It Starts.

So long, life. It was fun having you while it lasted. We had a good summer together, reading, writing, and accomplishing things around the house. But we both knew it couldn't last. Your after-summer competition is just too strong.

Now that the new T.V. season is underway, I no longer have a life. I have been sucked into the black hole of the LCD. My DVR is already backing up, and it's only Thursday. And we all know Thursday is the best night for T.V. viewing, so I won't be able to hack away at my back log. I guess Bionic Woman will have to wait until the weekend.

So far, I have enjoyed Chuck and Reaper among the new shows I have checked out. Unfortunately, they are both hour-long shows, so each pretty much sucks up the dollop of down time I get between Ainsley's bedtime and mine. If I add Bionic Woman and Pushing Daisies to the mix, and stick with last year's formula of Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, 30 Rock, and later this year, American Idol and (can't wait!) Lost, then I am...pretty much a T.V. stoner.

I know something will have to go, just like last year when I sacrificed The Nine and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to keep my sanity. I was almost glad when those shows were cancelled when episode after episode had clogged up my DVR; I purged them from my TV's electric memory with no regrets. Why watch all those old episodes and risk really liking them only to have the network pull the rug out?

I know the odds are that one of the new shows I like will suffer in the ratings and die an early death (the smart money seems to be on Pushing Daisies, even though it hasn't premired yet; it's a favorite among critics, which never bodes well.) That's why I hate it when I really like a new show. That, and the fact that these new shows are life-suckers.

For now, I will keep on keeping on and try to find a precarious balance between live-viewing and DVR-playback, and stick to my tight after-8 schedule to keep up with everything. But I want to apologize in advance to any of the above-mentioned new shows that I might be axing later. After all, Cranky can't live on T.V. alone. I've gotta have some book time, some clean-the-house time, and some watch-the-Netflix-movies-that-we've-had-for-two-weeks time. If I let one of you all go, just know it wasn't you. It was me.