Watching TV is a passive activity. But you can spice up a boring evening of vegging out in front of the boob tube by participating in the time-honored tradition of the television drinking game.

For those of you in the 21-and-over crowd who have no fear of a wicked hangover in the morning, there are numerous websites that collect even more numerous drinking games. Almost any of your favorite shows have been analyzed, scrutinized, and assigned a set of rules that will allow the soberest viewer to become happily lubricated in the course of 30 to 60 minutes.

Ringthis.com is a thorough site and, very thoughtfully, its webmaster has sorted the more than 200 drinking games into classic and current TV show categories. (It's debatable whether "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" can be classified as "classic" television, but the current organization makes for a quick title search). Most of the rules involve drinking when a repeated gag or convention specific to a show occurs. For example, when Stewie plots to kill Lois, fans of "The Family Guy" down two shots. "Scrubs" enthusiasts sip when J.D. does a voiceover, gulp when Dr. Cox calls J.D. by a girl's name, chug if Ted's a cappella group breaks into song, and drain the booze if J.D. manages to score with anyone besides Elliot.

All of the TV greats are featured here, from "The A-Team" to "The X-Files," each with their own special set of rules guaranteed to get you toasted. When playing the "All in the Family" game, you can raise a glass to Archie Bunker by consuming any time he "makes a prejudiced remark, twice if it's funny."

Disturbingly, children's shows including "The Wiggles" and "The Muppet Show" have been turned into fodder for adult fun. Despite Jerry Falwell's assertions, watching the squeaky clean "Teletubbies" can cause drunkenness if, whenever the androgynous creatures say "uh oh" or "hello," the viewer takes a pull on the bottle. Watch out for that naughty Nu Nu; when the excited little Hoover appears, each viewer must take two pulls.

The creative minds who manufacture these games may do so to honor their favorite television tomes or participate (in some warped way) in the characters' worlds. But, one thing all couch potatoes must keep in mind as they giggle and slobber their way through their beloved dramas and sitcoms: please watch responsibly!