Work ethic during the semester is a series of peaks and valleys. I always start the semester on a peak. I have recently-purchased school supplies — which, after 17 years of being scammed into buying back-to-school “essentials,” equates to maybe a binder and a couple pencils — my iCalendar has all my appointments in color code, I sign up for Canvas notifications, and if I’m feeling especially ambitious, I’ve purchased my textbooks before the first day of classes.
This is really as motivated as I get all semester. There are a couple more peaks — usually around midterms and right before Thanksgiving break — but for the most part, it’s all downhill from the first day of classes.
One of the main distractors from doing my work is, big surprise, television. There are so many good shows that demand my full attention. “I’ll just watch one episode before I study” quickly turns into a day-long, 15-episode affair.
I spent my summer anticipating this struggle, and have compiled a list of shows that are good but not so good that you shirk responsibilities to watch them. Obviously this hinges on your own tastes, but these are my ideal “background-noise shows.”
1. “Portlandia.” A skit-based show set in Portland, Ore., “Portlandia” is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the niche culture Portland has come to represent. It’s a great show, but the humor becomes exhausting if you watch too many episodes in a row, so pace yourself.
2. Anything on TLC. A treasure trove for eye-roll inducing reality television, TLC has so much to offer in the “background noise” category. With shows like “My Strange Addiction,” “Extreme Cheapskates,” “My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding” and more, TLC has something that can make anyone lose sleep over the direction society is headed.
3. “30 Rock.” Produced, written by and starring Tina Fey, “30 Rock” is about a single, middle-aged TV producer who tries — and consistently fails — to balance personal and professional life. Tina Fey’s comedy is brilliant, but the characters she casts herself as continue to bore me because they’re all the same: “30 Rock,” “Mean Girls,” “Baby Mama” — they’re all the same desperate spinster.
4. “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom.” These shows were my guilty pleasure in 2010-11, and I was honestly surprised when I was flipping through channels recently and came upon a newer episode of “Teen Mom 2.” I watch this show and think, “This can’t be real. How do I live on the same planet as these people?” I like to think of it as a culturally enriching experience.
5. “New Girl.” This is a show that had so much potential and started off very strong. They managed to create two good, quality seasons before they switched to cliche storylines and lazy character development. To be fair, these are strong criticisms for such a light-hearted comedy. I just expect more out of Zooey Deschanel. The first 40 episodes are golden, but season 3 was a disappointment.
Let me clarify that none of these shows are bad; I actually love all of them. Next time you need a study break, I recommend any of these shows. They’re all available to stream on Netflix or Hulu and you won’t have to worry about getting too involved.
