... Didn't I Just Watch This?

I'm a big TV person. Well, it's not like it controls my life or anything, but I like to watch something as I fall asleep or even just on in the background as I do my work. Oddly enough, this morning is the exception as I opted to listen to the thunderstorm outside my window, but that's another story. Lately, I've been on a Scrubs kick. It's an entertaining enough show, but more importantly, it's just about the perfect filler noise. There's the occasional musical interlude or cutaway, but nothing too distracting. Well, with the exception of one thing...

Whenever I hear the theme song, at the beginning and the end of each episode, I always have to watch just for that. I don't know what it is, because it certainly never really changes, but I do it anyway. In some seasons, the openings longer, in others, it's just a brief 15 seconds maybe. One thing remains the same though, and that is the end credits.

Now, this may sound ridiculous to some folks, but I feel compelled to watch the end credits even though if I had to pick one thing that annoyed me most about Scrubs is the end credits. Let me explain, I can watch the show in the background now because I've watched it before and many times at that, right? Then the end credits roll around and what are they? They're simple stills from the episode that just aired.

Do we live in an era where attention spans are so gnat-like that people need to be reminded within 15 minutes, what they just watched? Don't answer that. the sad truth is, I'm sure we do. It's nothing new, but that doesn't mean I can't be disappointed. The fact of the matter is, of one of my many high functioning neuroses, the whole hatred of condescension thing is at the top of my list. When I see those same still images that I saw less than 20 minutes ago, as crazy as it may sound, I interrupt it as TV execs thinking I'm too stupid to remember what I just watched. I don't expect it to make sense, but let me see if I can put it another way for some folks. have you ever watched a sitcom that was ruined by the laugh track? Just as much as it is unnatural and awkward in the reality of the sitcom world, isn't it the least bit frustrating to be told what is supposed to make you laugh? I'm just saying, I'll laugh at what I choose to find funny, thank you very much.

The way that the laugh tracks angries up my blood is a story for a different day. Today's hatred is directed at those end credits that are like, "Hey, remember? Yeah, you laughed at this... and then this happened... and then this happened..." It honestly gets so extensive, I could probably tell you the whole plot of the episode by watching the end credits alone. Just cut out the middle man, don't bother watching the show, and just get the quick synopsis from the end credits. is that what you want TV?!? Huh?!? Is it?!?