"We've gone other nights without sex." "I know. Twice! I can't believe we're breaking up."(btvs4:18)
I used to find November a pretty depressing month, what with the decreasing daylight and the stress of essay deadlines looming, but that was before I discovered the concept of November Sweeps!! "Sweeps" is when all the exciting stuff happens on tv shows: famous guest stars, births, deaths, weddings, and generally when all big storylines culminate into something hugely dramatic or funny. So basically the show runners and networks are pulling out all the stops to draw in viewers because "Sweeps" is all about ratings, which ultimately means it's all about money (from advertisers).
Out of interest I checked out the Neilson Ratings website to determine exactly what "Sweeps" are and why they happen in November, February and May. Basically, Neilson has picked 4 months out of the year (July is also a "Sweeps" month) to get a detailed picture of people's viewing habits. This is done by have Neilson viewers complete a tv diary: "The diary requests that viewers write down not only who watched, but what program and what channel they watched."
Not surprisingly there's lots of criticism of the Neilson Ratings system, such as that it has high levels of inaccuracy because it relies on people's honesty, and that it's also questionable in terms of actually being representative of the population. However, I try to look on the bright side and enjoy awesome tv in a month that is frequently blah otherwise.
Of course, to actually enjoy all this television, I've had to do one of my least favourite things: break up with some of my television shows. I just don't have enough room on my PVR for everything that I want to watch, so I've had to make some hard decisions. So here's what's still being recorded and what I've had to delete:
"I love you. I will *always* love you."(btvs 5:22) aka Shows I will never break up with
- Veronica Mars
- Everwood
- Gilmore Girls
- Arrested Development
- Reba
"When I think that something might happen to you, it feels bad. Inside. Like I might vomit." (btvs 3:21) Shows I’m still enjoying, so are safe from any break up threat
- Corner Gas
- Numb3rs
- Lost
- The Office
- House
- Joey
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Smallville - This show really should be in the next category but I've watched it since season one and I suspect I'll loyally watch to the end despite the craptasticness of the show (although James Marsters guest starring is a big plus for the show).
- The Simpsons
- Family Guy
- American Dad
"You're a strange girlfriend. ... Uh. There's a chance I'm delirious." (btvs 4:8) aka Shows I should break up with but don't because I enjoy the mindless fun
- What I Like About You
- Charmed
- Twins
- Love Inc.
- Related
"You should always have a new boyfriend. You're so much fun right now." (btvs 4:12) aka New shows that I’m enjoying so will continue to be PVRed
- Prison Break
- How I Met Your Mother
- Out of Practice
- Kitchen Confidential
- My Name is Earl
- Everybody Hates Chris
- Bones
"I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." (btvs 3:8) aka Shows I should break up with but just can't
- The Amazing Race: Family Edition
- Desperate Housewives
- Alias (I'm sticking with the show for Amy Acker)
"I just gotta... I gotta walk away from this." (btvs 1:7) aka Despite our time together I’ve realized we just won’t work out
- The O.C.
"You know how much I love you. It kills me to say this.." (btvs 3:20) aka New shows I'm breaking up with
- Close to Home
- Commander In Chief
- Invasion
- Threshold (I really did enjoy the actors and the banter but wasn't drawn into the universe)
- Reunion
"Rhymes with ... 'blinvisible'." (btvs 6:11) aka Show I haven’t seen yet (possibly because I'm secretly worried I'll find it too scary - I'm a HUGE wimp)
- Supernatural
"I miss you. Like, every second. Almost like I lost an arm, or worse, a torso." (btvs 3:10) aka Even though I’m always behind on my tv watching, I wish there were new episodes of these shows
- Entourage
- Scrubs
- Battlestar Galactica (ie. That we’d actually get the new episodes in Canada when they air in the U.S.)
- Joan of Arcadia (I know it was canceled)
- And always: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Even though I've had to ruthlessly delete shows from my PVR, I'm sure I'll reach my storage limit in no time with November Sweeps. Although I'm sure my excitement about the new episodes will help me not exceed my PVR's capacity.
It may get dark and cold outside, but that just means being inside snuggled under a blanket on my comfy chair and watching tv is the very best place to be in November!
Out of interest I checked out the Neilson Ratings website to determine exactly what "Sweeps" are and why they happen in November, February and May. Basically, Neilson has picked 4 months out of the year (July is also a "Sweeps" month) to get a detailed picture of people's viewing habits. This is done by have Neilson viewers complete a tv diary: "The diary requests that viewers write down not only who watched, but what program and what channel they watched."
Not surprisingly there's lots of criticism of the Neilson Ratings system, such as that it has high levels of inaccuracy because it relies on people's honesty, and that it's also questionable in terms of actually being representative of the population. However, I try to look on the bright side and enjoy awesome tv in a month that is frequently blah otherwise.
Of course, to actually enjoy all this television, I've had to do one of my least favourite things: break up with some of my television shows. I just don't have enough room on my PVR for everything that I want to watch, so I've had to make some hard decisions. So here's what's still being recorded and what I've had to delete:
"I love you. I will *always* love you."(btvs 5:22) aka Shows I will never break up with
- Veronica Mars
- Everwood
- Gilmore Girls
- Arrested Development
- Reba
"When I think that something might happen to you, it feels bad. Inside. Like I might vomit." (btvs 3:21) Shows I’m still enjoying, so are safe from any break up threat
- Corner Gas
- Numb3rs
- Lost
- The Office
- House
- Joey
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Smallville - This show really should be in the next category but I've watched it since season one and I suspect I'll loyally watch to the end despite the craptasticness of the show (although James Marsters guest starring is a big plus for the show).
- The Simpsons
- Family Guy
- American Dad
"You're a strange girlfriend. ... Uh. There's a chance I'm delirious." (btvs 4:8) aka Shows I should break up with but don't because I enjoy the mindless fun
- What I Like About You
- Charmed
- Twins
- Love Inc.
- Related
"You should always have a new boyfriend. You're so much fun right now." (btvs 4:12) aka New shows that I’m enjoying so will continue to be PVRed
- Prison Break
- How I Met Your Mother
- Out of Practice
- Kitchen Confidential
- My Name is Earl
- Everybody Hates Chris
- Bones
"I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." (btvs 3:8) aka Shows I should break up with but just can't
- The Amazing Race: Family Edition
- Desperate Housewives
- Alias (I'm sticking with the show for Amy Acker)
"I just gotta... I gotta walk away from this." (btvs 1:7) aka Despite our time together I’ve realized we just won’t work out
- The O.C.
"You know how much I love you. It kills me to say this.." (btvs 3:20) aka New shows I'm breaking up with
- Close to Home
- Commander In Chief
- Invasion
- Threshold (I really did enjoy the actors and the banter but wasn't drawn into the universe)
- Reunion
"Rhymes with ... 'blinvisible'." (btvs 6:11) aka Show I haven’t seen yet (possibly because I'm secretly worried I'll find it too scary - I'm a HUGE wimp)
- Supernatural
"I miss you. Like, every second. Almost like I lost an arm, or worse, a torso." (btvs 3:10) aka Even though I’m always behind on my tv watching, I wish there were new episodes of these shows
- Entourage
- Scrubs
- Battlestar Galactica (ie. That we’d actually get the new episodes in Canada when they air in the U.S.)
- Joan of Arcadia (I know it was canceled)
- And always: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Even though I've had to ruthlessly delete shows from my PVR, I'm sure I'll reach my storage limit in no time with November Sweeps. Although I'm sure my excitement about the new episodes will help me not exceed my PVR's capacity.
It may get dark and cold outside, but that just means being inside snuggled under a blanket on my comfy chair and watching tv is the very best place to be in November!