Viewers stay tuned but find 'nothing' on TV

The Washington Times ^ | 9-14-07 | Jennifer Harper

[TexasBarak]

“Dr Who, Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, and my favorite (which my six year old daughter loves to watch with me)- “how it’s made”. An interesting point about that show is that it’s made in Canada- and they have no shortage of things to show us!. I have my dvr set to record every episode of How It’s Made.
Oh, and Burn Notice is fun- I only wish we really had intelligence operatives that smart and competent.

[antiRepublicrat]

I used to watch mostly History channel

Speaking of such channels, what happened to the old-time documentary where you had a live narrator who took you to places and calmly and clearly told you the stories and facts, with an occasional diagram to help things along? Now the disembodied narrator with the hyped-up or overly-dramatic voice tries to add as much drama as possible and waste our time with long computer animations.

"One day our sun will go nova and WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!" Dude, chill out. That's, like, four billion years from now.

[antiRepublicrat]

What ever happened to all beings created equal?

Didn't you know? Some are more equal than others.

[antiRepublicrat]

Did you know that each video downloaded show is 21 minutes (half hour show) or 42 minutes (hour show) long? That means you’re watching 18 minutes per hour of Billy Mays screaming at you to buy OxyClean, or watching some moron telling you wax something on your forehead!

I kind of figured that out when I started watching everything with a DVR and it took a lot less than an hour to watch an hour-long show. But I do find myself occasionally stopping to watch entertaining commercials (they do exist).

[TomGuy]

Many of those cable programs are very good. Too bad they don’t extent their seasons. Some run as few as 6 episodes per ‘season’.

[antiRepublicrat]

we follow the real-life lives of TV and movie actors with such attention even though they are also scripted to a large degree

Their lives were scripted even in Hollywood's golden days -- even more so then.

[kjhm]

A news program that did news would be nice. Our local news station has said several times that they target their programing toward women because women watch more TV than men. In my openion their programing is insulting to women, all fluff, very few facts. Lots of stories about how women are victims.

[dfwgator]

Speaking of such channels, what happened to the old-time documentary where you had a live narrator who took you to places and calmly and clearly told you the stories and facts, with an occasional diagram to help things along?

Yep, I got spoiled as a kid watching "The World At War" with Laurence Olivier doing the narration, it is impossible to top what he did.

[RightWhale]

That’s a difference with stage actors. When they go home they usually disappear into the background because they don’t need to create a life for themselves and they can leave their acting at the theater.

[JZelle]

Did you see the one on Discovery that showed them building the roller coasters in Virginia and Minnesota? That was something else!

[Doomonyou]

Outdoor Channel (Good gun and hunting shows), VS (hunting), History, Military, some SciFi (Eureka).

Sounds like me, but I'll add ESPN and Mythbusters (Discovery)

[EasySt]

Come on, people, can’t you feel the TV killing your brain cells? Just avoiding the commercials alone will raise your IQ by 10 to 15 points.

Get your news from the Internet (FR anyone?) and talk radio instead. Your blood pressure will go down while your intelligence goes up and you'll be better and more quickly informed.

If there is TV you really want to watch, it’s so much better on DVDs. Someone above just said they like Smallville. Target is selling all 5 seasons for $20 a season. DVDs are the way to go. Instant gratification, commercial free, and if you cancel your cable and buy DVDs with the money you save, you’ll have a decent library in no time.

Try it. Cancel your cable for three months and then go watch some TV at a friends house. You'll wonder how you could ever stand it before.

[Doomonyou]

"The World At War"

"Victory at Sea" was great too. Great sound tract.

[Republicus2001]

i was surprised to learn that a washed-up fired L.A. sports jock named Keith Oldermann actually was hired by one Big Media to be a news reporter! Imagine that!

[dfwgator]

"Victory at Sea" was great too. Great sound tract.

Yes that was great too. But you'll never forget The World at War theme, I can't think of another piece of music that so eloquently conveys the horror of that war.

[Calvin Locke]

With NBC carrying the Olympics, you didn't miss anything, except an unending stream of puff pieces and NBC's snoring crew.

I keeping telling myself to dump the cable, and at the next price increase, I will.

[Hazcat]

Sounds like me, but I'll add ESPN and Mythbusters (Discovery)

ESPN fot NHRA (if I'm not busy) and Mythbusters if it is something new. I would also add some NFL games (once again, if I'm not busy).

[Hazcat]

I like Heroes... is that wrong?

LOL! That face could never do anything wrong!

[MinorityRepublican]

The only sitcom that's halfway decent is Two and Half Men. I like Charlie Sheen in that one. Otherwise, the major networks are doing a half-assed jobs with their programming. We need more sitcoms like Frasier, Seinfeld, That 70s Show, just to name a few.

Like another FReeper pointed out, it's way too expensive to produce a sitcom when you can do a reality show for cheap. The only ones that I like involve house hunting and cooking shows like Hell's Kitchen.

[Vroomfondel]

When asked which of the new fall programs they were looking forward to viewing, a whopping 86 percent said they were anticipating "nothing,"

The new season of "How It's Made" starts tonight. About time! I think I've seen them all at least twice by now...