University Star

I’ve been thinking a lot about why I watch certain television shows. Mondays from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. you can catch me in my dorm watching “Being Human,” the new Science-Fiction reimagining of the British hit about a werewolf (“Josh,” Sam Huntington), vampire (“Aidan,” Sam Witwer) and ghost (“Sally,” Meaghan Rath) who live together in a Boston apartment. Think of it as “Friends” meets Twilight. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for Jewish werewolves who happen to spend an hour with their shirts off once a week. If I miss the show and all of actor Sam Huntington’s shirtless glory (you may remember him from the 1997 Tim Allen classic, Jungle 2 Jungle) I’ll watch it semi-illegally online.

CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother” is another show I usually watch online during my dinner breaks or before I go to sleep. After you get past Ted’s (Josh Radnor) incessant whining about trying to find a mate, (now I know how every one of my friends feel when I call them asking if I really should call the guy I like or if it will come off as clingy) you get caught up with the gang. You start feeling like, “Yeah, Barney and I could totally be bros.” The episode where Marshall’s dad dies, and he tries to remember the last thing he said to him caused me to call my mom, semi-crying, to tell her how much I love her. These shows have an effect on me that is slightly unsettling but provides for good water cooler fodder.

But why do I like these shows? Why do I feel the need to waste 30 minutes to an hour of my life watching these imaginary characters do imaginary things? I like to think it’s for educational purposes. For instance, by watching “Being Human” I have learned children do not make for good vampires and to not go camping during a full moon.