Evelyn Barge
A&E Editor
At this time of the year, the stress is beginning to come down hard.
Ever the procrastinator, I am always looking for ways to avoid the things I should be doing. This involves a variety of creative endeavors including updating my Facebook profile 300 times a day, habitually cleaning my room, even though it’s already spotless, and discovering new daytime TV programming that approximately 3.5 viewers in the entire country have ever considered watching. As you can imagine, these activities can be a bit, well, depressing.
When I’m beginning to feel like my life is a worthless experiment in boredom, I turn my dial to one of the three channels I know I can rely on for vicarious thrills: the WB, Fox and ABC.
If you don’t know me or my roommate, I can promise you that our lives revolve around these channels because they are home to our favorite, must-see shows: “One Tree Hill,” “The O.C.” and “Alias.” We absolutely never miss these shows, even if it means slipping the maintenance staff a $20 so they’ll press the record button on our VCR.
In honor of the shows that so faithfully fill what little spare time I possess, I dedicate this column to the most memorable moments from the current season.
Here are the top-three TV moments that helped make me feel like my is life just a bit more interesting than it actually is:
1. I guess I’m just a sucker for a good drug-related subplot, but Payton’s cocaine problems on “One Tree Hill” keep me coming back for more. This is not to make light of what could be a very serious situation if it occurred in real life, but the fact that the show’s writers managed to tie her experimentation with coke to an evil club manager is just all the more laughable. We all know that the entertainment industry, especially the music biz, is undeniably corrupt through and through. So watch your back for overzealous coke pushers who might try to shove small vials of white powder into your purse unsolicited.
2. On a more romantic note, last week when Vaughn confessed to Sydney on “Alias” that he had planned an elaborate marriage proposal before her untimely kidnapping, it was nearly impossible not to melt into a puddle on the floor. Anyone roaming the halls in Towers on Wednesday night would likely have heard a chorus of “awwwwwww” coming from a certain room on the third floor.
3. Although this final TV moment has yet to occur, when it does, it is likely to be one of the most-watched moments in television history. I’m referring, of course, to the last five minutes of tonight’s “The O.C.” For those who may have missed the ubiquitous commercials luring viewers to stay tuned for the final minutes of the show, the teasers promise the arrival of Marissa and Alex’s long-awaited first kiss. And to further clue you in, just in case this tidbit might alter your decision to watch the episode, this Alex is short for Alexandra. Have fun with that one.
I’m thanking my lucky stars that television executives were willing to fund these lovely shows and hire writers adept at making each frame drip with teenage angst. To be honest, life would just be too dull to bear without them.
02-10-2005
