Because you asked: TV viewing in a post-Breaking Bad world

Welcome to the first in a series I shall call "Because You Asked." Carolynn wondered what I'm watching on TV, now that Breaking Bad has ended. The short answer is, "a whole lot of crap." Carolynn, if you were looking for a few recommendations of great TV shows you might have missed, you won't find them in this post.

The TV is on here for several hours each day, usually in the evenings after the sun has gone down or in the middle of the night when I wake up for no apparent reason and need to be lulled back to sleep. I rarely watch TV in real time; I record programs on the DVR and play them back to fit my schedule and so that I can fast-forward through the commercials.

One program I never miss is the NBC Nightly News. My longest-ever celebrity crush is Tom Brokaw, and now I've got a thing for Brian Williams. I like his dry wit, and he always gets a little misty-eyed when he reports on a heartwarming animal story. Anyway, I still like to get my news the old-fashioned way, so eating dinner with Brian works for me.

Until the recent changing of the guard in late-night television, I had always watched Letterman, never Leno. Now I record Jimmy and Seth. They're both so darned funny and likable. And through the miracle of the DVR, I can watch the bits and pieces I prefer and skip over the guests I've never heard of.

I'm just as addicted to Downton Abbey as ever. This season seemed to go by so fast, though. I'm trying to fill the gap until next season with British period dramas I'm finding on Amazon Prime. The Forsyte Saga was very good – same era as Downton but featuring a less-aristocratic family. I've tried going back to the earliest episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs, but they're not closed captioned and I can't understand the accents. Next up on my streaming watchlist is The Duchess of Duke Street. How did I ever live without DSL?

This next one might surprise you: Project Runway. It's a show about fashion. Me? Fashionable? Ha! But I enjoy watching creative designers at work. It's one of those competition shows where the loser of the week's challenge cries and goes home. I'm not a big fan of the genre, but again, that's what DVRs are for – you can skip over the drama and get right to the good parts.

One show I do watch for the competition is Survivor. Those of you who have read this blog from the beginning know that George and Alan were consolation prizes to myself for not being selected to be on Survivor. I still think I could outwit, outplay and outlast most of those knuckleheads if given the chance. Alas, they don't seem to cast old broads anymore. Their loss.

I do not watch any cooking, singing or dancing competitions, but I will admit to watching a whole lot of HGTV and the Food Network. Those channels are frequently on in the background while I'm working on the next day's blog post. I have no intention of ever moving, let alone out of the country, but I can't get enough of House Hunters International – real-estate porn at its finest. Good Eats with Alton Brown is my foodie favorite; it's part science, part history, part cooking demo. Last night I learned the importance of a roasting pan and why some fresh chicken meat is yellow, in addition to how to properly roast a whole chicken. Good stuff.

Now this is where it's going to get embarassing. In real life, I can't stand arguing and drama queens and conspicuous consumption, but I watch just about every franchise of The Real Housewives. Scary, huh? I don't know what it is about those shows that I find so fascinating.

Proofreading this post has made me realize just how much garbage I watch and how much I miss Breaking Bad. All 65 episodes are still on my DVR. I think it's time to watch them again...unless you've got some better suggestions?