I grew up watching a lot of television — admittedly too much. From Saved by the Bell on Saturday mornings to Conan at late night, I was on the high side of data that shows the average American watches 5 hours of television per day.

Through a combination of natural attrition and concentrated effort, that amount has decreased significantly. I only have limited basic on one television set in the house (broadcast networks plus local access plus QVC and WGN; I’m not sure how Comcast arrived at that combination). And I primarily watch only by-appointment. The tv is never on just idle or channel surfing.

I would now like to take this a step further and limit tv viewing to 5 hours per week — as much as the average American watches each day. (This includes downloads and streaming via Hulu — my primary watching modes.)

I allot 25 minutes for each half-hour sitcom and 45 minutes for each full-hour drama on network tv (to account for commercials) and the full half-hour and hour for each show on pay cable.

Just a few years ago I regularly watched The Office, Brothers & Sisters, Numbers, Law & Order, King of Queens, even Two and a Half Men occasionally.

Last year I stopped watching House and 30 Rock after a few episodes.

This year I plan to drop Parks and Recreation (after two trial episodes that failed to rekindle enough interest to make it must see), Modern Family, and HBO’s The Newsroom (too much of an alternate reality to be comfortable, too preachy, and no likable characters). And I gave Louie another chance but plan to cut it next season.

I routinely give a couple new shows a try — the first seasons of Happy Endings, Better off Ted, Up All Night (which we gave up before the season ended), and Life on Mars (I learned my lesson re: network cancellation) — to see if they’ll stick. Last year I also watched Girls on HBO but it too did not make the cut.

I plan to give Copper a shot this season, but based on recent viewing patterns, I assume it won’t pan out — not necessarily because of the program’s quality but due to the lack of available time.

The same goes to Homeland, which just recently won the Emmy for best drama. Based on the demonstrated success, I plan to catch up on the first season, but even if it is as exciting and entertaining as reported (and awarded), the time component again may govern.

Without further ado, this season’s roster (in no particular order):

– Louie (FX, 25 mins, comedy, season 3 just ended);
– Parenthood (NBC, 45 mins, drama);
– Mad Men (AMC, 45 mins, drama);
– It’s Alway Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 25 mins, comedy);
– Southland (TNT, 45 mins, drama);
– Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 30 mins, comedy):
– Copper (BBC, 45 mins, drama); and
– Homeland (Showtime, 60 mins, drama).

That is a “weekly total” of 320 minutes or 5 hours, 20 minutes. Of course, the total aggregate of all the episodes will be far less than the target allowable 250 hours (50 weeks x 5 hours per week) since those programs do not run at the same time and have season lengths of 10, 13 or 26 (not 50).

Some shows may slip (Curb, Copper, Always Sunny). The great difference allows for general viewing — award shows, sports (what once consumed my life, along with political news, a very rare event now), the Bachelor (for the wife) — and random YouTube time wasting (which should most definitely count), as well as Pixar and Thomas movies with my young son.

I should clear this goal easy. The plan is to drop to 4 hours next season.