People Who Don't Watch Telly Page 6

People who make a statement by not watching television are plain stupid and can't be considered intellectually or morally superior in any way. In fact, they sound like people who want to deliberately limit their cultural and education horizons.

Yes, 99% of TV is visual arse-wipe, but the other 1% contains brilliant drama, comedy, documentaries, news & analysis etc. Even if they confined themselves to watching one programme per week of real artistic/educational quality they'd be better people.

Those who don't watch TV because they've never got into the habit are just people who are missing out on some good stuff.

Those who don't watch TV on some point of principle are as wilfully ignorant as I would be if I said that on a point of principle I would never listen to classical music/visit an art gallery/go to the theatre.

As long as people aren't bragging I usually consider it a good thing.
Television is a cool medium, we don't need to pay full attention to it unlike books which demands our full attention.
I watch a lot of TV myself but I think a lot of these complaints I'm reading seem a little defensive and guilty sounding.
With that said I remember watching Scary Movie 3 with a friend who didn't own a TV and having to explain the different pop culture references that popped up every two seconds was annoying.

Quote: Jane P @ October 9 2009, 11:21 AM BST

THEM: I don't watch TV.
ME: I don't poke children in the eye with a sharp stick. Go on - tell me something else you don't do - I can do this all night!

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THEM: I don't watch TV.
ME: *turns TV up* What?

TV is our religion. It's what brings us together and gives us something to talk about and live for. Kill the unbelievers!

living without TV is easy, just need the internet instead.

And a TV Tuner.

It makes me laugh when people lie about what they watch. My mum would never admit to religiously watching most of the soaps, because she thought that was a bit 'common'.

Quote: Jane P @ October 9 2009, 11:21 AM BST

THEM: I don't watch TV.
ME: Then you, my friend, are missing out on 30 seconds of quality porn for free at 11pm every single night!

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I like to treat it as a race against time - like when they diffuse a bomb in the movies. Except there's usually an explosion at the end.

THEM: I don't watch TV.
ME: How long have been a BBC Three Commissioner?

I get flack from my friends for watching science shows regularly. I don't understand what I should be embarrassed about? One of them is a scientist too? Out of all my friends though my scientist and engineering friends are probably the least cultured. The type of people who call stuff 'gay' when they dislike something. Their worse than the jocks that beat them up in high school.

Quote: Tim Walker @ October 9 2009, 11:40 AM BST

Those who don't watch TV on some point of principle are as wilfully ignorant as I would be if I said that on a point of principle I would never listen to classical music/visit an art gallery/go to the theatre.

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These are the ones I usually bump into with their knitted ethnic hats, vegan breath and unruly children with names like Apollo and Medea.

Following on from Dolly's mother, I met someone a few years back who told me they were banned from watching ITV as a child because it was considered low brow and working class.

Some of my friends when I was about 7 or 8 weren't allowed to watch Grange Hill, because it was too common.

Imagine not having been allowed to watch '80s Grange Hill. The poor mites.

1991 is a complete void for me because we didn't have a TV for pretty much the whole year. It broke down in the ad break on Channel 4 between Business Daily and that cartoon called Dennis.

Most kids took Dennis for granted but I had to wait eight months to see this site again...

Quote: zooo @ October 9 2009, 2:02 PM BST

Some of my friends when I was about 7 or 8 weren't allowed to watch Grange Hill, because it was too common.

Imagine not having been allowed to watch '80s Grange Hill. The poor mites.

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They missed Ro-Land and Zammo chasing the dragon. They were culturally abused.

Quote: zooo @ October 9 2009, 2:02 PM BST

Some of my friends when I was about 7 or 8 weren't allowed to watch Grange Hill, because it was too common.

Imagine not having been allowed to watch '80s Grange Hill. The poor mites.

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At the middle-class schools I attended there were genuinely kids whose parents would allow them to watch Blue Peter (BBC) but not Magpie (ITV) due to perceived decency and class issues between the two.

Quote: Curt @ October 9 2009, 1:53 PM BST

I get flack from my friends for watching science shows regularly. I don't understand what I should be embarrassed about? One of them is a scientist too?

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Quite a few UK science shows are pretty lame. Typically, they will present a subject as some sort of mystery, starting it with questions like " but did the Neanderthals really die out?", then you get 55 minutes of talking heads, moody shots of henges, and evocative music, before they give the answers at the end, which very often amounts to 'dunno'.