What are ya watchin, Davey?

I've come to the conclusion that I spend far too much time watching TV. There was a time when I didn't even own a TV. It was 2001. My set had broken and I didn't have the money to buy a new one because all of my money went to pay rent on my luxury apartment. I didn't have a TV or furniture but sure looked cool driving up to the front door of my fancy digs.

I actually got used to not having one and I was surprised by how much more productive I was. I cleaned, went for walks and read books. I think that was the year Napster was really popular so I downloaded a million songs. With a 56K modem. Oh, yes, I had nothin' but time.

I didn't start watching a lot of TV again until AT & T came a knockin' last summer. "Hey, we have this great new service called U-Verse. Would you like to try it?" I didn't think I wanted to try it but it wasn't much more than the basic cable/internet service I already had and they were offering me a DVR so I could "pause live TV and record up to a hundred programs." I didn't think I needed a hundred programs recorded but it was a lonely summer and the salesman told me I had pretty eyes so I signed up.

Can I just tell you this DVR is like crack? I spend more time sitting on my couch than I ever imagined I would. I started out by recording weekly sitcoms before I mastered the art of the search. Do you know that Davey & Goliath is on at 2AM every Thursday?

I used to watch the show every Sunday when I was a kid. If you aren't familiar with Davey & Goliath, it was about a mischievous little boy named Davey and his dog, Goliath. It was a claymation cartoon produced by the Lutheran Church so every episode had the underlying theme that God loved you no matter what. Goliath acted like Davey's conscience and talked in a voice that only Davey could hear. "You shouldn't be doing that Daveeyyy", Goliath would always drag out Davey's name.

Turning the show on all these years later brings back a lot of great memories but I notice things that I didn't when I was a kid. First of all, Davey's a little prick. He never listens to what anyone tells him but I suppose that's how he learns all those neato lessons. By realizing the err of his ways.

The claymation was done by Art & Ruth Clokey, the creators of Gumby. I guess they weren't really used to doing lifelike appendages because Davey's hands look like two baseball mitts that almost hang to his knees. His best friend is a little black boy named Jonathan who has the voice of a 45 year old man. "I have to go home and do my homework now, Davey." Creepy.

This episode talks about love and acceptance for everyone regardless of their race:



This episode does not...