Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A slice of TV.


For years, we didn't have broadcast television. We weren't really watching anything regularly, so we just got rid of the cable. I missed the local news, though. So, I tried to use a digital broadcast antenna inside of the house. It didn't work well. I occasionally was able to get the local Fox channel to come in; however, none of the other major networks ever showed up. That's not to say I could get any channels. Al-Jazzera, the HK channel in Chinese, Univision, Telemundo, and the English language Russian TV each came in with unwavering clarity. I even managed to tune into PBS with some success. So, I pretty much stopped watching TV, except through Netflix or Hulu.

Then, this summer, Fios made us an offer we couldn't refuse. For about $10 less than we had been paying our other provider for Internet and phone service, Fios offered us phone, cable, Internet, and a DVR. Suddenly, I had TV again, and I could record shows (welcome to 2005!).  I was a bit afraid I would start losing chunks to time to the boob tube. I thought I might fill up the DVR with show upon show. I didn't really have much to worry about. 

Even though I have all these channels, I still haven't found much to follow. I do record one show I had watched online, The Walking Dead, and I'm glad I don't have to tell friends not to spoil it for me. Otherwise, I've only added one more: The Following. I'm not sure what it says about me that the two shows I go out of my way to watch are about surviving the zombie apocalypse and trying to outwit a serial killer. Still, it's kind of fun to follow a couple of popular shows that before I would have to wait months to see. Now all I have to do is watch the last season of Breaking Bad before the new season starts...perhaps my profession of watching little tv is a bit premature...

4 comments:

  1. Wow - I'm impressed you were able to get rid of cable for awhile. I really watch little TV. My husband watches a bit more - my boys, much more. I'd love to have the money we fork over to Direct TV every month.

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    1. We really stopped watching for ages. Now I'm hooked on a couple of shows, but as long as I don't go crazy... fortunately, the lure of books is much stronger for me.

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  2. We have TV - we always have. And we do watch sports and a couple of shows regularly. But it amazes me that we have the volume of shows and so little we deem worth watching. Maybe we should follow your lead. If I could just give up The Big Bang.

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    1. I'm amazed at how much is on Netflix. I think the Netflix original series "House of Cards" may be the way TV is going.

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