As any one who knows me knows, I really like television. I will watch it any way I can. Sometimes this means… getting a little creative with the venues through which I watch things. For a while I maintained that it is a network’s job to provide me with a means by which to watch their content, and if they’re not going to then they’re stupid because I’m going to watch it anyway and they should be catering to me because I am their source of profit. While on a certain level that is in fact true, it is also very problematic. It is especially problematic considering that I am someone who intends to, in the very near future, earn a living creating television.

When I can, I like best to watch television shows as they air on television. At school that’s a bit more difficult because I don’t have my own tv, but I still do my best to make it happen for the shows I really like. But for shows I’ve just started watching– ones that aren’t on the air any more, or that are several seasons in, watching when they air isn’t really an option (I will not watch a show that I haven’t seen from the beginning). Netflix has been incredibly helpful in that department, as has Hulu in some cases. But not everything streams through these venues, and most networks don’t keep earlier episodes on their own websites.

So what am I supposed to do when I want to watch Fringe and it’s not streaming anywhere!? Well, I could buy the DVD’s. Or, since I’m willing to watch on my computer, I could buy individual episodes or entire season passes through itunes or amazon. Season DVD’s are kind of expensive when they first come out, but when they’ve been out for a while you can usually get them between $12-25. Despite how reasonable this is, it makes my bank account cry. Also, while I like having DVD’s for shows that I know I like (Veronica Mars, Lost, one day Buffy e.t.c) because I can re-watch stuff and lend them out to people, I’m hesitant about paying for something I’m not sure I’ll like– that’s legitimate, right? As for downloading episodes to my computer- I once bought an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and thought about how terrible an idea it was for days because I didn’t really like the episode and never wanted to watch it again and I couldn’t figure out a way to watch it on my television so at least my family could watch it too. This is not really a good enough reason not to buy other shows, but still…

What’s a television-loving-someday-writer-currently-college-student to do? This is one of those theoretical questions where I already know the answer.

I’m trying to be less morally ambiguous.

I’m definitely buying season two of Fringe…