I watched television as a child AND I read books.
I was able to do BOTH THINGS? Oh no! This ruins the agenda of the “turn off the TV” fanatics!
Let’s take a look:
Not only did I watch television AND read books but I also watched television AND played outside for hours ….
but I also watched television AND spent time with my family …
but I also watched televsion AND did my homework …
but I also watched television AND managed to blow through half the public library in a week’s time.
If you think the balance is off in your household, then limit the amount of time you watch television. Simple. Stop acting so superior because you have no control over yourself and can’t handle having a television near you without plummeting into a 12 hour sinkhole of passive viewing. That’s YOUR problem. Stop saying, “I don’t even HAVE a television.” as though that somehow means you are morally superior. There’s an assumption with a certain group of people that of COURSE it is BETTER to not watch television. Of COURSE.
I do not share your assumption.
I’m an adult, living alone, and I monitor my own television watching. I could zone out for hours watching television. I could lose hours of my life to that activity. I choose not to go there.
Television ain’t the problem.
The problem is YOURS.
I happen to enjoy stupid shows like The Real World. Is this evidence of moral rot? If you think it is, then again I suggest that the problem is YOURS and not mine. I also suggest that you mind your business and take care of your own damn self. Just because YOU can’t understand watching The Real World as a leisure activity, doesn’t mean that there is something WRONG with those who DO enjoy it as a leisure activity. I enjoy shows like that because I can relax, they are mindless, I can sink into my armchair, and just chill out for a half hour … I do not think television needs to educate. To preach. I do not think entertainment needs to always be edifying. I think it’s great for escape, for fantasy, for release, for catharsis … Relaxation/leisure time is HIGHLY undervalued in our society. So to the “what is the meaning of it all” snots I say: Fine – go watch your PBS shows or the History Channel, and do whatever you need to do. But please leave me alone so I can zone out to Breaking Bonaduce after a 17 hour nonstop day.
I watch Breaking Bonaduce AND I carry a copy of The Federalist Papers with me at all times – cause you never know when you’re gonna want to dip into it, right?
Breaking Bonaduce. The Federalist Papers. Deal with THAT disconnect. I think I heard some unimaginative brains explode … the type of folks who think art ALWAYS has to be educational.
I would like to state, for the record, though, that I AM learning stuff from Breaking Bonaduce.
What am I learning?
— I am learning that Danny Bonaduce is OUT OF HIS MIND
— I am learning that there is a certain sub-set of celebrity in Hollywood whose ONLY HOPE is to appear on a reality show
— I am learning that rehab is no picnic – even if you go to a cushy rehab center outside of Los Angeles with new agey therapists, and rock-climbing
— I am learning that somehow Danny Bonaduce’s wife is able to weep in her therapists’ office and still look gorgeous. I need to know what kind of foundation she uses. Even when she cries it doesn’t clump up.
— I am learning that it is bad to mix steroids with Vicodin and alcohol
I am learning MANY things.
But mostly. It’s entertaining. It’s interesting. I enjoy relaxation. I take it where I can get it these days.
I live primarily in my mind. In case you haven’t noticed. I am a heady bookworm-ish intense and kind of uptight person. My body is stiff … but my head is WHIRLING with thoughts … ya got it? I don’t relax easily.
But with certain shows, I can just sink back, let it all go, let my brain off the hook for half an hour … and be entertained.
Now the “turn off the TV” cabal will never accept this explanation from me, an explanation that comes out of my own life, my own experience. They’re the black-and-white people. They have one stance: TV is BAD. TV is bad: talk to your family! Read books instead!!!
Again: why the either/or? As a child, I talked to my family. AND I watched James at 15 religiously. I didn’t NOT talk to my family because I ALSO watched television. What effed-up world do these people live in? What if the Eight is Enough episode that changed my life had been aired during some TV Turnoff week extravaganza?? I would then have not seen the show that gave me the inspirational strength to get me through the rest of junior high. You think I’m exaggerating? I’m not.
So yes: if you watch TV for 6 hours every day you’ve got some problems – but the problem is NOT the television. The problem is YOU. So what that it’s there? That means it always has to be on? No – that means that YOU have no control over your impulses. I have a box of ice cream sandwiches in my freezer. Does that mean I should eat 10 in one sitting? Uhm – no. I have them there for when I feel like something sweet. If I can’t control myself – and I know I can’t control myself – then I should not have ice cream sandwiches in the house.
It’s the superiority I can’t stand. It’s the condescension I can’t stand. It’s the nosy busybody moral-scold snottiness that I cannot stand. From people who don’t get it anyway. I don’t want to be scolded by people who don’t understand relaxation and entertainment in the first place!!
The attitude appears to be: Since I personally don’t see the point in Big Brother: The Celebrity Version – then NO ONE should see the point in it.
Oh wait … but that’s my real point. Shows like that DON’T have a point. Shows like that are … ENTERTAINMENT. There is no point. If you want a point – then watch the news, or watch the History Channel, or watch documentaries. But there is a PLACE for stuff that HAS NO POINT. So just shut UP. SHUT UP about how bad pop culture is. SHUT UP. There is PLENTY of stuff out there for ALL OF US.
I know it’s an extremely difficult thing to grasp: but I watch The Real World AND I watch The History Channel.
If you can’t deal with that, then you seriously need more help than just turning off a television will give you. Actually, Danny Bonaduce’s therapist seems like a really good guy (even though he appears to have had his face ironed out into a silk-like smoothness that is highly unnatural) … maybe you should give him a call!
God, for real. LOOSEN THE FUCK UP, Snobby McTightAss, and let me watch my 14th Seinfeld repeat of the day.
Hi, my name is John H., and I’m addicted to Celebrity Poker…
Snobby McTight Ass is my new favorite phrase.
said in a chorus: Hi, John H ….
JFH-That may be cathartic…
Hi, my name is Dave E. and I’m addicted to Hawaii Five-O and MASH reruns.
The television tells me to watch it. There’s no way it can be my fault.
(/sarcasm, of course)
There is an interesting study I would like to see done sometime … I would like to see how many folks design their rooms around a TV. That is, with the TV being the central focus. And then have a survey of some kind to find out if it’s designed that way because it’s geared toward watching TV or it was just convenient to do it that way. I’m just curious is all.
My living is designed that way. For the sake of better watching TV, in fact. I have a huge problem zoning out into whatever I’m doing (TV, books, internet). So, I totally agree that it’s something you have to monitor in yourself. And for your kids.
I have also begun to wonder what’s worse really bad TV or Websites populated by “communication” like: How R U? M gr8. I m L33t h4xxor.
Oh, yeah, man. I’ve gotten to the point where I do the instacringe as soon as someone responds to my comment about The Simpsons or Mythbusters or something with, “I don’t have a television.”
‘cos I know the lecture’s coming. There are some folks that almost make me embarrassed to own a set and to actually ADMIT to watching it. (I also know some people, film buffs, who have these marvellous television sets but NO CABLE OR DISH HOOKUP. And in the area where I live, that means you get two channels, one very fuzzy. But their response is, “Oh, I only watch FILMS on my television.” Not “movies” – “films.” These are usually the folks whose dvd collection is mostly foreign, obscure, or indie films, and who sneer at “mainstream” stuff.)
I also tire of the folks who don’t seem to be able to enjoy a just good stupid-but-fun movie: Wayne’s World. Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Undercover Brother. Zoolander. (very stupid but very, very funny).
I guess my standard response applies: If I enjoy it and you enjoy it, that’s great. Maybe that means we need to be friends because we have whatever in common. If I enjoy it and you don’t, that’s okay, we have different tastes, and we can still be friends. If I don’t enjoy it and you do, maybe you’re seeing something in it I can’t, and maybe I even envy you your enjoyment a little, but we can still be friends.
But if you don’t enjoy it and think I should feel bad because I do, then I really don’t think we can be friends.
I spent far too many years in grad school around people who either were or pretended to be above the simple joys of cartoons, cheap pizza, buffets, silly-dumb-funny comedy movies, Oreos, goofy pop music, going to the mall, reading books purely for entertainment, etc., etc. They’re just not fun people to be around. I suppose being above everything gets awfully fatiguing.
Hi, my name is Sheila, and I am still in recovery from my 30something addiction from 15 years ago.
Being “above” Oreos??? what is WRONG with those people???
If you don’t have a television, how can you watch House?
Adult Swim is great. It makes me feel like working all this Overtime isn’t ruining my life.
I watch UPN when I fix dinner. I don’t think that makes me a bad person.
All those snobs who swear they don’t watch television can stop lying when they want to. When the world is threatened, the first thing people do is rush to a TV set.
And what were the looters in New Orleans stealing? That’s right, big ass TVs.
I have to admit my main room is geared towards the TV. But … I only have one room. So … that’s a bit of a challenge.
My living room is geared towards the TV. In FACT, my Christmas present from my husband was a big, black Broyhill Antique Heirlooms TV cabinet, and my present to him was a 32-inch TV to go in it.
Hi. My name is Lisa, and I’m addicted to Grey’s Anatomy. (Sorry, red.)
The confessional therapeutic tone of these comments are cracking me up.
Lisa – I keep meaning to watch Gray’s Anatomy – everyone keeps telling me how great it is – and I need to remember to check it out. when is it on again???
Sunday nights at 9:00 (10:00 your time) on ABC.
It just might change your opinion of Patrick Dempsey. BUT EVEN IF IT DOESN’T AND I IN NO WAY AM PUTTING YOU DOWN FOR NOT LIKING HIM, NOPE, NO WAY (even though it is MIND-BOGGLING to me), I think you’d still like it because two words: Sandra Oh. And that dude that plays Dr. Burke.
I’m addicted to The Office. American style.
Sorry to several folks.
Sheila,
Thank you for this. I needed that post, since way too many of my friends are anti-TV fanatics. What I don’t understand are the ones who spend all their spare time reading trash fiction, wouldn’t crack a serious book to save their lives, and are basically as ignorant as the day is long, yet who think that not watching television makes them intelligent. These people plaster “Kill your TV” bumper stickers on their mailboxes, for Pete’s sake. Weird.
Well said!!! I love television and I have no qualms about saying so. In fact, my tummy did a wee flip when I realized it was Wednesday and Martha’s Apprentice is on tonight. I may have even applauded a little bit.
Oh and I’ve been watching episodes of 24 like it’s my job (yay, Netflix!)
The anti-TV brigade can just bite me.
hi my name is jean and i love law and order. sadly I even watch law and order criminal intent – and I despise Vincent D’Onofrio. I just can’t stop. And, sheila, it’s totally that ‘zone out’ and relax mode. If only 90210 was still on – now that, I wouldn’t trust myself to stop. I would just revel in my old friends and their trials and tribulations.
Sheila, I was laughing hysterically reading this rant. I wish we were having this conversation in person! It would be a show-stopper.
Sheila, have you seen Starting Over? It’s a one-hour, daily show about six dysfunctional women who share a house and slime dysfunction all over each other. Every once in awhile a life coach or a psychologist comes in, tries to mop up the mess, and assign some task that illustrates what one of the women needs to learn to be their authentic self. (Sorry – therapyspeak is required here.) It’s basically The Real World only with counseling.
Some fun aspects:
When a particular woman is being featured, her name, background and dysfunction appear in the lower left corner of the screen:
ALLISON/Cancer Survivor/Grieving Her Loss and Learning to Open Up
LISA/Fired From DJ Job/Managing Anger and Controlling Compulsions
JESSICA/Former Prostitute/Learning to Drop the Hustle
(2) The assigned tasks are usually amazing – just recently, 40-year-old CANDY/Daddy’s Little Girl/Selfish Crybaby was made to wear a pink frilly dirndl, mary janes, white ankle socks and barettes to a mock job interview so that the HR manager could counsel her on behaving more adult. Then there was MONICA/Office Manager/Agoraphobic Frump who was forced to check in to a Vegas hotel room on the 53rd floor and proceeded to experience a full-on panic attack every time she had to get on the elevator.
I get up an hour early to make room for this show on my schedule, and spend commercial breaks (with the volume muted) talking to the Great Counselor In The Sky, applying the insights and lessons learned during the previous segment to my own life. Amazingly, it usually takes exactly the span of the commercial break for me to “own” the truth and “move on.”
I LOVE IT!
I’ve seen a couple of episodes of that, Stevie. I tell you what really turned me off of it … in the house, they don’t allow boyfriends to visit at all. BUT, one time, they had a lesbian and allowed her girlfriend to visit. I thought that was an unbearable double standard.
Stevie-
The TV happened to be on and I accidentally saw the portions of the “Candy” episode (my office opens up to the family room). Wife returns to the house after running some errands at the precise point where they have her dressed up and she’s crying. “What the heck are you watching!”, she said. I replied that I wasn’t watching it, it just happen to be on that channel after Regis and Kelly (there’s another confession).
I think she believes me, but I notice she seems to be keeping a closer eye on me lately. (e.g “Shouldn’t you be working rather than commenting on that girl Michele’s blog”… geez, she can’t even tell the difference between Shiela’s and ASV’s blog colors!)
Cullen, HAHAHAHAHA. Totally. It’s full of arbitrary crap like that.
JFH – Too funny! There’s NO way to explain to a concerned loved one why you happen to be watching a woman in a diaper licking a giant lollipop and sobbing. It just can’t be done. :)
See, Stevie, if I was married to a “cool” woman, her response would have been, “So, you’re into that, huh. Well, we can try that tonight if you’d like.”
JFH – hahahahaha! Does Daddie’s widdle girl needs a spankin’?
I watch TV, but only quality programming on PBS, preferably featuring a cast or narrator with a British accent, because everybody knows if you talk with a British accent, it automatically makes you smarter. And I only snack on fois gras and quail eggs smothered in caper sauce while I do, because I am a worldly, sophisticated person.
Unless nobody’s around. Then I eat Doritos and watch “Cops” in my robe.
two words…Judging Amy…it’s that “Tyne” of the day!
“Then Then I eat Doritos and watch “Cops” in my robe.”
I am SHAKING with laughter …
you are totally my hero!!!!
“It’s basically The Real World with counseling”
Oh. My. God. I can feel another addiction coming on!!
Mitchell – I love the story of Alex waking up, walking by your room, and there you are, in the middle of the day, sobbing over Judging Amy. hahaha
Jean –
I hate Vincent D’Onofrio too! I am laughing out loud at your comment. I loved him in Mystic Pizza … but man, could he BE more self-indulgent and take any more unnecessary pauses than he does in Law and Order?
I think they’re re-running 90210 you know – I keep seeing commercials for it with Jason Priestley and Shannon Doherty – I forget what channel, though – does anyone know? It might be Bravo.
Stevie –
“Amazingly, it usually takes exactly the span of the commercial break for me to “own” the truth and “move on.” ”
HAHAHAHAHA
I fear I may be on my way to becoming an agoraphobic frump. Heads up.
JFH – hahahaha your wife returning to see you watching that … hahahaha
No way to explain it really.
I like Vincent D’Onofrio. Mostly because of his excellent work in Full Metal Jacket and his hilarious work in Men in Black. But I don’t mind him in Law and Order. Probably because of the Laws and Order that exist, Criminal Intent is the one I enjoy most.
I do, however, on a completely unreleated other than the fact that he’s on TV note, I hate Craig Kilbourne
I think he’s a wonderful actor, cullen – which is why I feel so betrayed now. (hahahaha LISTEN TO ME!!!) His cameo as Orson Welles in Ed Wood is phenomenal. I’ve loved his work. He’s also, ahem, my “type” – and there aren’t many of “my type” in vogue in Hollywood at the moment. From the first second I saw him in Mystic Pizza, I thought … i love him!
But I can’t even watch that Law and Order that he stars on because I think that he thinks that the show is about HIM. That’s the strength of the Law & Order franchise – they have good actors, yes, but it’s about the stories, the plot. I somehow think that HE thinks that he’s “slumming” doing television. So he puts in all these long pauses, he over-complicates every line – every line seems to take 5 minutes to come out of his mouth … it’s too much.
Just say the lines, Vince. You’re not re-inventing acting. Every interrogation scene isn’t the equivalent of the ‘we few, we happy few’ speech. You’re on Law and Order. It’s okay. It’s a job. You’re doing fine in your life. Relax.
Oh, and …
I admit this with some shame.
I have a nasty crush on Craig Kilborne. I recognize his flaws. He’s the type of guy women should NEVER date or take seriously – women who date guys like that and think he will be “their boyfriend” are idiots … but … there’s something about him …
something …
I am ashamed.
And yet the crush persists.
The heart knows no logic.
Well, yeah, there is that. But it doesn’t really bug me. Guess it’s because I’m a Shatner fan or something.
Kilbourne, however …
cullen –
I completely accept your scorn on the Kilborne thing.
I can’t defend it, or even explain it to myself!! :)
The heart knows no logic
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Much to its dismay. You guys could go out and be Red Squared (wow, that’s a name for a band!).
Vince is now only on 1/2 of the episodes of L&O:CI. Chris Noth reprising his role as Det. Mike Logan is doing the other half.
I kinda like Vince; he’s sexy in a scary way. But hotdamn, The Noth! The Noth!
Jean – are you still out there??
I just looked it up:
Bravo is having a Celebrate TV week – hahahaha – so perfect!!! And Beverly Hills 90210 is part of it. It’s just a reunion show, where the cast sits around and talks about being on the show, filming it, yadda yadda –
Mark your calendar, sister!!
“Beverly Hills 90210: The Reunion Show” will feature original cast members of the long-running series as they reunite and relive memorable moments from the show on Thursday, November 3 at 8:00 PM.
Lisa –
Yeah. The Noth is smokin’.
My crush on Craig Kilbourne that started when he was on SportsCenter. He was snarky, and I love me some snark. Plus, he played basketball. Tall, blonde, basketball player that brings the snark? Who could resist it?
Oh, this made me laugh… because my fiance says “I don’t even own a TV!” all the time — well, he doesn’t own one actually (his time-sink activity is computer games), but he says so because he’s quoting the onion article
(archived here: http://davefaq.com/Opinions/Television/Onion.html)
–if that article doesn’t make your point, I don’t know what does!
charlene –
bwahahahaha the first sentence of that Onion piece pretty much says it all!
CHAPEL HILL, NCArea resident Jonathan Green does not own a television, a fact he repeatedly points out to friends, family, and coworkersas well as to his mailman, neighborhood convenience-store clerks, and the man who cleans the hallways in his apartment building.
Above: Jonathan Green, who tells as many people as possible that he is “fully weaned off the glass teat.”
“I, personally, would rather spend my time doing something useful than watch television,” Green told a random woman Monday at the Suds ‘N’ Duds Laundromat, noticing the establishment’s wall-mounted TV. “I don’t even own one.”
According to Melinda Elkins, a coworker of Green’s at The Frame Job, a Chapel Hill picture-frame shop, Green steers the conversation toward television whenever possible, just so he can mention not owning one.
Sheila, who do you hate more? The “I don’t even HAVE a television” people or the “Friends? I never even WATCHED Friends!” people?
Bonaduce is OK, but the level of nearly-naked hoochies is much higher over on My Fair Brady.
And on the rare occasions that I watch TV, I usually have my laptop with me, and half a dozen web pages and chat windows open. TV has destroyed my attention span so well that it can no longer keep up.
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when he has to take a lie detector test on whether he watched Melrose Place.
Patrick –
I have found that those two types of people are two sides of the same coin.
They’re television snots. They’ll tell you about some obscure thing they saw on PBS and then get snotty when you say you love Friends.
These are the pop culture Nazis. Same kind of people who despise ANYTHING that becomes popular to a large segment of the population because of their intellectual contempt for their fellow man.
intellectual contempt for their fellow man
Does that, then, make PBS the intellectual pimp for the common man?
Antique Roadshow up! Boston Legal down!
Y’all know what’s coming next, don’t ya… “[Sniff] Blogs? I don’t waste my time reading “blogs”, I live in the REAL world”
I especially love the “TV bad” people who think that it’s more productive to smoke a joint and space out on their screen saver instead.
Antique Roadshow was okay before they sold out….
Speaking of TV addictions, when the hell are the Sopranos going to Return!?!? I’ll resume my HBO subscription if only they’d continue the damned timeline.
Hi, my name is Carrie and if you come a couple thousand miles to visit me I will make you watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition on my giant big ass TV. But I promise to have kleenex for you. I am typing this while Law & Order SVU is on, now that’s multi-tasking.
carrie –
Yes. Your television is ENORMOUS
It drives me nuts when a local group email comes around and says something like “we all know that PBS is the only thing on TV worth watching”. My ass. Says who?? Sorry gang there’s a reason I bought a 42″ HDTV and it ain’t PBS pledge drives.
I love PBS. I contribute to their pledge drive whenever I hear about it. I still watch Breaking Bonaduce with the religious fervor of a new convert, but I value the stuff on PBS as well.
I’m not so wacky about the PBS snobs that we keep talking about! There’s plenty of TV worth watching elsewhere. But not all PBS lovers are snobs like that.
I grew up on PBS. I contribute to them when I can.
And actually – hahaha – come to think of it – I WISH a local group would email me when PBS was having a pledge drive. I never know when the pledge drive happens – because I actually DON’T watch a lot of TV (hahaha after all this??) so I am not up to date on things.
I watch PBS exclusvely for the reruns of Red Dwarf, Chef, and perhaps Doctor Who. aside from that, There are better channels to watch (Discovery) if I want to see animals get eaten, bugs fighting, or Documentaries on people in other countries in traditional garb. True, it was the first place on television I saw a woman with exposed breasts, but I’ve grown since then, and I’m aware that there are better places to look for such things.
Aww dammit…another boobie reference again. Sorry folks….
ruben – you’re awesome. hahahaha
Boobies! If it’s in National Geographic or on PBS – it’s okay!!
I find watching PBS during pledge week among the greatest of pleasures. I can’t get enough of the host and hostess chatting about how awesome Michael Flatley is – every twenty minutes during the four-hour hoofin’ special. It warms my heart and gives me that “I’m a special, giving person” feeling I crave so much. Sigh. TV is so awesome. :)
Sheila, you knew I’d know this, right? PBS drives are typically in December, March and August. I’m not sure how I came across this information or why it’s still stored in my head but it’s there and well, I’m pleased that it came in handy for once.
I am going to be ALL over Bravo when 90210 comes on. I really hope they show the slumber party episode from the first season. You know the one I’m talking about? It’s when Kelly brings her bitchy friend who’s hopped up on diet pills and goads everyone into spilling secrets. It’s a beautiful thing.
I grew up with a television and yes my living room is designed so that my television is the focus point. Not because I’m glued to the set 24/7 but for comfort and yes I will tune into what I want and when I want. I have been know to laugh at people who say they don’t own a set. If someone tries to make me feel like a low life for tuneing in, I rub it in that I have a large set with suround sound. I do tend to look down on those people who state, I don’t own a television. My neighbor who is 11 comes out and asked one of these people if he was too poor to own a set. I couldn’t help but laugh he had a come back for every explanation the jerk had. You need to study more, I can study and enjoy cartoons all in one day can’t you. Out of the mouths of babes.
I think that I might go crazy without TV.
And by the way, has anyone seen the new, sublimely terrible cringefest on VH1 called, “But Can They Sing?”
My dear friends, it is precisely why the tube was invented in the first place. Because you may think you’ve seen everything, but you learn that this is not the case until you have seen Larry Holmes…yes, Larry Holmes the boxer…perform James Brown’s “I Feel Good” before a live studio audience.
It’s all hosted by Ahmet Zappa, who I am fairly sure would be employed as a barista somewhere if he was not a Son of Frank. Alas, his Zap he has the opportunity to make good money hosting Celebreality programming on VH1.
Oh, and Larry Holmes? He wasn’t bad, compared to the others.
Kim Alexis performing Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me”…now that’s bad.
— I am learning that it is bad to mix steroids with Vicodin and alcohol.
Best. Line. Ever.
Silly people…this whole AA thing you’re doing is making you look WEAK. It’s like you’re ashamed of enjoying TV. Be loud, be proud, give a no-TV-watching snob a swift knee to the groin. Snort that TV up with both nostrils.
Me, I’m like the Keith Richards of TV watchers. More, please.
Mark –
You, sir, make a great point.
Yes. Just the fact that it pisses me off means I am letting these snots get to me.
NO MORE!
Bring on the Bonaduce marathon!!!
Ooh, now that a couple of people have chimed in on the way their TV rooms are oriented, let me ask a question. Doesn’t it piss you off on these design shows when they redesign a room and, like, totally HIDE the TV! Pisses me off.
It was esp. bad in the days of Trading Spaces when they had TVs behind couches, off the side at an unwatchable angle and completely enclosed in cabinets not well-designed for the purpose. And then, on Extreme Home Makeover (which I absolutely adore) they throw plasmas on the wall haphazardly.
Yes, it annoys me. Being the A/V geek that I am.
cullen – hahahaha totally!!!
And Extreme Makeover honestly has to be one of the best television shows ever produced. I think they should be given some kind of humanitarian award. Great show.
A lot of the people who freeze and sneer (very Snapily) when I ask them about Babylon 5 or mention Buffy or Angel and say,”We don’t have a TV. I do sometimes watch DVDs on my laptop. But only the best sort.” Anyway, those people, they seem to think they’re better activists because of it.
Something about not being tainted by the worldly, I think.
This is surprisingly similar to the approach taken by their exact opposite counterparts on the extreme right.
And now I think about it, these are also the people who tend to conflate “human stuff” with “unnatural stuff”. Again, a lot like their exact opposite counterparts.
That’s odd.
bill –
the enemies of pop culture and entertainment in general know no political orthodoxy. They come from all sides.
People on the far right and far left BOTH have contempt for the “average” and the tastes of the ‘average’ – they agonize over things like reality TV … they want to regulate what the rest of us do because they basically think we’re retarded jagoffs who don’t know what’s good for us.
The only reason I watch PBS is to get my My Hero fix. Because I love Ardal O’Hanlon with the heat of a 1000 Thermomans.
I am not kidding when I say that I don’t know what I’d do without BBQ University or This Old House. I adore those shows.
I also don’t know what I would have done without PBS kids about 2 years ago. Man, you talk about a pacifier.
I hate watching PBS pledge drives. Although I have worked at a station FOR the pledge drive. If fact they’re calling for volunteers here in Phoenix for the December pledge drive if anyone is in the area and interested.
David – you don’t enjoy watching 2 perky people rave about Michael Flatley for 12 hours???? what is your problem??? :)
cullen – my parents have a photo of me, age 3, sitting in my wee rocking chair – watching Sesame Street during its very first season. I literally look I have put under hypnosis. I am wearing a small corduroy jumper, and I am COMPLETELY engrossed. A small corduroy-clad zombie girl staring at the television.
Moment in history!
“Just say the lines, Vince. You’re not re-inventing acting. Every interrogation scene isn’t the equivalent of the ‘we few, we happy few’ speech. You’re on Law and Order. It’s okay. It’s a job. You’re doing fine in your life. Relax.”
–this made me just cackle for about 20 seconds. haha. i absolutely love watching this version of “law and order” with jean. she so doesnt even really ENJOY the show. what she really loves is yelling at vince’s acting style. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???” and then Pat just turns to you and says, “she hates him so much.” the whole process is just so amusing.
i love my t.v. i didn’t have one my first 2 years in nyc and it sucked! i like TRASH T.V> the best! I like Real World, i LOOOOOVEE “american idol”–can’t wait for the new season. And i also adore adore adore oprah. i think those are my 3 faves. and that is my two cents.
siobhan –
i am shaking with laughter at the image of Jean shouting at the TV and yet she can’t turn it off …. hahahahahahahahaha
it just makes me laugh she always watches the show b/c it seems so painful for her!! but hte pauses–his pauses–once you notice them–you Can’t stop!
must clarify…i think real world and american idol are trash.
i do NOT think oprah is trash. oprah is amazing!!
So I recently disconected my TV- because I would use it to numb myself- and it was distracting me from my great new business
http://www.daverudbarg.unfranchise.com/
(Shaameless plug)
but seriously TV now occurs for me like 1 long commercial with programs interrupting every once in a while…..
I also like(and miss bonaduce and VH1 Classic…….
and I’m sorry- TNA wrestling…as well…..
Wow. 85 comments on this subject. This sort of subject, must really grind our gears.
…speaking of ‘Grinding Gears’, Did anyone see the “Family Guy- Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story” movie yet? It must be seen. It simply must.
It’s not the foundation, it’s the botox.
I just miss how Beavis SAID “Bonaduce,” which can’t exactly be reproduced with the written word.
Heh-heh, heh-heh, Bonaduce! BONADUCE! ;-)
Siobhan- I am POSITIVE that when Oprah meets me, she will really like me. I bet she would like to go to The Mews or something with me. I just know it.