(Cheap) Culture for the Couch Potato

If you find it hard to leave the comfort of your couch, but want to be able to tell your friends and co-workers that you actually did something over the weekend, then throw off the blanket, take off the sweats, and put that half-eaten bag of potato chips into the trash and head to the Paley Center for Media.

Despite numerous name-changes (such as the Museum of Broadcasting and the Museum of Television and Radio) the Paley Center is a great place to spend an afternoon catching up on your favorite and forgotten TV shows. For just $10 (less than a movie ticket!) you can spend an entire day at the museum (it opens at 12 p.m. and closes at 6 p.m. except for Thursdays when it's open until 8 p.m.) viewing classic and current TV shows in one of the museum's viewing areas, which range from small rooms to large-scale auditoriums that seat hundreds of people.

Here you can see Lucille Ball stomping grapes in a classic I Love Lucy episode, the pre-Elaine Seinfeld pilot, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode, and the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Other options may include specials and documentaries on topics such as women in TV and stand-up comedians.

If you're feeling nostalgic for your own childhood favorites (and I'm looking at you Bananna Splits fans...), you can head to the third floor where you can select the TV show of your choice from the museum's computer database and then view it on a private console with headphones. My personal poisons have included the "Getting Davy Jones" episode of The Brady Bunch and the Ally McBeal pilot. Once you find yourself humming the Cheers theme song one too many times (as I did) you might want to check out some of the museum's art and photography exhibits (some are in displayed in the hallways while others are in the museum's main gallery on the first floor), which have previously included art inspired by the TV show Family Guy.

The Paley Center also hosts events and public programs though many are out of the Cheap Chick's budget range, with prices starting at $20 and up, but there are some great programs if you want to splurge!

Here is a link to some upcoming events:
http://www.paleycenter.org/new-york-series

Cheap Chick Tip: Get to the museum around 4:45/5:00 p.m. and admission is free for the last hour the museum is open. Shh. Don't tell them I told you this!

Cheap Chick Info: $10, Free last hour of the day.
Location Info: 25 West 52 Street, New York, Closed on Mondays.
Subway Info: E or V to Fifth Avenue and 53 Street; N, R, or W to 49 Street and Seventh Avenue; 1 to 50 Street and Broadway; B, D, F, or V to 47-50 Street/Rockefeller Center.