TV show parties on Thursday nights are so 1990s. A decade ago
people had to make sure they didn’t miss their favorite show
when it came on TV so that they wouldn’t be left out of
conversations discussing what the characters said or did, or be
confused during the next week’s episode.
It was reason enough to get together because pretty much the
only alternative was to watch the episode on VHS, and it only takes
about 20 seconds of watching a video to be reminded that the
quality isn’t so good.
For some reason, though, the social tradition remains alive
except that commercial-break conversations have changed from topics
of “Friends” and “Dawson’s Creek” to
what’s happening on “The O.C.”
I wouldn’t have realized that these Thursday night parties
were still going on had it not been for the fact that Westwood
coffee shops and restaurants have been a little more crowded on
Thursday nights at 8 p.m.
It finally hit me last Thursday who these people were ““
lost “O.C.” fans looking for some kind of social
activity to replace their Thursday night parties while the show was
on hiatus.
With TiVo, though, there’s no reason to set aside time to
sit in front of the tube on Thursday evenings. And even if
you’re like me and are too cheap to buy it yourself, you at
least know someone who has it.”Š
Once I found that friend who was willing to splurge on
technology, I discovered the joy of watching shows whenever I
wanted.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched an episode of
“The O.C.” when it was actually on-air, although I
admit I have always watched it with a group of friends.
But then again, I can probably count the number of episodes that
I’ve seen on my hands because I’ve never really gotten
caught up in it. Instead, I prefer quality shows like
“America’s Next Top Model” and “Dr.
90210,” where the same episode runs on constant repeat
throughout the week.
It’s unfortunate that Sunday and Thursday nights
traditionally have presented the best shows because they are not
the best TV nights for college students. At 9 p.m. on a Sunday
night, most students I know are hitting the books so they can
finish up their studies and head down to Pint Night to drink
half-priced Guinness at Maloney’s by midnight.
I remember last year when one of my friends tried to organize a
“Housewives” party one Sunday evening. She sent out an
e-mail formally inviting everyone over, promising free food and
drinks. But she ended up with a party of one.
It seems that our friends, myself included, much prefer to watch
“Desperate Housewives” on weekday evenings before
heading out to study or on weekend afternoons when nothing’s
going on.
Similarly, I’ve discovered that watching “The
O.C.” on Friday afternoons is ideal. It’s a great way
to veg out and celebrate the end of another week. Or, if I’m
seriously debilitated from Thursday night, sometimes checking out
what Marissa’s wearing is about as deep as I can get.
It’s the same problem with Thursday nights ““ people
should be getting ready to go out, not watching TV. I remember last
year my friends and I even had a professor move up the start time
for his class because a class going until 9 p.m. on Thursday would
have interfered with our social schedule.
But even if you are going to have a TV-show party, because I
recognize that sometimes it is more fun to watch a show with your
friends, take advantage of the technology and have the party when
it works for you.
Don’t sacrifice your social life for a TV life. It’s
a lot more appealing when you can tell funny stories about what
happened to you on Sunday or Thursday nights and not what happened
to a TV character.
Because, seriously, it’s bad when weekend social plans
revolve around everyone watching TV. It reminds me a little bit of
having parties with my friends in the second grade to watch TGIF
““ I’d like to believe that our understanding of what a
party is has evolved beyond Steve Urkel, a couple of classmates and
a bag of chips.
Because really, the TV-show parties of old should have ended
with “Friends.”
Apparently, Rodgers is still OK with Wednesday night TV
parties. E-mail her at jrodgers@media.ucla.edu if you share her
love for “America’s Next Top Model.”