Things I hate about TV

[Norton]

Certain channels drive me up the wall! First of all, almost every TV channel has their logo in the bottom corner of each and every show. Of course, there's no logo during the commercials, only on the show I'm trying to watch. I really don't want a constant reminder of what channel I'm watching. If I happen to forget what channel is on, there are several fast, easy ways that I can find out just by pressing a button on the remote.

Advertisments during shows annoy me as well. I sometimes watch a cartoon channel called Jetix. In the middle of a show, the screen will shrink and there will be a box with an advertisment for another cartoon at the bottom! This occurs not even 5 minutes after they've played a normal commercial for the same thing! Other channels won't shrink the show, but they'll have sort of a pop-up advert at the bottom of the screen on top of the show.

Some channels will play the ending credits for one show at the same time as the opening credits for the next show, displayed on a split-screen. God forbid I actually want to read the credits, since they become all tiny and smushed. I figure that by not giving the credits their own full run, this allows more time for commercials.

The advertising and commercials never seem to end! I'm sick of it! I can put up with a few minutes of commercials 3 times in a half-hour show, but when I'm being targeted by advertising during the show, or when the program is butchered so as to fit in more commercials, it makes me angry!

Finally, I'm so tired of seeing commercials for Sonic drive-throughs. I live in N.Y., where Sonic commercials have been shown on TV for several years. There is not one Sonic in the state of N.Y. The closest one is in N.J., and I believe it was only built recently. I wish they'd stop teasing me with their yummy-looking yet unobtainable food.

[/rant]

[DesignFox]

I hate that crap, too!

If I am watching a show, the last thing I want is an advertisement covering up what I'm trying to watch! How freakin' obnoxious!

I mostly don't watch the channels that do that...

Ooo and it annoys me to no end when I'm watching an older show, like M*A*S*H, and they butcher the show to fit in more commercials! I can't stand it! Thankfully, I own the whole thing on DVD so I can watch it un-butchered and without interruption...



I wish there was a way to make the networks stop that shit.

[Norton]

Heh, funny you mention M.A.S.H. My boyfriend and I watch it frequently during the week. We always want to see the credits to check out the guest stars, but as I mentoned before, the credits get squashed to the point of illegibility.

[DesignFox]

It's my favorite show ever! So I know what they've cut out, and it DOES detract from the episode. Not cool.

Neat that you like that show, too.

[protege]

I'm getting tired of all the damn commercials too. Sure they pay for the programming...but they're at the point of being rather annoying. Especially those Comcast and Searchlight commercials. It wasn't so bad when you'd see them only occasionally. Now, I get bombarded with them multiple times per show. Not even different commercials either. They'll play the same ones, back to back. What's up with that? I don't know about the rest of you all, but trying to ram a particular product or service down my throat not only pisses me off...but guarantees that I'm probably *not* going to get it!

...and I hear you on the Sonic ones. There's one in the Pittsburgh area...however, it's about 25 miles away from me. Ihop is another one we don't have--doesn't stop the ads though

[Saydrah]

Can I pick "everything" for things I hate about TV?

[XCashier]

Finally, I'm so tired of seeing commercials for Sonic drive-throughs. I live in N.Y., where Sonic commercials have been shown on TV for several years. There is not one Sonic in the state of N.Y. The closest one is in N.J., and I believe it was only built recently. I wish they'd stop teasing me with their yummy-looking yet unobtainable food.

They do that on the local channels here, too. I moved from a state with plenty of Sonics to a state with none. I miss the onion rings and cherry limeades!

[AFPheonix]

We finally got one in our town. I experienced the joy down in Oklahoma when I was there for Pinto Worlds. Eh, it was ok, the drinks were fantastic, however.

What I REALLY wish we had up here are Taco Cabanas. Holy shit, that's good mexican fast food.

Protege, you're not missing much with IHOP. They're not all that great. I prefer Elmer's pancake house. Anyone know if those are outside of the Pacific Northwest?

[daleduke17]

I just posted about this on my livejournal yesterday, it is annoying. I don't mind the bug down on the bottom of the screen showing the network logo, those help me when I am watching TV in the bedroom (I don't have a digital box in there).

I absolutely detest what MTV2 does. Putting the line in the middle of the screen saying "You are watching....". That is annoying.

About the commercials talking about restaurants your area doesn't have. Yeah, we get Red Robin, CiCi's Pizza and Sonic. The closest Red Robin is either Rockford (3.5 hours) or Chicago (around 3 hours). Sonic isn't as bad as Champaign and Pekin each have one. CiCi's is in Decatur so we can get that when we go to the mall there (which is quite often).

Funny story about Sonic. My wife and I went to Carbondale for a weekend away from everything. I looked up Sonic's site and found one enroute to Carbondale. Hell yeah we stopped there. Now, to get Bloomington to get one.

EDIT (forgot to add): The annoying ass Comcast commericals. Did you know our area's cable and internet is changing over to Comcast? Apparently they haven't given that enough attention as the commercials play at LEAST twice an hour. Yes, I know they have cable, high-speed internet and phone. Yes, I have two of them. Just don't jack my prices up and I'll keep both of them.

[tropicsgoddess]

Finally, I'm so tired of seeing commercials for Sonic drive-throughs. I live in N.Y., where Sonic commercials have been shown on TV for several years. There is not one Sonic in the state of N.Y. The closest one is in N.J., and I believe it was only built recently. I wish they'd stop teasing me with their yummy-looking yet unobtainable food.

[/rant]

I agree. I'm in south Florida and there isn't one !!! Same with Red Robin.

[powerboy]

Can I pick "everything" for things I hate about TV?

I am with you on that.


I do not mind the commercial breaks 3 times a half hour. But when the breaks come every 3-4 minutes after the last commercial is pissing me off.

When they pop the show into a 2x3 square on the top right of the corner, just to show a commercial, is what I hate also.

When I am watching the credits to see who was in it. And I can't read anything. That really bothers me. Or I can hear a good song, and what to see who the artist was.

And I am with protege, if they try to ram *insert* product down my throat, I will most likely will not buy it.

[Bloodsoul]

Wow, I feel old. I can remember when "bugs" (I'm fairly certain that's what they were called back then) were first introduced? I was regulary watching FX at the time.. the old, old FX, that was all family friendly with old shows and the Pet Department and, well, those days are gone. Tsk, so many old channels that I miss. ó_ò

Anyway, they don't bug me anymore (pun intended?), I just wish they did show up during commercials, since not every television is set up to display the name of channel with the press of a button. Tsk, where's the TV Guide when you need it?

*turns the tv off and goes back to his music and comics*

[LadyBarbossa]

The only show I make a point to watch is Lost. Seriously. I might catch Kimmel or Leno on occasion, but other than that, it's 1-2 hours of TV a week for me. And in those few short hours, I am reminded why I don't like watching TV. I've timed it, we get about five minutes of programming between commercials, and half the commercials are for the show that is coming on afterwards. Said show also gets its own 'bug', as you are all calling it, in the bottom right hand corner. I really don't care to have Eli Stone shoved down my throat. I am watching Lost, and when that is over, I will promptly shut off my set and get on with life. If I wanted to watch something else, I would. Now please get its nasty logo off the screen, kthanxbai

To anyone who buys series on DVD, we know that dramas tend to be about 42 minutes per episode. When originally aired, they get an hour long slot.

Bah humbug.

[daleduke17]

This is mainly directed about wrestling, but, something else that irritates me is when they (usually the WWE, but TNA is starting it too) start a match and cut to commercial. After the commercial break is over, they show a split screen with what happened during the break. The live episodes (Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi) are less annoying to cut away during, but when it happens during a TAPED episode (Smackdown, Impact) it is more aggrivating as they can edit stuff to fit into the timeframe.

Basically it would be like cutting away during the middle of an inning of baseball.

Something else: Why does everything have a corporate name to it in sports? Look:
- Mastercard NIT
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (one race doesn't have a corporate name in the title out of the whole season)
- The named stadiums (RCA Dome, Savvis Center, Edward Jones Dome, Minute Maid Park, PETCO Field, etc)
- Chik-Fil-A Bowl, Outback Bowl, Insight Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl,

The list goes on and on. All of this for advertising revenue. I think it clutters up the screen and makes the event a secondary thing to the sponsors. Look at the Super Bowl. It is pretty much commercials interrupted by football.

If I was part of the FCC I would put a limit on how long a commerical could be (:30-:45) and how many there could be per half hour (no more than 6 minutes out of every thirty). There could still be infomercials and shop at home channels. Those two items wouldn't really be limited as much as commercials during broadcast programming.

[powerboy]

This is mainly directed about wrestling, but, something else that irritates me is when they (usually the WWE, but TNA is starting it too) start a match and cut to commercial. After the commercial break is over, they show a split screen with what happened during the break. The live episodes (Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi) are less annoying to cut away during, but when it happens during a TAPED episode (Smackdown, Impact) it is more aggrivating as they can edit stuff to fit into the timeframe.

I am with you on that. When I watch wrestling, I actually want to see the matches. And not just talk. I.E. meaning, cutting to the back to talk to Mr. McMahon or Team Angle and etc.