# Anyone else completely ambivalent about t.v. these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009 "2010-11-17T18:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/41 "2010-11-18T11:08:22Z")
Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’d cancel my cable subscription altogether if my husband wasn’t so addicted to ESPN. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/42 "2010-11-18T11:40:07Z")
We’re catching more and more shows on the web lately. A lot of it has to do with only having bare-bones cable and SO being a rabid SyFy fan. I don’t know what we’re going to do when Doctor Who returns as BBCA was the first to go when we cut back ☹ That said, I regularly watch: The Amazing Race Castle Deadliest Catch (runs April - July, I think) What I sometimes catch but it’s no big deal if I don’t: NCIS NCIS LA (I’m really beginning to like this better this season) No Ordinary Family Survivor mostly everything on Discovery mostly everything on on Food Network What I’d still watch without fail if we hadn’t cut back to basic cablel: mostly everything on Bravo mostly everything on BBCA mostly everything on NatGeo Needless to say, when I’m not at work, I’m either surfing the web or walking the dogs or doing SOMETHING as opposed to sitting there. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/43 "2010-11-18T13:02:17Z")
I stopped watching TV about 20 years ago. I have a screen with a built-in DVD player so I can watch movies, no cable of any kind. I the last few years I’ve seen a couple episodes of _Big Bang Theory_, _House_ and _Seinfeld_, due to friends loaning me boxed sets. They were fun, but I could only watch 2 episodes and then boredom set in. I also enjoyed _Rome_, and _Deadwood_. So much better to have the DVD and not worry about commercials. Oddly enough, the older shows that I grew up with, _Bewitched, Wild, Wild West, Barney Miller, Hogan’s Heroes and Jonny Quest_ have all aged well and continue to entertain me a great deal. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/44 "2010-11-18T13:16:51Z")
What I know about today’s TV shows comes from hearing other people talk about them. A few years ago we had Dish Network and were thinking about canceling. The only new show we were watching was _Monk_. Not worth $70/month. Then the box died and they told us it’d be $50 just to come out and look at it. That was the nail in the coffin; we weren’t going to pay to fix a service that we’d been thinking of dropping. Haven’t missed it much. We have Netflix and our own DVDs. I watched Obama’s inauguration at a friend’s house. Get news and weather online. When my mom came to stay with us this summer after surgery, Mr. S installed a digital TV setup because she’s a total TV junkie. She missed out on cable shows, but there was plenty of other junk for her to watch. (And yes, she watches JUNK.) At first I was excited to be able to watch Craig Ferguson, maybe some live news. But even that tapered off and lately the only time I turn on the TV is to put in a DVD. I just don’t have time to lie around channel surfing. Even my entertainment time is pretty sharply targeted these days. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/45 "2010-11-18T15:41:37Z")
The only stuff that qualifies as “must-see TV” for me is PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow,” college & pro football (pretty much any teams; I’m a pigskin slut), new episodes of “60 Minutes,” “Masterpiece Theater” most of the time, and bits of the late-night talk shows (esp. the opening monologues and some of the musical guests). I also enjoy some of the history- and science-themed shows on PBS, network crime procedurals (the CSI shows, when I happen to come across them, like late on Sunday nights) and “Medium” (even though I normally don’t care for stories that rely on a mystical or supernatural element); I’ve also watched a few eps of “What Would You Do?” and I still watch “House” once in a while when I happen to stumble on it. But that’s mostly it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/46 "2010-11-18T16:00:41Z")
Pretty much restricted to some of the AMC series, a couple of Showtime series and one HBO series. Oh, and a few PBS things, most notably lately: Circus. We read a lot. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/47 "2010-11-18T19:22:26Z")
I find that I have a real hard time getting into new shows when I’m not already familiar with the characters. Of course that makes me watch less and less TV as the old shows I watch keep getting cancelled. Right now there’s only one show I still watch regularly: Desperate Housewives. And it’s more because I know the characters than because it’s all that good. My wife has been watching Glee and Raising Hope, so I’m just barely starting to like those shows too. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/48 "2010-11-18T19:43:21Z")
No. There are plenty of good shows on TV. Let’s see, what I have my DVR record each week: Daily: Jeopardy, The Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson Monday: House, Hoarders Tuesday: Glee, Dirty Jobs Wednesday: Survivor, Modern Family, Top Chef, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order LA, Circus. Thursday, The Big Bang Theory, CSI, Bones, Project Runway, The Apprentice, The Office, 30 Rock Friday: Law & Order UK Saturday: The Graham Norton Show Sunday: The Simpsons, The Amazing Race, Family Guy, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Masterpiece So… no, I already have too many things to watch. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/49 "2010-11-19T02:23:24Z")
Awww, ‘Medium’ is cancelled. ☹ I loved that show since day one. Well, that’s one less on my must-see list. There’s another lame reality show about brides coming up. A review said "it’s as shallow as a kiddy pool and as filled with whiny brats: :p. Pass on that, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/50 "2010-11-19T02:27:33Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > It seems like a lot of TV shows totally blow their load on one good season and then tank from there. Supernatural, Fringe, The Office, Lost, Prison Break, Heroes, the list goes on and on of shows that had like one good season, maybe more, but eventually rode their horse 'til it died of thirst and then proceeded to beat it. Supernatural? It’s first season was weak compared to 2-5(I’m on the fence about 6 so far). 😕 ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/51 "2010-11-19T03:06:39Z")
TV? I walked away from those boxes about 25 years go. However, when I go to someone else’s home, I end up being fascinated by the commercials because I so rarely see any. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/52 "2010-11-19T03:50:06Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > … So is it just me or is anyone else experiencing a t.v. burnout? (Not that that’s a bad thing, just wondering.) Not a bad thing? No… It’s a great thing. I’m filling a couple of sketchbooks a month now, listening to more audiobooks (_ **Girl w/Dragon Tattoo** _ now), and reading real dead tree hardcover books! I just finished _ **The Hunger Games** _, then the sequel, then the sequel to the sequel. Couldn’t do that while I was watching _Lost_ and _BSG_ and _Arrested Development._ ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/53 "2010-11-19T14:40:25Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Not a bad thing? No… It’s a great thing. > > I’m filling a couple of sketchbooks a month now, listening to more audiobooks (_ **Girl w/Dragon Tattoo** _ now), and reading real dead tree hardcover books! > > I just finished _ **The Hunger Games** _, then the sequel, then the sequel to the sequel. Couldn’t do that while I was watching _Lost_ and _BSG_ and _Arrested Development._ Fortunately for you, President Obama has promised that during his second term, should he be elected to one, he will repeal the frankly unConstitutional law banning citizens from reading _and_ watching TV in the same lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009/54 "2010-11-20T02:11:44Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Fortunately for you, President Obama has promised that during his second term, should he be elected to one, he will repeal the frankly unConstitutional law banning citizens from reading _and_ watching TV in the same lifetime. Ooh, that hurts, cause I’ve always prided myself on my multi-tasking. In fact, I never do any TV watchin’ without Straight Dopin’ concurrently (right now, it’s Monk and Café Society). I think they use slightly different circuits in my cerebrum. But TV or The Dope really slow down my reading. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-completely-ambivalent-about-t-v-these-days/561009.md?page=2)