Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Brain drain dilemma

We are seriously considering getting rid of the TV. There are some shows that we like, but not enough to go to the trouble of taping them should we be indisposed to watch them. Additionally, it seems to take too much space in the hours before bed. Hours that could be spent reading, or blogging.

Plus, if you stop and take a look to analyze what we watch, there is no redeeming reason for continuing the nightly habit. We watch nature shows on Discovery and PBS, and then we watch reality shows, Idol, Big Brother, Trading Spouses and we stop in now and then on Desperate Housewives and catch reruns of Sex and the City and Friends. Nothing that we couldn't live without.

Maybe we should keep the TV for movie rental watching? And just ditch the satellite. I don't know. I'd kind of like to learn to live without it and then go back to it at a future time if I feel the need.

Less is more, right?

I would go on, but I've got about 25 minutes to S, S and S. If you know what I mean.

Great day everyone!

7 comments:

dantallion said...

I've been considering doing the same thing. I was flipping through the channels the other night and everything on the tube was reality TV, which I've long considered was the final downfall of the US entertainment industry (in terms of quality, not ratings, sadly).

r said...

Speaking as a former TV addict, who hasn't had cable for about 17 months now, I don't miss it half as much as I thought I would.

There are times though, either when I'm exhausted or when it's yucky and rainy outside, or when there's a particular program I'd like to watch, when I really do miss the channels.

Get rid of the Satellite, not the TV. Do you have a Canadian equivalent to Netflix? I love me my Netflix.

_Psycho said...

I don't have cable or anything at home. I watch only movies that I either buy in DVDs or download on the web. I find 98% of everything on cable useless for me. I am also a good gamers, less tv = more gaming time. It's really rare that I miss TV for something, maybe except for Discovery channel, stuff like that. You could always download most episodes of any series on the internet anyway. But im too lazy for that, Ill stick to movies ;)

I saw a post recently, TV is in decline, 17% peoples watch less TV, 11% say it's to allow more time to play games.

Anyway, it depend of your habit. I was a big TV addict too in the past, then I realised how useless cable was ;)

Anonymous said...

If you know me as well as I think you do you can guess my response, which is "WHAT,ARE YOU CRAZY!!"
The television, if used correctly, can be a modern extension of the "book". Just like books, we can watch fiction, biography, trash (reality tv), history, psychology, etc. Have you ever watched "Brideshead Revisited"?.It is a literal, word for word interpretation of the book. It is a beautiful, passionate ode to literature. How about "Berlin Alexanderplatz "? A visually exciting interpretation by Fassbinder of a classic German novel. These things were made for TV and if you missed them you can always rent them. At least keep the TV for rentals, otherwise you are cutting off a modern part of your learning capacity. "Six feet Under" anybody?? I've been watching episodic TV for 35 years and it succeeded in "wowing" this jaded soul. The final show last week was as unusual and moving as any novel I've ever read.I tape anything of interest to me on TIVO and I watch it at my leisure.(that means 3am) Right now I'm watching a Bio on Kirk and Michael Douglas, some gardening shows, Jeopardy, some Real Sex episodes on HBO and a 10hr miniseries about the Calif. gold rush.
What's next, giving up reading fiction because it's a waste of time?

The Wisdom of Wislon said...

I seem to like watching re-runs of old comedies, murder mysteries and films-but they tend to be on video or DVD. I could'nt give up the telly as sometimes there are good things on like documentaries on Film stars and artists, so i'd miss those. Also a little bit of trash TV can be a small tonic of something to laugh at occasionally.

r said...

I thought it was "shower, shampoo, and shine."

Anonymous said...

Let's go for it and stop talking about it!

The Spouce