As part of his publicity blitz for Funny People, Judd Apatow wrote a blog for MTV that made a spot-on observation about movies on TV:
There is nothing worse than making a bad movie and knowing it is going to be broadcast on cable TV for the rest of time. I am actually a fan of mediocre comedies. They are like warm soup. They can be pleasant and help time go by more easily when you just want to shut off your brain. When I make a bad movie I often try to make myself feel better by saying, “well, that is a good movie to watch if you are home with the flu.”
Apatow’s on to something here. There is something distinctive about what you watch on TV when you’re sick: game shows, bad movies, nature documentaries. You watch them because that’s what’s on, I guess, but nowadays there’s so much on cable that there’s more to it than that. Sick TV is distinctive, undemanding: it has to wash over you like a warm bath, soothing you, suspending you, not asking you to do anything but float.
What’s your favorite I’m-sick/hungover/exhausted/depressed TV? And why aren’t you watching some right now?