Monday, September 29, 2008

Do People Really Watch This Stuff...?

I was surfing around the channels of my television, something that I very seldom do. I didn't find anything that I wanted to watch, in fact...I found a lot of shows that I can't imagine anyone wanting to watch! What in the world has happened to our expectations that we accept some of these shows touted as entertainment?

What entertainment can anyone find in a show that focuses on people getting parking tickets? I kid you not...this whole show is based on people getting parking tickets and their reaction.
Their reaction..?? What do you think their reaction is going to be? They knowingly took a chance and parked illegally hoping they would not get caught, and yet get caught they did! So other than accept the fact that they made a mistake, they are going to lash out at anyone and anything close enough. The fact that a video camera is there is like adding fuel to the fire, causing a more hostile reaction that usual as the wrongdoer will act up for the camera.

Now if anyone had told me that a TV show based on stopping and ticketing traffic speeders, I would have laughed. Yet there it was, in all it's glory (?)... It's amazing to me the stories that people come up with when caught exceeding the posted speed limited. You could make a better show using the excuses than in the act of giving people a ticket. At least, that's the way it seems to me.

Oh, and you just have to love the show about the jerks getting booked into different jails across the country. The antics of some of these drunks, hookers, thieves, druggies, and thugs must register high on someones enjoyment meter, as the show is in it's second or third season. I guess I am just too thick to see the value of this show...

Here's the thing...I'm in my 60's and I have yet to get a single ticket! I've been driving since I was 16 years old with several of those years driving both a truck and a taxi, and I've never even gotten a parking ticket! The secret to my success? That's easy...I obey the law! Simple, huh?

Now I can guarantee you that you will never find a television show based on people obeying the law. Even though it's the right thing to do, there is just no entertainment value to it. We would rather have our children grow up watching people at their very worse behaviour, with plenty of murder, madness, and general mayhem thrown in for color.

Most of the time, if I watch television, it's the old movies or the weather channel. Most of the news I get from the Internet. Now to be honest, there are a couple of shows that I will watch with a clear conscience , but I won't even call them by name. All I can say is that the good guys are the heroes, not the bad guys. Guess I'm just funny that way!

Here's a thought...let's go sit on the patio with a fresh cup of coffee and practise the dying art of conversation, OK? OK...!

6 comments:

blondie said...

Morning Jim,
You're absolutely right.
Cable TV has hundreds of channels and shows to choose from, yet I have a hard time finding something that I want to watch.
Can't say I've been that lucky about the tickets. But I've only had a few, and the last was several years ago.
I guess getting old and mellow pays off eh? hahaha
Enjoying the coffee waiting for the sunrise,
blondie

Lydia said...

Hey Jim,

This is why I rarely watch TV. Society at large seems to really enjoy reality type shows. That's the majority of what you will find on TV. Not sure why, maybe it makes the average person feel better about their own situation when they see another "real" ordinary person in a bad situation?

I think it's also why shows like Jerry Springer are popular. No matter how bad you might feel you life is, it probably wont be worse than some of the trash they show on Springer.

Well like Blondie, I have not been as lucky as you with parking tickets. When we lived in New York, I had a collection of them! I think the meter maids conspired against me actually.

Here, in the boonies, there is rarely any such thing to worry about because there is parking everywhere.

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Another reason that I don't spend a lot of money on cable t.v.! Now, if it is a John Wayne movie, it goes without saying that I will watch it , although , according to my family , I must know all the lines in all the movies by heart. (I really don't know them all!). Coffee, patio sitting and conversation with one of my favorite people sound great!

Cat Melton said...

I have to agree with ya'll about the utter uselessness of tv nowadays.
Reality shows, Springer-type talk shows, and even the news seems to just exploit people's lives.
Give me good old Home and Garden or Food network, and the classic movie channels any day!
Oh, and I too have to say I have had a couple of tickets, but it has been a long time...I think there is something to blondie's suggestion that getting old and mellow pays off...lol.
At any rate, I'd vote to be here visitating with friends every chance I get!

Have a smiletacular day,
Cat

js said...

Hey Jim? So true. But then I guess you haven't seen Kenny vs. Spenny, nor some of the Japanese shows where they eat worms, and commit other acts of frivolous violence and ineptitude.

js

I of course avoid those shows and mostly watch the Crime Scene Investigation shows, and some others.

js said...

But hey, folks? How is this different from the time of the Romans and the gatherings in that Stadium, with all the gladiators fighting each other, and even fighting tigers, lions, and such?

Not much.

Except that now it is broadcast all over the planet.

And it is part of the plan of the Governments to keep folks occupied with such things instead of politics and what could matter.

Right?

js