Comments on: Ryan Star – Soma and the good side of TV ?

By: traceymc

traceymc — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:32:59 +0000

A fellow LOST lover I really enjoy reading your blogs, and your take on the everyday. Is it time for 11:59 to be released yet?!

By: hoaloha

hoaloha — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:28:55 +0000

I love the way you think. Thanks for taking this opportunity to share yourself with us. These blogs have sure been fun and thought provoking.

By: Kerri

Kerri — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:30:02 +0000

Why are 10 year olds listening your music, sir? Some of your content is far more adult than the stuff on Glee.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:37:26 +0000

Well… I don’t think that entertainment is the key to world peace. And I think TV probably keeps a lot of people from really living their lives and having true experiences. Not to mention the commercials that are pretty much the foundation of the whole unhealthy consumerism of our society.
Having said that…. I do love Glee. And I recognize that there are some great quality shows. As long as people don’t watch it TOO much and actually live their own lives instead of watching others’ fictional lives all day.

By: aheadofstraight

aheadofstraight — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:09:03 +0000

The HBO video says it is private…can you fix the link? I never miss an epi of all the shows you listed. Just damn good. I’d add 30 Rock to the list though

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:41:32 +0000

I’ve always felt TV allowed you to escape into another world, to leave this reality for awhile. TV and music have always been escapes from the bad. Lie to Me and BONES are my 2 favorite shows. Love hearing your song lead into that show every monday! Glad Family guy made your list, it’s funny and an example of one of those escapes. I heard your song on the promo for HBO and almost fell off the couch. I’m so happy your songs are being used on TV, that is just the coolest thing in the world. Love the blogs, i’ve commented on all of them! thanks for taking time out of your vacation to do these!

By: Susan See

Susan See — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:28:50 +0000

I KNEW THAT WAS YOU!! I’m house/critter sitting for friends and they’ve got the fancy cable/digital TV stuff and I caught the clip while waiting for “Mama Mia” to come on. I’m soooo happy for you!!!

By: SarahBeth

SarahBeth — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:07:41 +0000

Yay Glee and Lie to ME! I watch both and I have to admit that i started watching Lie to Me to hear Brand New Day, but I really have gotten into the show and like it a LOT.

By: Kat

Kat — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:11:29 +0000

Family guy! Yes Ryan, you are so awesome. Soooo true

By: Brooke

Brooke — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:32:25 +0000

I resisted watching Lost for so long because I didn’t want to get into another show. Back in August we cancelled cable and watched it from the beginning, and loved every second of it! I can’t wait for the new season!

Other favorite shows: Dexter, Glee, House, and How I Met Your Mother

By: ayla

ayla — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:28:29 +0000

TV (or entertainment) as the key to world peace? Well, Ryan, if it makes you feel better about your viewing habits. Although the world is neither black nor white, I’d come down more heavily on the TV as drug side. The vast, vast, vast majority of stuff on the tube serves as an escape and also a numbing to the suffering going on all around us, including in our own lives. I’m more convinced that we don’t have a more engaged citizenry because of TV. It’s like a nice treat to suckle on after a long days work – work that for most of us uses little of our being, so we fill our spaces with TV or computer air time.

We even expect the news to be entertaining now, thus drastically limiting its ability to educate and inform. Titillate is more like it. Yeah, I usually watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report as they attempt to expose that game. And that, at least, is satisfying, most of the time. Thankfully there are other shows still on the air that do seek to uncover the truth and do their job with a minimum of corporate interference.

I can’t really same the same for the majority of TV air time. Its either selling the latest corporate hoohah, be it fashion, scandal, ideology, stuff, or cultural allegiance of one form or another. Even the TV shows, a quickly dying breed, are usually just rehashed, replayed stories with different faces. Most times, I think we’re still at ‘57 Channels and Nothing On’.

I do enjoy some reality shows that really showcase emerging talent, like AI, SYTYCD and the like. Even though they’re manipulated to emphasize a story arc and to sell product, I still appreciate the democratizing force that TV can be.

Every once in a blue moon, a TV show comes along that changes the paradigm and blows everything else out of the water. That show for me was ‘John from Cincinanati’. It suffered from horrible timing coming right after the end of ‘the Sopranos’, as well as HBO office shake-ups, but that was a show that definitely went well beyond where most TV shows tread. Exploring human relationships and the mysteries and miracles that abound without resorting to trite cliches and romantic revelries, was itself a miracle. Rich character development, incredible dialogue, challenging storylines that make us work for understanding instead of giving it to us in various stages of pre-digestion, that is what I hope to see more of in the future. From the response, I think many were not ready, but then again, many were. That show gave me hope for humanity, that enough of us would be interested in and capable of an deep inquiry into the nature of reality and human relationships. I still hope for this.

By: Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:53:28 +0000

It’s always interesting to know what TV shows people watch. I probably come closer to watching 28 hours per year instead of per month but, like you, I tend to pick my shows and keep up with just those (or maybe just the one). I do take some offense that you claim that young people are teaching older people by the shows that are on. I think those lessons have no age boundaries.

In any case, thanks for another well thought out and well written blog.

By: mangomelon

mangomelon — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:36:37 +0000

Thank you for being able to see the positive in television. It is not all evil and it is only mindless if you let it be. If you choose shows that engage your mind (this is different for everyone) and take time to really think about the things we see, it can be quite intellectually stimulating. Even the ever-dreaded “reality tv”. I was not introduced to rock music as a child or teen. My musical world consisted of mostly bubblegum top 40. Watching Rock Star and seeing hearing the rock songs covered caused me to go to iTunes to experience the original which then showed me to other works by the same artists and others like them, opening a floodgate of musical expression for me. My favorite show is The Daily Show. No, I don’t get all my news from Jon, but I certainly get a different perspective from him. A guest of the show once pointed out that in ancient England, the court jester was the only one who was really allowed to speak the truth about the Monarchy, as it could be written off as jokes. A valable service, even today.
Then again, there’s nothing wrong with a little brain-break a la Jersey Shore either! C’mon Ryan, you know The Situation.

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:35:02 +0000

Another great blog, Ryan! You’re such an inspiration. Enough said.
With that said, I think I should re-subscribe HBO =)

By: Miel

Miel — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:02:30 +0000

Great blog and great list! I for one cannot wait for the new season of Lost. The video you posted just made me that much more excited and impatient for it.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:20:33 +0000

i totally agree with the whole pick a couple shows and stick to it. for me it is Dexter, Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make it or Break it. i watch those shows like it was my religion and occasionally i try to get in a lie to me, mainly for the theme song, but it really is a good show. anywho i think i do spend too much time in front of the tv, but entertainment is a good thing like you said. seriously ryan your blogs freakin rock my face off, just like your music. i hope to see more.

By: NAFISA14

NAFISA14 — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:41:58 +0000

hey my entire post did not come through…let me try and recall…oh Lie to me is just simply engaging the way it just sucks u in and u cant help but watch in amazement and yes tim roth is brilliant is his portrayal…i also enjoy other shows like smallville, heroes, prison break, monk, supernatural..thats all i can recall now

By: Nickey

Nickey — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Great blog, I LOVE Lost too, not sure what I will watch once that is over… ugh.

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:42:02 +0000

Ryan, I am amazed that you have time to watch TV. I try not to watch too much, mostly because I spend all of my time on twitter and facebook. Of course lately it has been the Mr. Twitter December page try to get you to #1, but alas, My favorite show of all time without a doubt would have to be “Six Feet Under” one of HBO’s finest. Thank you again for these blogs. They really are fun to read.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:09:20 +0000

I hope I don’t spend 28 hours a week watching tv (now the computer is another thing;) Out of your list, Lie to Me is my favorite, as I like to try to guess who is lying as each case unravels. I guess I need to rent the dvds for the shows on HBO since I don’t get that channel.