Am I becoming a crotchety old man?

I have been watching more TV as of late and am appalled at the poor programing and acting. Also the commercials are directed at morons. Am I going to buy from some one that thinks I am a moron? I think not. As a result I have turned to Youtube and watch old programs like Soap, Frazier, Cheers and some of the old comedians that didn’t use cuss words. One program that I do watch on TV is Cops. The problem there is the program will make you paranoid and afraid to go out at night. Almost all episodes are about scum bags that either are on parole, of have felony warrants. What is wrong with these judges that think the prisons are too crowded? My solution is build more prisons or add more bunks. :-x

 

We haven't had a tv for six or eight years. We don't miss it. We read and I play some computer games or sew. Soon, I will be able to be outside a lot more. It was too hot all summer, but fall is here now.
You are right though, there isn't much on tv that isn't slanted. Everything has a message and is aimed at getting you to spend money. The internet has a lot of that, too but I ignore most of it, too. I have a facebook page but it's a way to keep in contact with my family. I don't spend hours on it.

dooley

 

I tape my favorite shows so I can skip the commercials. Since I like dogs I watch the Dog Whisperer. I enjoy Duck Dynasty because it is a light hearted and not mean. Have a few home and garden shows I tape too. Buying Alaska and Buying Bayou I find interesting to see different parts of America that are totally different. Spend way to much time on forums and reading articles and watching videos related to forum topics. There are so many fascinating topics out there.

 

We have TV, but I rarely watch it. When I finally do watch something I see shows like Honey Boo Boo and wonder why the heck I am paying for satellite to watch garbage like that. All these crime shows like Criminal Minds just give criminals more ideas and the news channels are always full of bad news. I'd much rather be out in the garden, baking something, or reading a book or magazine.

 

I usually have Fox News on but I also read while it's on. Just so I have noise in the background. I usually read 2 to 3 books a week on my Kindle Fire. Our library is linked to Digital Downloads and I can borrow books from there and download them straight to my kindle and I have 10 days to read them, then I send them back. All at no charge!

 

We have TV but only have an old-fashioned antenna on top of the garage. We can get a decent amount of channels. But the signal can and will go out right at the pivotal point of a show. Makes me swear that I'm finally going to break down and get satellite. And then I come to my senses and swear that I'll never pay to watch TV.
There's enough there to keep me entertained when I need it.
What I can't stand are the "grown up" cartoons. Such drivel. And don't get me started on kids cartoons these days.

 

J, We haven't had a TV in our home in over 10 years. Nothing but trash on there then and I am sure it hasn't changed all that much since then, either, and like Cheryl...pay????? to watch it???? NO WAY! I garden for my health and entertainment. My children have all survived childhood, by the way, too. The youngest is now 17 and scored a 33 on the ACT this past Fall...so, I am thinking it probably was better to not have it here anyway.

 

Be assured JB that bad programming is NOT just in your part of the world as we have our fair share of it too on this side of the pond

I cannot remember the last time we actually watched something 'live' as we record just the tings we consider worthwhile and play them at our convenience.

For me,the worst are the 'reality' gameshows with all those poor deluded souls who want their 5 minutes of fame.

Also noticeable is the demise of the 8-10 part documentary series that I grew up with.The subject matter could really be explored but nowadays 3 episodes is considered long enough often at the expense of depth.

 

Actually, I too have not really watched TV for almost 8+ years now - I instead download torrents of TV shows that I want to watch (without any adverts). For example shows like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, and Falling Skies, Revolution, and of course Hell on Wheels. I think Prison Break was the first TV show that I watched entirely on the PC (downloaded by torrents).

Now here I would also like to mention, that TV is not totally cut off in my home either, as I too sometimes like to watch the news (in case there is anything interesting happening in my part of the world). But generally, whenever I do happen to be around the TV, I just check to see if there is anything interesting on the Discovery channel, National Geographic, or History channel. As I actually do seek TV shows like Air Crash Investigation and How it's Made.

Otherwise, I very quickly lose interest...

 

We have a TV, and I actually like watching a few shows. I enjoy Family Feud (interesting to see how excited folks get over a relatively small amount of money) and getting between me and the screen when Downton Abbey is on leads to bloodshed!
I also enjoy watching local news to see what malapropisms the announcers will commit, and to see if the weatherman has been outside lately.
The language, dress or lack thereof, and premises of most shows leave me cold and reading a book.

 

"The language, dress or lack thereof, and premises of most shows leave me cold and reading a book." per Jane...

It leaves me embarrassed and disgusted. I must be a prude to not want or need to see all the skin and hear all the foulness of the language.

 

Wouldn't they realize 'you do the crime you do the time' if the judges were not so soft. Also I do not believe prosecution and defense should be able to negotiate a criminal charge.

 

We will be sitting in-between shows and we look at one another and say, did you understand that commercial...some are so weird and they teach children the dumbest things. When we tape the shows we just skim right over the commercials.

 

You mean you don't watch commercials about female hygiene or male virility? Oh my.