Does anyone else hate TV?

Actually, I agree with you in some ways.

I don't *hate* tv, per se, but I don't enjoy it. I certainly have not embraced the "golden age of TV." I find it difficult to watch tv shows because they tend to outstay their welcome. I don't like being stuck with something indefinitely. I got burned by so many tv shows having awful later seasons (and finales) that I just don't care about sticking it through anymore. I find in tv there isn't a lot of tension because well, duh, they have to last for 500 more seasons. Nothing seems to matter in tv.

I'm glad that "limited series" are being embraced more. For example, I am loving Mare of Easttown. I especially love how it will END.

No we don’t.

NEXT.

This is NOT a "golden age of tv." I have no idea why the OP would think it is. As for me, I rarely watch tv anymore. I used to enjoy some tv series (like The Simpsons) but I don't watch any tv series anymore. There's just nothing on tv that I'm interested in seeing.

You should never 'hate' an inanimate object.

That is why I am watching mostly UK and Australian television on Roku nowadays. That and documentaries are the only things that I can stomach nowadays. American shows try too hard to be quirky and edgy, in both comedy and drama. And don’t get me started on reality tv. Andy Cohen should be hung up from the highest tree for what he did to Bravo.

Hate TVs? I secretly love transvestites.

I hate sitting in front of the teevee, it makes me so nervous. I need to be doing something, not sitting around.

I have no interest in TV. Don't hate it, just would rather be doing seething else. I sort-of-dated someone recently who was REALLY bent out of shape by my disinterest in it. "HOW COULD YOU NOT WATCH TV?!"

We didn't last.

something else, not seething else. But i like the latter. Have to use it.

Oh yeah, I watch Sky News and NBCLX...and the English language version of EuroNews.

I don’t mind if I’m watching something. But I hate tv on in the background. Especially at a restaurant.

I love it now that there are more and better options beyond network TV.

I can't sit through half the awful shit that was popular in the late 80s and '90s though.

My issue with TV is that it seems to have sunk to the bottom of the lowest common denominator. Spend ten minutes watching any television program these days, and I end up feeling my intelligence insulted. Then I realize, oh, many people in the US are simply not intelligent, and don't like anything that would challenge them to think too much. Especially these really banal 'family comedies'. like Mr. Mayor, Modern Family, Young Rock and Home Economics.

Don't get me started on the commercials.

I only watch documentaries anymore or msnbc. R5 is right about the forced “quirky and edgey” nature of modern show. Plus the pacing is too fast-made for those with low attention soans.

Can you just not watch it? I hate tofu, so I don't eat it.

The problem with TV is how incredibly passive it is. Some of it can be quite good; there are a few good writers and a surprising number of excellent actors putting together series that really work. But still, you end up just lying on your couch watching one thing after another. With a book you have to use your imagination and your intellect to follow the story (unless it's a Koontz or a Grisham, which are almost like tv shows on paper).

Since the pandemic started I know people who never watched much tv who now watch 3-6 hours a day -- and I doubt that will change when the pandemic ends.

The golden age of tv ended 10-15 years ago. Prestige tv is now limited-run series, mostly on HBO (FX and AMC used to be included).

It's like a TJ Maxx...most of it is dreck but there are gems if you are willing to dig.

I, for the most part, don't watch new movies anymore because I feel that most of them are duds.

The current "golden age of television" ended years ago, basically people who write about these things consider Sopranos to Breaking Bad the golden age.

Right now it's "peak TV" which is a different thing altogether. If you like reading about why the "golden age" is over and "peak TV" is happening, this is a pretty good place to start.

I hate scripted reality TV with every fiber of my being. The Kardashians, any of the "real housewives", just anything of that genre has destroyed society. MTV started it, and I will never forgive them. They should have stuck with music videos.

I stand with you, OP.

It sucks.

A program once required attention for a half hour to an hour with enough time for commercials. Now, the same program requires the entire series with a soap opera loyalty to enjoy the story.

I can barely pay attention to real people so I’m not putting that much effort into watching a show. It’s why I love synopsis forums. If there’s a BIG scene, I can view it on youtube.

I only watch some clips online. Yes I hate tv. I hate tv news and reality shows most of all.

Im with you, OP. All I watch is YouTube videos on my living room screen. And the occasional movie.

I only watch retro. Me TV, Antenna TV, and Decades.

I prefer my television kinder, gentler, and simpler.

R7 you can take prescription drugs for your anxiety disorder.

Oh Papa Tooney. We've got a Looney.

I do wonder what people who hate today's TV think about the wonderfulness of 1960s/70s/80s/90s TV....

My partner watches 22 or show tv shows a week. Pretty much every network crime show, and those Pretty Little Liars type show meant for teens. Other than that, he watches sport and news to fill up the rest of the day while exclaiming "fucking evil Trump". Yes he is 60+ and retired.

Yet he ridicules me for watching youtube videos instead for things I am interested in.

He lacks empathy for other people's way of thinking and lifestyles despite seeing so many different characters on tv each week. He is toxic.

I wish I could find someone kinder. And maybe someone who prefers not to sit on his old, lanky ass all day and instead do/ build things.

R15, people do not usually ask you "Oh my Gawd!! Did you eat that amazing tofu last night??? Don't you just love the way it's all curd-colored and slightly springy on the tines of your fork?"

R27, for what it's worth, I hate all of that too.

The Honeymooners was interesting for its time. Twin Peaks had moments of brilliance.

The rest of it was shit.

The problem is really with the medium.

While serialized storytelling goes way back (Dickens wrote novels that came out in cliffhanger installations) the more modern incarnation that we are familiar with was basically designed as a placeholder in between efforts to try to sell you Geritol.

Unless a show has been designed as a limited mini series, the ongoing nature of a serialized story means narrative and by extension quality will always suffer. They ALWAYS end up jumping the shark. Why? Because they get stretched too thin, like taffy, until all same ground has been covered repeatedly or they have to break the character rules in the show's 'bible' out of sheer desperation.

A great film, by contrast, is a very pure thing because it has a proscenium around it in the form of *a time limit*. It has a clear beginning, a middle and an end. The driver behind that story reaching the ending is organic. In other words, the film ends when the story ends. A tv show ends when an audience stops watching....and for financial reasons, it can't end before that even if it gets repetitive/stupid/ boring. If there is a demand for it, show runners will continue to supply. Even if all the art and entertainment has been squeezed out years ago.

That's why a good film will always be infinitely more satisfying than any of 'prestige tv' widget factory by committee content algorithms that cable or the streamers are churning out today.

So you're 100% right OP. TV (mostly) sucks and Film is Dead.

I watch only Forensic Files or the First 48. I don’t watch series shows anymore. Nothing interests me. I watch Melrose Place on YouTube. That’s it.

Wow. Great post, r31. I never thought of duration in relation to a "series" as compared to a film and why one is, ultimately, more satisfying than the other.

I'll always own a TV, but I get what the OP writes. My TV watching has gone down since Trump is out of the WH, but I've subscribed to a couple of streaming services (HBO Max and Disney +) and now that I've checked both out, I'm thinking of ending my subscriptions, or, at least getting rid of one of them.

Here's a gripe. One of the things I miss about older, broadcast TV series is the feast for the eyes that some provided.

For example, I know Jeremy Piven is hated here at the DL, but man, putting up with him was a small price to pay compared to my love of the series "Mr. Selfridge" which my local PBS aired back about 8 or so years ago.

The expensive set designs, costumes, locations, gave me an eyegasm and the "true" story of his life, was a soapy, addicting, trashy, lavish hoot. It had a dedicated, small following here at the DL with an accompanying thread.

I miss that kind of stuff on regular, broadcast TV, and it ain't never coming back

Not sure if this is age related or most of my current TV shows are just so irrelevant that I immediately forget about them right after watching, but I watch a new show and can hardly remember any storylines or character arcs a couple of months later. Anyone having the same problem? I always have to rewatch the entire show before I can watch a new season. This never happened in the past. I can still remember mosg storylines and characters from the Sopranos or SATC even 20 years later, but I just don't really care about most shows today.