You would think with so many channels finding something good to watch would have become easier. It really hasn’t. You would also think with so many options we would watch less television, but it would be more interesting. It hasn’t. I find myself on the couch on a Saturday afternoon feverishly scrolling through the guide to find something I can watch. Afternoon TV has so many needs in my house with the children running around. It has to be appropriate but I cannot watch any more Dora. It has to be interesting but not too dark, no more Bill Curtis Narrating horrible rapes and murders. It has to catch my eye but not be…well you know overtly sexual. Then I find the bane of my existence; the cable television marathon. Here are the top five shows you just can’t stop once you start, no matter how many times you have already seen them

5. How It’s Made. This is so odd to me. A show that calmly narrates the factory process of, well how things are made. It is so calming and serene that I know a nap can’ be far off. This also means I am not going to find out how brake pads are made, well maybe next time. How did this even become a show? If you have not seen this find and watch it. It is really interesting and yet you have no idea you want this information until you see it.

4. Iron Chef America. Here is another one. I know cooking shows are all the rage and I too am not immune to these competition shows. I keep thinking I am going to cook something like that every time I watch but I always end up not; who has the money or the time to fit that into their schedule. Iron chef is interesting as you look for the ingredient. Sometimes it is a simple thing, garlic or beef, and then other times it is something I have to run to interwebs to figure out. And that is all it takes to hook me. The thought of “what the hell are you going to make with that?” Now you are locked in for an hour to see how “that” turns out.

3. Counting Cars. This one surprises me. I am not a car guy; I just don’t have that gene. I do appreciate them for the works of art that they are. I grew up with my uncle and he was a car guy. A collector really and I used to hate having to drive all those cars to car shows and be stuck there for hours on end. I just did not enjoy that at sixteen. Now I will sit for hours and watch a show about a guy who fixes and customizes cars and motorcycles and think I really miss those days. And since they never show just one episode of this chow I know I got at least two hours of watching them work their magic.

2. Pawn Stars. Again I ask HOW IS THIS A SHOW?!?!? Pawn shops are where the dreams go to die. I tell people who want to learn guitar to buy one at the pawn shop, it’s like musical instrument rescues. But here I sit watching these guys talk about history and pop culture as they low ball some sap who thinks he found some gold in his attic because it is old. Not sure which is more saddening on this show the people who thin their item is rare and therefore expensive or how many of them get totally lowballed in an era when you can put it on eBay yourself and get retail value. But there I go sitting and watching cause I got to know what the expert thinks, and how close I am to the right price as I watch.

1. Storage Wars. This is definitely the crack of reality programming. I half watch this show to make fun of the crap in the lockers and the people, who seem to make a living, buying those lockers. Another simple idea that boggles the mind. People do not pay their storage fee and their locker goes up for auction. These people swoop in and buy them and find treasure, usually, inside. Please do not tell me this is like wrestling and history channel is putting that crap in there. I really doubt it would matter anyway. I am hooked. Especially when the go to commercial right after someone says “Oh my god you are not going to believe this” as they pull up a garbage bag. I don’t even look for what else is on during the commercial. I got to see what they found. I think I might need help actually.

Those are my top five shows I can’t stop watching if they are on. Did I miss yours? Let me know in the comments. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite.