Has a show become unbearable to watch?  Maybe the characters don’t interest you anymore, the plot lines have become too contrived, and the entire series has become a chore for you to keep up with on a week to week basis.  The whole show has become a pain in your queue.  If you can relate, these five signs will help you to figure out if you’ve emotionally given up on that once beloved TV show:

5. Ask yourself: Do I really care about these characters?  Back at the beginning of the fall TV season I was interested to see where Glee was going to go now that half the characters had graduated.  The season three finale felt more like a series finale to me but I decided I would still tune in.  I try not to just give up on shows, I want to be a loyal viewer!  But, as season four began the show failed in keeping my interest, simply because I didn’t find the characters interesting anymore.  I didn’t care if Rachel and Finn were together or not, I didn’t care about Mr. Shue and his new D.C. position, and I definitely didn’t care about any of the new characters (whose names I can’t even recall at the moment) and their plights.  I found the character arcs centered on their love lives and only their love lives…and sometimes they sang about it.  What I originally loved about Glee was the view into these characters lives and the hardships they went through as people, not who they were kissing on a week to week basis.

4. Do you let episodes backup on your DVR? If you’ve found that you missed 2+ episodes of a show without even realizing it, it may be time to ask yourself if you’re still interested.  I would let 2-3 weeks go by without watching an episode of Glee and I just didn’t care.  Sometimes life gets in the way and we’re just too busy to keep up with our shows, it’s understandable.  But, if it’s been weeks and you still don’t even remember that you have several episodes waiting on your DVR, maybe you’re just not that into it.

3. You nit-pick everything.  Let’s be real, most shows on television can’t be compared to real life in the grand scheme of things.  There’s often crazy story lines that would never ever happen in your everyday life.  That’s inevitable.  It’s even fun to talk about these things with people, start a dialogue about what you do and don’t like about a show.  That’s what they’re meant to do.  When you start to nit-pick even the simplest of things like what a character says, what they wear, or even a simple mannerism..it may be time to re-think your devotion to a show.

2. You’ve looked for a new show to watch.  This one is simple.  New shows start every season and at the beginning of every year.  There’s many new shows that air on a number of networks that look promising.  Fresh shows that have characters with clean slates, new and exciting backgrounds, and original story lines.  My pick this year was FOX’s The Following.  Agent Ryan Hardy is called back to join the FBI in the take down of escaped serial killer Joe Carroll.  Things aren’t as they seem though as Carroll has a “cult” of his own ready to do his bidding and stifle the FBI by any means necessary (sounds awesome right!? IT IS).  A new show is guaranteed to fill the void of the show you once loved.

1. You committed to the quit! A few times a season a show will go on what’s called a hiatus.  These hiatuses are to ensure the show will make it to May without running out of episodes. Hiatuses last anywhere from two weeks to two months.  Back in October Glee went on a four week hiatus.  When it came back the next month I had no intentions of tuning back in. The promos didn’t interest me, the upcoming story lines bored me, and the songs and talent weren’t enough to keep my attention.  It was over, I was done with Glee.  It’s been three months and I haven’t watched a single episode since October. I committed to my quit and have moved on to new and different TV shows.

Watching TV should be fun, easy, and a mindless activity.  We shouldn’t have to think too hard and we should want to escape for thirty minutes to an hour every week with characters and stories we love.  Shows will run their course.  Sometimes they stay intriguing and sometimes they dwindle with time.  It’s okay to find new shows and move on.  We should be excited to watch a TV show, not sit and ponder when it will be over.

*This blog is meant to be lighthearted and fun.  No hate towards Glee for you lovers of the show still out there!