Brace yourselves, television fans, because you’ll be facing quite the conundrum this Sunday night. The season 2 premiere of “Girls” airs at the same time as the Golden Globes. Who's already ever so slightly stressed out about this?
Of course, a TV scheduling conflict isn’t really something to get worked up about, but on the scale of trivial stressors (i.e. which brunch place to choose and what mid-90s teen movie to stream on Netflix), it’s right up there. Also, awards shows are demanding in general. The red carpet is pretty fun to watch, but how will you feel about yourself if you consecrate six hours of your life to awards show-watching? (And if you do it for the Globes, you'll do it for the Oscars, so it's really like 12 hours.) It's a moral quandary, really. Then there's the anxiety-inducing issue of all of the shows and movies you haven't seen, which often prompts the question of what you've been doing with your life.
Here are five things we recommend you do in order to keep your cool the evening of January 13th:
1. DVR “Girls.” Start by getting that off your plate. Set your DVR -- or your friend’s DVR -- and plan to watch “Girls” after the final gold statuette has been given out. In fact, mentally shelve Marnie, Hannah, Jessa and Shoshanna for a few hours so that you can fully enjoy the fabulousness that is Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. We feel confident preemptively declaring them to be the best Golden Globes hosts ever.
2. Realize that Lena Dunham WILL be at the Golden Globes, so you'll get your "Girls" actress fix.
3. Follow the official #GoldenGlobes hashtag. Let it be the only thing you look at on Twitter from 9pm to 12:30am EST, lest you get some unwelcome “Girls” spoilers mixed up in your feed. You don't want a discussion of Hannah Horvath's latest sexual escapades -- which you don't know about yet -- to lessen your excitement over the Best Supporting Actress nominees.
4. Take consolation in the fact that Ricky Gervais is not hosting. It was fun while it lasted, but also deeply uncomfortable. You got the sense that he might call you out, too, in that opening monologue ... even though you were just at home in your living room minding your own business.
5. Play Amy and Tina’s drinking game. After five actresses cry and you've subsequently downed a few beers, you’ll forget that “Girls” is premiering in the first place.
6. Remind yourself that you'll have time to watch all of the movies you haven't seen before the Oscars. To employ a sports reference, the Globes are just the beginning of the playoffs. You have weeks before the national championships.
7. Consider how the Globes will help you reevaluate your TV commitments. The Globes recognize the best of the best. Which shows among those nominated are you not watching that you should be? What do you watch that wasn't even nominated? This is the perfect opportunity to educate yourself on which TV shows are the best and reallocated DVR space accordingly. The more you know...
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