Who Said Public Television has to be Bad?

(Sorry about all the sports blogging lately. This time of year, between the NCAA tournament, NHL & NBA stretch runs, and spring training it is difficult for me to avoid it. Just be glad I’m not boring you with golf posts… yet.)

Every so often, as I surf through my basic cable package, I come across a scrabble board on TV. I always stop and watch for a bit. At first, a strange side-show curiosity kept me glued to the screen. But the more I watch, the more I am mesmerized by simple genius of “Totally Scrabble Tuesdays.”

Unfortunately, TST has a terrible time slot, Tuesdays at 11:00 pm (Channel 17). As you would guess most of the callers are college students, hipsters, or one of the dozens of dedicated TST groupies. It is not uncommon for a caller to be somewhat inebriated, which is either annoying or entertaining depending on your view. (Alcohol, overcoming inhibitions one drink at a time.)

It may seem silly at first, but trust me it quickly grows on you. It doesn’t take long to be sucked in by host Hamil Griffin-Cassidy. He handles the unruly and ruly* callers with the same quick wit, yet he never comes across as pompous or arrogant. His quirky good nature makes TST work.

Totally Scrabble Tuesdays has become so popular that about a month ago someone launched DefeatHamil.net. As the name suggests, its sole purpose is to help Minneapolis beat Hamil. Clearly, TST is one of the most popular public access television shows of all time.

If you are ever up at 11:00 pm on a Tuesday night, flip it over to channel 17 and soak in the Scrabble-ly goodness.

* I’ve always thought it strange that someone can be unruly but not ruly.