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Seriously; who 'watches' free to air TV anymore?

s2art

Glistening Purple Member
Our nightly ritual usually involves a meal with some easy to digest TV on in the background. Eating during the ad breaks and half watching the actual show like MKR. Once dinner is over and we retire to the couch, I myself may have a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone all within easy reach. When ads come on I use any of those 3 devices to continue what ever I'm doing. Game playing, email, instagram, 'snarky' tweets, or what ever. If I actually want real engaging entertainment I might spend a few minutes scrolling on Netflix, then settle in for a good movie or series. While watching Netflix, my devices mostly lay idle.

Does anyone else do this or am I a freak?
 
I usually do both - watch FTA and surf. It depends on the show (i.e level of addictiveness or interest) in regard to where the lion's share of my attention is directed. I find MAFS good for online catchup (still copping ads) when Survivor is on.
 
The aerial got knocked out of the wall by the couch a year or two back and we both went 'meh' and now just watch netflix, dvds, you tube or downloads. The occasional tv program that has piqued my interest through conversation on here I have watched an episode or two on the channels website after. In all likelihood that is what I will do with BB if I watch any of it.
 
Me...
But I usually have my iPad or laptop nearby and surf as well (doing it now actually...)

The iPad is a substitute for the book I’d have been reading while watching tv in the dark ages before the interwebs.
 
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I like anything that's free. But I haven't had a TV for years, I'd rather download or stream. I rarely watch things live either.
 
Unless the show really interests me, I will probably be just scrolling through instagram or something on my phone for 90% of the time I "watch" TV.

And then devastation when my phone battery runs out and I have to actually watch the show until my battery is charged
 
If I was still in Australia I'd probably watch more than I do now. I loved my PVR and would only watch a few shows live, and everything else on timeshift so I could skip the ads. I know you can do that using the catch up apps now but it was easier to play back my recordings than navigate their nonsense.

As for now my live viewing is limited to ABC/ABC News channels and Aust Survivor, Gogglebox and (as of this week) BBAU. Can't remember the last time I regularly watched a Channel 7 show! Was probably MKR/HR over four years ago.

Really miss my PVR. If I could have married it I would have.
 
No jokes the last time i watched a show live would've been BB 2013, ever since then i've been recording and watching later to skip ads.
 
*Hands up* I do.
I'm old fashioned and prefer to watch things on a tv rather than a phone or other devices.
If there are two shows I want, I'll watch, say, The Voice while having dinner and record Masterchef for afterwards.
I usually don't post until afterwards, unless it's an ad break I can't fast forward.
 
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...wow!... this Coronavirus lockdown has unleashed a new passion in both my sweet darling wife and myself… it’s… it’s… binge watching TV!... being sick and tired of free-to-air TV offerings lately our viewing habits have now changed completely… we used to have Foxtel as well as commercial TV but because Foxtel became too expensive per month and that they were showing the same old shit over and over all of the time we got rid of it… (I was basically only watching the ‘History’ channel in the end anyway)... for roughly the same amount of money that we were paying for Foxtel per month we are now getting Netflix / Stan and Prime…

...we’ve had those three for a few months now and have mostly only used them for their movie offerings… but when this lockdown started we got bored with them after a while so one day we looked at the lists of entire seasons of shows… this was when the binge watching of entire series began… what a buzz it is watching an entire series in one hit without commercials or having to wait an entire week for the next episode lol!...

...we barely watch commercial TV now except for things like ‘Bondi Rescue’ / ‘8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown’ / ‘The Curse of Oak Island’ / ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ etc to name a few… I’ve slowly weaned myself off ‘Reality’ shows (especially shows like ‘Bachelor / Bachelorette’ etc that has absolutely no ‘LOVE’ elements within it whatsoever)... I’m still going to watch ‘Australian Survivor’ and the upcoming ‘Big Brother’ just as long as there are the general public in them and no ‘past champions or celebrities or contestants’ that we’ve seen before… I’m sick of them… we need people that have never been on these shows before… so until then… ‘Reality’ shows are out with me…

...‘MasterChef’ is now one of those shows that has grown to be a total bore for me mainly because they started their ‘new and updated show with all new judges’ but failed with me because they brought back ‘past contestants’... there are not many ‘Reality’ shows that have new people in them nowadays are there?...

...hence the newly adopted ‘binge watching of entire series’ that is now being done by us… our viewing habits are so different now… I can’t believe that we’ve only just discovered this new founded passion just recently… lockdown does have it’s benefits afterall… thankyou lockdown… you have broken a viewing habit of a lifetime… you have freed us from our TV shackles!... lol!... cheers.


...aw man!... as I said a while back in the post above in the Coronavirus Virus thread… my new passion of binge watching entire series that are not interrupted by annoying Ads on commercial TV on Netflix / Stan and Prime has taken over my life!... lol!... I’ve been completely taken over with this newly acquired binge-a-thonning…

...I can’t believe that I’ve watched mostly commercial TV over the last few years and have only just dabbled in the streamed networks that have been at my disposal…even then… I avoided TV series and only watched movies on those streaming channels… it’s only because there’s so much shit on commercial TV as of late that I’ve turned off it recently except for those TV shows that I mentioned in my post above…

...I’ve been overdosing on binge watching entire series and seasons such as:

On Netflix;... “Money Heist / Locke and Key / The Witcher / Lost in Space / Star Trek Discovery / Tiger King (which cannot be un-seen unfortunately lol!) / The Last Kingdom / Star Trek the 1960’s original series (up to season 4 so far and still going lol!)”...

On Stan;... “Red Dwarf ( up to season 8 so far and still going) / SS-GB / Catching Milat / all Blackadder seasons / all of the James Bond movies (Pierce Brosnan is still my favourite) / Ripper Street (still a work in progress) / The Young One’s”...

On Prime;... Star Trek Picard / The Man In The High Castle / Carnival Row / Good Omens…

...I’ve probably missed a few… but now I’m back!... what dragged me back?... the new series of “Big Brother”!... (even though Sonya’s hosting it lol!)... I can’t wait for it to start!... so count me in to restart posting for tonight… let’s hope that it’s better than Channel 9’s effort eh?... lol!... cheers.
 
How is everyone doing since lock-down has been eased?
All the idiots protesting (although it's a good cause) Surely there was another way of doing it. We won't know for a couple of weeks now if the numbers will rise again.
 
The morning news on ABC because of no commercials. Then, I turn everything I've just seen 180 degrees around, and I have a pretty good idea what really happened.
 
...aw man!... as I said a while back in the post above in the Coronavirus Virus thread… my new passion of binge watching entire series that are not interrupted by annoying Ads on commercial TV on Netflix / Stan and Prime has taken over my life!... lol!... I’ve been completely taken over with this newly acquired binge-a-thonning…

...I can’t believe that I’ve watched mostly commercial TV over the last few years and have only just dabbled in the streamed networks that have been at my disposal…even then… I avoided TV series and only watched movies on those streaming channels… it’s only because there’s so much shit on commercial TV as of late that I’ve turned off it recently except for those TV shows that I mentioned in my post above…

...I’ve been overdosing on binge watching entire series and seasons such as:

On Netflix;... “Money Heist / Locke and Key / The Witcher / Lost in Space / Star Trek Discovery / Tiger King (which cannot be un-seen unfortunately lol!) / The Last Kingdom / Star Trek the 1960’s original series (up to season 4 so far and still going lol!)”...

On Stan;... “Red Dwarf ( up to season 8 so far and still going) / SS-GB / Catching Milat / all Blackadder seasons / all of the James Bond movies (Pierce Brosnan is still my favourite) / Ripper Street (still a work in progress) / The Young One’s”...

On Prime;... Star Trek Picard / The Man In The High Castle / Carnival Row / Good Omens…

...I’ve probably missed a few… but now I’m back!... what dragged me back?... the new series of “Big Brother”!... (even though Sonya’s hosting it lol!)... I can’t wait for it to start!... so count me in to restart posting for tonight… let’s hope that it’s better than Channel 9’s effort eh?... lol!... cheers.
I'm with you on the B ones. Star Trek Picard has real potential with Seven of Nine back and Number One and that loopy counselor. Troi and Riker have matured like a good wine... they are much more likable now, but Picard can't pull his weight anymore. He is too old, they must kill him off and replace him with a new Captain or this latest incarnation will sink like a lead balloon.
I won't get into Star Trek Discovery because it quite frankly disgusted me.
But there is also 'The Orville' to consider. Scripted, sumptuous soundtrack as we are used to from DS9 and Voyager and all the clichés from the past though the whole series is tongue-in-cheek. And THAT'S what makes it refreshing. Orthodox, purist Trekkies have derided it as being silly, poor and a disgrace to the franchise. But that's because they are... well, orthodox purist Trekkies. Let them gather dust. I enjoyed it tremendously. With Seth MacFarlane at the helm... what could possibly go wrong?

The Man In The High Castle had to be a winner with Rufus Sewell in it. He has such a presence and can really play different characters. Welsh mother... what do you expect. And then there is the delightful Alexa Davalos who glides daintily when she walks. 😍
If you liked 'The Last Kingdom' you really should check out 'Vikings'. I have watched them both. Same subject matter but quite different result.

If you like weird, spooky stuff you might wanna check out 'Strange Angel' (A rocket scientist in 1940s Los Angeles is secretly the disciple of occultist Aleister Crowley.) or
'Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels' ( When a grisly murder shocks Los Angeles in 1938, Detective Tiago Vega and his partner Lewis Michener become embroiled in an epic story that reflects the troubled history of the city.). Two more of my favourite British actors - Natalie Dormer and Rory Kinnear. Both are German Nazis in L.A. and both do an excellent German accent all the way through. Neither of them slips up once. But Natalie Dorner is the real weird one... she plays three different characters, one of which is Penny Dreadful.
 
I tape stuff on SBS and ABC, record and flick through the news on NINE. Then on the FTA networks, it's the odd show like a Big Brother or an MKR that I will record and watch.

Otherwise, I am watching series on streaming, Foxtel or blue-ray.

The best find for binge watching during lockdown for me has been Strike Back. I started at season 2 (essentially a new show from s1, new characters etc) and watched 5 episode in one sitting. So exciting and gripping! Essentually non-stop action, with some plots and a pair of tits thrown in every episode. Got through season 2-8 quite quickly, really entertaining. I'm completely shocked this show had been off my radar, so entertaining.

Currently picked up another season of Justified from where I last left off. Great show!


Star Trek Picard
I won't get into Star Trek Discovery because it quite frankly disgusted me.

I found Picard really disappointing. It was obvious they decided to make a Picard show with out a plot or story. They then storyboarded the issues they'd like to touch on. Things they'd like to include. Then came up with a concept for the story. Then made the entire series about haphardly withholding the concept, to touch on the issues and idea they had, then at the end conclude by telling you the idea that had. Instead of just having a story. I'm sick of shows where the plot becomes withholding the story, instead of telling the story. So many shows are doing that these days and it almost always sucks. Altered Carbon season 2 was another show I watched around the same time that did this. There was no story other than withholding the story idea they had. No mystery unfolding, just withholding.

Discovery, like Picard isn't really doing Star Trek but I find I can excuse the terrible writing and find it entertaining. Spaceships, explosions and shit.
 
LOL... at least you saw both, Picard and Discovery so you can have an opinion. I can't share it though, as already mentioned. But I know what you mean by withholding the story and yes, too many new shows are guilty of this.
A way out of this is of course to watch drama soaps like Dynasty 2017 because they don't even pretend to have a plot. I don't deny that I resort to that option when there is nothing new that interest me. Yes, and I've even begun to make a 'study' of those Aaron Spelling shows from the nineties... this is all new to me and I'm laughing my ass off sometimes.

Justified is so good. I just love that over-the-top Southern stuff with the greatest concern always being what to do with the bodies.

Other shows I enjoyed recently:

Fargo - three seasons and the movie. Fourth season is on hold because of COVID.
Tin Star - the coming season on hold also
Yellowstone - current season streaming
The Son - sadly that's finished now
Ozark -
Bloodline - finished
The Outsider
Mr. Mercedes

Period and historical dramas are my favourite. There are some very good ones. I don't know where to start 😇
 
Period and historical dramas are my favourite. There are some very good ones. I don't know where to start 😇

I enjoyed "Warrior." It's a martial arts action/crime series set in late 1800s San Francisco based around rival Chinese gangs. It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I stumbled on it and liked it.
 
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I enjoyed "Warrior." It's a martial arts action/crime series set in late 1800s San Francisco based around rival Chinese gangs. It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I stumbled on it and liked it.
It is certainly my cup of tea... opium den scene in the first episode... what's not to like? I had problems getting hold of season two... took me about an hour to figure out it hadn't streamed yet... duh...

But what I'm really exited about is 'Strike Back'! Thanks for the tip!

You might wanna check out 'Deep State' - 'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan' (better than the movie) and 'Berlin Station' - all pretty much in the same vein.
 
- 'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan' (

I thought season two went downhill a lot from the first.

I've had Patriot on Prime recommended recently.

With Strike Back, start at season two. It was a reboot of the show with Cinemax picked it up, and the main actors from season one left to doThe Hobbit and The Walking Dead.
 
Personally I decided against pay tv long before I had a smart TV and all the stations had just the one channel.
Now FTA has so many choices I can't even keep up.

Smart TV is sooooooooo good, I can watch news all day and night and plenty of docos and history that I love, plus 32 movies

I am a news and TV addict, I know if I paid for tv I would never move my arse and never get any sleep.

My son has pay stuff
I plan on watching Ricky's After Life on his netflix

Also never record stuff, I never ended up watching recorded stuff
Maybe I should buy some TV in lockdown....just can't be bothered

And music is more prevalent in our home, prefer music and dancing around the house

Does pay tv make you less productive, less inclined to do other leisure activities like sport, trivia pub nights, learning online etc????
 
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