I'm Addicted to TV

Hi, my name is Brian Matoren, and I'm addicted to TV.

When I was a kid, I watched so much TV that my parents used to tell me I was going to turn into a television. In an attempt to scare me into watching less, they bought me the book, The Boy Who Turned Into A TV Set by Stephen Manes. Their plan backfired, big time. It was my favorite book. I thought turning into a television would be the greatest thing in the world. So I watched more. The Flintstones. Batman. I Dream of Jeannie. The Brady Bunch. The Cosby Show. Cheers. The Sopranos. Dream On.

(For someone who constantly knows the right TV or movie clip for just about any real life situation, Dream On is one of the best shows ever. I still get a kick out of If you never watched it, do it now. After you’re done reading the rest of this of course.) I was a walking TV Guide. I was obsessed with television. I still am.

And television for me wasn’t just a way to pass the time or mindless entertainment. Contrary to what my mother called it, the TV is NOT the “idiot box”. In fact, I learned quite a bit as a child from television. The Brady Bunch taught me it was ok to be interested in the arts when Peter joined the Glee Club.

(I’m pretty sure there was an insanely popular show recently about a Glee Club.) The Bradys also taught me that getting hit in the nose with a football would be a bad thing.

The Cosby Show taught me what it was like to live on my own. (Of course, it also taught me that men could get pregnant and give birth to hoagies and toy cars.)

Cheers was the first to teach me that love is the secret to life (with comfortable footwear coming in a close 2nd.)

And years later, 24 taught me not to live in LA. (Seriously, no disrespect, but why would anyone live there?) And Seinfeld taught me…well…just about everything else. Especially about living in NYC.

There used to be only 3 networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS). Then FOX came along. Then HBO. Now there's a plethora of opportunities for quality programming. House of Cards on Netflix. Homeland on Showtime. Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon. Mr. Robot on USA. Vikings on History. (Why aren’t more people talking about this show, by the way?) The list goes on and on. If the 1950's was the Golden Age of TV, we're living in the Platinum age. No wait, the Diamond Age! How can things be any better for a TV obsessive? To quote Billy Joel, I've loved these days.

So it's only fitting that, as an adult, I work in television. In New York City. I’m a Writer/Producer. I write and produce all kinds of content. But mostly promos. That’s right, promos. Hey, you gotta start somewhere. I guess telling people what to watch is sort of my thing. I’ve worked for the NFL, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and CNBC, to name a few.

But I'm so much more than just a fanatical WATCHER of TV. I also want to write ABOUT television. At my core, I'm a WRITER. And as they say, you write what you know. So I plan on doing just that, among other things, on this website. I’ll tell you what I’m watching, hence what you should watch, and we’ll talk ABOUT what we are watching.

Perhaps one day, I will actually turn into a TV set. Fingers crossed. But until that glorious day comes, I might as well watch as much as I can. And I might as well write about it too.