Has anyone given up on TV?

[Gingerbread Demon]

Has anyone here given up on TV?

The only things I choose to watch now on TV are a few genre shows and the news.

I just can't watch or sit through much of any commercial TV anymore.

 

[Starbreaker]

No, there are still probably 40 shows I watch to varying degrees, whether it's on Netflix or DVRed.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Last show I watched Terrestrially was NCIS in 2009.

 

[Paradise City]

Yes, I;ve barely watched any TV for some years now with the exception of some sport. Far too much garbage on. Occasionally, I download a show or two if it is particularly recommended but even on those terms not so much..

 

[JeffinOakland]

I can't sit through the commercials.

 

[HaventGotALife]

I thought it was just me. Yes, commercial television is annoying when I have cut the cord. But, the true problem is that television has turned to something I despise--reality television and celebrity culture. I have never watched a reality television show (well, since about 2003. I dabbled in "The Real World" and the Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachay TV program). I hate it. I have wanted the fad to end for almost 20 years, and I cannot get rid of it. I find myself watching re-runs of "The West Wing," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and the first three "Star Trek" series. I haven't watched television, more than a couple of episodes of a show, since "Smash" and "Newsroom." I plan to get CBS All Access next year to get the new Trek series. I find most of television to be heavy-handed. The mood lighting, the dramatic over-acting, the big scenarios that seem unrealistic, and my experience, is that the first 3 episodes will tell you everything you need to know about a show. The characters are playing out the first 3 episodes over and over again. "The Good Wife," "Transparent," "How to Get Away with Murder, "The Walking Dead," "Breaking Bad," and so on, I have sampled. Anti-heroes and overtly dark shows are not where my interests lie. I don't need to see anti-social personalities glorified. Movies, pretty much the same, although you can find great art-house movies. It just takes some time to get ahold of them. Some of those movies I have on my to-watch list: "Hector and the Search for Happiness," "A Little Chaos," and "Woman in Gold." I have watched some of the "John Adams" series from HBO. But the truth is, as I have gotten older, I don't miss TV at all.

 

[1001001]

I can't sit through the commercials.

Thank God for DVR's.

I watch an appalling amount of TV, but almost never anything live.

I am the master of the 30 second skip button!

 

[Greg Cox]

Gotta disagree. TV is much better than it used to be, to the extent that there is more good TV out there for any one person to watch. I'm weeks and even years behind on some shows that I enjoy, and the world is full of shows that I've heard nothing but good things about, but that I simply don't have time to catch up on: ORPHAN BLACK, GAME OF THRONES, PERSON OF INTEREST, THE 100, DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES, SUPERNATURAL, AMERICAN CRIME STORY, TRUE DETECTIVE, etc.

Sure, there are entire channels devoted to nothing but reality shows, cooking shows, sports shows, hunting shows, trucking shows, and other stuff I don't care about, but that still leaves me with THE AMERICANS, VIKINGS, BATES MOTEL, FARGO, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, THE WALKING DEAD, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, and so on, along with fun new genre shows like SUPERGIRL, THE FLASH, KILLJOYS, and (ahem) THE LIBRARIANS.

 

[Vyse]

The only thing I watch live that has commercials is the local news, that's it. The only other shows I watch live are shows on premium ad free channels, like Game of Thrones on HBO. Otherwise I'll just watch it later on Netflix or Hulu (no ads version). It is weird when I visit my parents these days, since they still watch TV live all the time, I can hardly sit through all the ads now.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I find 90% of TV to be insulting to my intelligence and the other 10% isn't really worth searching for .

 

[The Lensman]

I can't remember the last time I watched t.v. I don't have satellite or cable and pretty much just buy the few shows or movies I'm interested in on Blu Ray. I watch Game Of Thrones, The Flash and occasionally Doctor Who. That's it. The internet has more than enough stuff to keep me entertained, especially YouTube.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, I still watch TV, but the method I go about it is different and has shifted much over the last year and a half. I hardly watch live TV anymore. I usually wait for it to appear on Netflix and watch through my Chromecast. I've also been catching up on what I've missed the first time around, like Farscape for instance which looks glorious in HD. But overall, it's great to not feel pressured into a timescale. About the only time I ever watch live TV anymore is with Game of Thrones.

 

[gblews]

Gotta disagree. TV is much better than it used to be, to the extent that there is more good TV out there for any one person to watch. I'm weeks and even years behind on some shows that I enjoy, and the world is full of shows that I've heard nothing but good things about, but that I simply don't have time to catch up on: ORPHAN BLACK, GAME OF THRONES, PERSON OF INTEREST, THE 100, DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES, SUPERNATURAL, AMERICAN CRIME STORY, TRUE DETECTIVE, etc.

Indeed. I would venture to say that TV has never been better. In fact, the further you go back, the worse TV gets. It always surprises me when I read opinions like the O/P. If the O/P's opinion had been written 30, 40, 50, years ago, I'd probably agree. But that opinion written in 2016 sounds like maybe you don't have cable or satellite.

 

[ToddPence]

I would venture to say that TV has never been better. In fact, the further you go back, the worse TV gets..

Ah. A statement only an ignorant millennial could make. At least you've let the rest of us know that your opinion on anything is worthless.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Last time I watched tv was in January. Not having to sit through commercials is great, and now I only watch shows that I really enjoy rather than mindless channel surfing.

 

[Greg Cox]

Ah. A statement only an ignorant millennial could make. At least you've let the rest of us know that your opinion on anything is worthless.

I know you weren't responding to me, but, speaking as a card-carrying member of AARP, who has been watching TV since it was in black-and-white, I'd argue against viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. There's always been schlock and gems to be found amidst television's fabled "vast wasteland." And, yes, many of today's TV dramas and comedies are much slicker and more sophisticated that the stuff we grew up on.

Don't get me wrong. Some vintage TV shows, like TWILIGHT ZONE or TOS, remain timeless classics. But are we really going to argue that the likes of F TROOP or CHARLIE'S ANGELS or THE LOVE BOAT were of much higher quality than, say, THE BIG BANG THEORY or THE WALKING DEAD or THE AMERICANS?

You don't need to be a millennial to see that the best TV is better than it's ever been.

 

[Commander Richard]

TV is much better than it used to be, to the extent that there is more good TV out there for any one person to watch. I'm weeks and even years behind on some shows that I enjoy, and the world is full of shows that I've heard nothing but good things about, but that I simply don't have time to catch up on...

Oh, tell me about it. I'm seriously behind and I've considered forgoing some shows that aren't totally "must see" because there just isn't time.

As for actually watching network television live, I don't really do that anymore. My TV is pretty much always on CNN. The Arrowverse shows are the only ones I make an effort to watch live and that's because of the discussion here.

 

[Kor]

In any era of television programming, there have been some standout gems as well as a bunch of turds. There is still a lot of interesting, high quality stuff if you ignore the "reality" dreck and the trashy talk shows.

I got rid of cable when Mad Men, the greatest television series of all time, finished. And I don't plan on ever getting cable again. But I can still get somewhat caught up on shows I'm interested in, on Netflix or blu ray or DVD, and without commercials!

Kor

 

[Greg Cox]

I just remembered: I've yet to see a single episode of MISTER ROBOT, even though I'm told it's amazing, just because I don't have time to squeeze a new show into my schedule, Ditto HUMANS on AMC, and UNREAL on Lifetime, which I've also heard good things about.

Heck, I recorded the entire first season of DAMIEN,then deleted it when I realized that I was never going to find time to watch it.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

There's lots of great shows on TV now, they just have much shorter seasons so there's fewer on at a time. I don't think network TV is any worse than it ever was before, I just think that our standards used to be lower. It was easier to get into an insultingly stupid sitcom with charming characters when there weren't all those more intelligent shows to choose from.

TV news has reached rock bottom though. This year CNN has basically been the comment section of Trump's twitter account.