Screener staff’s TV New Year’s Resolutions for 2017

It’s almost New Year’s, which means it’s time to seriously consider the new leaves we want to turn over in 2017.

As television fanatics, the Screener staff naturally has some biggies in regards to their TV viewership: Here’s what we vow to do differently in the new year. Share yours with us @screenertv…

Abandon ships!

Every year new shows arrive and it’s hard to not go all TV Nostradamus and try to figure out who should fall in love. Not in 2017, though. This will be a year where worrying about relationships will take a backseat to just enjoying the story as it unfolds. Besides, Archie and Betty will end up together on “Riverdale” in the end, right? There’s no need to worry about it. — Chris Hayner

Binge less, watch more

It’s hard to resist a good binge watch, especially when Netflix and Hulu make it so easy for you. Unfortunately, you miss out on the fan conversation and no doubt get spoiled  on major plot points when you fall behind and binge at a later date. 2017 will be the year that I stay on top of watching shows live, instead of finding myself six episodes behind the rest of the herd. — Lindsay MacDonald

Cable news cold turkey

The political and cultural climate has become… troublesome over the past year, to say the least. And while the next administration has a lot to prove once it takes office, one thing well within our personal control is the type of news and reporting we take in over the next four years. Real news or fake, it’s possible to remain informed without raging out on the next Internet meme to hit social media. Instead of flipping the remote between the multiple options of battling pundits that can be found on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, we may just revert to speculating over the next story twist to come on “Game of Thrones.” Make believe is usually way better than real life anyway. — Aaron Pruner

Combing for clues

Since “Westworld” won’t be back until 2018, I’m going to use 2017 to rewatch the first season and try to pick up on all the clues they dropped about who was a host, who was not and which timeline belonged where. Maybe if I  practice enough, I’ll be able to spot similar hints in Season 2? Or I’ll just end up way more confused than ever. — Lindsay MacDonald

DVR diva

A common problem among huge TV fans — you have way too much crap piled up on the DVR, to the point where the constant warning about it being 90 percent full haunts your dreams. In 2017, it’s time to do better, so now it’s either don’t let things pile up for more than three episodes — or take a swifter axe to things, admit we’re never going to watch them and get rid of them. — Andrea Reiher

Oy with the theories already

2016 has been the year of fan theories and ongoing speculation inspired by a load of high-concept shows. Whether it was wondering if Bernard was a host on “Westworld” or who was going to be the final survivor in “American Horror Story: Roanoke,” the Internet supplied its fair share of fan freakouts and conspiracies. But while that was all well and good — and often plenty of fun — it ultimately takes away from the sheer enjoyment of watching a TV show for what it is. In 2017, we want to take at least some of the investigation out of TV watching. Whose idea was it to add homework to primetime escapism, anyway? — Aaron Pruner

Say yes to fsociety

Everyone loves “Mr. Robot.” It is critically-acclaimed, people can’t stop talking about it and at a certain point those who haven’t watched it yet feel left out. So perhaps it’s time to finally dive in before Season 3 arrives. After all, some of us really want to know what this whole fsociety thing is about… — Chris Hayner

Secret shame

Yes, yes — the cheese stands alone as probably the only person in the whole wide world who started “Game of Thrones” back in 2011 and has since abandoned it. My initial interest was so strong that I devoured the books, but then sometime around the end of Season 4, the constant awfulness (murder, rape, people just generally being horrible) got to be too much. A break was in order. Now the episodes are just sitting on my DVR, constantly taunting me. Word on the street is Season 6 was excellent, so I vow to get caught up before Season 7 premieres. — Andrea Reiher

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