No TV, plenty of peace, only a little pining

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/11/2023 (696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Week 2 was where I started the TV-starvation part of my Gold Turkey TV Challenge (a.k.a. cold-turkey TV elimination diet that will yield gold in personal gains, fingers crossed). And I’m kind of loving the peace and quiet.

The large-screen TV has been retired to the closet to allow easier access to the stereo. More albums are being played. More radio has been listened to. Books are being read.

But the best news of all is that sleeping has returned — not 100 per cent, but still. That’s likely owing to my not going to bed with my iPad streaming apps to unwind after a crazy night on the Free Press copy-editing desk. Is it time for a no-screens rule after 8 p.m.?

I am, however, counting the hours until Week 3 begins Sunday, Nov. 5, allowing me five precious hours of TV streaming, in which I will catch up on new episodes of The Morning Show and Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+) and new series All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix) and Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+).

As a longtime TV fan and occasional critic, I am halfway through a four-week challenge with the hopes of evolving from a sofa-bound, mindless, TV-watching zombie to a more sociable, more active occasional connoisseur of thoughtfully selected TV.

If you’re also shaking up your TV world and joining the challenge, share your own observations, suggestions and questions via email to denise.duguay@winnipegfreepress.com or snail mail to 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

And on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m., the Free Press welcomes all challengers to gather virtually for a TV postmortem on our YouTube channel at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29 (wfp.to/tvchallenge), where I will share my own experience and highlights of any feedback already sent in, as well as fresh feedback and all of our final thoughts.

denise.duguay@winnipegfreepress.com