I don't watch a whole lot of TV anymore. My viewing diet typically consists of hockey (go figure), the Discovery Channel, the Food Network, the National Geographic channel, and a little of the History Channel.
I like to watch music videos but since MTV and VH1 don't show those anymore I go to youtube for those. VH1 Classic actually does show video's that don't annoy me so I'll give credit where credit is due.
What I really detest these days are so-called "Reality Shows". I had about 3 minutes in the first survivor just to see if anyone would be dumb enough to eat a cooked rat. I haven't seen an episode of American Idol, the Bachelor, or any of network television pablum that passes for entertainment.
Two of my favorite shows could be considered reality shows however and I'll explain why I differentiate them from most of the others.
One of my favorite shows is "Deadliest Catch" on Discovery Channel. If you want reality this is it. It is life and death - and from this viewers perspective, there isn't anything on that show that isn't compelling. You can't fake the terror and fear of an entire crew when a 60 foot rougue wave knocks a boat on it's side. It's not like they can tell 2 captains that they're going to have to race between a couple of islands and see who catches the most and then give a rose to the winner. That's crap.
My other favorite is American Chopper now on TLC (previously on Discovery). While I haven't paid as much attention to it this season as I have in the past I still follow and enjoy the show. The constant Paul Jr. vs. Paul Sr. battles have long been lost on me but what I enjoy the most is watching the crew create. I don't even own a motorcyle but I can appreciate the effort and creativity involved in fabricating one. I'm not naive enough to think that shit isn't sprinkled into the mix to keep things interesting but all in all I think it's entertaining.
But why must every other media outlet have to shove these shows down our throats? I understand that Fox9 has to pimp "Idol" because it's on the network. But when I turn on the radio in my car on my morning drive I find myself flipping the dial trying to get away from the "results."
Darfur.
Iraq.
Proposed 350% increase on the beer tax.
These are issues, not who got booted, not if Paula is drunk or not.
I make the choice to not watch it, I'm also given the choice to not to care about it. Don't try to convince me that I should.
