# TV viewers: How do you handle show overload? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005 "2016-03-14T19:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/41 "2016-03-15T20:58:02Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > This is surely among the first of first world problems. So? ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/42 "2016-03-15T21:25:21Z")
I watch very little scripted television anymore. I used to, but I don’t have the patience for most of it now. If I can tell you what’s going to happen 5 minutes into the program, I turn it off and won’t watch it again. I don’t even own a DVR. Most of my viewing is news or sports, so there isn’t much point in recording and watching old news or sports events whose score is already common knowledge. So no DVR. I used to be a devoted watcher of the A&E networks, but they’ve become such garbage in recent years that I gave up on them. The last tv series I watched from beginning to end was The West Wing. I never got into Mad Men and I don’t have any premium channels which, I know, cuts me off from most of the better programming available these days. I seriously dislike reality tv and while I’ll occasionally watch a show where actual talent is involved (Project Runway, SYTYCD), I have less than no interest in watching hillbillies do anything or pampered rich women behaving badly. My secret vice was Celebrity Apprentice, but the Donald has moved on and so have I. My new one is Joe Kenda the Homicide Hunter. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/43 "2016-03-15T22:42:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > This is surely among the first of first world problems. Not sure. Entertainment is a cultural mainstay, and has been for millennia. I think of it as a right, not a privilege. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/44 "2016-03-16T04:21:31Z")
I don’t do so well at this. My DVR is currently at 3% available. I’m just too busy… ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/45 "2016-03-16T11:32:09Z")
I DVR a lot of shows, then decide later on which to keep. I am currently watching an average of one to two shows a night, but I sometimes don’t watch them until the weekend. I usually only have time to watch one hour long show a night on weeknights, if that. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/46 "2016-03-16T14:34:39Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > I usually only have time to watch one hour long show a night on weeknights, if that. I’m always disappointed when there’s a premiere I’ve been looking forward to and it turns out to be a 2-hour episode: even with commercial-skipping, that show will have to wait until at _least_ the upcoming weekend. (Similarly, I love _Marvel’s Agent Carter_ but when they were airing double episodes I never watched it during the week.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/47 "2016-03-16T15:04:51Z")
DVR is a blessing, but it helps that we really don’t care about 90% of the stuff that is being offered. _Especially_ scripted drama series. I hate drama. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/48 "2016-03-16T16:59:53Z")
DVR. And it helps that I normally go to sleep after 1am so I have plenty of time at night to catch up. Of what’s currently airing, I watch (starting on Sunday) The Walking Dead CSI Cyber The Simpsons Bob’s Burgers Hoarders Vinyl Girls Jeopardy The People’s Court Bates Motel Better Call Saul Ink Master Survivor Face Off Modern Family Law & Order SVU Top Chef Project Runway The Blacklist Elementary The Big Bang Theory The Amazing Race Shark Tank Gold Rush And when they come back, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Veep, and I’m sure a ton of others that I forgot that are in their off season. Downton Abbey was on there but that just ended last week. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/49 "2016-03-16T17:58:18Z")
DVR and on Demand. I don’t worry about it too much. There seem to be a lot of one hour dramas of the “Oh, ain’t we little smart asses?” variety which I could never really get into (Suits), way too much fantasy/sci fi for my tastes, and too many housewives that need to get back to dusting something so I don’t have a lot of current shows I watch. As soon as baseball season hits, I’ll be watching that mostly. ---
**Author:** ![stosh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/50 "2016-03-19T23:16:05Z")
DVR for me too. Whenever something new comes on, I try to record it. Usually, after 5 min. I know that it sucks. Otherwise, I’ll give it a shot. 99% of TV sucks anyway. They almost all have a continuing story that I don’t care about. I record a lot of the court shows. I delete most of them, but every once in awhile, you get a gem. They, also, make your life look better. You can’t believe some of these people. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/51 "2016-03-19T23:24:11Z")
Is it just me, or are not very many people actually addressing the question in the OP? > [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Anyway – how do you, as a viewer, handle all this? How many shows do you give a chance? How many do you actually follow? I keep note of names of shows, if I hear about them, but don’t go to look them up - so there’s no drool component. I just have a list of names, that mean nothing to me, that are available when I feel like I need a new show. And so then when I do need a new show, I look through descriptions of shows I’ve heard of or just look through what’s recently been released on iTunes, and pick one that sounds good. If the show doesn’t pan out, I repeat the process until I have a new show. If the show pans out and I now have enough shows to satisfy myself, then I watch those and feel satisfied. There’s no hard number. It’s like when I eat. I eat when hungry, stop when full. There’s no need for math or convoluted equations. Either you’re satisfied or you need more. If you have enough, it’s better to be satisfied than to obsess over all the things you’re missing. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/52 "2016-03-24T18:43:27Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > I don’t sleep much. > > Not only am I a TV junkie, I am also, first and foremost, a basketball junkie. I watch between 4-6 hours of basketball every night (depending on whether it’s NBA or WNBA season), and _then_ I watch 3-4 hours of television before I go to bed. Fortunately, I don’t have to be at my job until 10, but I still sleep less than five hours a night, on average. I keep coming back to this. I mean, watch what you want, who the HELL am I to judge, and I get why people watch sports - you can tune in any time, you don’t need to know the plot, it’s easy to get into, but HOW IN THE HELL CAN YOU WATCH 6 HOURS OF B-BALL A NIGHT? Are there even six hours of basketball a night? What do you watch? Specific teams? Any old thing as long as it’s basketball? HOW??? ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/53 "2016-03-25T01:25:24Z")
Basketball games typically start at 19:00 local time, or 19:30. Generally, I watch a game involving an east coast team (doesn’t matter which one), starting at 19:00, and watch that game until it goes off, which is usually sometime between 21:30 and 22:00. Then, I switch over to “my” team, which plays on the west coast, and whose games typically start at 22:00; those games usually end between 00:30 and 01:00 my time. Occasionally, there will still be another game on after the second game I watch is over, because TNT and ESPN host double-headers where the second game starts at 22:30 my time and, due to additional commercials, rarely ends before 01:00, so I’l switch over and watch that game until it ends. When you do the math on it, I end up watching a little over two and a half basketball games a night. Some days, when there aren’t as many games on (typically Thursday or Sunday), I’ll watch less. On holidays, like Christmas or MLK Day, when they have games starting at noon, and going until 01:30 or so, I’ll watch way more. _Then_, when I’m done doing _that_, it’s time to watch TV. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/54 "2016-03-25T13:17:25Z")
I admire your dedication! Are you, like, really good at b-ball trivia? Do you know all of the players and teams? If I asked you about a specific play, could you recall the game? ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/55 "2016-03-26T15:06:16Z")
I am moderately good at basketball trivia. I know, like, 95 percent of all the players; I crush at _Who He Play For?_ A particularly play, probably not, unless the Kings were involved. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005/56 "2016-03-28T02:56:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Is it just me, or are not very many people actually addressing the question in the OP?.. > > I keep note of names of shows… I’ve often said that I LOVE living in the 21st Century. {It’s like The Future, man…} Because if I hear about a good show, I don’t have to watch it now. My life’s too busy right now. But someday I’ll be retired and… less busy. So when my friends start a sentence with “You have GOTTA watch…” I can reply “Ok, I will… [jot down show in my notebook] …in a decade or so.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-viewers-how-do-you-handle-show-overload/749005.md?page=2)