Fifty-Seven Channels And Nothin' On

What are you going to be watching this Fall? Now that we have hundreds of channels to choose from, we're having some trouble trying to decide just how to spend our daily four hours in front of the television. The newest issue of "Entertainment Weekly" promises to tell me about ninety-two different choices we will have come mid-September or so. Hundreds of channels. Dozens of new shows. Even if I exceeded my national average of hours watching the tube, I don't think that I could squeeze in all the quality programming that the major and minor networks would have me see.
But what would I be missing? I watched a few minutes of the two-hour premiere of the redux of "Beverly Hills 90210." I will allow that this may not have been my proudest moment, but I found myself drawn to watch anything other than Olympics and Convention. There was some mild comfort in seeing what amounted to familiar faces, or at least familiar situations. Then I recognized my folly and passed the remote control to my wife, who calmly took charge of the situation. I rolled over and went to sleep.
How I miss Premiere Week. With all the special events and the writer's strike, some of my favorite shows won't return until early next year. "Must See TV" as become "Must Wait TV." Still, I expect that, through the magic of digital video recording and living in a home with four (one for the dog) TV sets, we will all be caught up on what we need to watch and when. Just in time for the Spring TV Preview.