What Television 'Fly Paper' Shows Do You Watch?

If you are enough of a television fan that you regularly read TV articles on seascoastonline.com, I would guess that you have probably subscribed to a package on your cable system that includes anywhere from 50 to 300 channels.
Unfortunately, all too often television writers and reviewers only focus on programs aired on the four large broadcast networks or on premium channels such as HBO and Showtime. But there are many interesting shows on the other 294 channels that people tend to watch mainly before or after “prime time.”
Let’s face it. Often late at night we find ourselves half asleep on our sofa or favorite easy chair, remote in hand, channel surfing, and certain programs stop us dead in our tracks. I call these programs “fly paper” shows, ones we inevitably pause on and wind up viewing.
So I thought I would list some of my favorite “fly paper” programs that I have stumbled upon, usually while fighting to keep my eyes open:
1. “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” on The Food Network – What better show to light on late at night when your stomach is growling? Watching host Guy Fieri chow down on a burger covered with onions, avocado, bacon, and melted cheddar cheese or a hot dog smothered with half a dozen toppings always makes my mouth water and sends me racing to the fridge for a late night snack.
2. “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” on The Travel Channel – Speaking of food, watching Andrew travel all over the world eating gross-looking foods such as jellied eels, lemon ants, fermented meat, or spiced grubs does not make my mouth water, but I can’t stop myself from watching. It’s sort of like rubber necking at a bloody accident scene.
3. “Histories Mysteries” on The History Channel – When channel surfing, can one ever get enough of shows titled “The Death of Marilyn Monroe,” “The Hunt for Jack the Ripper,” “Where is Jimmy Hoffa?” or “Area 51: Beyond Top Secret?” For that matter any show on any channel that explores the assassinations of JFK or even RFK will always stop me in my tracks.
4. “Comedy Central Roasts” – Although the jokes are often lame, if I see that Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Joan Rivers, or even Flavor Flav are being roasted, I feel compelled to stop and watch for at least a set or two, just to see the “roastees” reactions to being verbally skewered.
5. “Little House on the Prairie” reruns on the Hallmark Channel – I used to make fun of my wife who has always acclaimed her love of this show. But every once in a while I get caught up watching an episode, and I have to marvel at how well-written and interesting the travails of the Ingalls family can be, even though some of their episodes inevitably cause me to tear up.
6. “How Will Earth End” on the National Geographic Channel – This fascinating series which depicts exactly what the title says always catches my eye, along with a companion show “If Humans Disappear.” And I love the fact that on the NGC’s web site there is a running countdown of the number of days left until December 21, 2012, which is the date of the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy. (By the way, that is only 1,156 days from today.)
7. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” reruns on The Game Show Network – I am talking about the original show with Regis Philbin hosting. I always have to bring my channel surfing to a screeching halt just to see how far the current contestant gets. And okay, I admit it I also do the same when I see a rerun of the totally insipid show “Deal or No Deal,” just to see how stupid some of the greedy contestants can be. I just love it when a hick from Oklahoma proclaims to absolutely know that he has selected the $1 million briefcase and winds up winning $5!
8. “Trauma: Life in the ER” on the Discovery Health Channel – This is another show that my wife turned me on to. When a show always starts off with the disclaimer "Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised," how can you not watch it for at least 10-15 minutes, if only to find out how the surgeons would save a man who fell out of a window and was impaled on an iron rod sticking through his chest? Yes, the man did live, by the way.
9. Old Movies – There are certain movies that I have seen countless times that when channel surfing I have to stop and watch. But that is the subject of another article. I will admit though, if I come across “Titanic,” and the action is taking place AFTER the ship has hit the iceberg, I have to continue watching.
Well, those are just stop of my favorite “fly paper shows.” What are yours? Send any suggestions to pennerst@hotmail.com.