For the last two years or so I
have found myself housebound quite a lot. I therefore have the flexibility to
take my leisure time when I want. I love surfing the internet, reading books
and watching television. I’m in the UK and have satellite TV so there is plenty
of choice – or so you would think. Not only are repeats more common, the same
programs are now repeated several times in the same day then again later in the
week. I thought it was bad enough when I was growing up if something was
repeated within a year. In fact certain channels are based almost entirely on
repeats: Dave, Watch and Gold amongst others. Old BBC programs are trotted out
at an alarming rate on stations that use advertising: More money for the BBC,
more of the same for the customer.
It is outrageous, really. In
the UK we are forced to buy a TV license in order to own a TV. That costs
nearly 120 pounds a year (190 US dollars). Then there is the satellite or cable
bill, typically costing 480 pounds a year (760 USD). That’s a lot of money to
pay out to watch an overload of repeats. At first I liked the idea of marathons
and would sit down with my snacks and enjoy an evening of Red Dwarf, or Lost,
whatever, but the same episodes and the same shows are put on time and again. I’m
sure there must be some great stuff archived somewhere that hasn’t seen the
light of day for decades.
Another annoying habit of modern TV scheduling is the
mass saturation of some shows. It used to be the norm that a drama or comedy
would show one episode per week. It was actually quite exiting waiting for a
favorite program to come on. Some shows are still done this way, like Fringe,
a personal favorite, and I still get that feeling of exitement waiting for the next week’s episode.
Some shows however run day after day. I don’t mean soap operas, of course, they
are supposed to follow that format. Others, though, say Man Vs. Food for
example was shown twice daily in blocks of two on the Dave channel five days a
week. I like the program but I think it’s a cheek to put it on for an hour in
the evening then show the same shows the next morning, with different evening
shows. It’s easy to grow bored of a show if it is on so often. Going to the other extreme I have noticed
that some shows, like Supernatural seem to be on for two or three consecutive
weeks then disappears for weeks. It seems to be broadcast in “dribs and drabs”
and I’m never sure when it will be on next.
I know that there is a
recession going on but surely TV companies aren’t all broke? Is there no good
writing talent about? I was particularly annoyed one morning this week (Wednesday
I think). It was nine A.M. the TV was switched on to the “Watch” channel and
two episodes of a police drama called “The Bill” were about to begin. I was
scrolling through news feeds on the PC at the same time and after about five
minutes I thought to myself “that dialogue seems familiar” so I turned my
attention to the TV and realized that the episode showing had been on the
previous day. On Tuesday it was shown between 10.00 A.M. and 11.00 A.M. and on Wednesday
it was shown from 9.00 A.M. to 10.00 A.M. Talk about giving the viewer a
catch-up. They get a whole episode.
The schedules need sorting
out, and companies that make money not only from subscriptions but from
advertising as well should give better value for money.
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