I realized today that I don’t even turn on the thing much anymore, and it’s odd. I used to watch TV and DVDs quite a bit, but my viewing habits started changing around last Christmas. I signed up for NetFlix around then, and I got a DVR about a month ago.
I rarely watch the NetFlix streaming or Hulu stuff, DVD’s will sit on the kitchen counter for weeks, and recorded shows go unwatched. My viewing habits have more that halved. It seems that the more media I have access to, the less I watch any media.
Damnit, John, if I ever find out where you live I’m going to go to your house and smack you.
Are the goal posts in New England? Is that where they are?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I had just read that other thread, and then saw this one, and a little light went off in my head. And… I had just watched one of those shows for the first time the other day. They’re actually pretty good.
As for your OP, I think the quality of TV shows has dramatically increased in the last 5 years or so. I used to watch very little TV, but now there are so many good shows on, sometimes it’s hard to choose-- which is what makes a DVR so great. I think that HBO did so much good programing that the other networks had to up their game to compete.
I find that I get burned out from time to time. Not just television and movies, but too much of any activity will do that to me: music, reading, sports, etc. I take a few months off then I’m back at it. Taking everything in moderation seems to help out a lot. It kind of sucks because the more passionate I am about an activity, the easier it is for me to get burned out on it.
Look at the bright side. You can act all superior by telling people you don’t watch TV. They’ll admire you so much, and realize that you’re such a better person than they are!
I don’t watch TV much anymore either, but that’s because my reception is super crappy (thanks, digital TV ). Plus, the last two shows I do watch are both ending this season. I gets my entertainment from books and the web.
Are you an avid reader? I’ve found that a lot of plots on TV are done in more interesting/ innovative ways in text, but especially on the intertubes. Also, ISTM that creators in those two media tend to not treat the Viewers like Morons. (Note: not an actual link to TV Tropes - I am not a cruel lady).
And I definitely can’t do that because when I do watch TV, it’s usually in short chunks, and it’s usually crap. What’s getting me is I’ll put off watching an hour of The Sopranos to watch 20 minutes of SpongeBob Squarepants while I work on my mountain bike.
I do this because I know I can watch the Sopranos later, but I never seem to.
I’ve taken an interesting take on my TV watching. I don’t have a cable hookup, at all, anymore. I watch my shows a season (sometimes a whole series) at a time. I wanted to catch up on Lost before the final episodes came around
The last straw was when Entertainment Weekly was openly talking about Sayid, Lapidus, Sun & Jin getting killed off
so that’s all I was watching for the last 2 weeks. I’m about ready to start on the new Breaking Bad season next, and then I’ll move on to something else.
The way my work schedule is, I usually just catch something when I’m at home and have a couple free hours that won’t involve sleeping. I don’t even bother with new shows unless their premise caught my attention, and even then I wait until I hear that the show has become enough of a hit to get a second season (so The Middle, Glee & Modern Family, here I come, and Flash Forward will never meet my eyes).
Me too. I occasionally watch SNL, but it’s no fun when the signal stops and starts constantly, and I have to jump up to adjust the frickin’ antena. THAT was thee worst scam the government ever forced on us. :mad:
I really only watched sitcoms which are few now-a-days. I also found OTR which will allow me to laugh and do other things while I listen. Hey the radio shows are hysterical and are new to me
For me it is seasonal. Spring, summer, fall, I’d rather be outside. We don’t even turn on the tv during clement weather. I’m not into winter at all, so I watch dvds all winter.
Age has a lot to do with it for me. I don’t think of myself as old, but I do find myself thinking “I am clearly not the target audience for this” more and more often.
But I think an equal or perhaps even bigger factor is that reliance on season- or series-long arcs has become the norm. I don’t want to have to watch every episode of a series to understand what’s going on. I’d much rather drop in when I feel like and see a satisfying, self-contained story.
And to the inevitable objection that you can’t have real drama or suspense within a strictly episodic format, I say pshaw. The best weekly series had strong guest stars playing memorable characters whose stories became the subject of the episode, rather than embellishing the backdrop of an ongoing soap opera.
). Plus, the last two shows I do watch are both ending this season. I gets my entertainment from books and the web.