Revision 101: a short television guide to 20 minute breaks

Are you troubled by revision time? Do you find yourself sweating over notes and books, asking yourself who invented pre-Christmas exams? Well, we’re all in the same boat.

The revision period can be an intense time, when it seems like everything in the world revolves around your subject. Bottom line, it does. But it can be useful to allow yourself a responsible break after a couple of hours’ intense studying. Television can be a useful distraction.

There are, however, a couple of dos and don’ts to bear in mind, and several rookie mistakes to avoid. The ideal TV-break is around twenty minutes long. Handily, several TV series follow this format. Specifications, however, don’t end at length.

It is important to choose something light-hearted, which won’t leave you pondering about the meaning of life. This excludes shows like Modern Family which, despite the humour, may tempt you into calling your mother for a three hour conversation about your crushed soul and dreams.

Most important of all, the show must prove entertaining, yet not sufficiently entertaining to become addictive. This is a subtle distinction that excludes all spy shows (luckily rarely twenty minutes long anyway) and love plots like How I Met Your Mother. Friends is another no-no. We may have all watched it hundreds of times, but there is nothing stopping us from going through the whole thing once more just for the 1990s nostalgia.

These criteria may seem quite selective, but actually there are several shows that fit the bill. Evergreens like 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and Community are happy, idle shows, basically created exactly for this purpose. New releases are good alternatives, in particular the shows Black-ish, starring Laurence Fishburne, and A to Z.

The first is a new family sitcom. The Johnson family, however, is not the typical American TV family. No sugary tough love, pets and candy in this show. Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson), the father, is a self-made Afro-American man who’s arrived. As a result his children, grown up in a privileged neighbourhood, are “too white” for his tastes. This is pure satire, and definitely worth a watch if uncomfortable humour is what rocks your boat.

A to Z is a traditional romantic comedy, created thinking that we hadn’t seen enough of Cristin Milioti since the end of How I Met Your Mother. Despite this being profoundly untrue (we did, after all, spend ten years of our lives hearing stories about her), this is a sweet and lovable show with one great advantage. The main characters get together at the beginning of Episode 1. The programme from then on is supposed to be a recollection of their relationship. With no will-they-won’t-they chemistry, this is a series that won’t keep you waiting to long for answers, but that will still make you smile.

For idle watching, MTV always offers something. Lately the teenage comedy-drama _Faking It _is probably the strongest show on the channel (which admittedly is not saying much). The series follows the lives of best friends Amy and Karma who, in a school too Glee-like for words, fake being lesbians to attract attention. This premise may repulse some of you, but the way in which the homosexuality theme is touched by the show is surprisingly refreshing.

Finally, all these considerations are useless without the appropriate degree of self-control. If you find it hard to say stop, don’t press play, go for a walk. In these occasions even adverts can become slightly addictive. Watching the John Lewis penguins play around for the fiftieth time may seem more stimulating than revising the Krebs cycle, but it won’t be on the exam.