Wednesday, October 8, 2008

ten on tuesday: ten great/not great things about television

I am posting a day late this week, I have been feeling very flu-ish and haven't been online much. I wish I could just go to bed and sleep until I felt 100% but having a whole family of sick people does not make this possible. It would be great if we could ALL just go to bed.

Anyway, I hate missing ten on Tuesday so here in my addition a day late.

1. Great: PVR
Taping shows and being able to search them, forward through commercials etc is awesome.

2. Great: Grey's Anatomy. The writers and the actors of this show are fantastic. sometimes the story lines get a little too "fantastical". I mean how many times can Seattle have natural disasters, ferry crashes, snow storms? Thank goodness that global warming keeps all these disasters happening.

3. Great: Reality shows.
These are in my great and my not great list. I LOVE house hunters and restaurant shows. I will watch survivor every year even though they never seem to have new or different challenges or personalities, I can't get enough of it. I have been a fan of reality television since the very first season of Real World on MTV. Although "reality" is not what I consider to be "real" I have fun watching these shows. I also like watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 (except the beginning where they show her seriously distorted belly),

4. Great: Satellite
I love that I can watch the BBC and other networks that in days of yore I had no access to. Having more than 3 channels to surf through is loverly.

5. Not great: Dr. Phil
When this show first started I enjoyed it, I am certain I have even quoted the good doctor on some occasions. however as years went on I feel the show has deteriorated into a daytime equivalent of Jerry Springer. The people he has on as guests are just there to be made fools of and they are more and more outlandish as time passes. I used to think he was a straight shooter - telling people how it is. He no longer deals with people in the same way. I think getting an invite to be a guest on his show is a set up for public humiliation. He is a bully. A television version of Dr. Laura.

6. Not great. Reality Shows.
Really? The Kardashians, hulk hogan, etc. etc. etc. who cares? I will admit I watched Jessica Simpson when she got married, but I don't think I would watch her again. These shows are a train wreck and while I don't watch any of them I think I have to tune in to Paris's search for a BFF. How funny is that?

7. Not Great: Back in the day we used to have a "season" of television. All the shows would start, they would run, they would end. Now a days you can't ever find what is starting, what is ending, what is being repeated. When the seasons DO start the shows are on for a week and then preempted for presidential debates and other things so you watch one week and then you think you are going crazy when you can't find the show again. This is irksome. (LOL at my use of an unconscious mutterings word).

8. Not Great: Shows that don't run the full hour, or are weirdly timed. I think networks are reacting the whole tivo, PVR, DVR thing because they want to get ratings for their show so they make it a minute longer, or start a minute earlier. This is VERY frustrating to try and watch or search for shows when the timing is messed up.

9. Not great: Shows I love being cancelled. ER, Third Watch, etc. This also goes for Pilot shows which start up in the fall and you watch four episodes and then they totally disappear never to be heard of again.

10. Not great: MTV.
I want my MTV. Show a video already! What happened to the "M" in MTV?

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