Journal Bill Dog's Journal: it's a good time for TV (part 1 of 3) 2
Apparently the stuff I've been watching on TV in recent times have mostly fallen into three categories.
1) Cars
I'm not so much into the fix-em-up part of those kinds of shows. Maybe partly because I'm oblivious to what they're doing or why. So I used to watch some of the block of car shows (I forget what they nicknamed it) that I think was mid-day Saturday on Spike (or maybe its prior incarnation, TNN), for a while there hosted by Danica Patrick, just as she was starting to get famous.
So I like the primetime shows a lot better because there's less grease-monkeying and in-show ads for stuff and more monkeying around and getting to the final outcome quicker. And the searching for new and interesting project cars. So I watch a little Count. I used to watch Ass Monkey a lot, but they really pissed me off when they fired a couple of the mechanics that I liked, and suddenly featured new faces that we were just supposed to accept I guess. Happily, those two partnered with some others and started up a competing business, that's now on the same network (as Misfits Garage).
I don't know WTF is PBS's problem. I used to watch Motorweek every week at college in Northern California. Down in SoCal, the station in one area used to run it at 2am or some shit, and where I'm at now doesn't run it all. Since they've stopped running that, and old Mr. Bean and Whose Line reruns, they're completely worthless to me.
Top Gear went from bad to worse. The British version was at least a fairly interesting show, you just had to accept that America and Americans were going to be the butt of literally every single joke, and that like Slashdotters, they never tire of the same old ones. (It's the element of mean-spiritedness and the feeling that gives to the tellers that keeps them from getting bored of it.) I've tried to watch the American version, I've wanted to like it, but it's just sooo boring! I don't know how I could find a car show boring. It seems there's not much about cars, just three guys screwing around. And they're not my kind of guys I guess.
I think Motor Trend or Car & Driver had a show on for a couple of years that I used to watch, but not anything that lasted.
My cable company used to advertise some new car shopping network, but that was one of the digital channels, and I'm still on analog cable TV. (And I felt a little funny about the idea anyways, as to me a separate organization talking about new cars is a show, but the manufacturers doing it is an ad.)
there's nothing wrong with ads (Score:2)
if you like them and are interested in what they are about.
I watch lots of game and movie trailers - or ads - and love it.
Re: (Score:1)
Sure, I don't mind at all when the mfr's release teaser images of a new model, for example. There's no commentary with it; you decide if you like the style of the new whatever, or if you think it could grow on you, or not. But for a "review", entailing pros and cons, and including comparisons with competitors say, I'd rather listen to third parties (even though some of them can be bought and sold by a given advertiser and/or already be predisposed towards certain mfrs).
Ads are one-sided, and that's their