The Tube

I'm going to admit it now. I'm addicted to The West Wing. Yes, the mid-90's television show. (No, not the G-Dub White House.) We have seasons 1-5 on DVD at the IC house in Gulu. (Thanks Josh)

It's fast-paced stories and ironic dialogue have sucked me into a number multi-episode couch session. Which got me wondering, why television? Why do so many people tune in every night to watch fictitious strangers stumble through their humorous and or action/dramatic problems?

For me I think it's because television resolves itself. We can invest in these problems (however latently) and be confident in their prompt and complete solution by the end of the hour, or even the half-hour! Oh, how blessedly different from the problems that may await us at the office the next day, or those at the far end of a phone line, or the ones sitting next to you on the couch.