To TV or Not TV?

If you're a pop culture/entertainment junkie like me, then you're chomping at the bit at what happens tonight: the fall TV season gets going in earnest.

And along with the excitement of seeing new shows -- instead of summer reality dreck (yep, count me in the group that can't stand reality competition shows) -- there comes important decisions.

Which new shows do you check out? Do you really want to invest in a show that may bomb out in three weeks (or less)? What do you watch live and what do you use your DVR for (and how much space do you have left on it)?

It's become a sad reality (thanks to cheap reality shows) that TV fans have to think about these questions, instead of just trying to enjoy the shows. In a vast network of choices, it bothers me that networks don't invest the time in programs that they've already invested money into because they don't draw ratings in its first outing.

And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, since there are people out there that won't even take a chance on a show because they fear the rug being yanked out from underneath them.

Imagine the outcome if NBC had dumped "The Seinfeld Chronicles" after its initial lukewarm reception, before it launched into pop culture as just "Seinfeld." "Cheers" was the lowest rated show on the air the week it debuted -- and that was with a lot less competition. How many people's lives might have been easier (and less confusing) if "Lost" hadn't hit out of the gate?

(Of course, there have been some notable quick mercy kills in recent years, meaning that if something's bad, maybe you shouldn't have made it in the first place -- no matter the star.)

But as far as what to watch now? Well, you can't ignore the shows you've already been watching (and still have a DVR season pass set up for). So it's always a good choice to watch the new shows live out of the gate, because that's why you use the DVR -- to watch your shows when you want.

The Internet can also be a great resource for those who have too much on their pop culture plate. And for the ultra high-tech, you can watch the shows from Internet providers such as Hulu and iTunes (which makes skittish network execs even more worried, since that's ad money they're losing. And coming from the print news media, I know a thing or two about nervous execs worried about losing money to the Internet.

So, how much am I going to watch? I really don't know. It's hard to work around schedules and a young child. And there are quite a few new shows I want to check out, so that's going to make it even harder on the eyes.

Of course, I should just not watch any of it and get out of the house. But I won't. I just hope that I don't get attached to something that gets replaced with another procedural cop show (yeah, don't like most of those, either ... I get enough of those from the documentary-type series on cable).

So, happy viewing -- if you're into that type of thing.