Image : Sony Pictures Entertainment

Morning routines are highly personal (and perhaps taken too seriously, as one writer recently found out). However, we can all agree that morning television does not provide the intellectual stimulus we deserve.




The best show to watch while waking up is none other than the long-running (and seemingly immortal) quiz show Jeopardy! It’s fast-paced, but not disorienting; it gets you thinking, but doesn’t overwhelm; and (here’s the best part) if you record it on your DVR and fast-forward, each episode lasts only 14 minutes. That’s short enough to watch a full episode while finishing your coffee, and gives you enough time to get the crusties out of your eyes before having to interact with your loved ones. This method also allows for skipping the contestant banter (Oh, you collect stamps?), and the categories you will never, ever know (“I’ll take ‘1950s NHL Team Mascots’ for 800, Alex!”).


Jeopardy! as a breakfast companion not only blocks out the drivel of morning news, it also solves for the show’s dreadful during-dinner time slot—a time when you can only watch while sitting with your family (whom you should talk to), or worse yet, while at the gym on a treadmill watching WITHOUT CAPTIONS. Nothing is worse than seeing a clue, thinking you know the correct response, and not being able to confirm.

Plus, you can wake up everyone else in your house by shouting “Who is Sandra Day O’Connor?” over and over.