I'm looking for a TV show to watch while I do the "mindless" parts of artistic computer work. (i.e. after I've made composition decisions I often find myself with a lot of simple work that isn't exactly tedious, but leaves me with about 1/3 of my mental capacity unused).
In particular, I'm looking for something that is largely audio-based, since I need my eyes available for actually looking at the work I'm doing. (Online radio shows might be even better if anyone knows of any that can be listened to for free).
The three most recent shows I watched which fit this bill were How I Met Your Mother, House, and Kyle XY. (I'm actually not done with House yet but the show is kinda repetitive so I want something else to break it up with). Right now I'm in the mood for something funny. (The best option would be something with romantic comedy elements, but that doesn't feel like a lame soap opera. "How I Met Your Mother" was particularly good here because it managed to subvert some common romance tropes).
I generally like sci-fi stuff but they tend to be highly visual shows (Kyle XY was good in that regard in that it had a lot of neat sci-fi ideas but didn't rely on flashy visuals to convey them).
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
Hmmm... Eureka might fit the bill for humorous SF TV without too much flash. Arrested Development is an amazingly funny TV show, and the majority of the humor comes from the dialogue, not visuals. It might be a bit too involved, though, if you haven't watched it before.
For radio shows, NPR is great. In particular, I'd recommend This American Life.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
When I'm doing this kind of thing (or just playing NES games or something) I tend to put on Howard Stern in the background. Or music... Or a book on tape... I think a television show that fits your description might be Pushing Daisies. Although it is very visual (you can just imagine lots of bright colors and you'll pretty much have the idea), it is also very aural, with great rapid-fire dialogue that is fun to just listen to, the occasional musical number, and a mystery-of-the-week format that doesn't require a great deal of attention.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by Raymond Arnold: (Online radio shows might be even better if anyone knows of any that can be listened to for free).
And then there's the wonderful world of podcasts...
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
I do listen to music a lot, but eventually I get bored of it. I've seen Arrested Development and Pushing Daisies (I'd consider Arrested Development a reasonable fit for the criteria, Pushing Daisies is pretty visual but come to think of it most of what makes the show good is the dialogue).
I just spent about 30 seconds trying to list all the shows I've already seen and then decided there were too many to be practical. I started watching a lot of TV two years ago, and I think I've seen everything new that comes out that fits the bill since then.
I saw one random episode of Eureka once. It felt slightly lame, but I know that a lot of TV shows will look that way if you see one random episode without letting it grow on you, so maybe I should try watching that from the beginning.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
When I was doing something similar recently, I listened to all of Neil Gaiman reading his (now award-winning) The Graveyard Book, still available free online. All 10 episodes of the "video tour" (i.e., video of him at a podium reading aloud on tour) are here.
Wry, witty, very fun. Written for kids and adults.
Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
I'd recommend Gilmore Girls if you haven't seen it. Totally dialogue-based, and we used to listen to it in the car while driving. It makes you appreciate the amazing dialogue all the more.
If you are one of THOSE who gets scared away - yes, Gilmore Girls was very unfortunately titled. Give it a chance - it is really funny, and a great show.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I'll second "Gilmore Girls". Great show. Lots of dialogue. The only problem could be that it's really fast-paced, and getting all of it might require more than 1/3 of your mental capacity. Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
Here's a suggestion that may surprise you: "The West Wing." The show (at least in its early seasons) is at least as much a workplace comedy as it is a political drama. The funniest thing I've ever seen on TV is still the "secret plan to fight inflation" debacle in the episode "Celestial Navigation." And it's very much a dialogue-driven show - there's almost no action at all. It's classic Aaron Sorkin in that sense, all rapid-fire witticisms. The actors are well worth watching if you have the time, but you can probably get all of the plot and most of the jokes just from listening to the show.
Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
I was gonna recommend West Wing - but not so much with the comedy or the romantic stuff. Then I started thinking about how much I love that show, and I thought it would be unfair to the beauty that is the West Wing, to not give it your full and undivided attention...
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
I find a certain joy in listening to some of the old radio comedy shows- Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly. Some of it is corny, but a lot of it is ingenious: it's the origin of some of the kind of wit, dialogue, and comedic set-ups that writers still use today.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
On that note, you could grab a copy of the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio shows which inspired the book. They recently continued the series with most of the same cast after a bit of a break which was interesting.
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