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Post by Ganbare! on Jan 11, 2010 16:22:21 GMT -5
These days, I don't watch TV very often because of the lack of segmentarized content on this medium even though I basically grew up in front of a television set. I'll start with American TV series, in the past few years they have evolved radically from their predictable plots and pathetic acting to great fictions up to par with movies thanks to colossal budgets spent on great writers and actors, all of which are so rarely seen in reality TV. I adore 30 Rock, despite the low ratings it's just so quirky, hilarious. What tv shows do you enjoy watching ?
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Post by betahat on Jan 11, 2010 17:21:51 GMT -5
^ lack of segmentarizing content
I have no idea what that means. The most recent series I've been watching are Mad Men Season 2(AMC) and In Treatment Season 2(HBO). I'm a big fan of episodic serials, though my tastes range from the low-brow - 24, for example - to the high-brow - like the Wire, Sopranos. HBO and its offshoots have been a god-send to America, as much of the best acting and writing can now be found on TV rather than the movies and with so much more time writers are free to develop character and plot at their own pace.
I have a few guilty pleasures - shows I do not consider to be good but that I watch in part because I enjoy them with my wife (who is not a fan of tv violence) - Vampire Diaries and Desperate Housewives fall into that category.
I generally hate the sitcom genre and only watch South Park and the Simpsons. For my money the Simpsons is still the best comedy on tv, but South Park has the occasional episode that blows me away simply because of the creative freedom they have (not being on network tv).
I probably watch too much TV, but hey, life is too short to spend it all on exercise, self-improvement, or developing your relationships with actual human beings.
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Post by Ganbare! on Jan 11, 2010 17:48:37 GMT -5
It's a TV marketing term meaning that a program does not appeal to the mainstream audience in its entirety and only to a particular demographic/market because of its nature. HBO is also anthological Entourage (Emmy Award quasi-monopoly), Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested development.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkC92MraU8s&feature=related [/youtube]
"Oh by the way, Mr Gold, I'm from Guatemala and our currency is the Quetzal !"
No one ever told you it was the other way around, lol?
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Post by xandra on Jan 12, 2010 5:57:04 GMT -5
I watch far too much television, but some of my favourite shows are: 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development (have only seen a handful of episodes, but want to get through the whole series), Top Chef, Entourage, and recently discovered IT Crowd.
I also tend to watch a lot of trash, stupid MTV shows, etc. But once I move to Montreal we'll just be downloading shows we want to watch, so hopefully that will curb my s***ty tv watching tendencies.
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Post by betahat on Jan 12, 2010 12:47:48 GMT -5
^I hear Jersey Shore takes the cake but I just can't bring myself to watch it.
Entourage last season went through a weak stretch but finished strong. Jeremy Piven is great - I recently saw him in a movie (Keeping up with the Steins) where he basically plays the same character as Ari.
I would have thought that there was a lot of segmentarizing content on TV - what the hell are all of those channels for?
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on Jan 12, 2010 19:08:03 GMT -5
I can't see the humor in 30 Rock. When I watched it with a group of friends, they laughed at everything. I think I was more irritated by that more than anything, thus my indifference became a kind of hatred... not of the show (it's not their fault it's still on TV) but of the kind of audience that finds it roflmao hilarious.
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Post by xandra on Jan 13, 2010 4:32:28 GMT -5
^ ie. your friends?
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Post by Ganbare! on Jan 13, 2010 8:19:01 GMT -5
And you know the saying: Judge people by their friends! Back on topic, there are also loads of great shows in other languages but I'm not really sure you'll understand a thing. Here's a quick Barbie commercial parody taken from Les Guignols de l'Info, a news satire muppet show very popular on French TV : www.dailymotion.com/video/x80pn_barbie-spice-di-counasse_fun^I probably watch too much TV, but hey, life is too short to spend it all on exercise, self-improvement, or developing your relationships with actual human beings. You don't think it's the opposite? ;D Very self-indulging.
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on Jan 13, 2010 23:23:51 GMT -5
Aye, when we're watching 30 Rock together, I don't know these people.
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Post by betahat on Jan 14, 2010 15:53:39 GMT -5
Honestly there are very few people or places that are more interesting than a well-made TV show or movie. When I put on my economist hat I sympathize with methodologies that value goods not just by how much you spend on them but how time you spend on them as well. And on that basis, TV and movies are very important to me, maybe more important than my friends and family. I think about my grandmother and how her husband is gone, she has no friends, and has pretty limited amounts of contact with her son and grand-children and I think to myself - TV is (almost) all she has left, along with eating and sleeping. I'd like to think when I'm old and gray I'll also have video games and the internet (and that my wife will outlive me) but there are few things in life you can count on like a good tv show or movie.
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Post by Ganbare! on Jan 14, 2010 16:37:15 GMT -5
betahat: Im/material produced goods more important than your family and friends? Anyone else think the same? I hope when I'll be old, I'll spend countless hours comfortably seated thinking and reading all the things I have missed during my professional life: literature, politics, sociology, arts, design, technology and so much more, just like Confucius. No playing cards at the retirement home ! Back on topic, how do you watch tv programs: illegal downloads, pay per view, cable or just network channels ?
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on Jan 14, 2010 21:24:52 GMT -5
Back on topic, how do you watch tv programs: illegal downloads, pay per view, cable or just network channels ? Most of what I want to watch on TV, I can stream on the internet with fewer commercials or have already been fan-subbed into English.
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Post by Ganbare! on Jan 15, 2010 18:35:07 GMT -5
Talking about Asian TV. Anyone watch dramas? Some Korean friends were watching Full House although it seemed a bit cheesy and low budget, it looked like quite relaxing after a hard day of work.
Betahat, are you deliberately avoiding to reply my questions or maybe they aren't apparent ?
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Post by betahat on Jan 15, 2010 23:39:51 GMT -5
When I'm old and all my friends and family are dead, TV will be all I have left. Expecting your kids and grandkids to visit you all the time is asking too much. Honestly, unless I get into a kick ass retirement home I doubt I'll find the conversation very stimulating.
Now of course, watching TV with family and friends makes it more enjoyable. TV is a definite social event, and a large part of my social calendar revolves around watching sports on TV or the occasional regular show (24 nights starting again this Sunday!)
Are you asking me would I trade all my friends and family for TV? Obviously not, but I would certainly trade some of my friends and family members...
I feel compelled to argue for TV because there are lots of oh so superior types who are just too cool - OF COURSE you are doing more important, interesting, and intellectual things. You're better than me, I admit it. Now let me finish season 4 of Lost in peace.
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Post by bulaklak on Jan 16, 2010 16:49:05 GMT -5
Talking about Asian TV. Anyone watch dramas? I love Korean dramas! "My Lovely Sam Soon" is one of my favorites. I don't have a lot of time or access to a TV during the school semester so I usually watch shows and movies on hulu.com and stream my sports games from sketchy sites. Shows I currently watch: - Conan O'Brien where ever NBC decides to put him. - Police Dramas --> NCIS, Law and Order (SVU scares the s*** out of me and now I try to avoid walking alone at night in NYC) - The Food Network if Cablevision and Scripps would stop fighting already. and this morning I flipped on the TV and to my joy caught two episodes of the original Power Rangers! Yah it made my day ;D
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