Comments on: TV or not TV?

By: Bill Dueber

Bill Dueber — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:31:20 +0000

Not TV. For my wife and I, it’s not that we’re dicerning viewers — just the opposite. We’ll sit and watch absolute crap and never talk to each other or get any work done quite happily. Er…unhappily.

So we get good series via NetFlix and have the best of both worlds.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 23:10:20 +0000

At parent/teacher conferences some years ago, my kid’s teachers would say something like: “I wish I had a whole class of students like your daughter. How did you do it?” My reply: “We let her watch a lot of TV.”

By: walt

walt — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 15:27:47 +0000

All good points. Angel’s right, as I’ve learned dealing with hit movies that I would never, ever watch: You can be informed about a cultural phenomenon without actually taking part in it. Not 100% informed, I don’t believe, but well enough to comprehend conversations.

By: Angel

Angel — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:29:12 +0000

I am not much of a TV watcher myself, but I make sure I know what is up and coming. Looking up information online for just about anything on TV pretty much makes it easy to find what I need and still be able to talk about it with people. It does not mean I don’t watch TV: I just don’t watch whatever is one the Nielsen ratings at the time. For instance, I am still grieving shows like The X-Files are gone (but they are on DVD, so the grief will pass). But it is also a reflection of my schedule. Like you, I don’t do too many 10pm shows, and I often prefer things like documentaries (love the History Channel) for instance. So, what am I trying to say? Well, as a librarian, I don’t think you have to watch every single thing, but you better have at least a good idea of what is on and how to quickly learn about it. In this day and age, learning about it is pretty easy.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 03:05:33 +0000

Hear, hear, Walt. I have many friends who claim to not watch TV, but it is no better or worse than any other form of media, as long as you’re using it actively.

Much agreed with Dorothea about how useful TV is for language learning, I watch France2 Tempo news a few days a week (which is on the multicultural TV station I used to work for).

The only show I watch regularly is Arrested Development, but I do like to watch documentaries, and the occasional movie on TV. I have no interest in cable, so we have the 5 free channels and that’s it (of which two are government-owned). And TIVO doesn’t exist in Australia, which is a good thing or I’d have bought one.

By: rochelle

rochelle — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 21:11:52 +0000

TV. I used to say, “I’m sorry I don’t watch TV,” but got past it. I am not a particularly discerning viewer and watch a lot of crap. But, it’s crap that a lot of other patrons watch and want to talk about. I don’t think a public librarian can afford to be format prejudiced if he or she is going to be working at a busy reference desk. Even if you choose to not watch TV at all, you’d better know how to find info online about it. My film literacy is pretty poor, but boy, do I know my way around IMDB.com.

By: Dorothea Salo

Dorothea Salo — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 18:38:09 +0000

The local non-cable Spanish-language channel runs a Family Feud knockoff called “100 Mexicanos Dijeron.” Mind-candy though it unquestionably is, it’s the best darn thing for increasing my knowledge of real Spanish idiom (as opposed to classroom talk and scholarly writing) that I’ve ever seen, and I dearly wish I’d had it when I was teaching Spanish to undergrads. Step aside, Destinos!

Yesterday I learned six non-vulgar ways to say “I’ve had it up to here.”