Pilot (#1.01)

Welcome to my inaugural blog post!  I have been talking about this for months and it felt like time to stop talking and start doing.  It has taken me too long to decide what the first post would be about.  Of course, I knew from the beginning that it would be primarily about television.  I rarely have anything else to speak about, so it seemed only logical.  But where should I begin?

          "Let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start."

- Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews), The Sound of Music

Like any pilot episode, this blog may be a little awkward at first, but hopefully it will entice you to come back for more.

          Mr. Eko: Hello. I have something I think you should see. If you don't

          mind, I will begin at the beginning. Long before Christ, the king of

          Judah was a man named Josiah.

          John Locke: Boy, when you say beginning, you mean beginning.

- LOST: What Kate Did (#2.09)

Oh, and you should definitely be aware of random quoting like that.  That's how they pop into my head - that's how they'll pop into my blog.

I am a 2010 graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and my dream job (a.k.a. what I want to do when I grow up) is to create and run my own TV show.  My natural inclination is toward comedy, but I'm not ruling anything out.

Hilarious, right?

Currently, I work at a law firm, but write TV stuff (spec scripts, a pilot) in my spare time as much as possible.  This is a great creative outlet - since my job requires zero creativity - but also serves as a way for me to continue to improve my skills as a writer.  How do you get to the Emmys?  Practice.  (Because you can't get anywhere without practice.)

My reference is at 2:25 - 3:15, but watch the whole video, if you have time.

The following are some fun (and possibly disturbing) facts about my relationship with TV:

1. I have seen 95 different scripted series in their entirety, and parts of many more.  This number is always growing.  Yes, I have a spreadsheet.
2. This fall (September and October only), I have 33 shows set to DVR.
3. I am not a fan of reality TV and rarely reference or talk about it, except the clips I see on The Soup.
4. I have seen my favorite series, Arrested Development, more than 30 times (all 53 episodes).  My biggest regret in life is not keeping an exact count.
5. I own at least 47 TV seasons on DVD.

If you are still with me at this point, you have accepted (or chosen to ignore) my crazy.  Hopefully, this legitimizes me as a trusted source for television information and opinions and does not entice you to have me committed.  Either way, I am grateful you are still reading (although, please don't have me committed).

          "I'm not insane! My mother had me tested!"

- Sheldon (Jim Parsons), The Big Bang Theory

As I'm sure you can tell, television is my life.  I know there are some of you out there who would call my obsession a giant waste of time (Waste of a stamp?!*).  Well, screw you!  Just kidding :)  You are, of course, entitled to that opinion and I would certainly encourage you to spend your time in whatever way you see fit.  Although, the fact that you have made it this far in the post means you care, at least a little, about television and/or me.  "Thanks."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tIacBHehEc#t=5m49s

Personally, television is my soul mate.  It makes me enormously happy and it is the only thing that can make me weep like a little baby.  And it's not like TV is the only thing I do.  I still hold a steady job, exercise pretty regularly, and spend plenty of time outside of my living room.

My hope is that we can all meet somewhere in the middle.  Somewhere between obsession and time-waster, we can come together for a healthy dose of hobby, escapism, and relaxation.  That's what I want this blog to be about.  Television is exciting.  It's funny, scary, sad, uplifting, and imaginative all at once.

I promise to also talk about movies, music, books, and other things happening in my life, but I think it's pretty obvious that my true passion will shine through.

OK.  I think the introduction is complete.  Now we can move forward with some actual content.  I mean next time.  Don't expect that right now.

As a first post, how does it fare?  Was I right about the awkward?

        Frank: I've been wanting to talk to you about that, but it's a little awkward.

        Tobias: Oh, well, I've been wanting to have my own awkward talk as well.

- Arrested Development: Mr. F (#3.05)

I look forward to your comments.  Until next time...


*If you didn't know this quote it's from the hilarious, but little-known series Party Down.