America, What Do You Watch With 700+ Television Stations From Which to Plan Your Days and Nights?

You know the ones: ABC, NBC, and CBS. We had only a few channels to click on the dial--no, no remote, no buttons, we had a dial that we spun like a coveted safe dial, waiting for just the right click to tune us into a clear enough picture to watch. We had the television stations that you could click on, sure, but you would get a big black line about a third of the width of the screen (which was limited to 6, 8, or 10 inches, by the way...no plasma, no HD)...a line that went down the center of the picture like a censor's marker might. We were told this was the mountain in the way. (We lived in the wooded and semi-mountainous terrain where it was better for skiers than it was for TV addicts.) And skiers got only a bit more "snow" than we who wanted to stay inside with cocoa and "Batman" or fudge and Friday night "Brady Bunch" or "Partridge Family" fun. The grainy quality of the television stations we did get, was typically enough to force a weakening of eyesight and a subsequent trip to the optometrist for glasses we didn't otherwise need, save to watch TV. If I am done complaining, you might be saying, I could get on with the television stations of today and the godsent offerings each makes. Ohhh, where does a TV lover begin? Yes, ABC, CBS, and NBC are still kicking ass, only changing to their logos slightly and their focus slightly more. They still have way too many news hours for my sensitive approach. But click a silent click down to Fox and you have Seinfeld re-runs and American Idol and all those fascinating trading spouses and other reality shows. Speaking of reality TV shows, I suggest for the real TV fan that you move to the television stations that at first were riding on others' coattails but have made a slot for themselves: The WB, a Warner Brothers conglomeration, seems to target and provide a place for the black population--often neglected on other major television stations save the occasional Cosby or Bernie Mac if you are lucky. The WB features a fantastic reality TV show hosted by Tara Banks called "America's Next Top Model." CBS has the long standing "Big Brother," the award-winning "Survivor," and the top reality TV show, "Amazing Race;" NBC has the great new "Beauty and the Geek," and ABC has "The Bachelor" (this season , in Paris). But now that we have hundreds more than three television stations from which to plan our days and nights, though we pay more, we have access to Reality TV stations, Soap Opera stations, and of course, hundreds of sports stations and channels. So if you'll excuse me, I need to get my TV-viewing clothes on, food prepped, and remote re-charged, for tonight...the skating stars and bad skaters will be paired in competition on one channel, the biggest loser will be a couple on another channel, and on yet another of my 700+ television stations, the "American Idol" auditions are kicking into second gear with their second day of auditions and our second night of long-awaited airing!