My Life Without TV

When I was growing up, my TV choices were limited.  We had the three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) in Omaha, PBS, and on a clear day, a second CBS from Lincoln.  It was a big deal when the local Fox affiliate started as it greatly increased our TV options.

We lived out in the country so cable was not an option.  Our house was in a wooded area so one of the old school satellite dishes wouldn’t work.  In short, if I wanted to experience the magic of cable TV (MTV!  HBO!  ESPN!  Nick at Night!  Baseball games from Chicago and Atlanta!  Random 80’s movies!) I needed to go to a friend’s house in town or wait until we visited my Grandma.

By the time I went to college, I was more than ready to experience life with more than five channels.  Over time, I came to accept cable TV as a necessary part of my life and watched a variety of shows across many different channels.  The introduction of DVR only strengthened that bond.

But along the way things changed.  My monthly bill for cable and internet climbed past $150.  Our DVR queue was a mix of reruns, crappy faux-reality shows, and old series we were watching for the first time.  Last July we hit the tipping point:  the adoption of our youngest daughter meant that we needed to cut some expenses.

The cable boxes went out and Netflix (streaming over our DVD player) came in.  A few months later, we added Hulu Plus and a Roku box.  Nine months later, and the majority of our family has never looked back.  My wife loves being able to plow her way through her favorite shows episode by episode, season by season.  The kids like the variety of animated movies and their favorite PBS shows.  We were getting most of our TV entertainment needs met for a fraction of what we were paying.

But cutting cable has been hard for me.

It’s not that I can’t find things to watch; I’ve also worked my way through some very enjoyable series.  And it is definitely not because I miss giving $1,800 to Time Warner every year.

It’s the sports – or more appropriately, the lack of sports.  I miss being able to watch a game.

As a fan of the Kansas City Royals, I’ve grown accustomed to watching many of their games on Fox Sports Midwest.  It really stunk that the Royals started playing some of their best – and most successful – baseball in a decade after we dropped cable.

College football season was brutal.  I loved being able to watch the big games on Saturday and catch the highlight shows at night.  This year, when my beloved Huskers were playing on the road, I had to work an invite from one of my friends so I could watch at their house.

I’m not a big NFL fan, but I’ll often turn a game on for background noise while cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry.  But not this year.  We did watch the Super Bowl by streaming the game over the laptop*, but it was a herky-jerky mess without most of the good commercials.

*You may be saying to yourself, “But Dave, most Sunday NFL games and the Super Bowl are aired on the (free) networks.  Couldn’t you watch sports on those?”  

My initial response would be:  “Good question.  Our TVs do not have digital antennas built in, so I bought one the week of the Super Bowl.  It was a complete failure.  I bought the best antenna I could find that did not involve me climbing on the roof.  This supposedly got me a 35 mile range, but there were two downsides:  1) not all of the networks have a tower within 35 miles of Lincoln, NE, and 2) I couldn’t get the antenna properly aligned without having to go through multiple interior walls which, according to the tech support person I called in a panic on Super Bowl Sunday, greatly reduces the signal strength.  At best, we had two clear channels and one fuzzy station.”

My second response would be “Let me know if you are interested in purchasing a like-new digital antenna that Best Buy won’t take back because it is outside of their 15-day return policy.”

Gee thanks, $90 digital antenna.

My wife and I broke down and ordered the very lowest cable tier (20 channels) when we realized that neither one of us wanted to miss the Winter Olympics.  And we’re keeping those basic channels through the completion of the NCAA basketball tournament*.

*Watching the tournament has really changed in the last few years.  What I once viewed as a great step forward – having every game broadcast start to finish on one of four networks – really sucks when you only get CBS.  There were several times in the first weekend that the CBS game was in commercial, at halftime, or a boring 1 vs 16 blowout, but I was stuck watching it.  How I longed for the old days when they would do the “live look in” on other games in progress, cut over to a close game in the final minute, or switch over from a blowout.

With the excellent NCAA March Madness app, I can watch any game I want.  But the definition of irony is watching a buzzer beater on my four-inch phone screen while my 46″ LED sits idle a few feet away.

After the tournament is over?  Cable will go away again, probably for another long stretch.

I may* investigate some less than ethical ways to get access to streaming feeds of games.

*Or, readers from the NSA, FBI, ESPN, or other concerned parties, I may not.  Especially if any of those methods would be considered illegal by a court of law.

Otherwise, while you’re watching that amazing Thursday night game with national title implications, I’ll be watching season three of some cop show with my wife and secretly wishing I could tune in.

My 2 Cents: Jeopardy Champ Arthur Chu

There has been some controversy* over the playing style of current Jeopardy! champion Arthur Chu.  Essentially, instead of the “traditional” method of going top to bottom of a category then moving to the next one, he bounces around the board, seeking out the Daily Double questions, and trying to keep his opponents off-balance.

*And the fact that this is a “controversy” should tell you one of two things:  Life is either pretty good right now if how a guy plays a game show constitutes controversy, or we really need more to do.  Your pick.

I won’t argue that Chu’s style is unconventional, and I guess I could see how jumping from category to category may screw with the concentration of his opponents, but there is one irrefutable fact that nobody has brought up:

Chu’s strategy only works if he controls the board.  If you (as a competitor) don’t want him doing that, there is a simple solution – answer the questions yourself and don’t let him run the game.

My 2 Cents: Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson

By now, most of you probably know that Phil Robertson – one of the stars of the A&E “reality” series Duck Dynasty – has been suspended for his remarks in GQ about homosexuality.

Frankly, I don’t really care what he said.  I don’t watch Duck Dynasty, and I’m not that shocked by Robertson said.  I think Drew Magary, the writer of the GQ piece, describes it best:  “Okay, so perhaps it’s not exactly shocking that a deeply religious 67-year-old hunter from rural Louisiana would have, shall we say, enthusiastic ideas about what constitutes good Christian morality.”  So no, I’m not outraged by his opinions.  I disagree with many of his beliefs, but’s irrelevant for our purposes today.

If your Facebook timeline is like mine, I’m guessing it is chock full of people declaring their support for Robertson and his free speech rights.  That’s all well and good, but let’s make sure we are in agreement on which “free” we’re talking about.

There is “free” as in “freedom”, which is what many are referring to.  And that is absolutely correct:  Robertson, like the rest of us, has certain unalienable rights under the First Amendment that allows him to say damn near anything he wants without fear of persecution.

But Robertson and his supporters are failing to account for the other “free” – the one that refers to the monetary value of something.

According to the GQ article, the Robertson clan makes approximately $200,000 per episode.  They have one of the largest and widest ranging merchandising deals on the planet.  Don’t believe me?  Quick:  name anybody else whose name/likeness is on a bazillion t shirts, as well as wine, duct tape, and approximately one out of every five items at Wal-Mart.

In other words, Duck Dynasty has been a cash cow for the Robertson family.  If Phil Robertson isn’t smart enough to realize that some of his beliefs and opinions could get him into trouble, that is on him – not A&E, liberals, or any other boogeyman you want to point at.

In my 8 to 5 job, I work with a number of state employees and agencies.  There are some elected officials within that state government that I have strong opinions on – both positive and negative.  Yet, you’re not going to find very many of those opinions published here.  Why?  Because I like my job, and I really like (and need) my paycheck.  With a mortgage, car payment, and three kids in daycare, I simply cannot risk getting fired because somebody (a client, co-worker, or management) is offended by my opinions.

From a 1st amendment standpoint, I would likely be covered saying just about anything I want in this space – especially if I’m doing so on my own time and equipment.  But from a financial standpoint, I can’t afford to take that chance*.  Voicing all of my opinions is not worth the potential ramifications.

*My apologies to those of you who were hoping to see how I might riff on the news that a certain elected official recently had eight inches of his colon removed.  Those ideas aren’t going to see the light of day.

Apparently, Phil Robertson felt differently.  Assuming he is smart enough to know that his opinions could cause an uproar, he made the financial decision that voicing his opinions on homosexuality was worth any potential loss of income.  He may not have known that A&E would suspend him, but he should know that all free speech is not free.

 

Super Ads II

Last year, I reviewed all of the Super Bowl commercials, and I’m going to do it again.  I’m going to review and rate each of the commercials in the Super Bowl.  I watched the game in real-time (or as close to it as one can get with a wife and three-year old daughter who went to bed somewhere in the 3rd Quarter), compiling notes as I went.  After the game, I went back, using the magic of DVR technology, and took a second, third, and sometimes fourth look.

Let’s get to it…(note – the names of the ads are my own, since I didn’t feel like looking up the names for 50 some ads.  Also, I didn’t link to any of them.  They are all on YouTube if you need to see them again).

FIRST QUARTER

There’s No Song Like “Home”

The other night, we watched “A Home For the Holidays” on CBS, which is a lovely Christmas special focusing on families who have been blessed by adoption.  They show little vignettes of families sharing their adoption stories and have different musical performances for a studio audience of adopted kids and their families.

One of the musical performances was American Idol winner Phillip Phillips performing his hit song “Home”, a beautiful song that was very appropriate for a show about adoption.  If you are one of the six people in the world not familiar with the song (or if you, like me, like to listen to it) you can play it here:

But that was not the only thing to stick out to me – it is (at least) the fourth different television network to use that song.  The unofficial list:

• FOX:  Where it all started:  American Idol
• NBC:  “Home” was played during the Summer Olympics whenever they were getting ready to show a women’s gymnastics segment.
• ABC:  Used it in promos for Extreme Makeover – Home Edition
• CBS:  A Home For the Holidays, live performance

While I’m sure I’m missing some other examples, I find it fascinating* that all four of the broadcast networks have used the same song fairly prominently in their programming.

*Even though I am a big dork for obscure observances like this, I’m using “fascinating” very loosely.

In this day and age, playing songs during TV shows is very common.  Grey’s Anatomy helped The Fray sell millions of albums.  And I’d be willing to wager that ESPN plays more music than MTV does.  But for the most part, these songs tend to be pretty exclusive to a network – or at least a corporate structure.  Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another song that has been used this prominently on multiple networks – let alone the big four broadcast networks (but if you can, drop it in the comments).

Thought of the Day – 12/18/2012

Tonight, the traditional holiday program A Charlie Brown Christmas will be shown on ABC.  I’m planning to watch this wholesome family favorite with my four-year old daughter – who will likely be holding the stuffed Santa Snoopy toy that is currently one of her favorites.

But once Charlie Brown is done providing his simple outlook on American life in the 1960s, as well as the true meaning of Christmas, I don’t think we’re going to stick around for ABC’s next two programs:  Happy Endings and Don’t Trust the B____ in Apartment 23.  Those seem like odd choices to follow one of the most beloved family specials of the Christmas season – even if both episodes are Christmas themed.

In fairness, I haven’t watch either Happy Endings or Don’t Trust the B____, but I’m guessing that neither are all that appropriate for young children who like to repeat things they hear on TV.

On second thought, maybe I’ll record Charlie Brown, and we’ll watch it tomorrow when we can fast forward through the commercials and promos for ABC’s other shows.

Sandy’s Audience

Yesterday, with the mega-Franken-hurri-storm-of-the-Century-cane attacking the east coast, a number of TV shows taped in New York City were cancelled.  Two notable exceptions – The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – kept their shows going, but did so without studio audiences.

The results were fascinating.

This piece from Slate has some video clips of what viewers saw – an odd attempt to hold a normal show under very unique circumstances.  Obviously, the most noticeable difference was the lack of a studio audience.  You could tell both Letterman and Fallon missed the laughter, applause, and other feedback they get from their audience.  Fallon especially – he performs his monologue like normal, but you can see how the lack of laughter really throws off his timing and makes him uncomfortably nervous – which in turn makes for interesting TV.

As for Letterman, apparently the guy who does the graphics for the Top Ten list couldn’t make it in to work, so they went decidedly low-tech:  the opening title and each of the Top 10 Rejected Names for the Storm were written in marker on poster board.  Letterman’s interview with Denzel Washington (a pretty big name for such an odd show) was even more casual than the typical talk show interview.

The whole experience was unique, memorable, and slightly surreal.  Watching The Roots laugh heartily at Fallon’s awkward monologue and seeing a very relaxed Denzel slouching on Dave’s couch transformed the shows from two popular late night shows to their elemental state:  a random cable-access talk show with good guests and house band.  In other words, it was like Wayne’s World filmed in the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Thought of the Day – 10/27/2012

Does anybody else find it interesting / ironic that ESPN tries to pass off Lou Holtz as a doctor

Doctor Lisp, er, Lou.

And as a lawyer

Lou Holtz, Attorney at Lisp

But they struggle to pass him off as the thing he was hired to be – a competent (and comprehensible) college football analyst?

Thought of the Day – 7/28/2012

Today’s thought:

Surely, I am not the only one who is seeing listing for the Olympics in the channel guide and thinking “Triple X?  I’m surprised they can show that on NBC.”

Olympics After Dark?

Of course, in the span about 30 seconds during last night’s opening ceremonies, Bob Costas referenced “women’s wrestling” and a “champion breast stroker”.

Just sayin’…