I’ve found lately that there are several shows airing late in the night that I sometimes catch when I can’t sleep like MASH, Frasier, Star Trek: TNG, and King Of Queens and which I enjoy immensely. However, when these same shows are shown at a reasonable time of day I have scant interest in watching them. I can’t figure out whether it’s just at 4am those shows have little competition from other shows or whether my mind is particularly attuned to the humour in them when I haven’t slept. Anyone else notice the same or similar phenomenon?
Kind of, but it’s with everything. I’d rather be doing something outside if there’s daylight.
Fair point. The last time I tried gardening at night someone called the cops on me.
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is like that for me. Or “Unwrapped.” Bright, colorful shows full of shit I don’t want to eat anymore; great food porn for 1AM, but during the day I can’t sit and just watch them.
I find it impossible to enjoy certain types of shows during the day. Things like “film noir” movies, heavy sci-fi, Twilight-Zone-type shows, anything with monsters or aliens, etc. If I have Tivo’d such a show, I always wait till night to watch it.
Yes.
I save Master Chef and Hells Kitchen specifically for Thursday Nights. I have plenty of oppertunities to watch them Wednesday or thursday afternoon. But I don’t.
It’s funny too. Because on Thursday afternoon, around 5:30pm, I keep looking up at the clock and saying to myself: “Come on 7 o’clock” Hurry up and get here!" Like there’s some force of nature preventing me from just hitting play on my DVR.
I watch Red Green on PBS Sunday nights. It is so charming in its dumb way, I find it oddly…soothing. (Also, years ago in happier times, Sunday evening at 5:30, Red Green on PBS, marked the turning point of the weekend. I looked FORWARD to Monday mornings!) I can’t watch it at any other time, though. It has to be on Sunday evening, and if I have to do something else at that time, I feel vaguely annoyed.
I have this feeling more often with music on the radio- where it irks me if songs are played at the “wrong” time of the day*. So I do know what you mean.
*As some extreme examples to give an idea of what I mean:
John Denver after dark
“Fun fun fun til her daddy takes the t-bird away”/Under the boardwalk in the morning
I don’t like to watch anything during the day, unless I’m sick. There’s something about the quality of light that makes it unpleasant. Not that I’d necessarily rather be outside or even doing anything. TV watching is just nicer in the dark.
The assorted inane Scifi channel monster movies like Sharktapus and Piranhaconda seem to make a lot more sense when my brain is operating on half voltage in the early AM.
My boredom enhances the quality of many forms of entertainment.
Growing up late night did seem to be the only normal place to watch reruns of old shows. However I’ve had a TiVo for 10+ years now so time of day, day of week (and channel surfing) no longer have any meaning to me! 
I will say that I can watch sporting events at any time of the day or night, but only if they’re live.
I generally get locked in to watching certain shows at certain times. F’rinstance, I get up early to spend time with my daughter before she goes to school, and then watch “Cheers!” and “Frasier” from 7:30 to 9:00 am.
I know ST: VOYAGER is on after 11:00 pm, but I don’t care because I’m used to watching it at 5:00 pm.
With cable, I can watch “Jeopardy!” at just about any hour of the evening, but I prefer to do it at 7:30, after I cook dinner with “Wheel of Fortune” playing in the background.
“Due South” is on a couple of channels throughout the week, but I always watch it at 6:00 pm on Vision TV.
And so on and so on.
If I’m working late at night, odds are The History Channel will be on in the background, regardless of what’s on.
This is when I’m living in Toronto, of course. When I’m abroad, I either watch BBC Entertainment in the evenings, or old shows (e.g., “The Avengers,” “The Prisoner,” “Combat!”) over the Internet until the wee hours of the morning.
Me too. I wonder if it’s because I used to catch them late at night/early morning in pre-cable/download days.
In a similar vein, 6pm on a weekday was when Star Trek, Stargate etc used do be on terrestrial TV in the UK, so I always associate that time with that sort of show.
Black and white movies are more enjoyable late at night. The Twilight Zone is only watchable between the hours of midnight and 5:00 AM.
Watching any show with a laugh track during daylight hours only feels appropriate when I’m laying in bed, sick as a dog.
I’m still afraid of The Twilight Zone. I happened to catch an episode at noon, on a warm summery day, that was so terrifying I cannot fathom how freaked out I would have been watching it at night. (between midnight and 5 a.m.).
The Today Show can only be watched in the morning. David Letterman can only be watched at night. It just doesn’t seem right watching either at any other hour.
I agree The Twilight Zone - the old b/w ones - is best watched at night, alone with the lights off.