Do you find yourself watching less television?

[ArenaBoy]

Before the whole writer's strike happened I was watching less and less TV. All I watched was the Daily Show, soccer, and hockey. Now that the strike is on take out Daily Show. I found myself getting annoyed at what's been offered and just watch sports and that's it. Aside from the sports, I don't even watch TV and just watch my DVDs of shows that I liked. Anyone else feel this way?

[AFPheonix]

I really only watch tv when I'm at someone else's house and they've got the telly on. I find now that commercials are just grating, and anything I could get that's of any value off of tv is available to me on the internet without having to wade through too much bullshit.
I do listen to the radio a lot, but I tend to stay on NPR. Again, commercials are jarring and annoying to me now that I'm not really used to them anymore.

So, my leisure time not at the barn is spent with magazines, internet, dvds, video games or EQ2.

[Boozy]

I have actually been watching less TV, now that I think about it.

I used to watch the Daily Show, House, Family Guy, and maybe the odd episode of Law and Order. So those are now out.

We still watch our Senators hockey whenever they're playing, so that averages out to about 3 games a week. I will never give up my Sens hockey.

I've been getting more into podcasts lately. There are some really good ones now.

[Greenday]

As far as tv goes, I think I've just been watching less since I've gotten to college. As it is, the only shows I watch are Scrubs, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and sports. Can't bring myself to watch any of the other garbage on tv.

[protege]

I'd watch a bit more...provided there was something on to watch! What's left, is mainly reruns, or commercials. The Comcast ones are getting annoying--it sucks when you see 5-6 of them in a row!

[MystyGlyttyr]

I watch wrestling, cartoons, and the Science channel. None of those seem to be affected by the writers strike. So, no, I still watch.

Though honestly, I'm usually doing about ten different things at once, so the TV is just a soothing background noise, and when I need a break from whatever I'm actually concentrating on, I can just look up and take one.

[Pedersen]

I watch wrestling, cartoons

Which I read at first as "wrestling cartoons", which produced as a thought that they're producing some pretty damned specific cartoons nowadays if you've got wrestling toons.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Never watched any to begin with, my TV is mostly used for watching DVDs on. XD

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Same here, In fact I haven't watched any popular, current TV since I left home at 19. Anything I watch is on DVD.

And that being said, I'm a DVD whore. I collect fancy DVD's with lots of extras on them, "making of", shorts, interviews, photo galleries, documentariess of music, costumes, directors, etc. I watch them all religiously. My latest acquisition is a DVD of Sunset Boulevard with, among other things, a documentary on Edith Head, the legendary Paramount costume director. I literally salivate over these things. I'm such a dork. :o

[DesignFox]

Which I read at first as "wrestling cartoons", which produced as a thought that they're producing some pretty damned specific cartoons nowadays if you've got wrestling toons.

Actually, Cartoon Network had a cartoon about superhero type kids in wrestling masks... :D I never watched- I couldn't get into it.

I basically don't watch TV, anymore. At home, we have cable for internet. That's it. Not hooked up to the TV at all.

I watch DVD's of shows I like and that's about it.

I will admit to watching stuff at work- we sell DISH network so we have it on a lot of the time...but, that's it really. Just something to pass the time when we aren't busy. And we have DVR so I don't have to watch the damn commercials if I record stuff. (Usually cartoons, History related stuff, animal shows...the occasional train wreck reality show...but someone else has to have been watching it first and gotten me staring at it)

There were only two shows I really got into and that was America's Most Smartest Model and The Shot on VH1.

The first was just hysterical...the things they made these people do...and I just couldn't help but get into it.

The second show is all about photography and it's a contest between different photographers vying for a huge commission to start their career. I used to be a photographer and I went to school for art, so that show is awesome to watch. You have the experts giving their critiques, you watch all these great photo shoots, and I learned a lot just watching and looking at the photos that were taken.

Other than that, I don't watch. If I could just subscribe to the one or two shows I liked, I'd be happy. But I can't, so I just don't bother with cable at home. :)

[Dark-Star]

Oh yes. The good cartoons have either gone off-air, stretched out waaay past their time for retirement (Garfield), or been reanimated in CGI with disastrous results. XP Sticking to DVD's and the occasional rerun for most TV-stuff.

America's Funniest Home Videos: still worth watching...but it ain't what it once was. They changed format and tossed the cool intro song, and a lot of the home videos are now either -
Almost-Darwin Award moments
Have you laughing only because somebody's doing something utterly stupid. :(
And some are crude to the point of saying "annnd how is that funny?"

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition : an exception - that show is awesome and heartrending at the same time. But it isn't on often.

Law & Order/CSI: comes in on channel six in my locale, and I can tune in to the audio band on my radio (87.7 FM). That's decent drama and has good legal tips to boot.

History Channel: on occasionally but usually good.

Spike TV: Poor reception, and most content is useless testosterone garbage. But Wildest Police Videos and Disorderly Conduct I make a point to watch once a month at least to remind myself of things never ever to do.

[AFPheonix]

Hey, Spike has Most Xtreme Elimination, and it so stupid I love it. My husband got a few seasons on DVD for me because he was so amused at me laughing my brains out at a few Youtube clips of some Most Painful Eliminations.

[the_std]

TV? Hunh?

After I moved out, I didn't even bother buying a TV. I have a laptop and the internet. Movies and the few TV shows that I've found amusing over the years (Futurama, Duckman, Invader Zim and Titus) find their way onto my hard-drive, commercial-free and readily accessible. The last time I remember actively watching TV was when I was confined to the basement in the 11th grade with a killer flu that had me home a whole week. I had read all my books and was desperate for something to take my attention away from the one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater. Even then, I think I just zoned out and drooled while Oprah blabbed in the background.

[Rapscallion]

I get letters from the TV licencing people regularly telling me I need a licence to watch the TV. On the first instance, I told them I didn't have a TV and that they should come around to check. They declined the offer, and I currently get charmless red-bordered letters on a regular basis (about every four months) warning me about it.

If they put anything on worth watching, I might get one. However, they have failed.

Rapscallion

[MadMike]

I thought maybe it was just me getting old, but apparently the consensus is that TV sucks these days.

I don't watch nearly as much as I used to. About the only shows I watch regularly are the Sunday night cartoon lineup on Fox, and sometimes the weeknight repeats, and sometimes I'll catch Two and a Half Men. That show is actually funny. :D

I can't stand so-called reality shows, I don't like watching sports, and I really don't care to watch "Sanitized for TV" movies on network stations, especially with the seemlingly endless blocks of commercials every couple minutes.

If I watch TV at all, it will be the above-mentioned shows, commercial-free and uncut movies on the pay stations, and maybe sometimes the old 80s shows on Nick at Nite.

[XCashier]

Never watched any to begin with, my TV is mostly used for watching DVDs on. XD
Same here. We just got rid of cable TV because we didn't watch 99% of the shows, so why pay for them. Hubby will watch the sports shows, I'll watch Doctor Who when I can find it, and that's about it.

[Sylvia727]

I get letters from the TV licencing people regularly telling me I need a licence to watch the TV.

You need a license to watch tv? :confused:


I'm not a huge fan of tv, especially since my roomie watches channels that rot my brain. I do turn on a Law and Order marathon twice a week, but other than that I get my shows on DVD. And I absolutely refuse to watch movies on TV, ever since I saw Braveheart with the mooning shot cut out. That shot makes the scene! It's an important plot point, dammit!

[Rapscallion]

You need a license to watch tv? :confused:


In the UK, to own any equipment capable of receiving a television broadcast (including webtv cards), yes. It's a bit over £100 per year, and it pays for the BBC. It means you don't get adverts on the channels it provides.

Generally speaking, I'm of the opinion that the more channels there are, the more diluted the decent stuff is. That's why it's hard to find anything worth watching.

Rapscallion

[Boozy]

In the UK, to own any equipment capable of receiving a television broadcast (including webtv cards), yes. It's a bit over £100 per year, and it pays for the BBC. It means you don't get adverts on the channels it provides.

Vague equivalents here in the colonies are the CBC for Canada, PBS in the US. But the CBC is funded with federal taxes, and PBS is barely funded at all. :)

[AFPheonix]

Well, not federally. PBS is funded by the viewers themselves, me included. Yay for no commercials and interesting and edifying programming!

[Sylvia727]

Huh. You learn something new everyday. If I lived in the UK, I probably wouldn't bother with a license. My tv is primarily for my PS2, and that's only about once a week.

[lordlundar]

Let's see here. Pretty much two channels I watch on my TV.

Discovery (Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, Canada's worst driver/handyman, etc)

Space (pretty much for Stargate SG-1 and Robotech)

[thrifty]

Okay I'm going to be unusual here :-)

I watch about the same amount if not more, because I like reality television. Yup I watch a lot of reality tv, even bad reality tv like

America's Next Top Model
Paradise Hotel
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Cheerleader U.
Redneck Wedding
Whose Wedding is it Anyways
For Richer or Poorer

I also like shows like Little People Big World (I don't think that's your mindless reality show)

Of course some of the drama's I usually watched will come back in April or in the fall like Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

Luckily I have a DVR and tend to fast forward through a lot of the reality shows so that cuts down on some viewing time. But even though I watch a whole lot of television I also read a lot of books, go to college full time, work at a drug rehabilitation center 2 days a week as my internship, and I'm in the last 2 months of planning my wedding.

Not saying that you all are saying that if a person watches that much television they are a mindless idiot, but I have definitely heard that before elsewhere.

[powerboy]

I have found myself only watching shows about ghosts or GhostHunters and GhostHunters International. Or I will watch wrestling. Other then that, I am online or watching DVD's. Or out doing something.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I watched about the same amount of TV during the strike that I would if there was no strike.

This is because I don't tend to watch the shows that would've been affected by the strike.

Oh...first post here. Hi-O!

[LadyMage]

most I watch are cartoons, dirty jobs, stand up comic specials, penn and teller, mythbusters, any documentry on animals or crime, good eats and the first part of the daily show, which is a lot less then when I was younger

[Rapscallion]

Well, I came home tonight to a letter (not charmlesslessly red-bordered this time) warning me that due to not responding to their latest communications, they're going to send someone around to check.

I only asked for that about a year ago. Since they refused, I decided not to bother with anything else they sent to force them. A few more letters later, they're finally shifting their bums.

I'll keep you posted.

Rapscallion

[Gawdzillers]

I'm happy with reruns if the show is good enough (Scrubs, The Office, Good Eats)

[Machero]

The crap that gets on the air these days. It's kind of sad that the most watched channel in my house is the channel that is the rotating t.v. guide! And that one plays the local radio station.

My favorites are; Corner Gas, Mythbusters, Canada's Worst Anything, and House.

The last universal medium is on it's way out. When all the T.V. shows you want are accessible on the internet, then the television is only good for DVD's. My collection is out of control with season dvd's and movies movies movies.

But this all stems from our "I want it right now" attitude that most people in our society have now. Instead of waiting for weeks on end to see the episode of House when he actually gets a case of lupis, you can pop it in the dvd player and watch it as many times as you want.

The t.v. is no longer synonamous with entertainement. Another couple of years, all t.v.'s will have Divx capapbilities and USB ports in them to get people using them on a regualar basis again.

[Sableonblonde]

I definetly watch less TV that I used to. I put the TV on in the background when I'm on the computer or reading, but it has been a long time since I have followed a series. I watch sports and the Food Network and that is about it. Ever since Freaks and Geeks and then American Dreams got canceled, breaking my heart both times, I turned bitter toward TV series and didn't want to get "involved" ever again.

[lordlundar]

My favorites are; Corner Gas, Mythbusters, Canada's Worst Anything, and House.

No Dirty Jobs?:p

[AdminAssistant]

The shows I watch on a regular basis:

NCIS (3 more weeks!)
M*A*S*H (on DVD)
Mythbusters
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

And then there's the morning stuff, like GMA and Rachael Ray. Toss in a little Good Eats, other Food Network stuff, random stuff on the History Channel, and a few cartoons. I really like "321 Penguins" when I can find it. I really miss Looney Tunes. Haven't seen that on TV in ages.

[katie kaboom]

I miss Animaniacs. That is where my user name came from and i would love to start watching it again. I think i have the first season on dvd somewhere in my house actually...

And really, i used to watch a lot of tv. Now all i watch is:
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Family Guy
Big Bang Theory
ER
How I Met Your Mother

which is still quite a list, but a lot less than i used to watch.

[Saydrah]

You can't watch less than zero TV, so, no, not really.

[Antipsych]

TV definitely sucks these days. I got tired of paying over $80 per month for cable and getting nearly nothing in return. So now I have the most basic tier available, which costs less than $20 per month, and the majority of those channels are a waste of bandwidth.

I watch mainly Steelers games, Survivor, and Amazing Race (but most other reality shows do suck). Any other time, it's DVDs and VHS tapes.

In the words of Bowling For Soup,
"When did reality become T.V.?
What ever happened to sitcoms, game shows
. . .
and music still on MTV" Oh, yeah. MTV. Ugh. I don't even want to get started on that. At one time, the M supposedly stood for "Music" - then, after the cool 80s music videos were replaced by crappy shows about stupid kiddies living in the same house while showing off their low IQs and trying to act cool, the new spin put on it was "Oh, it stands for 'Media TV.'" Right. Whatever.:mad:

[PepperElf]

Not really.

I haven't owned a TV since 2004 (it was stolen) and I found that not having one didn't bother me at all. I watched it at work for news and when I went home on leave ... but even at home, it's usually on Fox news, some travel show, or the like.

So for me... the strike meant nothing, except hearing other people complain about it. And talking to my boyfriend about how BSG got more popular during the strike - he's a big BSG fan.

In fact... the only tv show i watch is House, but I only watch it on DVD. I'll usually get the season, have a couple of commercial-free House-marathons and then put it off again until the next season hits DVD. And even as a fan I'll be the first to admit they seem to have a set plan for how each case progresses... so after watching the entire season in a few days, I usually don't want to watch it again for a few months anyway.


Besides ... it's hard to watch tv when you're playing on the computer or reading a book or going out.