RonF Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 To quote Frank Zappa, "I watch that rotten box until my head begin to hurt." I feel like a slave....clicking around the channels night after night and there is absolutely nothing worth watching. So much awful sh*t. Has anyone been able to turn it off and leave it off? How did you do it? Remove the TV from the house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Not cold turkey, but in April our TV died and we haven't bothered to replace it. We have Windows Media Center on our computer (which has a TV tuner), so we still have TV access, but since we have to sit around the computer monitor to watch it, overall TV viewing in this household has been severely curtailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Not a bad idea, but just wait until the new Fall season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Cold turkey here. I cancelled cable last year. Don't miss it a bit. Now if I can just ween myself off this damn computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Clugston Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I don't have cable and don't miss it. More channels than ever, and even less to watch. If there's a show I like, I wait until it comes out on DVD so I can watch it in sequence without commercials, re-runs or pre-emptions for some airhead talent contest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I don't watch television anymore at home. I stopped the cable TV about fifteen years ago. I never made the decision to quit cold turkey. I just found that everything was a waste of time. I would rather listen to music, get onto the internet or read a book. A few years ago I used to watch Law & Order every week, but as I say it's been a few years. When I travel, I check out the cable stations on the motel TV to see what's on, but usually don't stick around to see a whole show. For me, it's not just TV. I don't think I have gone to three movies in the past ten years. The media that used to interest me just don't appeal to me anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Cold turkey here. I cancelled cable last year. Don't miss it a bit. Now if I can just ween myself off this damn computer. I hear ya & feel your pain, Joe... rarely, if ever, watch TV these days, but damn if I don't catch myself firing up the computer every several hours to see what I might've "missed." ( ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I would rather listen to music, get onto the internet or read a book. Hear, hear! For me, the occasional DVD as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Cable slave here 'cause of CSPAN and MSNBC but the latter has driven me away with wall to wall coverage of the latest story (refuse to name it). The POTUS gave an incoherent press conference yesterday and they concentrated on the doofus being imported to Boulder. Do not watch "network" series. Sick of "professional" sports and don't trust "amateur" sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 no cable here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I don't have cable and don't miss it. More channels than ever, and even less to watch. If there's a show I like, I wait until it comes out on DVD so I can watch it in sequence without commercials, re-runs or pre-emptions for some airhead talent contest. Yup, haven't had cable since I lived with my folks in the early '80s. Watch what quality stuff I have time for on DVD. Still watch a national news broadcast & the local out of habit, a couple of shows like The Office and occasional sports (more during the playoffs, though without cable I either miss the early rounds or go out to see it somewhere if I have to), but very little primetime viewing otherwise. Not when there's music to listen to! Sometimes the promos for shows I don't watch are so awful it makes me consider getting rid of the thing altogether, but instead I just self-ration it. Ron, I'd look into what you can pick up with rabbit ears and consider cutting the cable. You can then boost your CD budget accordingly! Even spring for the fabby autographed organissimo releases instead of the "regular" versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Although I concur re the dismal level of quality that exists even for cable subscribers, I still watch some tv... very selectively. I haven't watched a prime-time drama or sitcom for about 25 years, I absolutely hate the network morning shows (I wish my wife could say the same ), never got into "Survivor" or any of the subsequent reality crap (now they even have reality home make-over shows on HGTV )... etc etc. I don't need to watch popular shows in order to feel human, to feel that I "belong", or so that I can make converstion with strangers, and it's very rare that I find anything that's popular to be the least bit entertaining. I do watch some sports, the occasional movie (we have an extended basic package, but no extravagant movie choices), nature, science, history, documentaries... I like to learn something when I'm watching tv. I'm more concerned about the amount of time I spend online vs how much tv I watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Cable slave here 'cause of CSPAN and MSNBC but the latter has driven me away with wall to wall coverage of the latest story (refuse to name it). The POTUS gave an incoherent press conference yesterday and they concentrated on the doofus being imported to Boulder. Do not watch "network" series. Sick of "professional" sports and don't trust "amateur" sports. Don't watch too much news anymore. It doesn't seem like news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BB) Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Went cold turkey and lived without TV for 3-4 years. We now have a TV and I watch 1-3 hours a week depending on what is going on. Our daughter has 4 TV days a week and can watch up to 1-1/2 hours on those days. We watch most of our TV via DVD/netflix. Regardless of where I am I will leave the room when "news" comes on. I believe the adage ""you are what you eat" applies to information as well. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Went cold turkey and lived without TV for 3-4 years. We now have a TV and I watch 1-3 hours a week depending on what is going on. Our daughter has 4 TV days a week and can watch up to 1-1/2 hours on those days. We watch most of our TV via DVD/netflix. Regardless of where I am I will leave the room when "news" comes on. I believe the adage ""you are what you eat" applies to information as well. Bill WATCH MLB AND NFL AND NASCAR, WITH THE SOUND OFF. THAT'S IT. TV NOW NOT WORTH WATCHING. CAN TV COMPETE WITH A FINE LIBRARY OR MY OLD 33'S? NO WAY JOSE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I like Anthony Bourdain's show on The Travel Channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I selectively watch sports and some comedy. Could easily live without it. Watch maybe 2 hours a week. I have long since given up on the news. It is complete garage. One of the odder things about not watching TV is that when the commercials come on, them seem much more full of crap than they used to. I think that is because not matter how much BS you have to deal with in the "real world", it is still somehow connected to reality. Whereas TV is just ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 It is complete garage. We must watch different channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 i am a slave to the boob tube my tv runs 24/7, even when i'm sleep the MF is runnin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 i am a slave to the boob tube my tv runs 24/7, even when i'm sleep the MF is runnin' That's very scary. Try turning it off once in awhile. Since the NBA is in the off-season, I don't really watch much TV. I probably won't watch too much NBA when it starts up again, either. I kinda like not being glued to the tube for inconsequential matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'm obviously a bit prejudiced in the matter, but even given that, I still think NPR is the best source for news. (At least, when they're not doing one of their "fluffy feature" bits--more common on the weekend broadcasts, in general.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I pretty much stopped watching dramatic shows and sit-coms a few years back, but I never miss C-Span's Washington Journal (my bedroom TV is set to turn that on at 7 AM every day, and I do watch whenever something interesting is happening on the Hill. Sunday talk shows and, of course, "The Young and the Restless." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BB) Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'm obviously a bit prejudiced in the matter, but even given that, I still think NPR is the best source for news. (At least, when they're not doing one of their "fluffy feature" bits--more common on the weekend broadcasts, in general.) What he said. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Deal Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 It has been a long time since I have watched television. It started in 1980, I couldn't stand all the political ads that year and so I just didn't watch much. Then it was laugh tracks. If its funnjy I'll laugh, if not that noise just bugs me. It got to the point that all I watching was the weather channel. Now it just music and books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I don't watch much TV. I do use my TV to watch DVDs quite a bit. Occasionally I'll watch the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. More rarely I'll watch cable news, though I'm pretty selective. I do watch sports, particularly during the NBA playoffs and to a lesser degree during the MLB or NFL playoffs. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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