Monday is the fifth anniversary of TV Worth Watching, which launched Nov. 5, 2007, the same day the TV writers went on strike. The strike didn’t last, but TVWW has…
The very idea of survival for five years, on the Internet, requires a fast volley of sincere thank-yous: to all the writers, editors and designers on our side of the website, and each and every one of you readers on your side. TV Worth Watching wouldn’t exist, much less continue, without the support of enough like-minded people who care about quality TV.
To say that we do this for you sounds disingenuous, but it’s not. Maybe, given the opportunity, we’d rather do it for the money — but right now, we’re doing this for you. Trust me.
And trust, really, is what I consider our website’s secret weapon. The voices and opinions we offer, from both columnists and readers, are more informed, thoughtful and discerning than much of what you’ll find out there on other pop-culture media sites. And just as the silences in symphonies help make a masterpiece, a lot of the beauty in TV Worth Watching lies in what we don’t present. No Jersey Shore. No Honey Boo Boo. Our masthead slogan may as well be: “No Kardashians.”
But let’s all celebrate, right now, the state of television five years after TV Worth Watching launched. We have Homeland and The Good Wife and Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, none of which were around when television’s writers went on strike in November 2007. We have, in fact, more quality TV each week on Sunday nights alone than once was spread across an entire schedule.
And look at television on Tuesday, Nov. 6 — because you will, because it’s Election Day. Yes, the Internet, after 9 p.m. ET, can and will relay breaking results instantly. But the networks, broadcast and cable, remain the place to go, and each of us will go — or start — where we feel the most comfortable.
I have one friend, however, who’s planning to adjust his TV Election Night viewing decisions based on incoming results, searching for the highest level of on-air misery. Here’s his plan:
If President Barack Obama is doing well in a few key swing states, he plans to watch Fox News, to watch the anchors and pundits agonize the way they did after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie praised Obama after Hurricane Sandy.
Conversely, if Republican challenger Mitt Romney shows early signs of a victory, he plans to watch MSNBC, to see Chris Matthews and colleagues go apoplectic the way they did after the first presidential debate.
As TV viewing plans go, that may be a bit sadistic — but it’s not bad.
Personally, my advice is to hop all over the place, exposing yourself to as much coverage as possible. It’s the same way we here at TV Worth Watching approach the medium in general: The best way to get the most out of television is to keep searching, keep changing channels — and to keep watching.
Thanks for five years of support, and for accepting the same mission.