When I'm Ill, I Watch...

[LostInTheMist]

I'm just wondering what sort or television/movies you watch when you're sick. (I read a lot too, but I also will watch TV/movies, and I'm curious if people watch the same things I do.)

I like things that require absolutely no thought or input from me whatsoever. Commonly, I will find myself lying on the couch and at 10 A.M. "The Price is Right" comes on. This is great fun to me when I'm sick because it requires no thought whatsoever, and I can be happy for people who win a "Neeeeeew CAR!" and I like the spinning wheel. And somehow, when I watch this when I would normally be in work, I feel less guilty, because I associate watching this with being sick, and when I'm sick I should NOT feel guilty about not being at work.

I won't watch Jeopardy when I'm sick, because I challenge myself to know the answers and give them faster than the contestants. This is impossible when I'm sick.

I've occasionally watched soap operas, but since I don't watch them regularly, I don't usually know what's going on. But I remember one episode I saw where an older woman had a younger woman trapped in a pit for some reason, and there was some reveal that a woman's pregnancy was by her lover's long-lost evil twin or something like that. I don't really remember because I was REALLY sick, so I might be making it all up.

I also usually look for a random action movie I haven't seen yet (Liam Neeson is a good source for them) because many action movies don't require any thought, and thought can actually be detrimental to a good action movie. I usually have four or five on a list waiting for a good "Friday" night.

I watched all the Lord of the Rings extended editions in a single day when I got my Wisdom Teeth out and was laid up for seven days.

What do you watch/do to pass the time when you're ill?

[Stella]

I find myself turning to things I know.  So the LOTR EEs are definitely up on my list of things to watch when sick, too!

I also find myself watching a familiar procedural, like Law and Order SVU, because I'll just doze and tune in and out of it depending on the episode. The 90s version of Father of the Bride, Parenthood and Overboard are films I used to watch when I was home sick as a little kid, and I still turn to those now as comfort films!

Basically, anything I'm very familiar with and just enjoy without having to pay too much attention to!

[LostInTheMist]

I forgot about "Pirates of Penzance", specifically the Kevin Kline (as the Pirate King) version, because I grew up watching that, and when I was sick or sad, that would be what I watched. I haven't watched it in a while. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

[Inkidu]

I used to watch Monk repeats but I lost that channel years ago, so now I mostly watch Jackie Chan movies.

[newblood]

Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural. At this point, I can quote much of it lol

Also my comfort shows: The Good Place, Ghosts, and Departures

[Shekinah]

Those old kung-fu movies from the 60's-70's-80's

They are so bad they become good again.

[LostInTheMist]

Those old kung-fu movies from the 60's-70's-80's

They are so bad they become good again.

I've seen a few of those. Jackie Chan amd the Killer Meteots is a perennial Bad Movie Fest title.

[Shekinah]

Yup but I'm even leaning more towards Five Venoms, One-Armed Swordsman, Master of the Flying Guillotine. And just a lot of the movies produced by Shaw Brothers

[Oniya]

Look up 'Legend of the 8 Samurai' - this is particularly good if you're taking anything that advises against driving or operating heavy machinery.  (The English translation has some particularly notable gaffes if you're lucid enough to catch them, though.)

[HannibalBarca]

Oh god, such a list.

Lord of the Rings
Princess Bride
The Matrix Trilogy
Star Wars (any of them)
The Great Escape
Blade Runner/Blade Runner 2049
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The Mummy
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Silverado
The Shawshank Redemption
Glory

[Lilias]

Another vote for the LOTR trilogy here. Also, some of the early MCU (Iron Man, Avengers) and action flicks with a lot of pew pew and, if they have to have dialogue, high on the 'shits and giggles' scale: The Three Musketeers (1993 version), Cutthroat Island, Tango & Cash, The Matrix (first one only), Battleship, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Tuxedo, R.I.P.D. are some of those. Disney, strangely, doesn't work well under such circumstances, with Hercules, Mulan, and Tangled being the notable exceptions.

[Eggyweggs]

It's not a movie or a show, weirdly it's this Movie criticism thinkpiece channel called movies with Mikey, he talks about movies I love with this kind of soft droning voice and cool music so I get to remember all my favorite movies and have someone smart talk about them.

[Sethren]

Animated stuff.

Studio Ghibli movies

Steven Universe or Bluey.

Sometimes Disney movies.

Or just good old anime.

For some reason something as far away from the real world as possible is very soothing.

[belladevil210]

I am right there with you on watching shows that require zero though when Im stuck at home, down for the count.

My go to choices tend to be reality TV (most recently Glow Up) or the food network. During the holidays I watched all the holiday baking shows almost obsessively, if you're watching it, its like you are celebrating too right? or maybe thats just the cold meds talking. Once I watched the same cooking series 3 days in a row, the first day I slept through it, only waking to catch brief 3-5 minute segments. The next day I was more lucid, but still missed most of it, so naturally on day 3 I had to revisit what I had missed out on until I was well enough to get back on my feet.

The price is right was always my go to sick TV when I was in school. I love your point about picking things that are associated with "sick activities" to reduce the couch guilt, I will definitely have to remind myself of that next time!

[Sethren]

I used to watch stuff on TLC, Discovery and Animal Planet - back before streaming services was really a thing and you had a bijillion TV channels. Most of which you didn't use lol

[Sethren]

Well for the last 48 hours, Little House on the Prairie

[Lovely Complex]

Musicals, particularly older ones such as Singin' In The Rain(because Gene Kelly had pneumonia when he performed one particular scene), West Side Story, Newsies, Phantom of the Opera, and etc etc :D Or Disney movies and tv shows.

[RedRose]

Laurel and Hardy
Mr Bean
Something really soft/safe and predictable

[Pain]

Similar to RedRose, I like watching things that are soft/safe and predictable. I usually watch TV shows I've watched in the past, like Bee and Puppycat. It doesn't get dark (like all the other shows I watch) and I always know what happens. Disney's always a safe bet because I've seen them a lot when I was a kid. I've watched Coraline religiously, mainly for visual appeal. I like Kakegurui because it's just really absurd, and never gets boring no matter how many times you watch—probably because of how dramatic it gets.

Some other episodic shows: The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a good one, because you always know Sonic defeats Eggman. The original Powerpuff Girls show is good and has a "villain of the week" thing (offhanded comment; I love Tara Strong as Bubbles). I really like The Disastrous Life of Saiki K as well, but I think it could be fast and overwhelming if you want something a bit slower/less absurd/easier to comprehend.

[Silvered Sutures]

Self-deprecating comedians so I feel less shitty in comparison to their hilarious but unfortunate anecdotes.

[WickWinchester2023]

Whenever I feel sick or down in the dumps, I put on some old movies I used to see when I was younger, some of them being Kung Fu Panda, Star Wars, and Disney stuff. May be childish, but it brings me comfort and good memories when seeing some stuff I watched with a close friend of mine.

At least when watching them it make me feel that things will be ok and that not everything is bad.

[LostInTheMist]

A little while back I watched Aladdin and the Great Mouse Detective. (I loved the Great Mouse Detective when I was younger, and since I saw the live action Aladdin I wanted to see the animated version again.) I'm old enough that I saw animated Aladdin in theaters. It was the first movie I ever saw in a theater, and I remember the cave of wonders scared me, but it scared my little brother more, and I pretended it didn't scare me so that he would feel safe.

I haven't been sick enough to miss work in a while, but I'm going in for a dental operation on Monday, and I have medical leave for the week, so I'll see what I watch.

Dwayne Johnson is another good bet for a mindless action movie. "San Andreas" and "Skyscraper" for more recent instance. Not necessarily good movies, but much better to watch if you're incapable of coherent thought. Similarly, "Red Notice."