Jan. 27, 2014
Attiana Collins
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Imagine sitting on the couch, waiting for your favorite show to come on. Then you slowly realize you won’t get to enjoy your cherished television world for weeks. Devastating, I know.
Well prepare yourself; that horrible scenario is now a reality. ABC has decided to take a longer hiatus with some of its shows. “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “Revenge,” “Once Upon A Time,” “Once Upon A Time in Wonderland” and “Nashville” aired their winter premieres in December and are all on break until the second week of March.
There are obvious downsides to these shows being on break. You can’t watch them and you won’t know what’s going to happen next for three whole months. There were some serious cliffhangers in the last episodes of almost every show. I don’t know about you, but I am dying to know if April picks Jackson or Matthew and how Alice plans on getting Knave out of the Genie’s bottle.
College can be hands-down the most stressful time in a person’s life. Between going to class, studying, writing papers and having a job there is scarcely time to do the things that we enjoy. TV fantasy provides a much needed reprieve from the oft overbearing real world.
There are upsides to a break in between episodes of the shows we love oh so much – the first being that when they return most of them will have a new episode every week for around 12 weeks. This means they’ll skip the usual three-week breaks.
Since you can’t throw yourself into the never-ending drama and ridiculous plot twists in your shows, you can do the next best thing: get involved in the drama and plot twists of another show. One of the most exciting things to do when you can’t watch the show you want is to start another show. If you can’t watch the one you want, watch the one you’re with.
Be warned however, starting a new show is a blessing and curse rolled up in one. The blessing: you have a new show to occupy your time. The curse: once your other shows come back the new one you’ve grown attached to will be most likely be on break. Sadly you’ll still be missing something.
I recently just started “90210.” It is most definitely not as great as my other shows; the acting is sub-par and the story line is really not believable. Still, it’s better than having about 10 hours free every week.
Soap operas are another alternative. These shows are run daily, so if you decide to start watching you will likely have a ton of episodes to catch up. With so much to watch, you won’t have time to miss your old shows.
If you’re too attached to your shows to form new attachments you can always use the extra time you have to do those things you never had time for. Say for instance studying? Most shows on break run for an hour on their designated nights. You can now use that extra hour studying for a class that you’re having trouble in. Or perhaps clean your place for a change.
Make sure to pick an alternative to your shows quickly. The semester just started and you don’t want it to get off on the wrong foot. If I hadn’t found a new show I don’t know if I’d have the motivation to write this column.
So remember, this ridiculously long break won’t last as long as you think, provided you fill your time with new characters, fresh drama or productive activities. Stay strong until March.