No TV

Off Topic
21

[quote]kung_fu_king wrote:
For me TV is a funny thing.

On the one hand it showcase some of the world’s amazing talent by creating some phenomenally good drama/films/documentaries.

But…that make up less than 1% of what is on the TV schedule. More channels have just brought more shit to our screens and this “i’ll do anything to get on TV” attitude is destroying society.

I don’t know about you but when i’ve been on holiday for more than a month or so, you come back home and realise that you haven’t missed TV at all.

Mart

ps i’ve just finished watching 24 series 3 on DVD last night, watched the last 8 episodes straight, and i’ve got to say that it’s diamonds like this that stop me from completely disowning TV! Series 4 to watch next week. Can’t wait.[/quote]

Spoiler alert don’t read this post if you like 24 or Alias and haven’t seen every episode!

Diamonds like that? Season three? is that the season where the crack CIA team lets three people get assassinated in their custody, Jack repeatedly checks and then discharges the rounds in his weapon without cycling the action, and in the last episode Jack gets saved when A HELICOPTER SNEAKS UP ON THE BAD GUY. 'Cause that’s the season I stopped watching. Same with Alias, when it was all her in latex, ancient artifacts, finding nukes and her learning the ropes it was cool (mostly because of the ‘her in latex’), then they started making up technology (WTF a MASER that causes heart attacks from outer space? My fucking microwave is a MASER and yeah a MASER could cause heart attacks, but when the paramedics show up the guy’s body temp. would be through the roof.). Sorry for the rant, I’m a licensed gun owner in a “blue state” so everyone thinks I should love these shows and always want to talk about them. There are probably shows that I watch that others hate as well, I love CSI, feel free to take shots in return. Maybe it’ll help me kick my addiction.

22

[quote]juninho wrote:
I’ve also caught her watching the ‘snow flakes’ scrambled screen. The only time this is acceptable is if you have just taken some hallucinogenics, and I’m pretty sure she hadn’t.[/quote]

When I was in school, my roommate dated a girl who was (in my estimation) excessively religious. She didn’t believe in premarital physical relations, I don’t mean sex, I mean no holding hands, kissing, hugging only as a social grace, etc. Needless to say, we other three roommates didn’t approve. So, we took to having scrambled porn on the TV as a repellant (studying to scrambled porn, darts to scrambled porn, cards to scrambled porn, you get the idea).

23

Fuck I haven’t watched TV in more than a year, since the last NHL playoff game anyway.

24

Good stuff! I got rid of cable 7years ago when my 1st son was born. I do miss boxing {big time}but overall it’s worth it. I spend more time with my three boys now than I would have if I had the TV on 24/7 and there is no doubt it’s better for my kids mental development.

25

[quote]kung_fu_king wrote:
Mart

ps i’ve just finished watching 24 series 3 on DVD last night, watched the last 8 episodes straight, and i’ve got to say that it’s diamonds like this that stop me from completely disowning TV! Series 4 to watch next week. Can’t wait.[/quote]

Season 3 of 24 sucked. I’m sorry, but they repeated way too many issues on that season just so the story would sync up in real time. I felt like I was watching a 60’s cartoon show where the characters say everything they are about to do before they do it. There were also too many far fetched “women’s issues” (like bringing a baby to work…who turns out to be a baby she stole but has to hide under her desk so she doesn’t lose her job…WTF?!) I liked the second season though.

26

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
I really feel kind of out of touch, especially if someone wants to tell a joke about a commercial or something.

But they usually give me this embarassed look when I mention that I dont have a TV.

Am I wrong to assume that most people realize that television has been nothing but a bane to civilization and original thought, yet do nothing about it?

I’m actually paying (partially) for cable. And my roommates have it in their rooms… but I never watch… I don’t even miss it (except ESPN… I REALLY miss ESPN)

I have several Pimsleur language courses (Japanese really isn’t that hard…), a lot of music, dumbbells and parallettes in my room.

Unlike most college students I can actually find time to read recreationally, not just shit for class.

I might even start playing guitar again or take up piano.

I’m actually watching my vast (and i mean vast) collection of MMA instructionals. I didn’t even know that I had Dan Gable’s wrestling instructionals (hah)…

I encourage you to take a month or two without television. You’ll probably find that you get more done during the day, communicate more with your family (i actually call home which is completely unheard of), hell you’ll probably get more sleep (I know I do).

Anyway back to my Econ homework…

(fuckityfuckyfuckfuckityfuck Shit ASS)

XenNova[/quote]

Xen,

I realized I’ve posted some posts without contributing to your topic directly, this’ll fix that.

It’s funny, I’m caught in the middle, I know TV is bad for me and I try not to watch too much (or at least be doing something constructive while I’m doing it), but I can’t kick the habit entirely. I don’t have cable and can’t justify paying to rot my brain when I can do it for free, so I still get the condescending “Did you see?.. oh, right…” but I still watch TV. I’ve noticed I have this weird conservation of addiction. If I’m not addicted to TV (CSI (everything but NY), Law and Order (All of them), The Simpsons (given), Family Guy, American Dad, The Amazing Race, Survivor) it’s the net (Homestarrunner and Red vs. Blue is some seriously funny stuff) and if it’s not the net it’s food. Interestingly, smoking, drinking, and presumably hard drug addiction isn’t a problem for me, but the other three are. I applaud your viewing habits (or lack thereof).

27

I recently realized that if you miss a bill payment or 4, your cable goes away. teeheehee. I haven’t really missed it much at all. If anything, I’ll throw on a video (no DVD player yet, I’m rocking the VCR, cuz I’m old skool like that).

I read once that some school systems try to have kids do a no t.v. week. If I remember right, they usually report slightly higher test scores for that week. Can’t be a coincidence. I bet my girlfriend’s 10-year old that he couldn’t go 24 hours without turning on or watching a television. He lasted almost 5 hours. That’s funny, but sad.

28

I guess I’m kind of in the middle. I do agree that TV can be bad and sucks out the brain. But there are good things to it also. When I was younger as part of my OCD I always had to be up and about doing something. If I had an evening where I just stayed home I felt worthless…anywho…now that I’m a little older I’ve gotten to enjoy being home, and enjoy some shows.

I’ve given in a little bit and I’ve let myself enjoy them for what they are. Between work, two kids, wife, my on hiatus band, working on cars, and of course working out…When I have an hour at night I just flop and enjoy…

29

[quote]juninho wrote:
my missus spilled a vase full of water in ours on sunday, so now we are also TV-less. Like you, I really couldn’t give a shit, but she’s seems to be taking it pretty hard. Every morning before work and every night when she gets in she spends a good twenty mins trying to revive it. I asked her last night if I was to keel over with a heart attack would she’d spend as much time trying to bring me round. She said she’d do cpr for a bit, but if I was still out when the soaps came on the tele she’d have to let me go. I’ve also caught her watching the ‘snow flakes’ scrambled screen. The only time this is acceptable is if you have just taken some hallucinogenics, and I’m pretty sure she hadn’t. [/quote]

That’s funny. It reminds me of a time, alot of years ago. I went over to my buddy’s house, and he and his roomate were high on acid, and watching a 12 inch black and white TV upside down. Or was it sideways?

|/ 3Toes

30

[quote]lucasa wrote:
kung_fu_king wrote:
There are probably shows that I watch that others hate as well, I love CSI, feel free to take shots in return. Maybe it’ll help me kick my addiction.[/quote]

HOw can you complain about 24’s problems and love CSI? In the only episode of CSI that I have seen the main character (I have no idea what his name is), a crime scene investigator, interogated suspects in an airport!

I have watched a lot of TV in my life and I love it. The problem is that the shows that tend to get great ratings (and thus stay on the air for a long time) usually suck. That being said, there are some gems out there. A great show can rival the entertainment of a good movie.

I am a little confused as to people complaining about TV and then watching TV DVDs. As far as I can tell, you are still watching a TV program. Is it the commercials that account for people hating TV? Or do you only happen to catch bad shows when you turn on the tv?

If people are looking for something good to watch there are plenty of options out there. Some examples

Comedy:
The Office (not as good as the BBC version but still funny)
My name is Earl (the first 2 eps were awesome)
Everybody hates Chris (finally the UPN has a decent sitcom, for years they have been trying to appeal to blacks with bad shows about black people, finallly they just concentrate on making a good show)

Drama:
Lost
House (Laurie is fun to watch)
Veronica Mars (the best ‘hour of mystery’ show on now)

There you go, 6 shows that entertain and will not lead to the rotting of your brain.

31

I broke up with my gf few months ago and moved to a new place. This gave me the chance of going back to my previous life style of no TV. It’s a wonderful thing. I don’t even have internet now. I simply waste too much time when I have TV and internet connection. Of course for the first few weeks, I find other ways to waste time, like playing solitaire on my computer. Now that I don’t waste time any more I actually am able to go to bed on time to get some quality sleep and be more productive the following day. I really much rather choose to sit in a chair and stare at the wall than watch TV.

32

I’m with holifila on this one…

My TV is (in no particlar order):

a) A tool (yes, for education).

b) An excellent “Window to the World” (especially News, etc.) and

c) A source of entertainment.

Sometimes after a long day at work…I don’t want to be preached to, or “edified” or anything else but take my shoes off, take a shower and be entertained.

If you watch garbage, that’s what you’ll get…but between Sattelite and Cable…and yes, the major networks… the quality is out there for the asking.

Mufasa

33

We’ve gone through phases of having TV and not having it. If you’ve got other interests, then TV doesn’t really matter.

Right now we’re on the upswing of a TV kick after moving to a smaller town where there isn’t much to do, so we’ve got TV again. But if I was still living in the city, I wouldn’t be watching a whole lot.

I wouldn’t say that TV is the bane of existence, but I would call it the opium of the people.

34

[quote]holifila wrote:

I am a little confused as to people complaining about TV and then watching TV DVDs. As far as I can tell, you are still watching a TV program. Is it the commercials that account for people hating TV? Or do you only happen to catch bad shows when you turn on the tv?
[/quote]

I don’t complain about tv, I just don’t watch much of it. I just don’t have much time during the day to waste hours in front of the tv. I waste enough time bullshitting on the computer. I buy the dvd’s because I really like those shows or heard good things about them. I don’t just buy random tv shows. I have CSI, Alias, Smallville, Nip Tuck and Lost on DVD. Those are the shows I watch and I am about a year behind on all of them since I never catch them on tv.

35

I have 3 TV’s. I watch them all. All within reason and moderation. I lift, play sports, and am very active like everyone else. Are you telling me everyone that responded doesn’t watch any games? College? Pro? Maybe throw in some Texas Hold’em? Come on! That’s rediculous. I maybe spend 2 hrs at night to wind down and then watch games on the wekend but to say you’d rather rent DVD’s only is hard to believe. It’s almost like people agree to this to “fit it” to the thread. If it works for you, then great.

But if people truely are Nip Tuck fans and Family Guy fans, I find it hard to belive that they are not watching the season premiers and new stuff…

36

[quote]K O N G wrote:
I have 3 TV’s. I watch them all. All within reason and moderation. I lift, play sports, and am very active like everyone else. Are you telling me everyone that responded doesn’t watch any games? College? Pro? Maybe throw in some Texas Hold’em? Come on! That’s rediculous. I maybe spend 2 hrs at night to wind down and then watch games on the wekend but to say you’d rather rent DVD’s only is hard to believe. It’s almost like people agree to this to “fit it” to the thread. If it works for you, then great.

But if people truely are Nip Tuck fans and Family Guy fans, I find it hard to belive that they are not watching the season premiers and new stuff… [/quote]

I never watched Nip Tuck until they sold it on DVD. I may watch some games on tv, but overall, when people ask me what’s on, I just don’t know. I do watch the news stations more than anything lately if I don’t have a dvd in.

I do hate that I missed the season premier of Lost because I really like that show (the writers are off the chain), but I am at the point where I would rather have the freedom of watching a whole season whenever I have the time with no commercials (for the record, Lost is the closest thing to a movie on tv).

Maybe I just need Tivo.

37

We got rid of cable a couple of years ago, and it doesn’t really bother me except during football season. I live too far in the boonies to pick up most channels over the airwaves. I can pick up the ABC affiliate for the news if I want to.

My wife doesn’t really care about watching TV and I tend to be undisciplined and watch too much. Since we got rid of it I have lost 60 pounds, got a bunch of stuff done around the house that I had put off for years, etc. I probably averaged three hours a night, so I have reclaimed around 1000 hours a year by shutting the darn thing off. We rent the occasional movie and have purchased a couple of DVD collections, so we probably watch 3 or 4 hours a week.

Still, NFL Sunday Ticket is really tempting…

38

[quote]oriensus wrote:
I broke up with my gf few months ago and moved to a new place. This gave me the chance of going back to my previous life style of no TV. It’s a wonderful thing. I don’t even have internet now. I simply waste too much time when I have TV and internet connection. Of course for the first few weeks, I find other ways to waste time, like playing solitaire on my computer. Now that I don’t waste time any more I actually am able to go to bed on time to get some quality sleep and be more productive the following day. I really much rather choose to sit in a chair and stare at the wall than watch TV.[/quote]

No internet? Can I ask what technology you are using to transmit your thoughts to this message board? Can it be patented? Do you need investors? Or is it just the bosses time you are wasting now?

39

[quote]deanec wrote:
oriensus wrote:
am able to go to bed on time to get some quality sleep and be more productive the following day. I really much rather choose to sit in a chair and stare at the wall than watch TV.

No internet? Can I ask what technology you are using to transmit your thoughts to this message board? Can it be patented? Do you need investors? Or is it just the bosses time you are wasting now?
[/quote]

The bosses time I’m wasting of course. But c’mon, that’s a bit strong, I’m not really wasting anybody’s time. I’m just you know, um…wasting my own time.

40

[quote]Wolverin wrote:
I only watch TV when there’s strongman competitions or things with lions in it on.[/quote]

You’re not weird or anything. I bet you’d blow your load if you turned on a strongman competition and big nordic dudes were squatting a cage full of lions?

I watch nip/tuck and college football if I don’t have anything better to do. If they would just make Amber the sideline announcer for Pac-10 football, I would ixnaye the nip/tuckaye. Average weekly tv time is probably 1-3 hours. I don’t even have cable or satellite at home.

But do you realize how many people revolve their lives around regularly scheduled television programs, games, etc?

GET A LIFE!

Bastard