Since I left home, I've never once purchased cable or any of the satellite options. (Admittedly, I grew up in a house with only an antenna and 3 stations: PBS, CBS, and NBC.) I have never once lived in a house close enough to a TV station to use an antenna since then.
When I moved to my current town six years ago, I broke down and got high speed internet (prior to that I used dial-up). I didn't have a computer capable of streaming Netflix until last summer, but I did rent DVDs even when I had dial-up.
I love the selection. I love the option of watching (or not). I love the option of choosing when I watch. I also love being out of touch with the entertainment world. Netflix is awesome. I like to watch strange stuff like British movies, old movies, and the occasional foreign movie. I use Hulu a bit as well, though I haven't purchased Hulu +. I got Amazon Prime a few years ago and forgot to cancel it when the trial was up. Shortly after, they began offering movies and shows online. I liked that too.
I don't know if I'm saving money, but I don't have any desire for cable. Like you, the internet options are enough. Furthermore, I love that I am free from a schedule. I can start Columbo tonight and finish it tomorrow night. Cable can't compete with that freedom.
When I stay in a motel, I sometimes turn on the TV. I usually find that there is nothing on, even with the many stations available. Once in a while, I am shocked. I have been reading The Game of Thrones series. I discovered there is a TV show based on these books. Suffice to say that while the books sometimes delve into unnecessary violence and sex, the TV show managed to shock me. And that is another reason I don't like cable: TV has changed since the time I grew up, and I'm not that old. I recognize that books and movies are not the same, but the TV version seemed like some teenager was hired to "jazz it up" by throwing in random sex and violence.
The other thing that bothers me about a lot of TV is how shallow it is. Even many documentaries only scratch the surface. I enjoyed John LeCarre's "Smiley" books. I enjoyed the 1980s version of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." A newer version came out this winter. It was awful! All of the complexity, all of the story, the characters, all were gone. The reviews said that this was such a great movie, even a "thinking man's movie" but it wasn't. It was shallow.
Movies like "The Third Man" show what can be done in the limited time of a movie. Some new movies have succeeded. The movie "LA Confidential" shocked me in its depth and realism. I would say that overall the movie was far better than the book, and the book was pretty good.
I will also admit that there is plenty of really bad stuff from the old days. I can't stand "Mr. Ed" or "The Three Stooges." Nor can I stand "Beverly Hillbillies" and many other shows. I've seen some really awful movies from the black and white era. One gain in the present is that we recognize that our heroes may not be lily-white.
I adore authors like Graham Greene and John LeCarre because they recognized the ugliness of good people. I read a fascinating book called The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene about a "Whisky Priest" that described the travails of a Catholic Priest during the awkward time in Mexico's history when religion was outlawed. I'll confess that book made me tear up, and fiction doesn't usually affect me that way. Through the course of the book, the priest recognized what a terrible priest he had been, and also came to truly believe his faith. The book made me think not only because he was realistic, but also because his past behavior had turned good people away from God and down a path of evil. I'm not much for demonstrative emotion, but the book made me cry several times. It really is that powerful. As far as I know, it has never been made into a movie. Maybe it requires too much introspection or remarks too clearly that our heroes have feet of clay.
Of recent vintage, I did enjoy Battlestar Galactica. This series clearly showed the grey of good people. However, it also had lots of melodrama, needless violence, and too much sex. I also enjoyed Hill Street Blues in part because it showed the importance of meekness.
However, I think that teenage boys have taken over Hollywood. Movies and TV are full of spectacle, violence, and sex. I know these things catch the paying audience because I was once a teenaged boy. To me, realism was rebellion, violence, and sex. My immature mind didn't understand taking the wrong side, greed, cowardice, or any other weakness. At one time, I didn't realize that even heroes have feet of clay.
opcorn
