posted
Membership to this clique is open to anyone who does not own a television.
What good is television? I see little to none. For instant news updates there is radio and the Internet. For what few good shows exist, buy the DVD and watch it on a computer.
Television is often the default option for entertainment, both alone and socially. I see no excuse to ever watch it alone; read a book. With others, either it stops the conversation entirely, or it is an irritating background noise. If I wanted to stare at a flat surface for two hours without speaking I would go to a movie, where at least they have the decency to put the commercials before the feature. Perhaps it is just me, but I would rather spend an hour talking with friends rather than spending an hour watching actors talk to other actors.
When I was living at my parents' house, I often read in my room on my bed. There were comfortable chairs in the family room, but every time I tried to sit in one of those someone else would come in, turn on the thing, watch it for a maximum of fifteen minutes, then walk out and leave the thing on. Personally, I feel that is very rude. If you have a specific show to watch, fine, but there is no excuse for disturbing me to watch the middle fifteen minutes of Everybody Loves Raymond. I was there before, I remained there after, and they did not even watch a full show. If this must be done, have the decency to turn it off when you leave. Believe it or not, some people consider television an irritation.
That reminds me... everyone does not love Raymond. Raymond sucks. The same plot happens every single episode. He says something stupid and makes his wife mad; his mother has control issues; his father hates his mother. I think once or twice his wife overreacted to something he said rather than him bringing it upon himself. Apparently this show has won awards. All I can say to that is we need a vomit smiley.
On a more serious note, does anyone believe television is not harmful to young children? People wonder why American culture is focused on consumption. It is because most American kids have been bombarded with commercials advertising shit no one needs for the last fifty years. Parents of small children, please keep them away from television. It will not hurt them. And for hell's sake do not let your kid have a television in their room.
posted
Um, isn't watching TV shows on your computer basically the same as watching it on your TV (albeit on a smaller, sharper resolution TV)?
Edit: You do realize that the networks put commericials in the middle of shows so that they can try to get more people to watch the commericials (it's also why shows that are more popular charge more for ad time).
posted
Basically it is, and certainly I have better uses for my time. However, at least on the computer one is not bombarded with commercials, and has to make a conscious effort to acquire the shows, whether through buying it or pirating it. Anything that gets people to watch less is a good thing. People who do not watch on the computer either get a gold membership. People who do not watch it at other people's houses are eligible for platinum membership.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Well, if you want, you can get a Tivo or something like that to record your shows and just skip the commericials later. We've got that, and rarely watch the commericals anymore (pretty much for the same reason you mentioned).
I, myself, like to watch TV to help me unwind at the end of my days. It's nice to be able to sit back and watch something that I find to be entertaining whether it be the Simpsons or Modern Marvels.
Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Pfft. I'll form the people-who-enjoy-tv-and-admit-it! clique.
I'm a heavy sleeper. I don't do naps unless someone is around to wake me up. Sleeping during the day (since I work nights) also precludes me from taking naps, as that really messes up my sleep schedule.
Reading is out as an option as once I start to read books, I tend to keep reading them (and the long battery life on my pocketpc doesn't help matters).
I don't need to worry about the usage of my brain. I get to use it all night long helping people figure out how to do their friggin jobs. Sometimes when I get home, I want to just relax and not have to think. It's kinda like when you're feet hurt from standing all day, you sit down for a bit to rest, you don't go running more to "help ease the aching"
Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Everybody Loves Raymond does indeed suck. But not nearly as much as Dharma and Greg or Will and Grace or Drew Carey Terrible, terrible shows... Yet millions of people seem to like them. I don't understand. At least in college I hardly watched television at all, there were too many other things to do. In college I could read, hang out at the library, hang out in Richardson Computer lab because who else wanted to climb 3 fights of stairs to get there. There were always movies to watch whether on the campus network or right on campus, free movies, recent blockbusters and art films. There was always a concert I could go to, a poetry reading, a speech with a friend so the only television I watched was X files and that was with a whole group of people. I didn't even miss television. When I'd go home for breaks it would drive me nuts, most of the shows were complete drivel. Now it's gone from bad to worse. The sitcoms are crappier. Reality shows and the way they do these encore presentations of the same show. It's much better to read or DL a cable show like Sopranos and Queer as Folk. But I am sick of television and need to quit it completely. It drives me nuts and all I have is one that gets about 4 or 5 channels.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Computer games tend to get the mind flowing again. It also does nothing for me to wind down to the point where I would sleep, but instead gives me a reason to stay up late (and incurr the fabled "wrath-of-wife" - thankfully I haven't done that yet, tho).
No thanks, I've found my niche, and I'll stay with it. Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Synesthesia - My parents refused to get cable. Having grown up without it, I find that cable shows are no better than network.
Sell the TV and buy more books!
slacker - What type of games do you play? I can see an RTS doing that, but FPS's are pretty mindless. And there is always Snood.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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My gaming interests are all over the place. Sometimes I think I'm hyper, but then I just realize that I'm bored.
Mainly, I play CS these days. You'd think it's just brainless killing, but I like to try to use teamwork to win. Barring that, I just spray-n-pray.
Sometimes I'll play Rise of Nations. I just got the expansion pack, and I have to admit that it's really fun now (even without having to add the mods that I made). When I want really mindless killing, I play UT2004 and turn on the RPG mutator (where I'm pretty much invincable) and run around killing everything in sight until I get bored again.
Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I could almost join the clique, but for one thing. Sports. Since we do have a TV to watch sports (like the upcoming Tour De France not to mention Oklahoma Football games)I indulge in the occasional home improvement show while I'm folding wash, as well as the History and sciencey channels. The History channel had a interesting two part series this weekend on Sex and the Civil War.
posted
Yeah Syn, think of how many books you could buy with your TV! Even if it's a piece of crap, even $10 would mean 10 to 20 books at a yard sale. And think of how liberating it would be....
Mark's gone this week, so I've been keeping the TV on for company. Since we usually only turn it on to watch baseball or NetFlix, it's been something of a culture shock. Though I did enjoy last night's Kitchen and Bath expo on HGTV. Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Ahh, I don't own a TV either. Even my junior and senior years of high school I only watched TV an hour or so a week.
I do have a computer, which I use way-too-much. I read the news, bum around hatrack, watch movies, and chat with friends. But at least I'll never get sucked into that mindless channel hopping, soul-sucking box. There's a lot more interaction when I'm on my computer, and a lot more personal choice.
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I have a couple of TVs, but only for watching videos/DVDs on.
I'm a little worried that my daughter may be too shielded from commercials to the point that when she does get exposed to them, she may think she's actually getting some kind of valuable information. I guess the little sponsor spots at the start of PBS shows may help acclimate her to that. Or I can help her by drawing an analogy to billboards.
About the only time we watch TV is for the LDS Church's general conference. The use of commercials immediately before and after those broadcasts is quite the goldmine of ironical inside humor.
I basically think TV is to blame for making America fat, stupid, and immoral. But folks have their free will.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I just want to go on the record with the fact that television is directly responsible for my teaching myself to read by the time I was three years old. And, no, it wasn't that I retreated into books because everything on TV was crap.
When I was little, if I wanted to watch something on TV that my mom didn't want to watch, she would tell me that the program wasn't on. I caught on very quickly, however, to the idea that there was a book in which all the shows on TV were listed along with the time they came on. So I taught myself to read so that I could see for myself whether the shows I wanted to watch were really on or not.
I don't watch a lot of TV now, although I did all through childhood (always with a book in hand; I was multitasking before the term was in vogue). But I don't believe, either that television is the root of all evil. What it is, is a fallible media that broadcasts both good and not so good programs. It doesn't make anyone sit down in front of it for hours on end. It doesn't cause obesity any more than McDonald's does. It doesn't cause ADD - if it did, I would have it.
If you don't want to watch it at all, don't. But don't make the mistake of saying that everyone who watches any TV at all is an ignorant dolt and an addict. That's just stupid.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Well, when I was doing my upper division work at university and was in class, reading for classes, or doing assignments twelve hours a day or more, there were times when I was grateful for that "intellecutal wasteland". It's nice to be able to do something mindless like channel-surf for half an hour or so to relax the mind before going to bed and trying to sleep.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I go back and forth on the whole TV issue. You control what you watch and how often you watch it. I don't turn ours on during the day because there's nothing on but Judge Judy type shows. But yes, on occasion I will sit down and enjoy a totally brainless show in the evening. But our children don't have TVs in their rooms and never will.
posted
Last year, about this time, I moved into an area with no reception. Cable doesn't come out this far, satellite not really an option.
I am so happy. When I want to just relax and tune out, there is a forest all around me. I never thought that I wouldn't miss teevee.
Boy was I wrong! I get news from the internet faster than network television news. I don't have to sit through hours of commercials, and the "reality-show" fad is merely a whisper on the horizon that others obsess over.
If there were more quality on the airwaves, then it would be different. Television doesn't have to be about the lowest common denominator.
But as it is, I have no desire to return to television zombie-hood!
Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I meant to add that I don't see the difference between watching a TV sitcom and reading a "fluff" book. Neither exercise your brain, right? Isn't it the quality that counts, versus the act?
Anyway, I love my tube. I probably only get a couple hours in a week, but I am consistent with the type of quality television I watch. You all shoulda seen friday's episode of elimidate. Frigging hilarious!
Posts: 1015 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
It makes a great deal of difference, SpaceOpera. Watching television exercizes the brain less than any other known human activity, including dreamless sleep. Wouldn't surprise me if the lifetime amount of television watching turns out to be the prime predictor of the speed and severity in the progression of Alzheimers.
"That reminds me... everyone does not love Raymond. Raymond sucks. The same plot happens every single episode."
You watch wa-a-a-ay too much television if you've made it through to the first commercial of a single episode. Admittedly, the dude who plays the BIG brother definitely shows promise, if he had a decent show of his own. Possibly as the lead in something similar to a modernized remake of the Honeymooners.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I did watch too much TV, even though I never watched it unless someone else turned it on. Luckily, I now can outlaw it. And at least in my house, the person who turns on the TV gets the remote, so I had little choice if I wanted to stay in my chair.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I have a tv/vcr downstairs in the basement that I haven't turned on in several years. I did watch on 9/11/2001, before I had broadband internet, to see what was going on. That's the last time. I only bought it to watch movies that someone loaned me in about 1998. I watched about five movies then since then I don't think I've had it on except for 9/11.
I agree that tv is an aesthetic wasteland. Occasionally I would turn it on in a hotel when I was traveling for work, years ago, but every time I was completely reaffirmed in my desire to never watch it.
Books are just so much better. The stories on tv are mostly stupid, and they insult your intelligence. The people act trashy and crass. The funny things aren't funny. Even shows that people will say "no, wait, but this show is GOOD, you have to watch it", if I ever do watch it, it turns out that it's not really good on an absolute scale (compared to books), it's just good compared to other tv shows.
I think people have just become accustomed to really bad tv, so they are grateful for anything that's slightly less bad, I guess. I don't know. I can't bring myself to watch it, and haven't really since 1982.
[ June 28, 2004, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: ak ]
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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posted
While I have television and basic cable now, for the better part of 20 years I did not have any broadcast television, just VHS tapes.
My younger children, who are now 13 and 15, did not have any concept of TV, commercials or anything... and they were fuzzy about radio, too. I recall one of them asking me to rewind the song we were listening to on the car radio. She was probably 10 at the time. I also remember her older sister trying to explain what "channels" were... but she wasn't real sure either.
Television sucks a bubble.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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Go watch them live. Especially amateur and semi-pro. Or better yet, participate as an amateur.
Cuz you ain't watchin' sports live on TV. There's likely a satellite bounce to the network, then almost always a satellite bounce from the network to you. Which means a minimum of 35,786kilometer up, then down, then up, then down to you.
Say around a half-second time delay just in travel-time. More with time delays through signal processing and turn around. That doesn't even include the extra travel-time delays from overseas broadcasts.
Feel kinda silly "Go! Go! Go!"ing or holding my breath for something that's already happened more than a half-second ago.
posted
I think the whole "most of TV is bad" argument is weak, at least in using it to lord over people who enjoy some television from time to time. The villifying of TV is an easy target because it is so easily over used, but that doesn't discount what good it does do. The same argument can be made for books. I can honestly predict that most books out there are crap, or at least are crap to one person or another. I love SF/Fantasy and most of that stuff is no good (God bless OSC) and you won't catch me reading one of the gobs of bodice ripping romance novels. There are some good if not great best sellers but for every good one, it seems Danielle Steele has written 10 more to counter it. If I used this argument to say reading was a waste, I would be laughed out of here.
Enjoy what is there that entertains or provokes. I love good tv, when I can find it. Joss Whedon I will miss and that cuts out 1 hour a week that I watch TV now that all his shows are gone. I still ove BBC America and the wonderful programming from overseas. Cartoons still make me laugh out loud. And don't go near my DVD's, man.
I agree...get some exercise. Read books. Play sports. Be with people. And watch TV from time to time. It won't kill you.
posted
I am definitely in this club. I cannot watch TV. I have tried and tried but it is all so mind-numbingly stupid. I do enjoy the Simpsons but I don't watch them on TV ever since TiVO and the DVDs came out. Also, I TiVo ESPN news and I'm good to go.
Hey, you know what this club needs? A book of the month/week/day kind of thing, since we all aren't watching TV.
Ok, I'll be honest. I am in a reading funk, unable to get into anything on the printed page, either. I tried Terry Pratchet and Harlan Coben (having liked them in the past) but it's a no-go. Anyone in the Anti-TV Clique have a recommendation?
Posts: 196 | Registered: May 2003
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Why does the act of saying, "tv is stupid and I don't watch it," constitute lording it over anyone else? How can you accuse someone of elitism who pursues books, which are cheaper, lower tech, have been around for thousands of years, and are available to the plebian masses?
And sure, most books are bad, too, but I don't have to read the bad ones. There are several thousand years of accumulated good books, wheras for visual media only a few decades. That's the main difference. In a few thousand years or so, and if we get to pick what we want to watch rather than having to turn it on and choose from the 10 or 20 things that are being shown right then, then video might match books. Until then, I prefer to read.
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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I think the choice to read books is great! I guess I get kind of a stuffy feeling from folks who don't watch television and wear that fact like a badge...like they gave up smoking or something. TV, movies, video games and comic books are things I dig yet are also things that are first on the block when someone wants to put the blame on something. Okay, not as much comics any more, but back in the day they were the devil's tool. Video game teaches violence. TV creates zombies. Sheesh.
Books get treated this way, too. I guess I don't see why foregoing TV is any different than proudly saying I have stopped reading books. Both seem silly to me. Sure, I would rather see live theatre and do. But my pockets aren't that deep and I can only see so many a year.
TV and book costs can be about the same...free. Once a TV is bought, basic programs are free. Libraries also have free books. If you buy books or DVDs, the prices are actually pretty much the same. A new hardback is $15-25. A new DVD is about the same. Wait for the paperback so it cheap? Same can be done with DVD...wait a bit and it is on sale for 10 bucks or less. Both are valid mediums of expression, both are mediums filled with crap by the boatload and require a bit of time and research to know what is going to be good for you or the family.
posted
I don't think people who watch tee vee are stupid. I think some of the people who make these shows are. Why do they assume that all men between the ages of 18-35 like vulgar, lewd things? If I was a man, I'd be insulted. I also think I'm stupid for sometimes watching these shows just to see how stupid they are. (Simpson's is on now and Sideshow Bob wants to destroy television. Amusing)
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:I see no excuse to ever watch it alone; read a book.
I never liked this mentality. I do not think one form of art is superior to another. When books first came out a lot of people thought they were a waste of time. Books can express things traditional art cannot express. Television is a median of art between books and computers. The commercials on TV and the introduction of cable help refine the art in a new and potentially meaningful manner.
I had a psychology teacher once say, if you want to develop creativity, set up barriers to yourself. He used music as examples. If Bob Dylan could of said anything he wanted to in his music, some of his best work would never have been created. TV's sets up it's own boundaries for the programmers and writers, and I think it can be quite "intelligent."
*Stops rant* I need to go prepare a lesson for work. I just get annoyed when people feel books are SO superior to TV. They both have their place in modern life as medians of expression and transferring information.
Posts: 1034 | Registered: Mar 2004
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