TV Dilemma: When the Set Dies, What's a Maven to Do?

Without a working television a TV Maven is a fisherman without a net When my 13yearold Sony Trinitron blinked twice and died two weeks ago it was as if an old friend had passed away Sony and I had spent many a television season together surviving moves to three cities switches to six different cable companies and every episode of HBO39s Tell Me You Love Me now canceled so put your pants back on peopleSo what does a TV Maven do without a TV First she clicks on the tiny rabbiteared portable sitting on a shelf in the back room of Chez Maven and watches the oldfashioned way This is a set without a remote mind you so changing channels involves quicktwitch muscle action from chair to set Funny how long youamp8217ll watch golf or infomercials for mineral powder makeup when not watching them involves a trip across the room One morning all four hours of the Today show droned on in the background and I never bothered to click to GMA or the local piece of crud show on the Fox affiliate Dear Fourth Hour of Todayamp160Howamp8217d Kathie Lee Gifford get THAT job And why does she refer to her cohost Hoda Kotbe as amp8220HodaWomanamp8221No surprise a diet of only broadcast TV blows Morning to midnight itamp8217s mostly crap layered between even worse crap Local newscasts obsess about the dangers of peppers from Mexico and give empty updates on weather even when there39s no weather happening Where I am that means hearing 900 times a day that itamp8217s hot and sunny Sunny and hot amp8220Letamp8217s get a check of the weather with Stan Boy itamp8217s hot out there Stanamp8221 Stan predicts continued hot with intervals of sun Itamp8217s summer in Texas Itamp8217s going to be 105 for the next month Today the only shade I got was when a pigeon flew over Before it landed it was cooked to original crispySuffering from OlbermannStewartCooper withdrawal missing the season returns of Project Runway and Mad Men I KNOW I tried to do prime time with the broadcasters Every night itamp8217s another dreary Dateline saga on NBC about a missing woman and the crazy husband who killed her Every one of these reallife murder tales gets to the phrase amp8220grisly discoveryamp8221 And can Keith Morrison or Hoda Kotbe talkamp8230anyamp8230slower Hoda Kotbe the new Stone PhillipsThe talent shows All that breakdancing and dog training and singing of patriotic ballads Couldnamp8217t change the channels fast enough America39s Got Talent Not so muchDid get in on some good episodes of Gordon Ramsay and his Kitchen Nightmares on Fox Why do failing restaurateurs invite Ramsay to their dumpy cafes and then throw hissies when he tells them what theyamp8217re doing wrong I39ve boiled the Ramsay recipe for success down to one thing meat He inevitably tells the chefs to add a good burger and a simple steak to their menus And ixnay on the isottoray Nobody makes it rightGot a little crush on the CBS Monday night sitcom Big Bang Theory Itamp8217s funnyamp8212almost Judd Apatow movie funny Almost But itamp8217s followed by Two and a Half Men the vilest 22 minutes of fartpoodick jokes in prime time Charlie Sheen sleepwalks through it with a thought bubble over his fat head that says amp8220Paycheck paycheck paycheckamp8221The UHF stations here in Dallas rerun Dr Phil Oprah and Maury in prime time But that doesnamp8217t mean Iamp8217ll watch them Phil has become Maury filling hours with lie detectors and paternity tests Oprah I notice has expanded to preop Star Jones proportions and looks as bored with her job as Sheen Her thought bubble is saying amp8220Bigger paycheck bigger paycheck bucket of gravyamp8221Some days and many nights Iamp8217ve watched no TV at all I bought a Zune and filled it up with videos from Fashion Television podcast episodes of the Dr Drew Live daytime radio show and soundtracks from Broadway shows go Jersey Boys Iamp8217ve watched Adam Carollaamp8217s sweet little Zen indie flick The Hammer about 10 times on DVD and now think heamp8217s not only a pretty fine actor but also a real feminist at heart Notice how beautifully he treats the one female character played by Heather Juergensen When I once would have been glued to Life on the DList on Bravo and Top Gear on BBC Americaamp160I insteadamp160took a kickboxing class and saw eight local theater productions and a couple of Broadway touring shows go Jersey Boys And I went shopping for a new TV Bought a 26amp8221 Sony flat screen for 600 After I paid for it the salesman told me it was on back order and wouldnamp8217t be in until the middle of AugustI hear thereamp8217s a new library in my neighborhood Thatamp8217s the place where they keep the books right

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

TV Dilemma: When the Set Dies, What's a Maven to Do?

Author

Publish date

Channel

Elaine Liner

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

TV Dilemma: When the Set Dies, What's a Maven to Do?

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Elaine Liner

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies