Television Pet Peeves

I don’t watch as much television as I used to. When I get the chance, however, there are a few things that have begun to tick me off.

This is a test….

I understand the need to test the Emergency Broadcasting System, but we’ve reached a state of overkill. A weekly test is a bit much. There was a time when a monthly test was all that was needed; but, thanks to 9/11, we are plagued with the lovely thing once a week. Making it even more annoying is the apparent lack of everyone being on the same page. Your local network may issue the test at 1pm and your cable company will do another one at 4pm. Some one correct me, but it appears they even do random tests during prime time. It’s gotten to the point that I tend to ignore the things. At least, when there is a real issue (say, a tornado), they use a different signal or I’m afraid no one would pay much attention to it.

Roll Credits…

I’m one of those people who actually reads the credits at the end of a film or t.v. programme. A lot of networks have gone to squeezing the credits or running them at a dizzying speed that you can’t see the words. A typical credits sequence doesn’t take that long for a t.v. programme and the ones for movies they should have plenty of time for, since they already edited the heck out of the film to make it fit a two hour slot. Some people might actually want to know who played Aunt Sally for 45 seconds of screen time.

Pop-Up Advertising…

The Sci-Fi Channel and USA Network are the most guilty of having these annoying adverts at the bottom of the screen. You are watching your favorite episode of NCIS and all the sudden, Monk pops in, does a little dance, and ducks off the screen. If I was interested in Monk, I’d watch Monk, and would know Monk would be on later that evening.

Products of an Adult Nature…

Erectile Dysfunction, Tampons, Birth Control Devices, and (after prime time) adult novelties. Sure, it’s nice to know the alternatives for dealing with E.D., but do we have to have it on Television. And bear in mind, these commercials are on at all hours. And don’t even get me started on the Adult Novelties, sheesh, and how can the keep a straight face and be so clinical?

And Now a Shout From Our Sponsors…

You ave the volume set at the just the right level so you can understand how much oregano to use in the rub and they cut to a commercial and you about drop the jar when the announcer blares something about headache powder. And the local commercials are even louder. Are they trying to make potential customers deaf?

HD Channels

You have the HD TV, the HD Cable Box, and now you are ready to watch your favorite network in “High Def”. You are told in order to do this, you have to “tune into a certain tier of channels”. OK, I’ve got a box that has a computer in it that runs a limited version of Linux, why can’t you program the bloody thing to replace the standard channels with HD? Oh, and can we get commercials in HD, those blank spots are so detracting from the product. And, local guys, when are you going to broadcast the news in HD?

I have about ten other peeves about TV, but I’ll spare you all the grief. If you have a pet peeve about TV, leave a comment, I’d love to see what you think.

Special Thanks to Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln Journal Star for Sparking this post.