The last TV I owned died in 1999. I never got around to replacing it, though I roomed for a year (in 2002-2003) with a guy whose ex-roommate left his televisor and quite a bit of furniture in our care. Except for catching The Simpsons fairly regularly and a Law & Order repeat on A&E, I never paid much attention to the thing. There was the Pirate Nun on local access–Milwaukee-area Dopers will know what I mean–but that, like the two midget real estate financeers, was strictly good for a laugh once in a while. Oh, and I watched the 2002 World Series (first and last I’ve seen.)
I keep meaning to buy one along with a DVD player and a Netflix subscription so I can catch up on all the classic films on my list but…meh. Besides, we’ve got a couple of revival cinemas (The Egyptian and The New Beverly) in the area that show most old films than I have time to watch, plus the AFI 100 Films series at The Arclight, so odds are it would just sit around and gather dust. And I’ve got an ever increasing stack of books to work through.
Any time I go somewhere (someone’s house, a bar or restaurant) where television is on, it reinforces my opinion that there is little worth watching. Certainly, TV news coverage is superficial at best, the proliferation of indistinguishable crime investigation shows is as uninteresting as PI shows were in the 'Eighties, and reality TV…say no more.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll get pack to plugging through Don Quixote and his valiant, noble efforts to unhorse opposing knights and fell menacing giants.
When I was younger there used to be a local station that broadcasted a log burning in a fireplace for Christmas. I guess some people missed having a real fireplace or something.
The only person I know of who’s completely tv free is my cousin and her family. Me, I watch a certain few shows and then it’s off most of the time. My VCR is not working right and the DVR I bought before christmas is still not hooked up. Meh. I’ve kicked the tv habit.
I haven’t owned one since 1991. People at work know I don’t own one but still want to talk with me about shows/commercials/TV stars. Most of the time when folks find out they act astonished. I do own a DVD player and use it a couple times a month.
Actually I like visiting my parents who has about 70 cable stations. It is kind of fun watching all that crap for a day or two.
Hey, how did that get posted? Anyway, two years ago, my father took it on himself to send me a TV set, with built-in DVD and VHS. Since I don’t have cable, it’s pretty useless as a TV. I can only get three channels, poorly, and one of them is a home shopping channel. But I did catch a bunch of syndicated Simpsons episodes that I hadn’t seen before. Meanwhile, the DVD has gone bad, so it’s back to using the computers.
We haven’t had cable for a couple years now. Every now and then I miss it when i hear about a show that sounds interesting or for events like NYE or the Tour de France. Other than that it’s great. It was always a brainsink. Unfortunately I think I’ve poured a lot of that time into mindless online time and I’m trying to cut back on that as well by reading more or getting outside more. We also use Netflix, so that’s the only time we use our TV.
Both my hubby and I have never owned a TV since. For Christmas I bought him a t shirt from “life is good” that has a drawing of a TV and the words, “think outside the box.”
Incidentally, my man was reading some stats a couple years ago that fewer families don’t have indoor plumbing in the States than don’t have a TV.
No TV here. I think my “internet time” has taken the place of what once was (many years ago–1998, maybe?) my “TV time.” I often wonder what reality TV is, because I hear about it all the time.
