“If I did not have ‘Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit,’ I would not know what I would do on Tuesdays.”
– Ellen Ven Rooy, UW-Stevens Point biology student

Winter’s dull haze of nothingness besets Wisconsin’s population every year when snowy, cold weather limits what people can do. Friends gather to stay warm. Entertainment options are limited when kept to indoor activities.

This time of year people turn to movies and TV shows as major forms of entertainment.

One explanation of why people get attached to a TV series is seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is when a person becomes depressed because the lack of sunny, warm weather. According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, a coping mechanism for SAD is finding a stress-free activity, thus committing to a TV series helps to take a person’s mind off of the undesirable weather.

However, the people questioned say that winter weather has little effect on their viewing habits. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee criminal justice graduate Heidi Lohman says the new episodes first air in the winter. “The reruns are in the summer so TV is less important. Besides, you can watch the seasons on DVDs.”

UWM English major Brendan Crain says that the fall season is when he actually watches the most TV because he wants to see what the entertainment articles mean with the blurbs of the new fall lineup.

“Any show can hook viewers in if the show is well written,” he says. “It is the writing which makes you want to know what happens.”

Ellen Ven Rooy, UW-Stevens Point biology student, explains how watching the same show becomes habit.

“When you know a show can be great and a few episodes are only OK, you wait for when an episode is great, again,” she says. “Watching a show gives structure in an unstructured life. If I did not have ‘Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit,’ I would not know what I would do on Tuesdays.”

People are emotionally invested in a show and its characters for one reason or another. Lohman, who is also a fan of “Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit,” explains how there are five main detectives who are affected by different things. She is fascinated to watch a show that is related to her field.

When people are so emotionally invested, it is hard when a show ends.

Ven Rooy talks about how difficult it is to have a favorite show end.

“When a show ends, the universe is gone,” he says. “You wish so much for more.” He continues to talk about how after a few seasons a person knows how a character will react to a situation and you feel for them.

Crain can relate to Ven Rooy’s sentiments. Crain uses the analogy that the show is like eating really good cake.

“When you eat the last bite, you cannot make another cake exactly the same.”

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