Has anyone given up on TV?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Yes, I have basically given up on TV. I cut the cord years ago.

Apart from Law & Order: SVU (which I can get from iTunes), I simply can't find anything I would want to watch. Except for baseball, of course, which I get from MLB.TV.

(My favorite show of all time is Corner Gas, which got almost zero airplay in the US, but hey - that's why we have DVD!)

As for the new Trek series? I'll wait till that one makes it to iTunes as well (which we all know it will, eventually). I'm not getting another account just to watch one show, Trek or no Trek.

Besides, as soon as you stop subscribing, you lose access...whereas with iTunes, you get to keep it all, forever.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

OK here's my current TV lineup

Dr Who reruns on the ABC (Our version of the BBC)
ABC news 24 which is 24 hour live news coverage from everywhere
NCIS
Blue Bloods (on and off)
Criminal Minds (Used to watch a lot but have missed heaps) What happened to Morgan?

The rest of commercial TV here seems to be cooking shows, home reno shows, and reality TV garbage like The Bachelor or Bachelorette which is fake half scripted nonsense. I won't watch either of those because they are shitty.

 

[Greg Cox]

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..

Wait, you mean MY FAVORITE MARTIAN and I DREAM OF JEANNIE were not more sophisticated than PETTICOAT JUNCTION?

You've just overturned all my early critical standards!

 

[auntiehill]

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 commercial TV anymore.

Not only "No, but "Hell, no!" There are lots of great, entertaining programs out there; they're just not on network TV.
There's wonderful, quality shows out there---on basic cable, pay cable, Netflix, Amazon, BBCAmerica and PBS. And we record everything so we can watch it later, meaning we can easily fast forward through any commercials. Easy Peasy.
Hubby and/or I watch:
Supernatural--CW
Fargo--FX
Preacher--AMC
Hell on Wheels--AMC
The Walking Dead--AMC
Halt and Catch Fire--AMC
Game of Thrones--HBO
House of Cards--Netflix
Jessica Jones--Netflix
Ripper Street--Amazon/BBCAmerica
Doctor Who--BBCAmerica
Orphan Black--BBCAmerica
Broadchurch--BBCAmerica
Endeavour--PBS
Poldark--PBS
Grantchester--PBS
Death in Paradise--PBS
Sherlock--PBS (whenever it finally airs)
Mr. Robot--USA

We've just started a new show, Dark Matter, on SyFy.

There's lots of good stuff out there. You just have to look for it.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I never quite know what people mean when they say "TV". Like I'll hear people say how they don't watch TV which I always thought sounded really noble. These people are walking in parks, working on their home and hobbies and so on. Wait a minute, they just mean that they watch the same programs but from streams, torrents, and iTunes? Never mind....

 

[Tim Walker]

In terms of traditional television, the last show I watched even semi-regularly was Enterprise. And then that show was canceled.

Had cable, but hardly ever used it, so eventually I dropped it.

The only thing I still use the television for is DVDs.

 

[flandry84]

Only when my missus asks me to sit down and watch something with her(so stuff like "The good wife").
TBH though,if I lived alone I probably wouldn' t own a TV.
This argument that we're in a tv golden age doesn't convince me.I don't feel diminished by never having seen "breaking bad" or "house of cards".

 

[cultcross]

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.

Warning for Flaming, comments to PM.

 

[Tim Walker]

There seems to be a general pattern.

1. Disdain for commercials

2. Refusal to being locked into a dictated schedule.

3. Being very selective regarding content.

We older folks grew up with old style network television. Choices were limited, schedules were rigid. We put up with this because there was some good stuff, nevertheless.

 

[Tim Walker]

I would say that in recent years I have been far more interested in the Internet than in television.

Though I have finally reached a point where I am running out of things to say online.

 

[MacLeod]

There are very few programmes that I actually watch these days, and most of the time I DVR the ones I want to watch and binge watch them when I've got a few episodes to watch. Most of the ime I do have it on in the background often on a documentary channel.

 

[Tim Walker]

I will often have the TV on in the background, often with an educational DVD from the public library.

Occasionally I will watch a movie on DVD.

I no longer watch any television show on a regular basis. I gradually lost the habit over the years, and never got back into the habit.

 

[Greg Cox]

It's funny. I can't stand having a TV running in the background, probably because I hate multi-tasking. If I want to watch TV, I want to give it my full attention. If I'm not watching TV, I don't want any background noise interfering with whatever else I'm concentrating on at the moment. I'm either watching TV or I'm not; there is no in-between.

Which, just to vent, is why I despise the modern trend of sticking TVs in in every public place: waiting rooms, laundromats, diners, airport terminals, etc. Whatever happened to just reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle or, God forbid, being alone with one's thoughts for a minute.

Don't get me wrong. I love unwinding in front of the tube after a long day, but I don't need TVs in my face everywhere I go. There's a time and a place, people.

(And can't people just watch TV on the phones these days, if they're so inclined?)

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ I'm guilty of doing the background/multitasking thing. It hasn't helped that Xfinity now lets you watch live TV on your PC so I can throw something up on the second monitor while I'm surfing.

That said, I can't stand have a loud TV blasting at me while I pump my gas! It's a little hard to tune out when it's making the speakers ring three feet away from you.

 

[Relayer1]

I've just about stopped watching live TV. I record almost everything and watch when I want, fast forwarding through the adverts.

I do watch much more non terrestrial stuff than BBC and C4/C5 (I don't think there's been anything I like on ITV for a couple of decades now) and cable/Netflix are invaluable.

I've noticed my losing interest in 'genre' shows in the last ten years or so. I've started dozens of shows and only watched one or two seasons. Two of the longer runs were True Blood which I stuck with until a year or so from the end and I binned Walking Dead last year. Most of it's just not working for me. The only recentish things I have followed all the way through were NuGalactica and (screwed if I know why) Warehouse 13.

I'm loving Chicago PD and related shows, I have just started Mr Robot. Game of Thrones, Daredevil and Jessica Jones have recently pushed my buttons and I'm sure I'll watch the new Trek show.

Yes, I'm watching TV, but not how I used to.

And I noticed earlier in the thread someone mentioned Death In Paradise. That shows a real guilty pleasure - watching it all in reruns helped me through a pretty difficult time a year or so back.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It's funny. I can't stand having a TV running in the background, probably because I hate multi-tasking. If I want to watch TV, I want to give it my full attention. If I'm not watching TV, I don't want any background noise interfering with whatever else I'm concentrating on at the moment. I'm either watching TV or I'm not; there is no in-between.

I've always "multi tasked" entertainment. Books and TV in the pre-internet days. TV and the computer these days. Sometimes friends would question if I was following the TV show, but I would surprise them by reiterating exactly what had happened.

Most of my TV is DVRed. I watch it when I want and fast forward through the commercials. Some broadcast, some cable and some streaming.

 

[ToddPence]

Warning for Flaming, comments to PM.

Warning for Flaming, comments to PM.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

What gets me is the kind of TV shows we have over here.

For instance weekly shows about cops doing drug busts and arrests, and RBT stops. Weekly shows about airport customs people and all the people they pull over to question. If teels like propaganda sometimes..

 

[CorporalCaptain]

CC's top five TV shows right now:

The Americans
Mr. Robot
Star Wars Rebels
Supergirl
The Walking Dead

 

[FPAlpha]

There seems to be a general pattern.

1. Disdain for commercials

2. Refusal to being locked into a dictated schedule.

3. Being very selective regarding content.

We older folks grew up with old style network television. Choices were limited, schedules were rigid. We put up with this because there was some good stuff, nevertheless.

Pretty much my reasons.

Years ago i got myself a TV/Internet package from my provider which means i get Pay TV (in various packages) and stations that air movies and TV shows uninterrupted (and uncut, a minor but sometimes important distinction). Whenever i end up at free TV stations and see that they interrupt a major movie after it has only started 6 minutes ago for commercial i'm gone.

Yes, i do pay a bit more but it is totally worth it. if the commercial model of Py TV works to still bring us quality TV (and let's face it. most Top shows air on Pay TV nowadays) then i definitely won't shed tears for the old business model (most commercials suck anyway).