The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is almost three months old and hard core television watchers (of course I’m not one of them) are starting to feel the effects. Fan favorites like Heroes and House haven’t returned since they went on hiatus in the fall and there is no sign that they will be back any time soon. The whole situation sucks for viewers and it certainly sucks for the networks, but it is a decidedly un-sucky position for the writers.

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The writer’s strike sucks. It sucks for lots of reasons… absolutely no decent TV, cancellation of awards shows (I admit, I actually quasi-enjoy the major movie and TV award shows…yes, I know I suck), the loss of Jon Stewart for 9 weeks, and reality shows… LOTS of reality shows. Oh, and of course hordes of talented writers out of work fighting for a decent cut. I guess all the reasons aren’t about me.

However, I’ve begun to notice some good has come out of this strike (for me, mainly… because why should I care about anybody else?). My wife and I have recently discovered the awesomeness that is Arrested Development thanks to the goading of some good people (save your snarky comments about me being way behind, know-it-alls are annoying). My wife also became obsessed with The Office, tearing through the first two seasons in roughly two weeks. I tell you, if the TV has to be on, its so much better to come home to old episodes of The Office than “Who’s Wedding Is It Anyway?”

Along with this, I’ve dusted off some of my old hobbies (the calluses on my fingers are finally starting to come back!), done more non-commute reading, and, of course, blogged! The funny thing is I thought I didn’t watch that much TV in the first place. I guess the lesson is that, like the rest of you lazy bumpkins, I need to be more selective with my tube watching. Other things in life aren’t that boring, they shouldn’t be shoved aside for a crappy half hour with Kelsey Grammar.

Huzzah!