I read an interesting article that said most Americans have few if any tv shows they watch regularly and most Americans really only watch network or even cable tv for the occasional live sports programs. The article said the Super Bowl is now the most watched program of the year followed closely by other major sports events like the Final 4 and the NBA and MLB finals.
We dropped cable about 3 years ago. We do have a good antennae and years, we mainly only watch network tv for sports, news, or some PBS programs. Is there anything we are missing?
This is an odd time, because I think most people would agree that right now is one of the golden ages of television. While there are of course plenty of stinkers out there, some of the best shows ever made are airing right now. The problem is that it’s not translating to ratings, because more and more people are choosing alternative methods of watching those great shows. But, yes, you’re missing quite a lot. But that’s OK. It’s just TV. If you don’t miss it, don’t worry about it.
I think the only reason I have TV at all is because with my present furniture configuration, is it more comfortable to watch live sports on cable rather than online. But even then, the great majority of the sports I watch is not on US cable at all, or is blacked out, so I still have to depend on computer access to pirate viewing. I live over 100 miles from a PBS transmitter, so without cable, there is absolutely zero.
It is pretty sad when 600 channels of TV fails to deliver anything more entertaining than South Park or Tosh.0 or b/w movies on TCM. And the USA is (as far as I know) the only country in the world that systematically, by fiat, refuses to offer any non-domestic channels on basic cable, anywhere, ever.
The last show I watched regularly was Frasier. Since then, I’ve not seen a show that would make me want to follow it. (Although Trophy Wife came close.)
The list that cmyk gave? No offence, but what I’ve seen of those shows has not caught my attention in any way. In fact, I turn them off. YMMV, of course.
I’m just now in the process of ditching satellite TV and just hooking up my HD antenna and Roku box. Local channels come in good where I am and Hulu, Amazon and Netflix cost a sixth of my DirectTV bill. Since I only watch sports when I am at a bar I don’t think I’ll miss much.
I just want to chime in that in some respects I get the whole ‘Golden Age’ thing…but on the flip side, the normal-looking human being (character actor) on Network TV has all but died. And that’s a damn shame. If I wanted to see ex-models attempt to act* I’d…well…I’d do something.
*and to the ex-models that try really really hard instead of just collecting your paycheck (Jeri Ryan, Tricia Helfer et al) God bless ya.
There are a LOT of great shows on network TV (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox).
There are also a lot of great shows on cable. Other than the ones on FX (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League) and AMC (Mad Men, ex-Breaking Bad), seems that most are on premium cable.
A few (Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Derek) are only on Netflix!
You can catch up with some of the premium channel shows on Amazon now, since their deal with HBO, only you’d be a season behind. Unfortunately it seems more and more likely now that one would need subscriptions both Netflix and Amazon (and a device that streams them both) to get the best selection of cable television shows/original content. And you might even want to throw Hulu Plus in the mix.
But, alternatively, if you’re looking to save money, just wait for DVDs to come out after a season is over and get them from your local library. Then there’s no subscription fees.
It would be easier to offer recommendations if we knew what you already liked. For example, The Walking Dead on AMC is extremely popular, but I gave up on it early because I didn’t like the bleak future it portrayed. But I love Justified, Breaking Bad and Fargo, even though they were also dark at times.
No offense taken, it’s all a matter of taste. But they’re critically acclaimed (and for good reason IMHO). And, doh! How could I forget House of Cards?!
Breaking Bad is one of those television series that everyone should give a shot at, no matter your tastes. Just an amazing series that can’t be said enough. I didn’t mention it in my list, cuz I was going for currently running series.
You can blame cheap reality TV for killing TV. There is only a handful of TV shows I watch and 95% time it is never on TV.:eek::eek::eek: I would whether spend money on TV box set than spend money on cable TV and be bored nothing to watch.
Reruns. Reruns of good shows are still good to watch.
Lately the early episodes of The Andy Griffith show have been on MEtv. 2 1/2 Men. MAS*H. And Football. American professional tackle football. What a game last Sunday between the Washingtons and the Philadelphians. Alas my team did not win. Food TV officially sucks now… whoever is in charge over there has it all wrong. (Trisha’s Southern? The Pioneer Woman? Gag me with cheese grater.)
Depends on what you like, but since the film business has been imploding, TV has divided into two camps of super-cheap and super-expensive. In the super-cheap category, you have a bunch of reality TV shows, where they take real people, put them into compromising situations, goad them into behaving poorly, film it, and then edit down to just the most gossip-worthy material. In the super-expensive category, it’s like watching big Hollywood movies of the 70s or 90s, in terms of quality and budget, stretched out over 6-24 hours, so you get a deeper story and real character development.
If you have any favorite films, we could probably point you to the modern, TV equivalent.
There is soooo much good TV that I cannot watch it all. I have complete seasons of shows taped to watch when I get the time. I have no sports shows at all.
This, but with the caveat that I agree that network tv is failing badly. I watch Netflix almost exclusively; I’m watching some fantastic British shows (The IT Crowd, Doc Martin, Misfits, Sherlock), some older shows that I missed the first time around (Lost, Veronica Mars, Breaking Bad, Numbers, etc.), re-watching some shows I loved (Happy Endings, X-Files, The Mindy Project), some Netflix series’ (Orange is the New Black, House of Cards); if you can’t find some very good tv to watch, you’re really not trying hard enough, in my opinion.
I used to really like the food channel. Dinner Impossible, Dives & Drive-ins, and Emeril. Later Restaurant Impossible and Kitchen Nightmares. But then after awhile the shows kind of tended to run together. Their is one interesting one on Netflix called “Cake Boss”.