How much TV do you watch ?

hollydolly said:
Can I ask those who watch Brit TV shows what is being aired over there? I'd love to know..

People keep telling me they watch Keeping up appearances and Doc martin..... but I sincerely hope that those old shows are not all you get .. and you get something more modern.
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Our PBS stations (Public Broadcasting) have shown Brit TV for many years, but not a huge number of programs. I can get far more titles through Netflix (old-fashioned dvd service, not streaming) and dvd's from our library system. We also have a dvd service called BritBox, which I don't subscribe to, as Netflix has far more titles.

There are hundreds of shows and series available between Netflix and our local library system. Of course, other library systems may have little-to-none available.

Our Chicago PBS station got some people hooked, as wife and I got hooked, by showing old Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett), Rumpole of the Bailey, Morse, and Monty Python, Black Adder, Faulty Towers, Are You Being Served, Vicar of Dibley, etc. Later, Vera, Lewis, Endeavour, the new Sherlock, Cadfael, Call the Midwife, Foyle's War, Poldark, and a bunch of comedies (I don't get Brit humour), and a few other programs. Our Chicago PBS station has been showing Masterpiece Theatre since the beginning (starting with I Claudius and the now, 'Captain Picard', in his first major role), and now shows Masterpiece Contemporary. And, of course, everyone saw Downton Abbey.

You have to realize that PBS stations are not available to everyone. We have cable, and there are PBS stations in Chicago and Milwaukee, well funded, that can show more Brit programs. Other PBS stations throughout the country don't have the budgets available, or maybe don't have viewers interested in Brit programming, or the powers-that-be at the station have no interest in airing Brit programs. So, it is entirely dependent on how extensive the cable/satellite system you have available, or whether you subscribe to Netflix or BritBox, or what's at your library.

There might be some more shown on PBS, but I can't recall everything I've seen on PBS versus rented/library.
 

hollydolly said:
Can I ask those who watch Brit TV shows what is being aired over there? I'd love to know..

People keep telling me they watch Keeping up appearances and Doc martin..... but I sincerely hope that those old shows are not all you get .. and you get something more modern.
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We watch Midsomer Murders on PBS which is British cop show in a small community. We record every thing and watch it at our convenience. We also watch some shows from the 60s like Charlies Angels, Paladin and Peter Gunn.
 

Retrired traveller, and RR...yep that's my point those shows are really old... ...I don't mind watching the re-runs occasionally on the UK Gold channel..but I'd hate to think that other countries think we haven't moved on from old those old shows...

Manatee, I like Midsummer murders..its really calming ..although everything murder takes place in that tiny village, with only 2 coppers investigating everything and apprehending the vicar ...it's stretches the credibility a little far, but it's like reading a gentle little fiction book... Sunday afternoon rainy day type viewing.....as an aside Midsummer murders are usually filmed in real life villages quite close to where I live , so I know them well..


I love Poirot, that's a masterpiece and the set is incredibly exactly as it should be for the period unlike Downton abbey for example, which spoils it for me, because being a history buff, I'm too busy spotting the mistakes in the set to follow the storyline ..... ...do you get Poirot?
 
I record all my favorite shows and watch them when I am too tired to do anything else.

I have the tv on all the time, I perfer noise not silence. I watch CNN early in the morning, I don't sleep much.
 
hollydolly said:
Retrired traveller, and RR...yep that's my point those shows are really old... ...I don't mind watching the re-runs occasionally on the UK Gold channel..but I'd hate to think that other countries think we haven't moved on from old those old shows... .....as an aside Midsummer murders are usually filmed in real life villages quite close to where I live , so I know them well..
I love Poirot, that's a masterpiece and the set is incredibly exactly as it should be for the period unlike Downton abbey for example........ ...do you get Poirot?
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TOTALLY forgot Poirot and Midsummer [sic] --- (tsk, tsk, it's Midsomer :)). Yes, those two shows were on PBS stations and were also causes of our Brit addiction. And, Miss Marple (with Joan, we didn't like Geraldine). I believe Bletchley Circle made it to PBS too along with Luther. As I said, we've been watching Brit TV so long I forget what was from PBS and what was rented. Also, another newer series over here was Grantchester, but that was kind of a dog (imho).
We've been re-watching all of these series, period pieces (we like Trollope, Dickens, Austen, etc.) since there is not enough new stuff over here and it's 75% of our viewing. We still like seeing the old series since there are well over 200 to which we have access and have not watched in years.
 
HD, Watched Poirot and Downtown Abbey when they were current. People with cable get more Brit shows, which I do not have. I like documentaries more, so I'm not sure what's out there.
 
TV has been a part of my life since I was born in 1950. In retrospect, we were fortunate to have at least one TV in our family consistently from the 1950s. My brothers and I were always shy. We literally grew up with the TV as a major part of our days. I just turned 69 years old. I turn on the TV when I first get up, and it is on the entire day, till I go to bed.
 
Since I quit watching the news, NO tv. Seriously. I do watch sporting events occasionally but that's it. Sitcoms and movies I watch online.
 
Holly, I recently finished watching the second season of Doctor Foster, streaming on Netflix. Kind of depressing, but good. It grabbed my attention.
 
Very little. News for about an hour, mostly local but sometimes BBC World News. Pro football and pro basketball, absolutely no college sports. I'm trying to make myself watch the new Dr. Who but it's slow going; good but so far not a "must see it" for me.

I read voraciously and spend way too much time on the computer instead.

DH, otoh, lives for TV and YouTube!
 
Wren said:
I’ve barely had my TV on all over the weekend, in the week I usually switch on late afternoon, and then it goes off at 7pm, unless there is a good drama or documentary, how much TV do you watch, do you keep it on just for the sake of it ?
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I'm still working full-time at 68, so my TV doesn't go on until the 6 pm local news. It's on until I go to bed at midnight or so, but I don't really "watch" it much of the time. I'm surfing on the laptop, kinda half-watching the TV which is usually tuned to old sitcoms.

Living alone, it is some company besides the cats. :eek:
 
If I'm home alone I usually have a TV on, the rabbit ears in the kitchen or living room, or the cable in the bedroom....depending on where I'm doing things. I don't always just sit there and watch though. The most hours lately have been watching American Idol in two hour blocks. In the mornings my husband has the cable news on in the bedroom while he reads the paper, so I just listen sometimes to what's being said without actually going into the room and watching.
 
Haven’t had a TV for over four years now.

Watched some when we parked at a motel a few months ago

…still nothing on
 
Holly, here in the southern heartland we get "Last of the Summer Wine," "Doc Martin," "Midsomer Murders," and "Call the Midwife." That's it. I always liked British comedy but that hasn't been around in many years.
 

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