TV

journeyman

Member

Posts: 11

« on: October 28, 2007, 01:39:AM »

Just some recent observations I've made about TV....

1. Prime time cartoons on TV every day of the week, for adults? I was born in 1968, so I only watched those 70s cartoons and the cheezy Sid & Marty Kroft oddity shows on Saturday mornings on one of the 4 channels our 13" B&W TV picked up with the metal coat hanger bent into an uneven square...I wouldn't be caught dead watching cartoons after I hit puberty...and I remember the shock and horror in my house when Bart Simpson first uttered "that sucks" on the air. It never occurred to me that the violence perpetrated by Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry was something I might act out on, and I never did, nor did any of my schoolmates. None of us even owned an anvil or a keg of gunpowder.

2. Who really sits and watches ESPN Classic games - - does anyone really want to see re-runs of the 1982 NBA Finals? Or the Or worse yet - - classic bowling matches like the 1991 "Earl Scheib" Tournament in Bayshore, Long Island??

3. Why is it my basic cable line-up includes 7 Protestant religious channels, but EWTN is available only when you buy digital cable at twice the price? I know EWTN is a great channel, but how about some balance here? Why can't we pick the channels we want and just pay for those? I'd probably end up with the same 4 channels that I had when I was a kid. (Oh yeah, on a clear day you could pick up 2 or 3 UHF channels! Bonus!)

4. All those dozens of cooking shows....and why is it my dinners look and taste exactly the same as they did last year, and the year before that, and so on? Has anyone ever actually made and served anything from watching Emeril or Rachel Ray? I love my wife's cooking, but honestly, those cooking shows are about as practical as us watching Rick Steves parading around Europe while we plan our gondola rides in Venice or decide which pubs to visit in Ireland. Not gonna happen.

5. Why is it on any given Saturday night, when I turn on Saturday Night Live I usually have no idea who the host is OR the musical group? Is this a sign I am now officially "old"?

6. Why are "reality" shows so contrived with bizarre plots that could not possibly be "reality" in any universe.

7. Why is it that I can still remember when I've seen a particular episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood or Davey & Goliath, after 30+ years? And isn't it something of a miracle that they still show these TV gems? You'd think the only ones actually watching are us adults...

Well, those were just some random thoughts I've had after reflecting on my relationship with that hunk of glass and plastic on the "entertainment" center in the corner of my living room. I can only imagine what some of the old-timers have to say about radio.


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Archbishop_10K

Guest

« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2007, 02:46:AM »

Interesting observations!

Quote

1. Prime time cartoons on TV every day of the week, for adults? I was born in 1968, so I only watched those 70s cartoons and the cheezy Sid & Marty Kroft oddity shows on Saturday mornings on one of the 4 channels our 13" B&W TV picked up with the metal coat hanger bent into an uneven square...I wouldn't be caught dead watching cartoons after I hit puberty...and I remember the shock and horror in my house when Bart Simpson first uttered "that sucks" on the air. It never occurred to me that the violence perpetrated by Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry was something I might act out on, and I never did, nor did any of my schoolmates. None of us even owned an anvil or a keg of gunpowder.

Ain't nothin' wrong with adults watching cartoons, IMO. While we could object to the vulgarity of The Simpsons or Family Guy, they're not the same as watching children's cartoons. Animation does not necessarily equal "childish".

In Asia, many cartoon series (like Japanese anime) are made specifically for adults, or at least young adults, and some of them are quite brilliant; certainly more than many of the live-action primetime shows here in America.

Quote

3. Why is it my basic cable line-up includes 7 Protestant religious channels, but EWTN is available only when you buy digital cable at twice the price? I know EWTN is a great channel, but how about some balance here? Why can't we pick the channels we want and just pay for those? I'd probably end up with the same 4 channels that I had when I was a kid. (Oh yeah, on a clear day you could pick up 2 or 3 UHF channels! Bonus!)

I believe that's because there's no demand for EWTN like there is for the Protestant channels. Most Catholics are very nominal/secularized and simply wouldn't spend their time watching it. In the days of Fulton Sheen, this was actually the opposite; Bishop Sheen was very popular on air, while Protestant televangelists flopped.


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NorthernTrad

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Location: Maine, USA
Posts: 1,767

« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2007, 05:15:AM »

As much as I complain about too much TV in my home, I have to say my wife watches Food Network and has made countless meals for me that look and taste (I guess I can only assume the taste part!) just like the meals on TV. At the very least it inspires her to have a zeal about preparing new dishes. No complaints here!


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"I'm back sinners."

“Even if Catholics faithful to Tradition are reduced to a handful, they are the ones who are the true Church of Jesus Christ.” - St. Athanasius, AD 373

"It is granted to few to recognize the true Church amid the darkness of so many schisms and heresies, and to fewer still so to love the truth which they have seen as to fly to its embrace." -St. Robert Bellarmine

Spooky7272

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« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2007, 01:48:PM »

Quote

1. Prime time cartoons on TV every day of the week, for adults?

The Flintstones was originally a "cartoon for adults".

Quote

2. Who really sits and watches ESPN Classic games

My dad does. Sometimes.

Quote

4. All those dozens of cooking shows....and why is it my dinners look and taste exactly the same as they did last year, and the year before that, and so on?

Try watching Gordon Ramsay (

)

Quote

5. Why is it on any given Saturday night, when I turn on Saturday Night Live I usually have no idea who the host is OR the musical group? Is this a sign I am now officially "old"?

Same here, although I haven't watched SNL in quite sometime.


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PsychoMonkey

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« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2007, 02:28:AM »

Quote from: journeyman

Who really sits and watches ESPN Classic games - - does anyone really want to see re-runs of the 1982 NBA Finals? Or the Or worse yet - - classic bowling matches like the 1991 "Earl Scheib" Tournament in Bayshore, Long Island??

I agree

Quote from: journeyman

Why is it my basic cable line-up includes 7 Protestant religious channels, but EWTN is available only when you buy digital cable at twice the price? I know EWTN is a great channel, but how about some balance here? Why can't we pick the channels we want and just pay for those?

Certain channels are moved to digital tiers because any customer interested in subscribing to those channels will then have to make the jump from Basic/Standard to Digital.

If customers were allowed to pick and choose only the channels they wanted, the cost would be beyond what most customers would be willing to pay. Cable providers have to pay fees to broadcast channels and if each customer only paid for what they wanted, the cost would be split amongst fewer people.

Quote from: journeyman

Why is it on any given Saturday night, when I turn on Saturday Night Live I usually have no idea who the host is OR the musical group? Is this a sign I am now officially "old"?

Amen. I don't think I've heard of any of the music groups for the most of the season.

Quote from: journeyman

Why are "reality" shows so contrived with bizarre plots that could not possibly be "reality" in any universe?

Not to mention shallow. It seems that most reality shows I've tried getting into involve a number of good looking people who are trying to have sex and then eventually forget the other persons name.


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“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear... And when it is gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” - Dune

Liza_Do_A_Lot

Gold Fish

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Location: Down Under
Posts: 1,080

« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2007, 02:38:AM »

HUH?

I don't watch TV........got rid of the external antenna about 3 years ago. (Plus, I haven't heard of any of those shows' I'm from- Down Under)!

Simpsons rings a bell.........I hated it. Remember the Flintstones though!


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Johanna

dubious child of the post-modern era
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Posts: 1,112

« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2007, 09:58:AM »

Here's another question, why so many cop shows? Seriously, the network prime time lineups include four versions of CSI two versions of Law & Order and then all kinds of variations on the cop show theme including such outlandish premises as a psychic cop show, a mathematician cop show, a forensic anthropologist cop show, and my personal favorite, the unintentionally hilarious vampire cop show. That's not to mention all the lawyer cop shows and various "real-life" docu-drama shows.

Time for some new TV ideas, I have one, a medical drama! Wait a minute...


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“Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”

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If you think it's the end of the world, you're not the first. But hey, eventually someone will be right.

TheTalentedMisterReid

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« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2007, 05:34:PM »

Quote from: Johanna

To be fair to the medium, there are a few unique and original shows on TV. Lost is one of the most creative and brilliant shows I have ever seen. Prison Break is interesting, and something the resident conspiracy theorists here might enjoy. 24 was a great idea in the beginning, and certainly not something that had been done before. But I guess that about covers it, sadly.


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ErinIsNice

Guest

« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2007, 05:35:PM »

Oh come on MrReid, bring back Brandon Flowers.

Please?


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TheTalentedMisterReid

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« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2007, 07:07:PM »

Quote from: ErinIsNice

Oh come on MrReid, bring back Brandon Flowers.

Please?

You would like him, wouldn't you?


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