57 Channels (and everything's on)

I'm having a hard time coming to terms with TiVo. Misty got me one for Christmas, and I've been playing with it for the past few weeks. Every time I try to talk about how much I love it, though, I feel like an idiot.

"I can record all the programs I want so that I can watch them on my own schedule, and I can fast-forward through commercials!"

Well, duh. Haven't VCRs been able to do that for the past 20 years?

Of course I haven't owned a VCR for more than a decade, so I'm bound to be a little more excited than the rest. But everyone seems to be raving about TiVo and how great it is. That's why I wanted one — peer pressure.

Despite my insecurities about praising a machine for doing the same thing another machine was already doing, TiVo really is a cool toy.

Nevertheless, it's not really a time saver.

Now that I'm recording TiVoing "The Daily Show," "Arrested Development," "The Apprentice," "The O.C.," "Desperate Housewives," "Home Movies," "Best Week Ever," and "The Real World" (not to mention "Lost" and "The Bachelorette" which I'm not actually watching), I'm bombarded with viewing options.

Before TiVo, I'd simply miss most of the shows I liked. I didn't mind — I can't plan my life around TV. Now that I can plan TV around my life, though, television has taken on a much greater significance. And I can't decide whether that's a good thing or not.