The End of the Lair

When I started Television Lair, I wanted to explore why I liked the shows that I watched. I wanted to know what drew me towards Castle, Fringe, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, etc. and why I didn't want to watch other shows. Obviously, an entertainment factor was in play but what went into creating that factor was always an intriguing concept. I had also become an avid reader of the AV Club. It's their standard of high-quality analysis that I have always aspired for. There was also an early attempt to create a community and also turn the blog into a television business analysis blog. The first failed as I didn't have a readership to create a community around. That was my fault. The second largely fell to the wayside. It's entirely possible that I might actually start doing that on a semi-regular basis because I think television business is just as interesting as programming. As it stands, I have no plans of actually doing that so I wouldn't expect anything.

When I first started the blog, the reviews weren't as long as they are now. They also weren't as good. At the same time, they were barely time consuming. I could knock out most reviews in an under an hour. As time went on, I improved the quality of my writing. As the quality picked up, I started to make them longer. What used to take me less than an hour now took at least three hours per review. The blog has become a bigger commitment that demands more and more time. This would be fine if I was getting paid, if people were reading the actual reviews, and/or if I was still motivated to do this. The first hasn't become true. There are ads (aimed at covering the cost of the domain) but I haven't made enough money to actually get a check. It's possible I do have a couple loyal audience but most of my reviews hover around 10 page views. As for motivation, I've got admit that I rarely actually want to write a review. It's become such a time-consuming hobby that leaves me with very little time to do anything else and it's also become stressful.

All of these factors kept me plugging along because having a blog looks good on my resume. Nobody might be reading it but at least I could claim I was doing it. It's a claim that I can now use: I ran this blog for two years. Alas, I must shut it down. Why? I have five reasons. The first is that I have fulfilled the purpose of the blog. I believe I have a greater understanding of what makes a show entertaining and good. The second is that college is requiring more and more time. When I first started this blog, I was a sophomore. The little time commitment it took per review and the less homework I had made doing this blog feasible. Now, I'm spending more time doing college work while this blog demands I spend more time doing it. I just don't have time for Television Lair anymore. The third reason is that I don't want to do it anymore. I don't think I need to justify that. The fourth reason is that practically nobody reads. This didn't used to bother me but it's kind of like I'm wasting my time on something I don't want to do anymore for nobody's benefit. The fifth, and final reason, is that I want to dedicate my free time doing other things. As I noted, I might revive this blog with a different focus on doing semi-regular business analysis. I might work on screenplays and/or other writings. Basically, it's to open up my time for something I am interested in doing.

I had always planned on ending this blog in May. I was dedicated to doing that but then I realized something: I'm a week behind. I'm going to be a week behind for as long as I have to spend my time on college work. This is going to turn the blog into a bigger stress than it needs to be-considering nobody reads it. I've considered dropping the amount of reviews I do weekly but...it's still going to be a major time commitment. So I'm doing the most sensible thing:

I'm closing the blog right now. I'll keep paying for the domain name and keep the reviews up. You can always read this for history's sake. I might, as I said, convert this blog to doing business analysis. As of now, I'm doing doing reviews. I'm not going to catch up: The Michael J. Fox Show is the final review. If you have any questions of what I think about any news shows/episodes, drop a comment at any time.

It has been a great adventure. I liked this doing for the longest time...and I hate quitting earlier than I expected. At the same time, I must admit that the time for reviewing shows has passed.

The Television Lair is now abandoned.