TVSquad

Yup, it's that time of year again, the week when we're supposed to shut off our TVs (and computers, I assume) and go outside and get some fresh air, maybe eat a salad.

I mention this every year, and it has gotten to the point where it would be ridiculous to give the opposing viewpoints yet again (but you can read them here and here). Suffice to say, we think you should leave your TV on this week (and in September - there's a TV Turn-Off Week then, too - when the new fall season starts!). If you don't, you're going to miss some cool stuff.

Every April we can usually look forward to the annual "TV Turnoff Week." It's the week when we're supposed to turn off our televisions and, I don't know, go outside and built a tree fort or something. But this year, something strange has happened: "TV" is no longer in the title.

Yup, that's right, it's no longer called "TV Turnoff Week," it's now called just "Turnoff Week."

Welcome to TV Squad Lists, a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Last year, at about this time, I presented you with five relevant reasons not to turn off your televisions during TV Turnoff Week. Well, as Bob mentioned, that week is upon us once again . . . whether we like it or not. So, as I'm short on fresh ideas, let me rehash last year's concept with five more reasons why you shouldn't be turning off the idiot box.

Sanjaya's gone from American Idol: Do you hear that roaring noise? That's the sound of all the Idol purists celebrating that Sanjaya is now gone from their show. This means that they can now get back down to business in choosing who will be the next winner of an exclusive recording contract. Of course, while that finalist will record and receive a good deal of money he or she will probably fade into the background. In the meanwhile, Sanjaya will probably win the Nobel Peace Prize sometime in the near future. I wonder what hairstyle he'll wear during the award presentation?

Every April we can be sure that several things will happen: the weather will alternate between warm/sunny and cold/rainy, kids will enjoy spring vacation before going back to school for the end of the year push, and a bunch of people will decide "hey, this is the week I won't watch television!" for some reason.

Yup, it's that time of year again. Today is the start of TV Turnoff Week (they've changed their name to "The Center For Screen-Time Awareness"), that week when all the misguided souls around the country decide to shut off their televisions and read a book and eat salad. Or so they'd have you believe. I write about this every year, and a couple of years ago even debated a guy on MSNBC about it, so I won't rehash all the points here. Check out this post, where I give all the reasons why this week is such a silly idea.

In short, don't celebrate TV Turnoff Week this week. To quote Jim Halpert on The Office when Pam told him to get a life, "but who will watch my television?"

(Writers Note: This post is not about something I hate ON the television, it's about a particular type of person I hate that is caused by the existence of television. It was hard picking a category for it, so I went with the one I did.)

I was an English major in college. If you ever get the chance to be an English major, do it! It opens so many doors to your future: with your English degree you can teach English! Or, also, starve!

Being an English major, though, brought along with it one major annoyance: wannabe intellectual types who felt that since they read Keats or whatever, they were somehow better than the civilians who enjoyed Melrose Place or The X-Files.

Stop! Don't touch the remote! Keep that finger away from the Power button! In other words, don't turn off your TV during TV Turnoff Week. If you do, you'll be missing one of the funniest comedies on television today.

I am talking about NBC's Scrubs. There hasn't been a comedy since Friends, not even Everyone Everybody Loves Raymond, that makes me laugh out loud like Scrubs does. I mean, how can you not chuckle while Chris Turk (Donald Faison) dances and lip-synchs to Bel Biv Devoe's Poison. Or snicker when Dr. Cox (John McGinley) goes on one of his 30-second rant on, for instance, why the purple Wiggle is always sleeping (for the uninitiated, the purple Wiggle is Jeff Fatt of the very popular children's television show The Wiggles). Or guffaw when J.D. (Zach Braff) has one of his surreal daydreams in the middle of a conversation.

As the Keller brothers already kicked off yesterday, we here at TV Squad feel it's our duty to inform you of reasons why you shouldn't be "celebrating" TV Turnoff Week. Tonight marks the third-to-last episode of what's been a fantastic second season of Veronica Mars, a series I'm very glad to have decided to pick up, and catch up on, late last season.

Seriously folks, if you haven't already been watching this show, this may be your last chance this season to see an episode on its own without having any major plot points revealed. As with last season, the last two episodes will likely wrap all the mysteries up very nicely, and if you pick the show up then, you'd surely ruin the magic of seeing the season from an earlier episode. (Forget what Richard says later about Scrubs -- watch 'Mars!)

If you've shut off your TV for TV Turnoff Week -- and really, why would you? -- you're missing a lot, especially if you're a Gilmore Girls fan. Why? Because the show's going to give its loyal fans a "sneak preview" this week, one that they didn't even know they were going to get after watching the last episode.

What do I mean by that? Well, Tuesday's episode, named "Super Cool Party People", was written by Dave Rosenthal, who just happened to be named the new executive producer of the show, effective next season. It also, if the TV listing for it on the WB's website is any indication, will advance one of the more annoying storylines of the season in a way that the fans may actually enjoy.

So if you want to get an idea of what GG is going to be like without the Palladinos, pay close attention to tomorrow's episode. Even though it'll still have AS-P's fingerprints all over it (she and her husband rewrtie scripts they don't write themselves), it might still provide some clues.