Television

[Cow of Shame]

I don't watch nearly enough tv. When I think about all those Magnum, PI, M*A*S*H, and Law & Order reruns being sent through the airwaves, reaching the dark and unwelcoming tube in my home, I nearly cry. Don't lose hope, Mr. Selleck! Mr. Watterson! Mr. Alda! My carefree college days may be over, I may no longer be able to do daily homage to your glory, but you live forever in my heart!

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Cow of Shame' date='Mar 21 2006, 10:05 PM']I don't watch nearly enough tv.  When I think about all those Magnum, PI, M*A*S*H,  and Law & Order reruns being sent through the airwaves, reaching the dark and unwelcoming tube in my home, I nearly cry.  Don't lose hope, Mr. Selleck!  Mr. Watterson!  Mr. Alda!  My carefree college days may be over, I may no longer be able to do daily homage to your glory, but you live forever in my heart!
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[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

im a recovoring tv addict.

im trying to stop.

i like true crime shows, law and order, ewtn, mythbusters, any crime show.

[Peccator]

I was living in Cape Town for a year after I left school...and while I was there I could not afford to buy a television in the beginning, and oneday I woke up and realised I havent watched television in 6 months, and I didn't even notice it!

Needless to say, since then I have to say my TV habits have stayed the same...I watch maybe 2 hours a month, if its even that much.

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Sojourner' date='Mar 14 2006, 11:42 AM']OK. My television viewing habits have changed over the years. I've gone from hardly ever watching it to the current watching something like an hour a day. I've gone from having no cable to having basic cable to now having full cable with HBO.

While I currently have more cable than I have had in the past, and I watch it, my addendum is that if I didn't have a housemate who considers TV a "necessary luxury item" I would not have it. But such are the compromises we make.

My close friends range from having no cable to basic cable to deluxe cable like mine, and their views on television are just as varied. I have a handful of shows I enjoy watching if I'm home and not doing anything and they're on -- Law & Order re-runs, House, Desperate Housewives, The Daily Show, the Colbert Report, Injustice. I also watch movies on a fairly regular basis.

I view television as pure entertainment. I typically don't look to it for news, although I do watch the news from time to time. I don't look to it for religious education. It's mind candy ... things that make me laugh or are interesting stories.

I've been interested to see so many people recently posting about how they're getting rid of their TVs or contemplating doing so ... particularly people who've said they think it could be a sin to pay for cable. So let's discuss this ... is television inherently immoral?
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I pretty much on the same boat as you are, except I have basic cable. I enjoy watching TV, despite how many sitcoms these days are utter carp to begin with. A list of shows I do follow however are [b]Everybody Loves Raymond[/b], [b]Prison Break[/b], [b]24[/b], and [b]Who's Line Is It Anyway[/b]. Occasionally I will have the TV on in the background, with either Fox News, MSNBC, or the Weather channel playing.

In my view, television isn't "evil", it's a great technological achievement that God inspired man to create; unfortunately, much of it has been used wrongfully. However, there are still many enjoyable programs to watch, despite many of the programs that seem to be filled with a lot of sexual immortality.

Some of you may think I'm a little biased, since my career goal is the film/media industry, but I think the industry is improving, slowly. On one end of the spectrum, you have new shows being produced that seem to be morally worse than their predecessors; on the other end however, you have new programs coming out that are promoting basic moral values and aren't filled with unnecessary garbage.

So instead of one side dominating the industry with programs that are somewhat offensive, you now have a confrontation between two factions that are going against each other, thus producing more extreme shows on both sides of the spectrum. Though as more Christians in our generation (or anyone who is fed up with the current state of the industry) begin impacting the industry, which they are starting to do, we can expect to see a slow change not only on our television sets, but also in the cinemas.

This doesn't mean we'll be having summer blockbuster Bible films, such as [b]Fire & Brimstone[/b], [b]Commandment Man[/b], or [b]David's Big Bully[/b] (God help us if we did), but we'll be having films (and television programs) that promote basic moral values, instead of advertising immoral behavior.


[b]EDIT:[/b] If people want to throw away their TV's, I won't stop you, it's your choice. However, I don't believe that'll solve the problem, because then that is one less person they have to deal with who disagrees with their agenda. The best way to counter it, is to keep your TV's and tune into the programs that promote basic moral values. This will show up in the ratings, and it'll pressure the television (and film) industries to change their programming.

[OLAM Dad]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='Mar 14 2006, 02:36 PM']I'm confused as to why movies are inherently better than a TV show.... I mean, there are tv shows that are better than some movies.
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I don't think anybody is claiming that movies are inherently better, because they aren't. As a parent though, I can control what movies my kids watch, whether I'm paying attention to them or not. With cable or dish I can't.

[Cow of Shame]

[quote name='OLAM Dad' date='Mar 29 2006, 09:01 AM']I don't think anybody is claiming that movies are inherently better, because they aren't.  As a parent though, I can control what movies my kids watch, whether I'm paying attention to them or not.  With cable or dish I can't.
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I thought dish had locks on it so kids can't watch certain shows.

[OLAM Dad]

You might be right.

Regardless, I don't know how they could possibly work very well. If they are anything like movie ratings then they are probably useless. There are some PG movies that I wouldn't let my kids watch and some PG-13 ones that are just fine.

[Cow of Shame]

[quote name='OLAM Dad' date='Mar 29 2006, 09:41 AM']You might be right. 

Regardless, I don't know how they could possibly work very well.  If they are anything like movie ratings then they are probably useless.  There are some PG movies that I wouldn't let my kids watch and some PG-13 ones that are just fine.
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I've only glanced at the locks on mine since it's not needed, but it seems like it's a pretty flexible system.

[Paladin]

I gave up TV for Lent and don't regret it at all. I really hardly miss it, unless my roommate is watching something.

I don't watch a lot, really. CSI, King of Queens, sometimes ER.

[Cow of Shame]

[quote name='Paladin' date='Mar 30 2006, 11:43 AM']I gave up TV for Lent and don't regret it at all.  I really hardly miss it, unless my roommate is watching something.

I don't watch a lot, really.  CSI, King of Queens, sometimes ER.
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Yeah, I gave up smoking for Lent. I haven't missed it, either!

I mean, I don't actually [i]smoke[/i], per se, but I'm sure it's the thought that counts.

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Cow of Shame' date='Mar 31 2006, 08:25 AM']Yeah, I gave up smoking for Lent.  I haven't missed it, either!

I mean, I don't actually [i]smoke[/i], per se, but I'm sure it's the thought that counts.
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