# Does anyone else talk to their television? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885 "2005-08-27T18:43:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/21 "2005-08-27T23:29:54Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > My husband and I often talk to the TV when we watch together. Mostly we make smartass remarks to amuse each other. My friends and I do that when we’re watching movies. It gets really bad when it’s been less than a couple of weeks since any of us have seen the last _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ episode. ---
**Author:** ![PinkNailFile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@PinkNailFile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkNailFile)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/22 "2005-08-27T23:41:15Z")
Guilty as charged. I just like the good guys to know what they’re getting into, you know? However, they obviously have selective hearing problems, because they **never** listen to me. How rude. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/23 "2005-08-27T23:43:43Z")
> [@PinkNailFile](#): > > Guilty as charged. I just like the good guys to know what they’re getting into, you know? However, they obviously have selective hearing problems, because they **never** listen to me. How rude. I’ve noticed that they also don’t seem to notice that scary and dangerous events are usually presaged by ominous music. If those dummies would just listen to the music cues, they could stay out of a lot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/24 "2005-08-28T00:20:18Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I yell the answers at Jeopardy. And I coach my football team while I’m watching. It often seems like they can’t hear me at all. 🙂 You nailed my answer perfectly. My wife has two general comments: “Get on that damn show already, would you?” and “Honey? I don’t think your direct line to Tom Coughlin is working.” ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/25 "2005-08-28T00:30:41Z")
I do. And I talk to the cat, which is usually equally effective. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/26 "2005-08-28T00:39:47Z")
I’m always shouting to the TV: “Watch the freakin road or y’all are all going to die!” I particularly remember an episode of ER where that foreign guy that’s dating the one that looks like a 14 year old (sorry, I don’t watch it enough to remember the character’s names) carried on what in real life would have been about a five minute conversation WITHOUT ONCE LOOKING AT THE ROAD! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/27 "2005-08-28T00:46:14Z")
Constantly. I’m not going to take any lip from an appliance. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/28 "2005-08-28T00:49:24Z")
I catch myself laughing and saying how funny something was more than anything. I’ve really cut down on ‘angry talk’ towards stupid stuff said on TV programs and politics / crime discussion shows. If it ticks me off enough, I turn the channel or hit the mute button. I do the same on the internet more or less. :o ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/29 "2005-08-28T00:50:23Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I talk to the TV. I also talk to this message board. Me too! I live alone, so I have few inhibitions about what I talk to. Of course, I forget at work sometimes, and start to chat with my e-mail. Usually I catch myself pretty quickly, but sometimes it earns amused comments. GT ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/30 "2005-08-28T00:59:10Z")
I talk to the tv, to this board, and to a lot of things. It seems that inanimate objects listen better than people do. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/31 "2005-08-28T01:10:50Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > I talk to the tv, to this board, and to a lot of things. It seems that inanimate objects listen better than people do. Dogs are good listeners too. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/32 "2005-08-28T01:17:56Z")
> [@Unregistered Bull](#): > > Dogs are good listeners too. Yes, but I don’t have a dog. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/33 "2005-08-28T05:58:02Z")
Not sure if it counts as “talking to the TV,” but I will yell at it if someone says or does something particularly head-slappingly stupid. This is part of the reason I don’t watch Fox News. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/34 "2005-08-28T07:04:27Z")
I used to shout at the TV, before Big Brother finally provoked me into getting rid of the thing. Now I shout at the corner. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/35 "2005-08-28T14:40:49Z")
Yup , sure do . Not like I have anyone else to talk to, I am home alone 99% of the time . I sometimes go days where the only human voice I hear is the TV , and the only living creatures to touch me are the critters. I talk to a lot of things that don’t respond. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/36 "2005-08-28T19:36:28Z")
While watching The 700 Club last Tuesday, I distinctly recall telling Pat Robertson “Uh oh! You did it now!” Did he listen? Of course not! Pat, you :wally ! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/37 "2005-08-29T01:31:21Z")
TV, no. Radio, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/38 "2005-08-29T06:52:02Z")
Sometimes. It’s usually some kind of joke or snide comment. This pays off other times when there’s actually someone else there with me since I’m told that my comments are generally amusing. (Not that you can tell from my writing on the board; I come across as kind of stiff in writing). ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/39 "2005-08-29T13:33:00Z")
I do, but only in a few specific situations. 1. When I watch the news and they say something stupid – which is 100% of the time. I usually start to argue. 2. When a character on a show is about to embrace someone who is really bad for them, I yell “RUN! RUN!!” This happens a lot with Six Feet Under, both because those characters frequently make bad romantic decisions and also because the pacing is such that at thomse scenes, there’s usually a three second pause while the character decides what to do. 3. When something really surprising happens, I yell profanitites. Occasionally I stand up, too. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885/40 "2005-08-29T14:06:59Z")
I don’t talk to the TV, but I do play “MST3K” with it for the benefit of whoever else is in the room. Especially with commercials. Example 1: The luxury car ad (Lexus?) that shows trees attaxcking the car as it drives through the forest. You watch this for a while then dryly say: “Treebeard hated Saruman’s new Lexus.” Example 2: Busch Gardens has an ad with a (CGI?) giraffe walking out of the ocean towards a family on the beach. You wait until the giraffe almost reaches the family and say: “Few people realize that Marine Giraffes are Carnivorous.” Try it! It makes even commercial-watching an interesting participatory event. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-talk-to-their-television/318885.md?page=3)