Do you watch TV?

Sookie is a telepath, but oh there's so much more to it;)!

not at all a fan of twilight.

speaking of boston legal pushing the corporatacracy- seems like most legal shows do that these days.

did anyone catch the pilot for "huge" ? its supposed to quite women and size positive...

Tommy B wrote:

Stargazer wrote:

Oh and the saddest day for me in recent TV was when Boston Legal was pulled off the air for offending too many right wingers - what a brilliant show that was.

 

That show was pure corporate propaganda, never challenging the status quo and reinforcing American myths.

 

Brilliantly evil more like it!

How so, exactly? The show took on Big Tobacco, the racial bias of the Supreme Court, all sorts of progressive issues. The fact is that right wingers hated that show for this very reason. I'd be interested in hearing why you would call it corporate propaganda. I mean, there were episodes dedicated to the wild salmon issue. The only way you can say this was even remotely "corporate propaganda" would be based on the wealth of the main characters. Of course they are wealthy. They would have to be to afford to take on so many lefty causes.

Okay, well that was not the answer I expected. I'm am not sure why the topic will result in some type of drawn out argument. But alas, it doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you (challenging Neil Young)

Ha, so true Tommy!

I'm kind of unusual in this respect: for about a decade before the Internet, I never watched television. And now, as television increasingly loses ground to the Internet, I've picked up the habit.

Personally I don't have a big problem with it. I think I'm critical enough that I can safely watch television. I've changed alot since my days as a young, "ascetic" (so to speak) leftist. I eat meat sometimes (sparingly). I buy food I can afford, rather than starving myself in order to shop at the incredibly bourgeouis health food stores and bakeries in my city. I dress like other working people. And I watch television.

I've come to realize that the left has marginilized itself, deliberately, by venturing as far outside the experiences and lifestyle of average Canadians as it can (often in an effort to be superficially radical). In doing so, it ruins its chances of ever becoming the dominant culture. You have to be able to connect with average people and their experiences; it's not enough to form a community of the converted, especially when that community becomes exclusive and is filled with all sorts of taboos that render it near-impossible for your typical working class Canadian to conform without a great deal of practice and effort, failing which she will suffer chronic rejection. Expecting that they're all suddenly going to jump into an entirely new lifestyle is self-delusion; if it happens, it will happen slowly and gradually, and it will happen by infiltrating and subverting the dominant culture, not by isolating ourselves from it.

The way we isolate ourselves is like a tacit admission that the dominant culture is more compelling; as if we need erect barriers to prevent ourselves from being contaminated, as if subversion is their tool rather than ours.

As for television itself, I seem to watch an awful lot of TVO: Steve Paiken, Time Team, etc. I can't see anything particularly wrong with this.

Daedelus, neither History nor Discovery has an educational mandate.  Check their CRTC license.  They're very profitable specialty channels and they know exactly who their audience is.  Trust me.  I've pitched them many times on projects.  They are completely honest and explicit about their demographic (how else can I bring them projects that work if they're giving me wrong information?  Makes no sense!), and their programming is geared to that core audience.

Are you telling me Platoon and The Deer Hunter are not educational modules?

Re: The Food Network. I've been trying to find this article about the Food network which shows that although during the day they tend to show traditional cooking shows, during prime time they switch to a very macho, masculinist model--competitive, reality-tv-type shows with Gordon Ramsay swearing at a bunch of people and contestants brought to tears. Julia Childs they ain't.

Catchfire wrote:

Are you telling me Platoon and The Deer Hunter are not educational modules?

I went to see The Deer Hunter with a buddy, who summed up the picture by saying "It's about Russian roulette."

I always thought this was a rather simplistic analysis, until a couple of years ago I read an interview with the filmmaker who said he wanted to make a movie about Russian roulette, and so came up with the story of the Deer Hunter as a vehicle to do so.

We have an antenna (not too many of those in the city anymore) and get only local programming, which works just fine.

I do wonder what all the rural viewers without cable and broadband will do once the broadcasters stop sending aerial signals. There won't be any free or almost-free option anymore. So much for CBC fulfilling its mandate.

As for me, I really only watch the CBC news a few times a week. I get everything else off the internet, and listen more to radio. The kids watch kidsCBC - no ads, and frankly much better subliminal messages than regular TV. I do make sure they get a regular dose of bugs bunny though just so they know how anvils and giant slingshots work.

And it has been years since I rented any movie from a regular video store (I do go to Turning the Tide Bookstore here in Saskatoon). But I find the library has the widest selection of TV, movies, kids and educational programs. When I occasionally get a glimpse of someone's 50-channel world it is pretty clear that with a few exceptions (original Iron Chef) it is garbage that I would not want to pay for.

I had a cable hook up when I first moved in to my place but they wised up about 3 years later. I then got a FTA sat for about 2 years and nothing in the last 3 years or so. I have no compunction to pay for commercials. If these channels where commercial lite, like it was in the 80's) I would be more inclined to pay for some programming. When I go to my parents I like the comedy channel and CBC newsworld, food network, and sometimes watch mythbusters or a doc.

Mostly I go to watch the habs on RDS or cooking shows on the antennae from PBS on Saturday afternoons. I have watched hells kitchen and iron chef. I don't know if you can call it machismo and why we as men aren't allowed to have some of the supposed female type shows cater to us as well to get us to watch a channel we might not otherwise. I still watch the traditional cooking shows but like how ramsey can sometimes be a nice person instead of a prick. It usually depends on the asshole who owns the restaurant he is helping. They usually get free stuff when he goes in to help them like a new stove or freezer anyway. HE isn't always a jerk either.

But I will say the over dramatic nature of shows like American Chopper, American Hotrod, or any of the myriad of just in the nick of time programs grate on my nerves. If we don't get this thing built on time....what the custom bike the guy is spending 70,000 on will just be scrapped because you are 2 days late, hardly. The newest ad I saw was loggers or something like that...yeah its kinda dangerous, but do we need a show about this? Even mythbusters has bumpers on both sides of the commercial breaks.

I use to watch "while you were out" and some other decorating shows that are aimed more at women, seeing as most prefer a little sprucing up of the home while men can be happy in a cardboard box apparently, as they intone. Believe me we are belittled in TV too, just check out the father on a sitcom for dumb dad. TV = Stereotypes.  Sex in the city was good for the first couple of seasons then it got repetitive. But I have stayed away from most much or mtv programs as they are awful. Though I use to like the odd "behind the music" or pop up video/remember the year 198X.

I ruined so many shows for my parents by pointing out stigmas and stupidities. CSI- red thread on a white interior? I guess everyone in these cities have detailer on their vehicles around the clock to keep them sterling clean. I have seen a lot of cars and most of them are not in any condition to find that killers lone fiber in the car. Nor can one find prints in 10 seconds on a database.

So as it stand I download or watch online the shows I want, futurama, venture bros, colbert, daily show, power and politics(though it was better when you could watch a show from the entire week not just the day before) and listen to CBC radio 1 as commercial radio makes me want to punch a baby.

The worst part is the commercials. How to invest, injury lawsuit lawyers, how to reverse mortgages, send us your gold, this widget will save you life while cleaning up a spill. Really? CBC newsworld is soo bad now with the ubiquitous amanda lang. How many shows does she appear on, by my count 10 or so. Its like the CRTC has a Lang content requirement on programming. I don't even want to get started on my pet peeve that is Evan Soloman.

Or other non news channels with bumpers for shows like no tomorrow or movie previews/car commercials nonstop.

Sad is TV and you are expected to pay for it. CRTC even going so far as to allow the cable/sat providers to have us pay for CTVs simucast becaue of supposed local programming. They don't even have a TV station in 100 km from where I live we have 350,000 people and they don't care so why should I pay for local programming where non exists.  Thank you (still kinda net neautral) intertubes for allwoing me some freedom to watch what and when I want. Though bell(part owner of CTV) has other ideas. Restircting access to the net and the new commercial on you tube are just hints of things to come. They will still get that same monthly fee from you weither its 120 a month for TV and net, or 120 a month for net with higher download max (120gb wooooow stand back) to watch your still commercial loaded shows.

Are you telling me Platoon and The Deer Hunter are not educational modules?

Ha.  And for poor Ann Medina, that would be good fair for her to introduce on "History on Film".   "Tonights flimsy pretext...."

ETA: History is trying to program content that appeals to more women without losing their current demographic.  I'm interested to see how that pans out.

Last night, Timebandit, I came in from trying to get some yardwork done when it was cooler, to find Rebecca West settled into a fairly decent documentary on George Washington on "History".   The commercial break went from something predictably guy centric (can't remember the product) to a commercial for lipstick. 

Oh.  A guy I work with who is a right wing ideaolgue was telling me how he liked the History Chanel, and one of his favorite shows was "Dogfights".   I shared with him my take on it that I shared here above, that I liked the graphics, they eye witness testimony, and most of the expert analysis, but the writting was a little cornball for me.

When I said that, his head actually jerked back a bit like I had hit him with a spitball.

On the subject of programming of more interest to women, they might want to keep the Bechdel test in mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLF6sAAMb4s

Tommy_Paine wrote:

Are you telling me Platoon and The Deer Hunter are not educational modules?

 

Ha.  And for poor Ann Medina, that would be good fair for her to introduce on "History on Film".   "Tonights flimsy pretext...."

 

 

 

ETA: History is trying to program content that appeals to more women without losing their current demographic.  I'm interested to see how that pans out.

 

Last night, Timebandit, I came in from trying to get some yardwork done when it was cooler, to find Rebecca West settled into a fairly decent documentary on George Washington on "History".   The commercial break went from something predictably guy centric (can't remember the product) to a commercial for lipstick. 

 

Oh.  A guy I work with who is a right wing ideaolgue was telling me how he liked the History Chanel, and one of his favorite shows was "Dogfights".   I shared with him my take on it that I shared here above, that I liked the graphics, they eye witness testimony, and most of the expert analysis, but the writting was a little cornball for me.

When I said that, his head actually jerked back a bit like I had hit him with a spitball.

The quality of writing with documentary and factual programming is a pet peeve of mine.  The blond guy and I often make fun of the usual dreck when we write narration.  Classic pre-commercial narration:  "But the WORST was yet to come..." 

I believe they have that on Bill Maher's HBO show.

Only thing I watch on TV is some sports.  I read rabble/babble during the commercials.  Find everything else on teh interwebs.  I could get my sports there too but prefer my sports in HD much moreso than the talking heads on the news.

Sort of.  I mean isn't streaming and downloaded video still TV?

When I was a kid I watched a lot of TV.  I mean a lot of TV.  Gilligan's Island and Hogan's Heroes were imprinted on my brain.  Today, when visiting some people's houses I notice that the big screen is on, but no one is actively watching, but it's still there.  When visiting many other people's houses there is no TV and I am relieved.  Years ago, an old roommate had a bumper sticker that declared KILL YOUR TV and yet we still religiously watched The Simpsons every week.  This winter with the power of the internet, I was able watch every episode of the TV show Lost.  A few episodes in, one of my hypotheses about the show was that everyone was in some kind of purgatory.  The religious undertones got me making jokes about the show to the tune of an even older TV show I sometimes watched as a child:  Davey and Goliath.  I think that the ending of Lost confirmed many of my suspicions.

The difference with this TV is that sometimes the channel offers a Text box and a Post comment button.  thanks for reading my broadcast

I sure watched at least some of the recent World Cup matches!

I'm another who watches Seinfeld reruns and I'm a self-proclaimed expert on the subject.  I'm also fascinated by Larry David and my new favourite TV show is Curb Your Enthusiasm -- so we had to get HBO Canada and a bunch of movie channels that come in the same bundle. 

I think The Simpsons is still brilliant after all these years and I watch Family Guy because I'm also fascinated by Seth MacFarlane. Both he and Larry David break all the rules but Seth is not as nice a guy as Larry is.

One of the movie channels (Boom Boom will know which one) has Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story on demand right now.  Our 15-year-old son has been watching it constantly lately and yesterday and today, he's been playing it for his buddies with some pretty astute commentary.

As for the Food Channel, I really dislike the foul-mouthed chefs and the stoopid competitions. I watch it occasionally, only during the day. (Foul-mouthedness is not always a problem for me. Larry David's show is laced with bad language -- and it's hilarious.)

When I was in my late twenties/early thirties, I was back in grad school, and I watched a lot of TV then. (What can I tell you -- grad school, chronic depression, watch TV -- it's like that.) That was in the mid- and late seventies, when TV, like Hollywood, was sometimes politically very interesting. Watergate was just coming to an end, and everyone was hooked to see what might follow. That's probably the only time I've followed U.S. network news closely (the years of the shift, eg, at CBS from Cronkite to Rather, and the entry of Brokaw at NBC and Jennings at ABC). Hard to believe, I know, but those guys all still had at least a bit of zip in those days.

But more interestingly, Dick Cavett was doing absolutely brilliant stuff with everyone under the sun -- John and Yoko, Nureyev, Mailer and Vidal  and Updike and Cheever and his old buddy Woody ... Some of those shows stick in my head, like the night that he had Carly Simon and her two sisters on talking about the way they grew up, and they all sat and sang a capella in such beautiful harmony together. I think he was the first person to put Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo on TV -- I laughed myself sick the first time I saw them.

Later, Tom Snyder would be on, with those amazing eyebrows, also interviewing everyone imaginable but with unrelenting political intensity. I remember being surprised at how insecure and defensive and actually fragile Jane Fonda was, not that she didn't have reason in those days.

I think that was the last time the talk shows seemed whole to me, when you couldn't tell the politics from the culture or vice versa, and that seemed right. Plus you didn't feel that everyone -- host and guests all -- was just doing spin. Peter Gzowski tried that for a few years at the end of the decade here, and I thought he actually did pretty well, but things fell apart for many reasons, and he ended up happy ever after back on radio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8m9vDRe8fw&feature=related

I was hoping this was my favorite Vidal quip "once again, words fail Norman"  but it isn't.  Fun exchange though.