Big Brother is Watching Happy Days Reruns

Television is effortless. It is very easy to confuse the ever-present background drone of tv for actual though occurring in your head.

Television inspires apathy. If we were to suggest that you lie on your sofa and stare at a blank wall for an entire day, you would think it was boring and pointless. Yet, how many times have you spent just as long languidly channel surfing past shows you're not watching?

No, you say, I don't watch that much tv. I mean, there's nothing good on - it's all crap anyway.

You're right. It is all crap.

You still watch it, though.

You know that you laugh at Friends. You may scornfully deride it, dismiss it as trite pap, accuse it of being the worst of American sitcom banality and claim you never watch it.

But when it is on, you know you laugh.