is! Object, dammit! You’re going to lose the malpractice suit!!” Okay, that last one was me again, but seeing the problems that have to be put into the script for the sake of the viewers can be frustrating to say the least.
What’s the solution? You’ve all heard it before: Ignorance is bliss. When you get home from work or school, plop down in front of the television with a nice bowl of popcorn and just zone out. Forget about things like how the people on Friends have been way more than friends way too many times over the years. I mean, come on—how many times can they bounce around, having an intimate relationships with every other cast member without anyone holding a serious grudge for more than five or six episodes?
I sometimes wish I could be ignorant again. I could come home and watch my favorite series of shows for three hours to find out how long it’ll take for Sheila to realize that Jesse doesn’t bring her home to meet his parents because he never knows when he’ll walk in on his dad, Lester, enjoying his off hours from the brewery by fucking a sheep named Daisy. On second thought, that might sell some commercial time after all, so we should probably make the father work at a sawmill—that way, companies like Budweiser will be more likely to cough up big bucks to attract the younger audience who likes to both drink beer and fuck sheep. I know I’d watch the show: “No, move to the edge of the cliff. Keep your arms wrapped around her torso! Object, dammit! You’re going to lose half of the farm when your relationship is over!!” …Maybe when I get home, I should just study for class tomorrow instead.
