Am I going crazy or is TV as bad as I think it is?

[liberal hypnotist]

I have 70 something channels and pay $50 something a month to Comcast Cable. As I click through these channels, I see repeat programs. Many have to do with arresting poor people and how they live in prison. The only thing I really like is John Stewart. Although, I like Steve Colbert, he makes me nervous. Maybe I am old or crazy. Is anybody else feeling a disconnect from TV programming? Plus, do you feel stupid paying for this stuff.

[av8rdave]

1. No...it's even worse!

[Jokerman]

2. "The Vast Wasteland"

The only thing that has changed since that term originated is that it is even more vast.

[LaraMN]

3. It's great if you love "reality" programs.

I detest them. I don't watch alot of t.v., either.

[graywarrior]

4. I've been numb enough at times to flip through 70 channels 4 or 5 times in a row

and then come back 10 minutes later and do the same thing. TV sucks so bad, and yet, I cannot live without it. Someday, I will kill it. But not til LOST is off the air.

[terrya]

5. I hear you.

There are good programs out there. "Lost" "24" "Ugly Betty". "The Simpsons" have been on the air for, what, 16 years now? And "The Simpsons" is still damned good.

But for every one of those, there's about 20 hideously crappy shows like "Til' Death" which is breathtakingly awful.

[peekaloo]

6. I always get stuck on the TV listing channel. So much poop so little time.

Tuesdays (Boston Legal) and Thursdays (NBC) are my only regular viewings, with the exception of TDS/Colbert.

[Elidor]

7. I felt stupid paying for that stuff

Cable and internet were running me over $120 a month at one point. I had over 100 channels of absolute bullshit. I told Charter (thieving bastards) that I wanted to ditch the premium channels, they told me I'd end up paying MORE because I was on a package plan, so basic cable and internet were going to be about $140. I told them to take their digital box and shove it. That was almost 3 years ago. I have never regretted it.

[liberal hypnotist]

13. Great your fighting back

The sad part is, the potential for learning and getting info is so powerful on cable. I'm like a junkie thinking of kicking cable for 2007.

[EnviroBat]

20. I'm sick of frikkin cable scams like that.

My cable company tried to pull that bullshit with me too. I told them to come get their shit out of my house, and they mysteriously found "package" that I could downgrade to. The only parts of it I really need are the cable modem, and History, Discovery, and occasionally Comedy Central. The rest is utter horse-shit...

[ghostsofgiants]

8. Colbert makes you nervous?

I don't watch TV at all anymore aside from Lost. Just don't really care about it these days. But Lost is something I never miss.

[liberal hypnotist]

9. Lost and Colbert

My wife watches Lost and has developed a rather strange relationship with Sawyer, so I stay away. Now, Mr. Colbert is so over the top he makes me nervous when I watch him. If I get real sick I'll get Tivo and watch him in 10 minute increments.

[SteppingRazor]

17. You do realize Colbert is satire, right?

:shrug:

[liberal hypnotist]

24. Colbert Satire?

That's the problem. His character should be hated but I like Steve Colbert the one that is not Steve Colbert. So, when I watch him and I like him, I get nervous. I want him to be with ORielly, Rush and the "bow-tie" dude but I can't put him there. Fiction? Reality? All mixed up aaaahhhh!

[bicentennial_baby]

44. wow...yeah, you should stop watching then

[ghostsofgiants]

19. Grrrr, I hate Sawyer, haha.

Women seem to love him, though. :P

[graywarrior]

23. Sawyer.....sigh

He's a hunka man.

[MrCoffee]

10. I got rid of cable years ago...

it's not just you, it's all crap. I'd waste hours just flipping through the channels. It was really sad. Then we cut the cable, and I don't miss it for a second.

I like my rabbit ears just fine, thanks.

[Writer]

11. Go to your local giant bookstore...

how many truly good books do you find in the sea of crap on the shelves?

And at your video store: how many truly good movies in the sea of crap there?

Every medium has its few diamonds in the rough. And with every medium, there is a LOT of rough.

On edit: My husband and I are big fans of "Heroes," "Studio 60," "30 Rock," "Dr. Who," and "Battlestar Gallactica." You should check them out! :hi:

[Writer]

15. All of you are about to make me claw a chalkboard...

I understand why many feel this way about television, but I wish that we would put television into perspective. Television, like any other medium, has its few (FEW) gems. Being a woman between the age of 18 and 34, I know what those are. Yours may be different... or there may be none at all... but that does not make television invaluable as a form of art (and, oh yes, I did write "ART." :hi:)

[sarge43]

39. Yes, there are some diamonds in the garbage can.

That's why I figured for less than half the price I was paying for cable, I could rent from Netflix all tv series and documentaries I could handled. Just finished watching Rome - great stuff. I'm going to queue up Battlestar next.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

30. I have never seen any of those shows...

are they on a specific network? :shrug:

[Writer]

40. Let's see...

Heroes and Studio 60 are on NBC. Battlestar Gallactica and Dr. Who are on the Sci-Fi Network. 30 Rock is on NBC as well.

[KansDem]

12. It's nothing but crap! Nothing but crap!!!

I got rid of cable 10 years ago and I feel like a new man!

Take a look at this:
Nielsen Reports Americans Watch TV at Record Levels

The average TV in America is on 8 hours 11 minutes a day.

Might explain why although the Saudis attacked us on 9/11, we attacked Iraq, and why we put Bush in the White House in 2000 although Gore won the election. :crazy:

[I Have A Dream]

14. I agree. I watch the Daily Show, the Colbert Report and...

sometimes Keith Olbermann if my husband is watching it. I used to watch waaaaaay too much television. I don't know when things changed for me, but I like it! :D

[graywarrior]

16. At least it doesn't cause cirrohis of the liver.

I don't think it does, anyway.

[SteppingRazor]

18. What the hell. I'll play devil's advocate.

TV is not a vast wasteland. Aside from the brilliant shows you've mentioned, modern sitcoms like The Office and My Name Is Earl make the old-school sitcoms like Growing Pains or Family Ties look even lamer than they already did, when looked at relative to one another. And then there's the dramatic shows. Aaron Sorkin is probably the best TV show creator in the medium's history, and he's in his prime. David E. Kelley's no slouch either.

And don't even get me started on HBO. I mean, The Wire? I've heard some people make the case that it's the best show in the history of television.

And that's just the fictional stuff. What about nonfictional, documentary programming, the sort of stuff you can catch on Animal Planet, A&E, History, or whatever else your particular interest is.

Basically, modern TV shows are colossal improvements over the sitcoms, dramas and even documentaries of the past. Given this vast improvement over the banal, insipid pseudo-entertainment of previous years, we can logically assume that the futurefor television entertainment is even brighter than the current lineups.

Sure, there's still plenty of crap -- what medium doesn't have tons of schlock? -- but when the wheat is finally seperated from the chafe, there's certainly enough wheat to bake some bread.

[Telly Savalas]

27. I'm with ya.

The dogshit-to-jewelry ratio is high with TV, but it's always been that way and as you say it's like this with all other media.

To add to your list: for sci-fi fans Battlestar Galactica and the new Doctor Who are about a good as anything ever done in the film/TV media for this genre.

I've watched the first 5 or so episodes of Weeds, and am finding it to be a very charming show.

Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, the orignal BBC The Office, Extras, and Trailer Park Boys are some of the funniest things ever produced.

I don't really understand the anti-TV sentiment. How many people go into bookstores, flip through some shit bestsellers by Jackie Collins and Tom Clancy, then leave in a huff saying that books are a mind-draining waste of time? It's the same thing.

[crispini]

45. Here's a third.

There is some really fantastic television out there -- you just have to find it. I think it was "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that opened my eyes up to how damn good TV could be. Think about it, you have, what, three hours to tell a story in a movie... a book is limited by how many pages you can squeeze in .... but good TV can develop plot arcs, develop characters over YEARS, and completely suck you into its world.

And "Battlestar Galactica," IMO, is the best damn drama on TV today, regardless of genre. It's unfortunate that there are so many people out there who won't try it because it's got spaceships in it. The characterization, situation, and acting are matchless.

[sarge43]

48. It isn't the same.

When I go to a book store, I don't have to buy 10 Collins and Clancy waste of wood to get the latest Bill Bryson (and endure a puerile sale pitch about the newest advances in boner meds) or buy a ticket to every flick at the Octoplex in order to see the one film I came for. Nor are any pages cut out of the books because some anal retentives find real life offensive.

It isn't so much anti-TV; it's anti-cable.

[azmouse]

21. Avoid the major networks.

I watch only one show right now - Heroes. Next month I'll tune into 24. That's it for me.

Cable offers some great channels like The History Channel and the Science Channel.

But I would agree that for all the channels offered you would think there would be more worthwhile programs to watch.

Thank God for a good book!

[Deja Q]

22. You're not alone...

Comedy is no longer wit or nudging boundries and situations. Or even semi-crudeness mixed with wit. It's just outright vulgarity for the sake of it. (I'll admit I've occasionally crossed this line (e.g. a copycat thread I recently made that got locked, understandably so), but nowhere near to the extent of saying a bleeped word 50 times... and when the joke loses its value when the bleeps are removed in the "uncensrored" DVD release, you know something's not funny. The concept is key to comedy. Not taboo words without context. Indeed, a coworker watching "Planes Trains and Automobiles" was expecting a fart joke that never happened... why a far joke? "Family Guy", amongst other examples...)

Shows like Jerry Springer and Maury seem to fluorish and prosper and people cheer at the victims of the sleaze.

Many shows are also sopping in character drama. No drama is generated from situations; it's all about the characters and their malaise. Okay, the human race is being destroyed. Meanwhile we're supposed to cry because a high ranking official just announced she has cancer. Another spends more time worrying about mommy and a daddy that shouldn't exist over a situation that threatens the time/space continuum. Science and logic being pushed to the wayside. That or it's all preachy; telling us how to live rather than letting people decide for themselves a series of possibilities. Give me a break.

I don't do cable. My vice is the DVD player and shows made before 1990 (with the occasional exception).

And part of me thinks all of this is deliberate so people will avoid it. Social engineering. While another part thinks "Sleaze is profitable." The truth might be in the middle.

[distantearlywarning]

25. I pay for cable for just a couple of shows:

Keith Olbermann, and some stuff on HGTV. That's pretty much it. It's ridiculous that I have to pay for all the rest of that crap just to watch my shows. My dream is to someday have an "a la carte" cable menu - each channel costs $2.00 per month or some such. But they'll never do it because they know that most people would get rid of 75% of the truly wretched TV garbage out there, and thus the advertising that goes with it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Congress was starting to pressure Big Cable to do that

Dunno if they dropped it or if we just haven't heard more about it or what.

Someone here once explained how Big Cable marketing works, but I've forgotten the particulars. It certainly seems, though, since it typically costs about $1 or a bit less per packaged cable channel that twice that a la carte would offset the lost ad revenue. I'd certainly pay $2 or $3 each for channels I actually want — more for certain ones such as Fox Sports West 2, which airs Dodger games. Hell, I'd pay $20 just for that. But as it is, I'd have to get the most expensive package to get it, since it's out-of-market. And I'll be damned if I'm paying $150 per month to get it and 200 other channels, 180 of which I don't want.

As I understand it, though, there's more to it than just ad revenue. I just can't remember what. :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. Network teevee is

I don't have cable; we can't get it here in the burboonies, and I'm not getting suckered into another satellite deal. So I get about 20 channels with an antenna about 25 feet high and a rotor.

I think the last time I watched teevee was Sunday night. Except for the Faux Sunday comedies and 60 Minutes, all I watch anymore is PBS — and they've been in another pledge drive so they've been showing crap.

[Arkansas Granny]

28. Same here. I watch PBS almost exclusively and their regular

programs are better than their "special" stuff they show during pledge drives. I can only get about 7 local stations and 3 of them are now FOX affiliates. The rest of the networks are not much better.

[mark414]

29. television, drug of the nation

breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

TV has never been good

[NMDemDist2]

31. we have several shows we enjoy-- Numb3rs is one, Studio 60 on the

Sunset Strip is another. we watch Dr.Who, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Bill Maher, Stewart, Colbert, Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman

I enjoy much of the UCTV progamming and lots of C-Span. We never miss Keith Olberman either

But what saves my hubby is old MASH and Hogan's Heroes re-runs. and Star Treks

Since it's really our only entertainment budget item we don't begrudge the cost

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

33. Not sure if your are crazy,

but TV IS as bad as you think. In fact, I've taken to watching the AZN network on my cable system. I'm catching episodes of a Korean soap opera/drama, set in the middle ages or whenever, with political intrigue, swoard fights and pretty fair english subtitles. It's called "Emporer of the Sea" :)

[SoyCat]

34. I don't know how old you are but at 35 I hate the drivel that passes for television

entertainment. So, if that makes me old...

I plan to eventually buy a television for the house when it's complete but we're not getting cable--only Netflix.

[liberal hypnotist]

35. I'm soo old...

...I started watching one channel then it went to three and it went of at 11;15pm or something. News was fifteen minutes. That's the real problem news shows 24 hours a day. Please make them stop!

[SoyCat]

36. Unless you're 80, you're not old. I don't believe old even starts until then. Nuff said!

[sarge43]

37. Yes I did.

I finally turned in my cable, flat wasn't worth the price. I can't stand the 'reality' shows, the news is corporate propaganda and even PBS is a joke now. Between the net, Netflix and books, I can keep myself very well entertained and informed - thank you.

[graywarrior]

38. TV show lineup for Friday night calls for finger down throat.

[femmocrat]

41. You are definitely not going crazy!

We also pay way too much for cable. I do not watch any network programming anymore. I couldn't even tell you what the new shows are. For one thing, I simply cannot stand all the commercials.

I mostly watch C-span and QVC! I also (usually, but not everyday) watch Olbermann and The Daily Show. I tape my soap and watch it in the evening. Sometimes I watch a figure skating competition or a dog show on some cable channel. That is about it!

[Initech]

42. "Watching television is like taking black paint to your third eye." - Bill Hicks

[Bryan]

43. I don't know about crazy, but...

Even if you don't like any regular fictional series, TDS, Colbert, and Countdown are a staggering ten hours a week all by themselves, and that's not counting the odd unmissable movie on TCM, No Reservations, Mythbusters, Nova, Frontline; on a weekly basis there's more worthwhile TV than I can watch, and I have no social life.

[quiet.american]

46. I've created my own cable. I've got a hellacious DVD collection.

Granted, there are a lot of repeats in my "programming," but at least it's exactly what I want to see. :)

[Sgent]

47. Stuff worth watching

Sports
Sunday Night Fox
The Office, 30 Rock
Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Danny Devito -- FX Network)

[TommyO]

49. Mostly crap, but there are some gems out there too

Battlestar Galactica, Boston Legal, Good Eats, Heroes