TV and TV Seasons

[LovelyLadyLux]

Mostly I tend to watch TV News and Documentaries and can't really say I have a favourite TV show that I watch for pure entertainment value. I flip amongst a few shows but don't have any one show I just MUST watch.

Right now "Shark Week" is on and I quite like watching all the documentaries about sharks.

Purpose of this post is - overall I find the quality of most TV shows going down down and down. We seem to have mega "Reality" shows being broadcast here on any theme that can be thought up and the majority are ridiculous and the few that aren't totally ridiculous are far-fetched. I don't think I've ever finished watching a 1 hour episode of any of them. Can't help but think how these reality shows are impacting the younger generations of today.

The fall TV show line ups are not been advertised and so far I haven't seen anything that looks like it is going to be funny, entertaining or long lasting (meaning not more than 1 season).

Anything you're looking forward to watching as the new season opens up?

[Grandad]

I don't know what is coming up over here. Not being a snob but I tend to avoid ITV unless they have something highly rated. I just lose patience with the ads that break up any good program.
We have had a very good summer of sport from the British Open golf through the Commonwealth games and now the European Games, with Formula One going through until the autumn.
I would normally 'endure' Strictly Come Dancing, up to Christmas but they have changed the presenters to Dozy Tess Daly and Dipsy Claudia Winkleman so that will go down hill.
Hopefully the BBC will have some good serial dramas on the way. They do them very well AND there are no ad breaks.....
Have to wait and see what is planned for the darker evenings...

[LovelyLadyLux]

I understand fully what you mean I can't stand advertisements either. On TV here a movie will start and probably show 30 to 40 min before the ads start but the last 10 min can be filled up with 20 min of adverts. UGH! The half hour shows (which I can't stand watching) give only about 20 min of viewing and 10 min of ads (if you're lucky).

I started Netflix on moving here and actually quite like the movies and documentaries cause there are NO ads!

I'm still hooked to TV for the NEWS and Discovery Channels but really watch very little else. What annoys me mostly is that on TV I have only about 5 channels MAX I watch but to get them I have to buy "bundles" of other channels and you MUST buy either BASIC (local only TV which is very bad), 3 bundles or 6 bundles. A couple of the bundles are "Reality TV" - people sharing houses, housewives, wife/husband swaps and the sordid list goes on.....UGH. I don't want to sound a snob either but I can't fathom WHO wants to watch this drivel.

Am ever optimistic there might be some new shows on this fall that might really appeal to me.

[Jayway]

When there is a decent film on Portuguese tv, I do watch, and the ads are 20 mins so I can make dinner, wash up, get a drink ready for the next part. Much prefer my comp and dvd strategy games that I can play alone and not bother about net connection. Just watch an Al Jazeera doc about micro-nations, will be googling that later.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Micro nations? Sounds interesting .....

Are your ads on TV there all lumped into one block of time? That would be terrific cause then I could ignore them totally! Here they're interspersed with the Show.

[Grandad]

LLL, ours are at approx 10 minute intervals with around 4 minutes of ads. So in a one hour programme you can get up to five breaks which really pi**es me off. Unfortunately I can see the time not too far away when even the BBC becomes commercial. They have four channels which give a good range of tastes.

I don't have and don't want Sky or any other satellite or piped channels. Just Freeview HD that gives me more than I need.

[Ruby Slippers]

Occasionally a programme series starts which I watch but mostly I prefer documentaries. At the moment I am following 'Who do You think you are'; 'Antiques Roadshow'; but I don't generally watch films because most of the films we get here are American and I find them quite unwatchable.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Usually here the first part of the show gives less adverts than towards the end where you can actually get 3 min of show then 3 min of ad 3 min of show and 3 min of ad. Makes getting to the end of a show painful. Absolutely awful because of all the adverts. My solution is basically I refuse to watch in the first place.

I enjoy documentaries, Discovery channel shows and quite agree the majority of US TV & movies isn't my cup of tea although there are occasional shows that come out that I do quite enjoy.

Always difficult to tell at the start of a movie or show if I'll like it or not but I'm not 'long suffering' and don't persevere to the bitter end if the show deteriorates for me.

Am hoping for some good shows this next season.

[Grandad]

I'm with you RS. Having spent many hours online researching my own family history I am hooked on all the Who Do You Think You Are series. Brian Blesseds was very good last evening although Mrs G does not share my interest.

And I am totally hooked on all antiques programs......just never had the good fortune to find some treasure worth thousands

[LovelyLadyLux]

We don't get "Who do you think you are?" - BUT - am sure once it is really popular there + 3 or so years We MIGHT get it here.

I like the Antique Roadshow type shows too cause I'm always searching for buried treasure although have never found anything worth millions. Not for lack of looking though.

[Grandad]

The thing that amazes and pleases me about the family history programs is the extensive records that are available in churches, records offices, census records etc. Going back centuries in some cases. And thank goodness that these records were kept and that they have survived.

[Horus]

I tend to watch National Geographic & the History Channel plus the odd good series that gets shown on Sky Atlantic. I have a Sky Plus box so I usually wait until the program starts then put it on 'pause' then go and do something else for 15 minutes or so, then I sit down and watch the program but I can fast forward through all the adverts and am quite an expert at judging when the break is over even at a 30 times fast forward speed, so by the time the program finishes I am back in cinque again, but without viewing the adds and hardly any interuption in the program.

[LovelyLadyLux]

"The World's Oldest Child" was on TV this evening by National Geographic about a child's skull and upper body found in Morocco that is estimated to be about 108,000 yrs old (pyramids about 5000). Not sure if this is Neandertal, Homo Sapiens OR something else that could be a missing link. This show first aired 2011. Quite fascinating but the first I've ever heard of this. Really like shows like this but must've missed this one. Will have to research on the internet to see if I can find out anymore about this.