TV OR NOT TV...(YOU KNOW THE REST)

I think that I've banged on this in the past but at my age the old memory suffers a bit - not the long-term memory, don't worry about that - I'll be able to bore you with lots more recollections from my (very long) lifetime. TV. As in not having one. It's great.

Now we aren't bloody luddites or survivalists but having spent time overseas on The Old Girl's short and medium term contracts we decided not to purchase televisions or tie ourselves into cable TV contracts. As a result we've kind of weaned ourselves off that insidious crap that is pumped out daily.

At first it was the 'news' that we missed and in Canada I would see it, willingly or not, in the gym that was in the condominium we were staying in. It was all Canadian and USA networks with the crassest form of news reporting I'd ever seen. That was until we went to the UK and, again in the gym I was going to it was evident that the standard of news reporting and broadcasting was no better and in some cases worse.

When we returned to New Zealand I was in fact looking forward to some 'decent' news reporting. Boy was I disappointed. The standard of news coverage on TV, in New Zealand is appalling. These simpering prima donna presenters have somehow got the idea that they are more important than the news that they are supposed to report on. The TV stations themselves advertise the fact that "they have the best news".



It's kind of like that fat fool Donald Trump crowing "I know words. I have the best words".

In Canada and the UK as I said, we didn't have TV and when we came back to NZ we decided to do the same. I used to get DVDs of films and good TV series and watch them but now I use the internet for TV On Demand, Lightbox and Netflix. Luckily the Apple Mac computer screen we have is large enough to screen the shows we want to watch. The advantage of doing this is in not having a TV going before and after the film or series you want to watch (that is if on the channels available there is anything other than reality shows and wittering garbage that's worth watching). With viewing on the computer we can dial in when we want and otherwise have peace and silence or listen to the still excellent National Programme and Concert Programme on the radio.

We've discovered some excellent series - HBO ones from USA, good British dramas, German, French and Scandinavian films and thriller series but also have watched some old favourite comedies - Dad's Army, Last of the Summer Wine, The Thick of It, Blackadder etc.

A recent discovery that I recommend to Richard and Robert is Mozart in the Jungle. This is a 3 series comedy drama (10 episodes in each series) about the people in the New York Symphony Orchestra. The production values are superb as is the direction and the cast with some really top-line people involved. It's no wonder it has won so many awards.