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26 Nov 11 - 05:13 PM (#3263932) Subject: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,josepp Yesterday, I was forced to endure three consecutive "episodes" of "Jersey Shore". People today call this show "stupid" which it is but I think we need to further define it. Stupid TV is not necessarily a bad thing. Stupid can be funny. The 3 Stooges may have been the start of stupid TV. Their shorts were not made for television but were originally shown in moviehouses. But the huge popularity of the Stooges when I was growing up was strictly due to TV exposure. No one can deny that the Stooge episodes were ridiculously stupid but most of us (I said "most" so shut up) also acknowledge they were hilariously funny. The sight of of one of the Stooges getting knocked through a door leaving his outline in the wood may be moronic but it's also hilarious. Another show that was completely stupid was "Green Acres" but it too was also hilarious. I saw one recently where a film crew was going to come to Hooterville so Haney opens "Haney's School of Acting" where the first rule was never to look at the camera. His TV camera was a mock-up with a tomato can as the lens. When the news crew tries to film people, they turn away from the camera because, they tell the bewildered crew, "Mr. Haney told us never to look into the tomato can." I laughed so damned hard. Another stupid show was "Get Smart" but which was also totally hilarious. Like when Max fills out a questionnaire for a dating service only to find himself hooked up with Chief as his perfect date which neither of them find humorous is hilarious. "Gilligan's Island" was another like when Gilligan's mouth turns into a radio receiver and every time he tries to talk this tinny rocknroll music comes out causing whoever was closest to him to reach over and push his mouth shut. Totally stupid programs but which were hilarious in their stupidity. "Jersey Shore" simply isn't funny in its stupidity. I mean, it's laughable but that's not the same as saying it's laugh-filled. It's funny at the expense of itself. After these three episodes, I felt numb, drained. Like something sucked my mind out of my body. This is what people today think is funny. Today's attempts at stupid but funny end up being stupid and annoying. Maybe stupid isn't the right word--mindless would be more like it. In these earlier programs I mentioned there was some plot to follow. In "Jersey Shore" there's no plot. All three episodes were really indistinguishable and had no storyline to follow and so trying to follow it leaves you feeling sort of dizzy and tired. It's truly idiot TV these days and I think really is debilitating to watch and really is harmful. It's frightening that this shit can be so popular. |
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26 Nov 11 - 05:36 PM (#3263943) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: gnu Forced? Why not just not watch it? Go brush yer teeth. Floss. Go fer a walk? I have no idea what the show is about. Reality TV is not a reality for me. Never seen any of it. If it ain't comedy, science or sports, it ain't on my TV. |
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26 Nov 11 - 05:53 PM (#3263955) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,Josepp I was invited over to Thanksgiving dinner (yes, on Friday) and my friend's daughter had recorded some episodes that she thought were funny and how am I to tell her to turn it off without being rude? Do you go over to your friend's houses and tell them what they can watch and not watch while you're there? It's their house and their tv. I was praying for the tryptophan to kick in but I guess it was bored to death too. |
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26 Nov 11 - 05:57 PM (#3263960) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Ed T Could one merely say, "I don't watch, or enjoy TV, and I came over to see you, not to watch your TV programs? |
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26 Nov 11 - 07:09 PM (#3263990) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: gnu Rather rude of her. I think I may have had a sudden attack of something and left. Of course, Ed has it more correctly, except the "your". But, either way, I would say something... even if it was, "I don't care for such trash." But that's me. |
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26 Nov 11 - 07:12 PM (#3263993) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,Bluesman I keep box sets such as "The World at War" or "The Great War" for days when there is nothing on. |
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26 Nov 11 - 08:01 PM (#3264018) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Stilly River Sage I don't have cable so I don't see that stuff. I don't watch much on commercial television, so I miss most of that. I use NetFlix a lot and if guests are over and we turn on the TV to stream something we always look for a film everyone will enjoy. If I pick a movie to surprise someone with, it's because I know them so well that I'm sure they'll enjoy it (you should have seen a couple of friends the first time they saw Peter Sellers' Being There - it was as much fun to watch them as it was to watch the movie.) It was a bit naive to play all of those programs without sounding out the group first, but perhaps the person with the recordings was very young? Maybe your friend should have limited his daughter to sharing just one episode. SRS |
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26 Nov 11 - 08:15 PM (#3264022) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Jeri My mother asked a couple cousins over once. After we ate (and they had pre-cleared this with Mom) they watched friggin' football. I didn't care about control of the TV, I had a book, but it just struck me as weird that anyone would spend a holiday with family, distant or otherwise, so they could watch sports on TV. I had a book and just tuned the rest out until they drove the 3 hours back home. I've seen bits of Jersey Shore when I've been channel surfing, and I have to wonder what the fascination is with the show. Perhaps people just feel better if they can believe the rest of the world is NOT smarter than they are. |
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27 Nov 11 - 10:16 AM (#3264231) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Sandy Mc Lean Buy a cheap remote control after noting the model of TV set to program it. Keep the remote hidden and keep hitting the power switch. |
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27 Nov 11 - 10:24 AM (#3264237) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Rapparee You can get a "Universal Remote." Elvis called it a ".38 Special." I don't even watch the Weather Channel all that much anymore. History International, the Military Channel when there's history on, and that's about it. |
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27 Nov 11 - 10:32 AM (#3264242) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Lighter TV has always been stupid. The difference is that nowadays shows compete in a race to the bottom, which is where the viewers and the money are. But there have always been exceptions. Many of the documntaries on PBS and National Geographic are splendid. Even the History Channel can put on a good one every six months or so. As for most "entertainment TV," gaaaaaack!! (The same goes for movies.) |
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27 Nov 11 - 10:36 AM (#3264246) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,josepp Why not a real .38 Special? |
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27 Nov 11 - 10:49 AM (#3264249) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Ed T ""Buy a cheap remote control after noting the model of TV set to program it. Keep the remote hidden and keep hitting the power switch"". I did that with a neighbour, as a joke, awhile back. It was funny to see the reaction. |
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27 Nov 11 - 09:27 PM (#3264472) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: kendall I always turn it off when people come to visit. It's damned rude otherwise. Stupid TV is redundant. |
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28 Nov 11 - 02:58 AM (#3264565) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,Patsy When I am at my parents who are in their 80s their idea of a good night's viewing tends to be back to back news and the classic challenge quiz channel which are old game shows from way back. The reason they do this is because they are fed up of people or contestants on modern tv programs shrieking, crying and screaming at each other. My escape from stupid tv is the radio. |
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28 Nov 11 - 07:37 AM (#3264696) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: kendall My escape is the Mudcat. :-) |
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28 Nov 11 - 10:33 AM (#3264790) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Bill D I have a cartoon of a man sitting in a chair, staring at a TV. In the caption, he is saying: "To think- people are watching this!" |
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28 Nov 11 - 10:44 AM (#3264796) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Backwoodsman Consider yourselves fortunate not to have that 'Eastenders' drivel on your TV. The opium of the Brain-Dead. |
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28 Nov 11 - 11:51 AM (#3264826) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: JohnInKansas The trash programming aside, I was forced to put on my activist hat and communicate with a local TV station this morning. During a morning "newsish" show (a network version) the obligatory recitation of the increased cost of observing the "Twelve Days of Christmas" was presented, but at the end of the bit one of the commentators quipped "but you can still sing it for free." WRONG. "In the early 20th century, English composer Frederic Austin wrote an arrangement in which he added his melody from "Five gold rings" onwards,[5] which has since become standard. The copyright to this arrangement was registered in 1909 and is still active by its owners, Novello & Co. Limited." The copyright cops will get ya. Too typical of the uninformed telling lies to the ignorant. John |
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28 Nov 11 - 12:20 PM (#3264848) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,josepp There was an advertisement last night on one cable channel for a new show that will appear soon on another cable channel and it features these five guys who are supposed to be buddies playing pranks on each other and, again, it's the same crap that younger viewers seem to think is so damned funny these days. All I saw was one guy sitting on the can yelling for toilet paper and another of a guy sucking on a fat woman's toes while the others watch him while shrieking "EWWWWWW!!!" I mean, what's happened to us? Why would anyone find this entertaining? Just like guys who laugh like a bunch of donkeys at movies like "Jackass." I think the real jackasses are the guys who think watching a guy giving himself a beer enema (yes, really) is freaking hilariously funny. I had the misfortune to catch that part when I went over a buddy's house to pick something up. I did not stick around. |
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28 Nov 11 - 12:31 PM (#3264859) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Amos I don't think it is happening to all of us, JP--some of us are resistant to involuntary hypnotism. Others seem to hunger for it (if that is not too self-contradictory). We learned from the earliest days of Newton Minnow's "wasteland" that television lends itself readily to crapola. As people grow less and less capable of analytical reaosning, the kind of hypnotic idiocy once reserved to soap operas and sports is gradually becoming the wide, fetid sub-basement of more and more of our culture. The kind of humor you object to (in my opinion) is indicative of a kind of apathetic resignation and a migration toward themindlessness portrayed in "Idiocracy". A |
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28 Nov 11 - 01:34 PM (#3264896) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Lighter A beer enema is automatically twice as funny as beer or enemas, which are apparently really funny. There are people who laugh whenever they think the word "beer." Or "enema." |
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28 Nov 11 - 02:03 PM (#3264909) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: JohnInKansas The more disturing influence, that I made note of some years ago, is that "reality TV" is essentially nothing but "communal bullying." The gossip shows this morning have been citing some recent report (they don't identify sources on TV - ever) that found that girls who watch lots of the "reality shows" are significantly more "accepting of (demeaning) gossip and aggresive conduct" than those who don't. Big surprise. Since I don't bother with cable or satellite stuff, I get only 6 channels (most of the time - often fewer) and it's not uncommon at any given time to find three channels with "judge shows" (everybody likes to watch someone be abused, and I've counted NINE of them regularly broadcast even in my tiny local area) with one or two of the others doing inane football (games or "talking heads talking about football" -- it takes three hours to tell everybody what happened in the two hour game just over). Any remaining channels will be running "paid commercial announcements" some of which now give their con-job pitches "names" so they'll look like something else. I'm about down to "Ellen" and the morning Ag Shows (04:00 AM to 6:00 AM when there's only me and those three farmers awake) that are really "watchable" if brutality ain't yer bag. John |
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29 Nov 11 - 08:30 AM (#3265378) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: GUEST,Patsy The programs that I can't stand are the ones that are based around roads and traffic. USA and the UK both do that, traffic cops, speeding cars, getaway cars, why so many? So many that they have been repeated time and time again. It seems an excuse just to stick a program like that in any available space rather than putting on something decent to watch. |
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29 Nov 11 - 09:05 AM (#3265403) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Bill D The ones that have been bothering me lately are the "Dumbest things on wheels" series, where they show people (mostly guys, but not always) trying stupid stunts on everything from skateboards to racecars. The sort of thing that begins with a bet: "Hey..I'll bet I can ride this unicycle off the roof and land in that plastic wading pool!" Well...those stunts 'can' be merely fun & silly, but they seem to run out of clips with just silly, fun endings and have begun taking the really scary ones....and cutting the aftermath where it would probably show some serious injuries. *I* think it gives idiots more stupid ideas. Perhaps it's training film for the Darwin Awards. |
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29 Nov 11 - 12:04 PM (#3265503) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Little Hawk Jeri - "Perhaps people just feel better if they can believe the rest of the world is NOT smarter than they are." I think you have hit on the crux of the matter, Jeri. It certainly could explain the popularity of "Jersey Shore" and movies like Jackass" or "Dumb and Dumber". |
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29 Nov 11 - 12:25 PM (#3265513) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Lighter Each day, a new sucker is given birth. Today's entertainment caters especially to those born in the mid '90s. (Actually, it's thousands born each day, many with purchasing power.) |
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29 Nov 11 - 01:19 PM (#3265545) Subject: RE: BS: Stupid television From: Little Hawk I think a great many people tend to rise (or sink) to the mark society places most obviously in front of them. The cattle eat what's put in the trough, and after a while "they are what they eat". This population wasn't born stupid. They were gradually made that way by the power of commercial marketing and mass media propaganda. You could accomplish the same with any population if you sat them down in front of televisions from an early age and left them there to be brainwashed. This was well understood in Orwell's novel "1984", and it has been happening ever since the 1950s. There are always some people who see through it and resist the programming. They are considered "subversives" or "troublemakers" in an Orwellian system. |