What would you do without the tv?

digifan · 2006-03-24, 05:08 PM

I may be a rare find but I don't watch much tv... I prefer music in the background or just the music of my garden, silence can be a blessing.

So you'd have radio, internet, movie, whatnot except tv. What would you do without the tv and how much time do you spend watching the box?

ladydesigner · 2006-03-24, 06:30 PM

That's a good question! Between 2 TiVo's and 7 satellite receivers in the house, I guess I'd be considered a big TV fan! I know we watch to much TV when it starts feeling like a job trying to keep up with all the shows and making room in your schedule to fit in the tube. Growing up, we lived out in the country and didn't even have cable. Just old "rabbit ears" that picked up local networks (sometimes). I guess I played outside a lot as a kid. Wish mine would get out more and turn off the TV! They learn by example though and my TV is ALWAYS on!

KG Gary · 2006-03-24, 06:58 PM

I'm with you digifan - I hardly watch any TV either. The occasional rugby match or a few UFC fights, a comedy show here and there, and maybe a documentary or two.
I crave silence, and I can't stomach the rising number of awful "shouty" presenters and TV shows we get over here.

Without any TV? I'd watch as the world becomes a better place!

dareutwo · 2006-03-24, 07:21 PM

Public radio is on all day... with no tv, I'd just read more.. no biggy.

Surfn · 2006-03-24, 07:22 PM

I don't watch much TV because it has tendency to cut into my sex life if i do

RedCherry · 2006-03-24, 07:32 PM

I went for 2 years without TV, just read more.

I put it on sometimes for background noise, but I watch so little of it, I don't think I'd really miss it...except for Monk, I do like that show.

VicD · 2006-03-24, 08:22 PM

I almost never watch tv...

digifan · 2006-03-24, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surfn

I don't watch much TV because it has tendency to cut into my sex life if i do

I know what you mean

I was thinking people tend spendiing more and more time with watching tv.. hmm we don't have enough data yet

koalat · 2006-03-24, 11:10 PM

I try my best not to watch TV. I find that it just wastes my time and familiarizes my brain with countless products that I don't need.

I also have a really hard time with the idea of paying for channels that are filled with advertisements. IMO the advertisers should pay for their own distribution, so people wouldn't have to pay to see commercials.

SirMoby · 2006-03-25, 12:14 AM

I had a TV for a long time but actually never pluged it in. About 1/2 of the time I was traveling but still I spent maybe 8 months at home without ever turning it on and I don't watch TV when I travel.

Now I do like to watch the news, movies and the cooking channel

bunky2u · 2006-03-25, 05:52 AM

I don't have cable or satellite. I sometimes rent movies or tv shows on DVD and that's about it. I do most of my reading on the net.

I don't miss TV, but when I am at someone's house I turn into a TV zombie.

Simon · 2006-03-25, 07:08 AM

The TV is like a portal here. It's always on, even if the sound is muted. I think getting the power and cable knocked out for days (or weeks) after each hurricane every season for year after year makes me appreciate the connection to the world that the tv can provide.

Sometimes just CNN (or the Weather Channel) all day if I'm interested in the stories they're covering. (Like a storm headed this way.) Often it'll be on so the news scroll is visible, but there's music on instead of the tv audio. Depending where I am in the house, I may not be able to even see a tv, in which case the sound is off but it's on anyway. Sometimes the tv is just receiving the digital music channels and feeding them to the audio system. But the tv is always on.

Aside from the news, I use a DVR with two tuners to catch everything else I want to see, and watch things when I want to with no commercials ever.

I like good stand-up comedy and comedy commentary shows like Bill Maher, Daily Show, Mind of Mencia, etc. HBO and Showtime have some good shows, as do some of the other cabel channels and even the networks. Some examples of what it catches for me: The Shield, LOST, 24, Numbers, The Unit, Big Love, The Sopranos, Deadwoord, Carnivale, Bones, Criminal Minds, Monk, Boston Legal, some CSIs, West Wing, and others I'm forgetting.

The difference, for me, is being able to sit down to relax and call up a menu of maybe 20 recorded choices and select what I'm in the mood to see. I watch the news for what's happening today, but I rarely watch something that was on the tv the day it was aired. Everything aside from news and weather comes off the DVR now. Well, except if I notice something interesting on the History or Science channel and just tune in to see it.

What would I do without tv?

Probably go fly-fishing.

Simon

terry · 2006-03-25, 07:30 AM

I hardly ever get to watch tv. I try to watch a couple of shows but end up always missing them, or when I do get a chance to sit down and watch something, it ends up being something I have already seen... so I dont watch it again.

Tried replacing that with xbox, gamecube, etc... but always come back here to work.

cosmiccat · 2006-03-25, 08:37 AM

I go months at a time without watching tv. Not much on worth watching and the idiotic commericials drive me insane!!

Surfn · 2006-03-25, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmiccat

...and the idiotic commericials drive me insane!!

Exactly why I don't watch network TV unless it's something really special...

bunky2u · 2006-03-25, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmiccat

I go months at a time without watching tv. Not much on worth watching and the idiotic commericials drive me insane!!

Ditto here as well! Some commercials are funny... those used car commercials (no matter from which state or province) always seem to be the worst... may as well scrape fingernails on a chalkboard.

bluemoney · 2006-03-25, 12:40 PM

I could do without the “Idiot Box” for most of the year except for watching Pro & College football. Mostly just have jazz music in the background as I work to hold up my end of the “pornification” of the universe.

I do have to laugh at the VW commercials with the German guy who will “un-pimp your auto”

Tyranni · 2006-03-25, 01:22 PM

The only TV I watch is when I go over to other people's houses and they have it in the background, and then it is basically glancing over at the clusterfuck or when the conversation gets a little dull. We have a TV but just use it when we rent movies. No cable. The internet, work, and other projects keep me plenty busy. Can't stand all the commercials and shitty reality TV. When I have spare time, I talk to friends, clean the house, read a book, go to the park, work on my artwork, there is always something.

bunky2u · 2006-03-25, 01:48 PM

Yeah... shitty reality TV. Whatever happend to good funny TV shows?

The good thing about renting TV shows when they come out on DVD is that only the really good quality shows come out. CSI, Lost, Deadwood, 24... all are good.

digifan · 2006-03-26, 11:04 AM

Funny shows are always welcome without commercials please

spacemanspiff · 2006-03-26, 11:11 AM

I mostly watch sports, Discovery, History, NG Channel, but there are a few primetime shows we watch. Mostly CSI, Law & Order type stuff. And the comedy channel.

Wouldn't be a huge deal if it went away I guess.

sue-fl · 2006-03-26, 11:43 AM

I don't watch much tv either. What I mostly do is look threw the guide every week and set the dvr to record shows. Sometimes I'll watch them and sometimes not. My tv is on from the time hubby gets home till he goes to bed though. He is an avid tv fan, so if we didn't have one I'd go threw hell listening to him bitch.

The only thing I would really miss is football, TLC, DHC and CNN those are the channels I go to when I watch tv. I also much prefer music on or just sitting and talking.