Anyone who has spent a fairly significant amount of time living in a foreign country will probably be able to appreciate the TV withdrawal symptoms that I went through when I lived in Japan for a year. At the time that I left the United States, I regularly watched several television series, and I was a bit reluctant to leave them behind. I specifically asked the exchange student program director if I would be able to watch my favorite television shows over there, and I was told that, yes, the dorm had cable televisions that received American programming in all the rooms. I figured I would be able to see my favorite shows, so I barely even gave it another thought. I just packed up my bags, hopped on the plane, and hoped to get settled into my new dorm room in time to see the next episode of The X-Files.

Everything was going smoothly and right on schedule. I got into my room, unpacked my bags, and then switched on the TV. Sure enough, I found the familiar FOX logo on one of the channels. I looked through the guide and saw that The X-Files would be on in about forty-five minutes. I couldn't wait! When 7:00 finally rolled around, I excitedly flipped the TV back to the appropriate channel. Imagine my utter shock and disappointment when I saw that the episode that was airing that night was at least two seasons old! I couldn't believe it! I grabbed the TV guide again and frantically searched through the schedule for the whole month. Everything seemed to be correct. The guide showed that The X-Files came on every Sunday night, just like back home. So what was the problem? The episode airing in the States wasn't a repeat.

The next day, I asked some other students about the TV situation. I was told that basically every American television program shown in Japan was at least a couple of years old. It had to do with DVD and video licensing agreements or something like that. The production companies wanted to make money from DVD and video sales and rentals before broadcasting the shows on free or cable TV. So if I wanted to see more recent, yet still old, episodes of my favorites shows, I could rent them from the video store. But if I wanted to keep up with the current season, I would have to have someone from back home record the shows for me.

I tried to wait it out and just watch the reruns for awhile, but I couldn't handle it. I needed to see something new. There was nothing left to do except start begging friends and family to tape my shows every single week. In the meantime, I headed to the video store to satisfy my entertainment fix for the time being. I discovered that there are lots and lots of American shows available on video in Japan. I just had to decipher the titles. You see, a lot of the shows have their titles changed at least a little bit in order to make them sound more appealing to the Japanese audience. For example, I guess Ally McBeal was too plain, so it became Ally My Love. Most Japanese people would probably have no idea what a show called The West Wing was about, but they could certainly understand right away what a show called The White House was about. Once I figured out some of the titles, I started watching stuff that I hadn't seen in America. What's nice about watching TV shows on DVD is that you can watch the shows from the beginning and see things unfold in sequential order. Plus, you don't have to wait a week or more between each episode.

As for the shows I left back home, I was eventually able to recruit enough people to tape all of them on a weekly basis. So I regularly received packages of taped television shows in the mail. There again, I didn't have to wait a long time between each episode. As a result of all of this chaos, my television viewing habits changed dramatically. No, I didn't completely stop watching TV. But, it has actually gotten to the point where I couldn't watch regular broadcasts anymore. I would get too impatient during commercials, and if a particular show was boring, I would want to stop watching for a while and continue later, which, of course, was not possible unless I happened to be recording as I was watching. To this day, I either record my favorite TV shows or just buy the DVD box sets. I can't bear to sit in front of the TV anymore without having some sort of control over what I'm watching.

It is somewhat liberating not to have a TV schedule dictate my daily routine. Yes, I still watch a lot of TV, and yes, I still enjoy the sheer entertainment of it all. But by recording my favorite shows and watching them at a later date, I save lots of time. A typical hour-long network television program contains about 18 minutes of commercials. I can fast forward through those and finish a show in just 42 minutes. I also find that I am getting more things done. For example, before I changed my television viewing habits, I would be chained to the TV for an hour while CSI or 24 was on. I couldn't do anything else. Now that I am recording all my shows no matter what, I can watch the episodes in several different sittings rather than having to do it all at once. So if something comes up while I am watching TV, I can attend to it right away instead of having to wait for the show to end.

I recommend that you try to change your television viewing habits, too. You might be surprised at all that you can accomplish when you're not glued to the TV for hours at a time!