Roll out of bed, dash to school, tests, pop quizzes, after school practice, and then home again to restart the cycle all over. Such seems the life of a typical high school teenager. After a long, monotonous day, it seems some stressed out students enjoy passing out on the couch for hours in front of their favorite television shows. Some West Brook students even claim obsession, rather than love, for their alone time with their little black boxes and popular series.

Some obsess over reality shows, some obsess over classic Nick at Night, and some, like junior Rachel Foley, crave weekly new episodes of the popular The OC, that seem to have struck just about every teenager’s fancy, from coast to coast.

“Cali style” in and of itself has become huge with the 20 or so and under crowd, over the past few months, and the television series set in Newport Beach, with all its beautiful actors, and glamorous designer clothing, not to mention the dramatic plots and wild parties, has capitalized on this spark of interest.

Foley makes sure to never miss an episode, even if she has to record it, or have fellow OC obsessed sophomore pal Morgan Strawser TiVo it. The OC is her Thursday night ritual, not to mention she owns other OC fan paraphernalia.

“I have an OC agenda book and the first two seasons on DVD,” Foley said.

Senior Alison Hamilton also enjoys a nice afternoon in front of her telly, and her show of choice may not be something one would so easily expect.

“I love the Golden Girls, it’s really funny and the characters mesh really well. It makes growing old look like a lot of fun,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely an obsession.”

Hamilton owns seasons of her show. She has four seasons of Golden Girls on DVD, and she can’t wait for the other three to come out.

“I imitate a lot of Dorothy and Sophia’s sarcastic wit,” Hamilton said. “I also go to Lifetime.com and do the Golden Girls trivia questions.”

Another popular show with both kids and parents alike this past year has been Grey’s Anatomy. The premise of the show is a group of doctors, and soon to be doctors, living and working together in the Emergency Room of a hospital, and all of the romantic interaction and/or mini-drama that occurs between the members of the little medical community.

Senior Brittany Ballew enjoys Grey’s Anatomy, and also actor Patrick Dempsey. She even rearranges her schedule around it.

“I will not work on Sunday evenings because of Grey’s Anatomy! I make sure I have already taken my shower by the time it comes on,” Ballew said. “I watch Desperate Housewives too, but it is not as much of a priority as Grey’s. Patrick Dempsey is the background on my computer.”

Hamilton, Foley, and Ballew all agree that most students in high school probably obsess over something, as teenagers are known to watch a lot of TV, and interests are sure to be as far and broad as the West Brook population itself.

Whether the latest craze of reality TV, or pop culture’s explosive hit, most agree that a good show is a good excuse to sit back and relax, as long as it isn’t an all the time thing, because no one likes a couch potato!