As I said elsewhere I don't watch crime reality shows.
http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=191898&page=1

When I do watch tv. in past year, it ends up averaging under 5 hrs. per week or alot less. Prior to living with dearie, I didn't have a tv at home/where I lived for about 20 consecutive yrs. When I lived in my own place I chose not to have a tv. When growing up, our tv broke down several times. Parents took their time to have it fixed. So even as a child, we went through several months..no tv. Yes, true I did have parents who wanted us to read. They were wise.

It's been a year since I've gone to a movie theatre. Last time before that was um..several years. It's just cost of a movie to me..and the quality of many movies doesn't justify the cost to go often. Or if there is a film festival (such as now, several specialty one in our area for next 3 moths), the tickets are expensive enough. So am not motivated. Then in a year or so, it ends up on tv. That transition cycle to tv seems to be happening faster compared a few decades ago.

I seem to read a book from cover to cover every month. Stark contrast to when I was much younger.

Music concerts- For about 10 years in Toronto, I had subscription to a Canadian baroque music orchestra which I enjoyed with a friend, then later it switched to be with my dearie. Methinks we became very spoiled to high quality baroque music since this group tours internationally, including Europe. So I find the local group here, not great.

I watch bits and pieces of The Early Show in the morning as I go from bedroom to kitchen and den. I prefer to watch that to the news because it's so much more upbeat, less dramatic, and you get all the latest news you need.

Occasionally while making dinner, I'll watch the local news while I'm cooking.

The only shows I watch on a pretty regualr basis are Two and a Half Men, and The New Old Christine, or whatever it's called. These are for comic relief.

I watch nothing else except the occasional sports wtih Ross.

I haven't watched a movie at home in ages. Seen maybe two at the theater in the last couple months.

Some of my tv watching patterns are like yours Dotsie, certain shows where I will watch whole thing....but only if I'm free/around at home. I rarely make time in personal schedule to see even my specific favourite shows on a regular basis. And yea, when I'm preparing a meal, doing a series of yoga-pilates exercise or need to get away from computer.

We get a free tv guide but I never go through it to check what's scheduled in advance. So what I see is a bit haphazard, sometimes fragmented and most often, by chance.

That's ok.

We don't have a DVD player for our tv. Neither dearie nor I have been motivated to borrow/rent DVDs or record from TV. We just have them with our computers.

We are each on our bikes at least 1-2 hrs. daily, when the weather is not raining/snowy/icy. On weekends it could be 2-5 hrs. each day, if it's a long ride combined with a cafe /grocery shopping stop.

For Canadian news, I tend to prefer first watch Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which has a national and international scope. They have on-site correspondents that report from various parts of the world (UK, Asia, Middle East and US) It is partially funded by govn't, hence held accountable to the public in terms of quality and scope. On same channel is BBC news which is quite good. They also have regular documentary and investigative reporting news shows. CBC also has tv and radio stations, that are separate and solely in French language, which the content does differ in terms of shows, maybe news and "feel", but still professional. It's great thing for those moderately bilingual or want to practice /keep their French. I support this...

Of course, we always check the Weather Channel..actually several times if we are around, during the day /evening.

Since I administer other boards and do counseling online, I feel a need to keep abreast of legal, social, spiritual, consumer, financial, political, entertainment, miscellaneous and pop culture topics. Which means I am forever catching online/offline tidbits from techno-resources.

Television has evolved from mere simplistic entertainment to an extension of our moment-to-moment communications with almost the entire world. I remember the old days when "they" laughed at Ted Turner after he acted upon his idea of creating a 24 hour news network. No one is making fun of that idea anymore.

Television-computer-cellphone-books-magazines: it's all integrated anymore. Each day technology brings them more and more into one unit. And each is becoming interactive-friendly. Every room in my house has access to a television and a computer. Despite electronic books, we DO use our "hardcopy" library.(Part of our massive information literacy is due to hubby being an Information Technology Architectural Engineer with an IT lab and private server in our basement. That's small comparison to what some teens have on their various cell phones and techno-gadgets)

In the morning I race through bits of GMA, Today, CBS Early Show, Fox Business news with Imus, and Fox & Friends. Later I check out hot topics on The View and the 12 noon local news & weather.

During the day when not counseling or corresponding online, I'll check out CNN & Fox news for any late breaking stories.

Then at night I have my favorite comedy or crime shows after the news and opinion shows.

I tape a bazillion things a day and then catch as much as I can. (Taping so I can view programming without commecial interruption is a godsend.)

Late night brings me Charlie Rose, Nightline and Golden Girls. I miss Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in "Murder She Wrote's" Cabot Cove. It hasn't been on much lately.

Thank God for DVDs, where I can catch my hottie Jimmy Smits in "NYPD" and "West Wing," or Chuck Connors in "The Rifleman." I have "Little House on the Prairie," Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Dr Quinn, "The Waltons," and so many other heartwarming Hallmark-type stories which add to my life's emotional experience. (It is understod that NOTHING will ever replace a human hug, which to me is better than winning the lottery.)

I may not watch much modern medical drama because of all those years in nursing, but I sure miss the old "Dr. Kildare" and "Marcus Welby" shows. Richard Chamberlain may be gay, but he'll always be my #1 original fantasy heart throb. (Don't get jealous, Gregory Peck! You are THE MAN for me in such movies as "To Kill a Mockingbird.")

I miss Johnny Carson and the old Ed Sullivan shows. Thank goodness computer-tv and cable channels are bringing it all back.

On weekends there is CBS Sunday morning, This Week with George Stephanopoulos and George Will, and This Sunday with Chris Wallace. I miss Charles Kuralt and his kindly voice.......

One thing I do NOT miss is the days when we had one broken-down tiny black and white TV in our apartment, which we had to kick to get it to work. lol My mom thought color TV caused cancer. Not that we could ever afford one anyway. We kids used to put red or green plastic colorform sheets over the TV so we could see color. lol lol lol

I so wish I had missed the Waltons...in order that I could view them just now.For me the memory of my daughter and son and I cussled on the sofa and being there on the Mountain..also Anne of Green Gables...maybe I should indulge that part of me..
Also we had Touched by an angel but alas no longer.Must look on Amazon.

MA, I caught up on the Waltons when I was 17 and watched it alongside Little House on the Prairie. They had LHP on British TV until a few years ago. I'd love to watch the re-runs.

I love b/w films.

I was so hooked on "The Waltons," that one year on the way back from DisneyWorld, our family visited the real "Waltons Mountain" in Schuyler Virginia (home of show creator Earl Hamner (aka "John-Boy".)

We ate at the "Dew Drop Inn" and saw "Ike Godsey's" general store. What a thrill to climb into TV history.

Nowadays there is a lovely museum nearby:

http://www.waltonmuseum.org/

What about Touched by an Angel or that one where Micheal Landon played an angel, what was that one? I used to love it.

All of the ones mentioned brought me to tears, usually. A good cry though. Heartwarming. Course, I cry when I hear the Star Spangled Banner.

Touched by an angel..uhuh.
we dont have it here now.wis we did

I have Anne of Greengables set...if I was on mastermind quiz show I would get a hgh score..it was my re read again and again book..

Am I the only person who liked and watched the HBO series, "Six Feet Under"..about a family where one of the brothers ran a funeral home? I enjoyed also watching, "Judging Amy", the central character, an attractive young-looking judge.

As for British series that I might occasionally catch a show or 2:

Heartbeat
Inspector Morris

As for humour/satire..
Canadian series which has been syndicated and shown in some parts of the U.S. : Corner Gas (about small-town prairie town where one of the characters is a gas station owner)

This is Wonderland --was a national series focused on behind the scenes human stories of legal aid/lower court situations and personal lives of legal aid lawyers. Stories with addiction problems, homelessness, dysfunctional families, etc. Real. Wacky at times, but real and human, funny in a amusing way at times. No flashy corporate lawyers, cops in helicopters and bloody arrests/murders. The latter is not always a reflection of 75% reality anyway.

Due South- series with central character of Royal Canadian Mountain police officer and his husky dog, Diefenbaker (named after one of Canada's former prime ministers). With quirky moments and some cop stuff, but again not the bombastic, SWAT, shoot-out team stuff that one sees on U.S. crime cop shows. This show has been syndicated in some European countries. Must be that handsome RCMP guy...