Watching Television, what you watch and why?

[graciegirl]

I don't know what I would do without Television. It is my relaxer, information finder and source of entertainment. I love some of the new lighter crime and mystery shows and enjoy HGTV every day. We find ourselves viewing PBS more than we used to and love Inspector Morse, Father Brown (a light murder mystery, not a religious show) and Midsomer Murders and also watch Antiques Roadshow on PBS.

We LOVED the series on Roosevelts too.

Do you like TV? Do you find it hard to find something that holds your interest? How about the late night talk shows? I still miss Johnny Carson. The new guys don't make me belly laugh like Carson did.

[Ohiogirl]

Our favorite current show is Doc Martin on PBS, but we started recording it and are catching up first on the 1st 6 seasons or whatever it is on Netflix. We are always late to the table for TV shows.

Just finished 7 seasons of West Wing, which we missed when it was current. We will miss it, just like we missed Boston Legal when we finished all of those. Watched the first season of HBO's Newsroom with Jeff Daniels on Netflix, on the wait list for Season 2, which is being released in November.

Just started watching Monk on Netflix as well, liked the first 2 episodes so will continue. Couldn't get into House of Cards, think because we didn't really like any of the characters (maybe they are too real :). Might be trying Mad Men and The Good Wife in future.

Love Downton Abbey on PBS, next season starts in January, I think. We also like the Ken Burns' stuff on PBS - all of them, and usually watch them also when they run them again.

My husband is a sports fanatic, especially college basketball and football. He can watch ESPN and The Big 10 Network endlessly (I read or sew in my chair, but a lot of it soaks in) I turn on HGTV when I work in my sewing room.

[Barefoot]

My favorite show is "Parenthood" on Thursday nights.

[DigitalGranny]

My favorite show is "Blue Bloods" with Tom Selleck followed closely by NCIS. Only reality type shows I watch are The Voice and Duck Dynasty

[2newyorkers]

We are real TV fanatics. Favorite comedy is The Big Bang Theory. Favorite reality show is Survivor. Love all the crime shows such as NCIS and Criminal Minds. We watch a lot of ID if we are home during the day. Highly recommend the BBC version of Sherlock shown on Netflix.

[Barefoot]

My favorite show is "Parenthood" on Thursday nights.
Like NewYorkers, I watch Survivor. I also like Big Bang Theory. I'm a recent fan, so I have lots of past episodes to watch.

[Sandtrap328]

Absolute favorite is Modern Family! Also, Survivor, Amazing Race, Madam Secretary, and Big Bang Theory.

[mfp509]

I like reruns of Golden Girls and Frasier. Biggest Loser on Thursdays. Some of the English comedies on PBS.

[tomwed]

Colbert and Stewert, 60 minutes
Triangulation, This Week in Tech, All Things Android on Tech TV
Any Featured Videos [shows] on online PBS
Anything but Mickey Rooney on Turner Movie Classics
Youtube for Carson, David Frost, Seinfeld, Mary Hartman, Fernwood Tonight

[Polar Bear]

I watch lots of what's already been posted. And Ohiogirl, I'm a big fan of Monk...have watched them all, many episodes more than once.

And if you like Monk, try The Mentalist. Same general concept...gifted crime solver with similarly troubled past. I like it as least as much as Monk.

[Laurie2]

???

[Schaumburger]

Favorite recent TV shows (some of which are no longer in production): The Closer, Major Crimes, Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Murder In The First, Rizzoli and Isles, Perception, West Wing, Orange Is The New Black, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Scandal, The Good Wife, CSI Miami, Nashville, Hawaii Five-0 (the remake), Blue Bloods, Cold Justice, Halt and Catch Fire, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, Cops, NYPD Blue, Mom (which is kind of a stupid show, but after spending Monday at my office the show makes me laugh).

Not many recent sitcoms on my list. I loved Murphy Brown, but that has been off the air for quite a while. I loved the classic sitcoms from the 1970's like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, All In The Family, The Bob Newhart Show (where Suzanne Pleshette played his wife), Three's Company and MASH.

I wonder if I watch too much TV? :)

[Colts Fan]

Comedies: Big Bang Theory and Last Man Standing
Old Dramas: Parenthood and The Blacklist
New Dramas: Madam Secretary, The Mysteries of Laura, and Scorpion
Reality: America's Got Talent

[jblum315]

The only news station I watch now is Al Jazeera America. Otherwise I record several series and watch them later without commercials. I loved House of Cards and eagerly await the next season. I watched Mad Men for a couple of years until it got boring, loved Breaking Bad, loved Downton Abbey. The Britcoms are all reruns. Loved Doc Martin and wish there was more of it. There's not much currently that interests me, too much cops and criminals.

[Northstar]

Shark Tank
The Voice
Big Bang Theory
BBC News
Any Financial News
Turner Classic Movies

[manaboutown]

Sports, Nightly Business Report, Botched, Real Housewives of OC since I know some of the players, sometimes Frasier and Seinfeld reruns, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Millionaire Matchmaker, O'Reilly Factor, some movies

[Patty55]

There are a few new shows I really like, Madam Secretary and Scorpion I really like. Have the dvr set for The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Mad Men, Homeland, Modern Family and American Pickers.

Mad Men had been one of my favorites, but you wait for the new season to start and before you know it-it's over.

I like some of the crime shows, love the SVU marathons but it's getting to where I've seen most of them. Criminal Minds, I think I'm turning wuss, it's now a little too dark for me.

I hate the reality shows, have seen a few of them once. It's like they suck the brain out of your head.

[pbkmaine]

For those of you who like Morse and Midsomer Murders (Midsomer must be the most dangerous place on Earth to live), try Inspector Lewis. The new season is on PBS.

[SALYBOW]

Someone in our home, not the dog, holds the remote in his hand and flips from channel to channel at will. His Will. Not wanting to get a divorce, I read and play on the puter.:Screen_of_Death:

[pbkmaine]

Salybow, we had a similar situation. Two TVs lead to peace in the home.

[Gulfhills]

Only reality show I watch is The Amazing Race...love it. And The Voice, which the kids got us hooked on when they were here. I like the old sitcoms, and TCM. Also the Hallmark channel.

Our kids got my husband and I to get the dvd's for Breaking Bad. Wow...really enjoyed it.

[Ohiogirl]

Breaking Bad - we watched all (5)? seasons last year on Netflix, surprised that we liked it (and so were our kids), but we did. Also watched the DVD set (a gift) of Band of Brothers, which was on HBO I think, a few years ago. Told you we are never on the cutting edge (except for sports) of TV.

We tried Orange is the New Black and Weeds, watched a couple of episodes of each. May give Weeds another try as someone told me it was worth getting to know. I just kept wondering why she didn't just get a job, like the rest of us. We are supposed to understand that becoming a dealer was her only alternative? Tell me if there's more to it.

Watched The Blacklist for awhile, then kind of lost interest. Tried one of the CSI shows - kind of gruesome, I thought. Not humorous, like Monk. I do want to try Bluebloods.

[Madelaine Amee]

First - you just have to have two TV's in different rooms ................. I'm the channel switcher, he loves the blood and thunder movies!

Al Jazeera America and BBC - for real news, although some of it is really tough to watch.
Big Bang is a must watch - although I really, really dislike Sheldon, I just want to slap him, also do not like Penny's hair and I am dying to see the day someone makes over Amy, I think she could be gorgeous!
Love Downton Abbey.
Doc Martin - like to slap him too, she is a saint! Midsummer Murders. Miss Marple. Morse - can watch those over and over, and I really like that his inspector is back - yea! Mr. Selfridge - loved that. Foyle's War. Father Brown. Cannot watch Ballykissangel because I have no idea what they are saying, but love the scenery of Ireland.
The Voice - great new talent making the judges very wealthy!
Reruns of Seinfeld, Frazier, Monk, Blue Bloods - Tom Sellick is still so sexy, The Closer, Major Crimes, American Pickers and others I cannot think of right now.

I don't know how we fit it all in because we never, ever, watch during the day. Our TV starts with the Evening News after supper.

Oh, oh, the other half does watch sports during the day if he is home.

You know, I just reread this and I am always complaining "there is nothing to watch on TV!"

[Nightengale212]

By the time I get home from work there is not much time for TV, but I do watch a little news, then try to watch an episode or two I DVRd of House Hunters International. On the weekend I watch Rick Steves travel shows, as well as The Barefoot Contessa and a few other cooking shows. Honestly, I prefer reading and have already replaced 3 Kindles.

[Bavarian]

Combined list, watched either live or TIVO:
Good Wife, CSI; Big Bang; DWTS; Two Broke Girls; Scorpion; NCIS (all 3); Law&Order SVU; Survivor; Amazing Race, (like a trip around the World, when we made trips to these areas try to find locations, some we know from living there); AGT; Criminal Minds; Vikings; Many backing up on disk, but we catch up during rerun season.

[CFrance]

There are a few new shows I really like, Madam Secretary and Scorpion I really like. Have the dvr set for The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Mad Men, Homeland, Modern Family and American Pickers.

Mad Men had been one of my favorites, but you wait for the new season to start and before you know it-it's over.

I like some of the crime shows, love the SVU marathons but it's getting to where I've seen most of them. Criminal Minds, I think I'm turning wuss, it's now a little too dark for me.

I hate the reality shows, have seen a few of them once. It's like they suck the brain out of your head.
I agree with you. In 2010/11 I was hooked on Criminal Minds, but now it scares the heck outa me. Still love original Law and Order, and still watching Closer reruns and Major Crimes. Sometimes I can find Murder She Wrote reruns, and our son gets us old Fawlty Towers shows (hysterical). I used to edit the closed captioning of every single HGTV and Food Networlk show, so kind of tired of House Hunters and cooking shows, but I still like Barefoot Contessa. and Property Brothers and Love It Or List It till I wanna smack someone, then I quit for a while.

Baseball all summmmmmmmmer long, then football.

[CFrance]

Oh, and love Globe Trotter on PBS. Will have to see what amazing Race is about because I love shows about other countries. Also House Hunter International, which wasn't on yet when I was editing HGTV captioning. But sometimes I want to slap the whiners when they expect other countries to follow US.

[MSNPA]

My favorites are via Netflix - Downton Abbey, Homeland, Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards. I am currently watching True Detective and plan on watching Newsroom next. I love getting lost in these shows. On regular TV i love The Good Wife and must admit I have been a Survivor fan from the get go.

[Deseylou]

I watch a lot of TV
I really like ID TV ( true crime)
Watch a lot of HGTV
Watch most of the shows on CBS
I'm still working full time, so TV is my relaxation for now

[Jaggy]

Favorite new shows are Madame Sec'try and Forever.. Also Scorpion.
Still watch Good Wife and enjoy it.
I used to love Boston Legal. James Spader on Blacklist and I get my fix from it.
Oh.. and remember Rescue me? loved that show.
Sitcoms are boring except for Big Bang.
Can't wait for House of Cards to return.
Jeez- I could add to this list and go on and on..

[kellyjam]

Manhattan a new show on WGN Chicago about the Manhattan Project. Airs Sunday at 10pm.

[tomwed]

If, like me, you ever daydreamed about opening a restaurant search out A Chefs Table on PBS. Season 2 just started but I think you can see season 1 online. It’s a feel good kind of show.

[JB in TV]

Still evaluating the new shows, but Forever, NCIS NOLA and Madam Secretary seem to be keepers. Good Wife, Blue Bloods, NCIS, Castle, and Rizzoli & Isles are other favs. Thank heavens for DVR! I don't watch sitcoms, but tend to watch re-runs of them at bedtime, puts me to sleep! (Everyone Loves Raymond, Friends, etc. I miss Home Improvement) One of my all time favorite sitcoms, (when I did watch them "live") was Taxi, with Judd Hirsch, Danny Divito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Marylu Henner. Best show of all time!

[Barefoot]

I used to love Boston Legal. James Spader on Blacklist and I get my fix from it.
Oh.. and remember Rescue me? loved that show.

I also loved Boston Legal and Rescue Me.


Real Housewives of OC since I know some of the players,

You know some of the real housewives of Orange County? Who??
OK, I confess, I do watch RHOC. :throwtomatoes:
I know, it is mindless blather, but someone has to watch it.

[Madelaine Amee]

Still evaluating the new shows, but Forever, NCIS NOLA and Madam Secretary seem to be keepers. Good Wife, Blue Bloods, NCIS, Castle, and Rizzoli & Isles are other favs. Thank heavens for DVR! I don't watch sitcoms, but tend to watch re-runs of them at bedtime, puts me to sleep! (Everyone Loves Raymond, Friends, etc. I miss Home Improvement) One of my all time favorite sitcoms, (when I did watch them "live") was Taxi, with Judd Hirsch, Danny Divito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Marylu Henner. Best show of all time!

Taxi was a GREAT show with a super cast, thank you for reminding me, is it still in reruns?

[tippyclubb]

We watched way more TV than I wanted during the last 4 or 5 years of working. Mostly, because we were to tired too do anything else. Then of course there were countless weekends of being snowed in and we enjoyed watching TCM channel. Sometimes another station would do 48 hours of I Love Lucy and no matter how many times I saw the vega mega vitamin or candy factory show I'd laugh until tears came to my eyes. The Antique Roadshow and HGTV hold my interest, along with documentaries on National Geographic.

Tom loves to watch action packed movies and they are so darn loud. I'm going to buy some TV headphones so I don't have to listen to car chases, police sirens, and machine guns the rest of my life.

Alright, Barefoot I have watched all of the house wives shows once or twice. Lol. Does this mean I'm shallow....lol.

Gracie no one can come close to late night entertainment in my opinion like Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. They were a great team and when the show ended I stopped watching late night comedy.

[JB in TV]

Taxi was a GREAT show with a super cast, thank you for reminding me, is it still in reruns?

Not that I know of. :sigh: Sadly

[JB in TV]

...
Gracie no one can come close to late night entertainment in my opinion like Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. They were a great team and when the show ended I stopped watching late night comedy.

Same here...

[Barefoot]

Tom loves to watch action packed movies and they are so darn loud. I'm going to buy some TV headphones so I don't have to listen to car chases, police sirens, and machine guns the rest of my life.

Alright, Barefoot I have watched all of the house wives shows once or twice. Lol. Does this mean I'm shallow....lol. .

You will soon be buying two televisions like the rest of us.
Fireboy is only happy if there is something blowing up or catching on fire at the same time the world is ending.
I am way too familiar with the sounds of police sirens, car chases and machine guns.
Needless to say we have two televisions. .

As far as watching all of the house wives shows, they are extremely popular and keep getting renewed, so I think thousands and thousands of women are watching them.
But no-one wants to admit it!
Just like no-one watches the Kardashians or TMX, yet they keep getting renewed.
Obviously Housewives is mindless brain-dead entertainment, but that can be relaxing. :duck:

[2BNTV]

I get nostalgic for the older TV shows like the Honeymooners,Taxi and Barney Miller. They were more about relationships and was like visiting old friends. The cast of those shows was excellent and I could never forget the scene where Norton takes Ralph temperature and says it's 111, after holding a lighter to see the reading. Still cracks me up.

The Sopranos was must see television in it's heyday. Still feel sad, that James Gandofini has left us. An iconic role, of a lifetime.

I really loved Law and order with Jerry Orbach, and like the crime shows like Major Crimes and Rizzoli and Isles. Sasha Alexander's mother-in-law is, Sophia Loren. I enjoy Blue Bloods, but mostly watch sports, and TCM classic movies.

Watched Abbott and Costello last night on tape. It started with an abbreviated, "Who's on First", routine. Cleverly written and masterfully performed.

Fortunately, I kept my old tapes when I moved down here, and pop one in, when there is nothing I want to watch. There's also "youtube", to watch episodes of Barney Miller and The Honeymooners in case someone doesn't have the tapes/DVD's.

BTW - There will never be another Johnny Carson, A class act and very funny man who entertained us, for twenty years. He is the gold standard for late night talk show hosts. IMHO

[Cisco Kid]

I love watching political commercials.

Up her they are 99% you suck
Response, You suck more
Response, You sucked it 1st
Response, You did it longer

One has how many houses someone has.
Another has a guy ate $40,000 worth of steak on your dime

:popcorn:

[Taltarzac725]

I watch way too much TV.

I loved Monk and also like NCIS especially those with Ziva David. Person of Interest, Forever and Legends are some of the others I watch often.

[tomwed]

Not that I know of. :sigh: Sadly


click here (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=taxi+full+episodes)

in all likelehood you can connect your pc or laptop to your tv

hope this helps

[patfla06]

Suits (on USA)
Blue Bloods
The Good Wife
Person of Interest
Chicago Fire
Castle

The Voice

HGTV
Barefoot Contessa, Giada and the Pioneer Woman on
The food channel

Kathie Lee on Today Show

[OCsun]

I love watching political commercials.

Up her they are 99% you suck
Response, You suck more
Response, You sucked it 1st
Response, You did it longer

One has how many houses someone has.
Another has a guy ate $40,000 worth of steak on your dime

:popcorn:

:1rotfl:

[mr and mrs bike]

Revenge
HGTV
How to get away with murder

[Serenoa]

Most of the so-called "reality" shows are anything but real, and anyone with any intelligence should be able to tell that they are scripted, and all of the "drama" has been invented. At the first hint I immediately turn the channel. Naked & Afraid on the Discovery channel & Intervention (now cancelled -WHY?)on A&E are about the only true reality shows. Love them both.

The shows & channels we watch most often are:

News channels (anything but unfair & unbalanced Fox News)
60 Minutes
Dateline on NBC
20/20 on ABC
Frontline on PBS
48 Hours Mystery on CBS Saturday nites
COPS on Fox
HGTV House Hunters
Velocity Channel - car shows & auctions
American Pickers - History Channel
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Comedy Central
Palladia channel - rock concerts
Seinfeld re-runs
Family Guy re-runs

and of course...Alabama Crimson Tide Football in the fall.

And yet another person who really misses the comedic genius of Johnny Carson. I began staying up late when I was in the 6th or 7th grade (late 60s) & it didn't take long to get me hooked. Rarely missed his show. My mom & dad who always went to bed early used to comment that I would often wake them up with my loud laughter, downstairs. A few years later my mom began watching him & soon became a devoted fan, too. He & Ed & Doc were the greatest!

[Baileysmom]

I watch way too much TV but I love it. I often watch mindless reality programming so I can be on the computer at the same time. I love Bravo and I am completely hooked on The Wahlburgers on A&E. I watch almost no local news programming, it is too depressing and upsetting for me, but do love the investigation shows on ID. I also enjoy The Good Wife, Survivor, Project Runway, The Amazing Race, all NCIS, and my newest How to Get Away with Murder. There are other shows I plan to watch that have been recommended to me Scorpion and Madam Secretary to start. It is funny most of these shows are on CBS which is where I worked for many years in Boston. I can also watch HGTV for hours no matter how many times I have seen the shows, must be all the cute guys. :) My husband and I almost never watch TV together, he clicks around too much and I stay put. I have enjoyed this thread, thanks for starting it.

[Villages PL]

I haven't had a television since 2005 and I think it suits me just fine. I left my old television with the house I sold on the other side of the Villages and I embarked on a new lifestyle. This is because I felt it had a hypnotizing effect on my brain.

I would start watching it in the early evening to get the news and then it was just one more show, and one more, and one more. Until, eventually, it turned into a nightmare of couch-potato-brain-potato-itis.

I have read somewhere that too much television can promote dementia. Well, that makes sense because just sitting and being inactive, physically and mentally, can cause all kinds of deterioration in general.

[Sophie11]

I love watching political commercials.

Up her they are 99% you suck
Response, You suck more
Response, You sucked it 1st
Response, You did it longer

One has how many houses someone has.
Another has a guy ate $40,000 worth of steak on your dime

:popcorn:

TV people make a commercial - I was thinking of your post when I stumbled upon this! War on Women - Video - The Villages Tea Party (http://www.thevillagesteaparty.org/war-on-women---video.html)

[Barefoot]

My husband and I almost never watch TV together, he clicks around too much and I stay put. I have enjoyed this thread, thanks for starting it.

It's always fun to read the posts about what other people are watching.
And I'm glad to hear that we aren't the only couple that has two televisions and watches different programs! ;)

[Polar Bear]

...too much television...just sitting and being inactive, physically and mentally, can cause all kinds of deterioration in general.


Yep. I believe that is true. But it is possible to have an active, exercise filled, healthy life style and still enjoy a little (or even a lot of :) ) television now and then. All it takes is the desire and discipline to do so.