We recently dropped our cable TV service from "Basic" to "So Basic I Can't Believe We Have To Pay For This."
Though we've always had screen limits, too many little things (i.e., awful shows) had crept into our lives. So, I was looking forward to having television fade quietly away, like a lingering odor that finally fully evaporates.
My kids were a little bummed that they had to give up a couple of favorite cable shows, but I'd just convinced them that they'd live when we had a friend over. This friend comes from a household with no cable (in other words, fuzzy PBS and one even-fuzzier-network.) So, I was surprised when the kids said, "Can we watch one of E.'s favorite shows?" I said, "Sure ... what is it? CyberChase? Reading Rainbow?"
"No," they said. "Wheel of Fortune!"
Wheel of Fortune? Fabulous prizes-Pat Sajak-Vanna White-a new dress every night ... That Wheel of Fortune?
Yup, that's the one. Somehow I didn't think pulling cable would lead us to "Wheel of Fortune," but nothing in my life ever seems to go as predicted, so all I can do is laugh.
And mourn the loss of Alton Brown and "Good Eats." Now, that's worth the price of cable. We may have to rethink this whole Basic thing ....
7 comments:
Our choice years ago was for a dish because local cable didn't provide EWTN at that point except with a lot more expensive package than we wanted. Plus we have no above ground wiring at our property so connecting to cable was going to be a hassle.
Now I grant you the kids were older (we had fuzzy network mostly when they were young), but we simply made choices no MTV (even though it's in our package) etc. Do we watch some junk - well yeah, but the junk is in the basic cable as well and the good stuff (EWTN, Good Eats, History Channel) are not in the basic cable package here. Around here the basic cable package seems to major in really crummy kids shows and Jerry Springer during the daytime. I'll opt for the dish any day of the week over that.
But I definitely support your efforts to cut back on TV. It's a propaganda source for things we don't believe in. But the basic channels are sometimes the worst offenders in that respect (at least around here they are). Maybe the answer is to give up cable altogether and go for videos, or maybe it's to get a dish and just subscribe to Angel network (although I'd have some worries about quality and indoctrination there too). I guess there are no easy answers, but to give up Alton Brown - now that's sad.
I haven't watched Wheel of Fortune in years, but I'll bet it's a big help in motivating kids to spell!
Sorry about Alton Brown. Is his show available on DVD? : )
Hey Karen...
We love Food Network, too.. and have struggled with the whole cable thing. We mostly wanted cable for 3 stations: Fox News, EWTN and Food Network. We bit the bullet and took it down to basic.. but on the kitchen tv we still get Food Network! Did you check? Sometimes extra stations creep in..
Good luck. We went 'off tv' when my oldest was 5. It was great.. now we just watch the three aforementioned stations and a selected sit com now and then (carefully chosen)
enjoy your blog!
Cindy
Thanks for your sympathy, ladies. :-)
The "more basic basic" actually still gives us EWTN, two different PBS stations and C-Span, which Atticus likes. We don't really do network TV with the kids anyway, but Atticus will watch some news, etc. I'm sure Wheel of Fortune was a temporary substitute, sort of a video-methadone to soothe them through the transition to being Sponge-Bobless (there, I've said it.) :-)
The "more basic basic" actually still gives us EWTN, two different PBS stations and C-Span.
But not ESPN...the Yankees...colege football... the Cornhuskers...o! tempore o more
Should have edited that last post. Sorry.
Oh no, no Food Network. We have the very basic too, only a few channels but still have the Food Network.
See if your library has Alton Brown's videos. If not, tell them to buy them for you!!!!
Post a Comment