Old Flame, New Love

Hello, Blog-world!  Yet again, I’m back! :-)

I’m not even going to attempt to explain why I haven’t blogged for a long time. Neither am I promising anything after this entry! I’m just going to go straight to writing about what I want to write about in this entry. And, that is my current obsession with TV series. I’ve always preferred reading to watching TV or movies. Sure, I have seen a considerable number of movies and a few TV series here and there, but I can’t really say that I’m a fan of either. Or, at least not as big a fan as some friends I have. To my mind, watching TV or movies takes so much of my reading time. And, I'd rather spend time reading than do anything else. That was before I got hooked on a number of TV series in the recent years. And, more so, in the recent months! I’m not saying I love reading less (I don't think that is ever possible), I’m saying I’ve learned to appreciate movies and TV series more.

Back in the day, when free (illegal) download of torrents wasn’t known to majority of the world (i.e. me) yet, aside from the News, there were only two things on TV that I watched religiously. These were the American TV series, Gilmore Girls, and the American TV sitcom, Friends. I loved the wit of the mother-and-daughter tandem of the Gilmore Girls. I loved the fact that Rory Gilmore loved to read, especially, the classics. I loved their little quaint town, too. As for Friends, I don’t know anyone from my generation who didn’t like this sitcom. It was the funniest thing on American TV at that time. It was through Friends that I learned to appreciate and understand American humor, which can be very different from Filipino humor. Those two TV shows will always be special to me because they got me to start really watching TV. I continued watching both shows until the very end.

Oh, and I loved the Filipino TV series, Gimik, in my final years in high school through my early years in college. It was in this TV series that Diether Ocampo, Marvin Agustin, and Mylene Dizon were introduced. They had Giselle Toengi, Judy Ann Santos, Jolina Magdangal, and one of the most popular young stars during those times-- the late Rico Yan, leading the cast. Though it was practically the only Filipino TV series I watched as religiously as I did the foreign ones I was interested in, I eventually lost interest in it, especially when my hectic schedule in school prevented me from watching it. Of course, I also got to watch many of the Filipino TV series and sitcoms during those years, but I didn't lose so much as a sweat if I didn't get to watch them.

Fast forward to more than a decade later, I got interested in a little show called Glee. I saw the pilot episode; I liked it and, after a few more episodes, I eventually got hooked on it. This was before it actually became a hit. I got hooked on it at a time I was struggling from the loss of my father. I can’t exactly explain it, but this musical series really helped me deal with that point in my life which I consider my lowest. The songs, the performances, the humor (no matter how deliberately and politically incorrect), and the issues tackled and presented in the TV series made it easier for me to forget what I was going through. Some story lines in the series also were, to me, riveting. At that time, I also started watching Grey’s Anatomy. And then, I became close friends with people who love watching TV series so much that somehow their love for these TV series rubbed off on me and I, myself, started to check out a number of TV series. After some time, I started watching more and more TV series. All of these TV series, I still watch until today. Except those that have ended, that is. And, because I started watching some of these TV series mid-season or already in their second, third or so season, I bought DVDs or downloaded torrents (sorry!) of the previous seasons or episodes that I didn't get to watch. That's how I am with so many things; when I am interested in something, I obsess over it and I just need to know everything or at the very least as much as I can about it. So, now, I think I can safely say that I'm a TV series addict!

Here is a list of TV series that I started to get interested in when they first started and still religiously follow until this very day, week after week, season after season:

• Arrow
• Game of Thrones
• Grey’s Anatomy
• How to Get Away with Murder
• iZombie
• Once Upon a Time
• Orange Is the New Black
• Orphan Black *
• Pretty Little Liars
• Quantico
• The Big Bang Theory
• The Vampire Diaries

There are also some that I really followed from start to finish:

• CSI: Miami
• Friends
• Gilmore Girls
• Glee
• House, M.D. **
  
• Lip Service
• One Tree Hill
• Prison Break
• Ravenswood
• Queer as Folk
• The L Word

Actually, throughout my childhood and teenage years, especially when we didn't have cable at home, I did get to watch TV series like Ally McBeal, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Baby Talk, Beverly Hills 90210 (the one with Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Luke Perry, etc.), Boy Meets World, Charmed, Daria (animated), Dawson's Creek, Highlander, Homefront, Mad About You, Seventh Heaven, The Practice, The Secret World of Alex Mack, and The Uncanny X-Men (animated), among others. And, who would forget Richard Dean Anderson's MacGyver! But, I didn't get to follow these TV series as religiously as I follow the ones I do follow nowadays. And, I don't know if the Philippine channels that picked them up during those times actually ever got to show all the episodes because I remember watching a lot of replays and re-runs.

Oh, by the way, I’m no fan of Koreanovelas, but there was one Korean telenovela in which I was interested enough to really follow. Its English title is Missing You. It’s the only Korean telenovela I ever watched from start to finish. I love Japanese movies and series, though. Their series are more popularly known as J-Dorama. I bought DVDs and watched these J-Doramas:

• Beautiful Life
• Forbidden Love
• Gokusen 
• Good Luck!
• Hero 
• One-Pound Gospel
• Strawberry on Shortcake    

And, of course, like everyone else in this part of the world, I was a Meteor Garden addict! Hehe:-) Oh, and, I love The Voice. The US version and the Philippine version both. I try to never miss an episode. 

What about you? What TV series do you watch?

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* = My absolute favorite!
** = I didn't get to watch the final seasons of this one.