Thursday, November 13, 2008

Girl Talk

I had a couple of days off work this week, and I managed to sit down in the afternoon today to watch some TV. What the heck is going on with daytime television? All I could get were soap operas, cooking shows, decorating shows, Martha Stewart, more soap operas, Bonny Hunt, Oprah Winfrey, more cooking shows. And what is it with those women on The View? They're ghastly! Has Joy Behar ever actually heard herself speak?

So, I sat there with the remote, clicking on every station to find something to watch, and according to the schedule, for the whole afternoon there was nothing but "women's programming".

Someone should do a sociological study of daytime television. It would be very interesting. Not having watched television during the daytime, I didn't realize the mentality is still deeply rooted in the 1950s. According to the programmers, the male of the species leaves the cave home and is out doing something productive, while the female of the species is home bonding with the girls on afternoon television. I wondered about any of the fellows who happen to be at home during the day. What are they watching? Well, I suppose there is always Jerry Springer, but no one really watches that, do they?

So, this afternoon on the Martha Stewart Show I learned how to make philo pastry; on the Young and the Restless I learned that Heather told Paul that she and Adam are engaged; on Home and Garden Television I learned what colors to paint a large room to make it look smaller; and I learned that if I watch Oprah Winfrey every day, I will have a perfect life.

Gosh!

We've come a long way, baby, but we still have a long way to go.

But that's a dame
They're all the same
It's just a game
They call it
Girl Talk
Girl Talk...


20 comments:

Lilly said...

Jo, I like that post and strangely here in Australia we get much the same shows plus reruns of course.

I am not a great TV fan to be honest. The last time I watched a cooking show I tried to replicate a recipe and nearly gave myself third degree burns. I wasn't happy and it was the last show I watched. I obviously need close supervision.

I liked British Soaps when I lived in the UK and I have watched the Bold and the Beautiful, the US soap but it was too hard to keep up with only watching it every so often - they seem to recycle their partners. I also found the fact that these incredible beautiful peopel were having way too much plastic surgery which I found a little disconcerting.

I do, however, like travel shows and I more than likely would watch Martha Stewart provided it was something I could learn. Strangely, I have always had a career but the older I get the more I want to do the things my Mum did - the cooking, sewing, cake decorating - I just really enjoy it all. Maybe I am having a Martha Moment in my 40s now.

Oprah leaves me cold really. There is just too much always going on - and she talks over everyone. It's too hard to be the perfect person because there is always some new fad...and then another. Super business woman though without a question.

I guess the upside is that work may have seemed rather more appealing after your TV viewing.

Next time you have some quiet time you will have to rent your favourite movies instead. Seems like day time viewing is not for you, which I think may be just a great, great thing..

Leslie: said...

Great post, Josie! Now that I have such a huge choice to watch during the day, I am able to find something every once in a while. I usually have my coffee watching the girls on The View but I cannot abide Joy Behar. Please will someone shut her up! Then I turn the TV off and do something else. Around lunchtime, I watch the W channel for Colour Confidential and Divine Design or go over to BBC Canada for a real estate show - love watching those. But you are right - there's not much to watch. Oh yeah, if you get Deja View, you can watch all the old comedy shows or on Mystery you can catch reruns of the Law & Order type shows. Of course, there's always books to read! Or blog posts to write! lol

KathyB. said...

What a perfect song to end the post with !

You have stated just perfectly why I do NOT watch day time T.V. When Hubby is home though he enjoys the cooking and hunting shows....and I get the benefit of both...his hunting trips provide exercise for him and sometimes meat for the freezer, and he is a GREAT cook , and cooks often !

I think day time T.V. is a good motivator to get OUT and about and do something, anything but vegetate in front of the tube!

As far as The View, shrill women (or men too)shrieking their opinions just grate on me.....but I don't think I am in the majority here.

JR's Thumbprints said...

Jo, A majority of the male inmate population are hooked on television soaps and romance novels. Weird, huh?

Bobbie said...

I don't watch daytime TV but I do tape "One Life to Live" and watch it in the evening along with my husband. He's just as addicted to the show as I am! :)

roxanne s. sukhan said...

the guys watch spike network or space. i say yuck to 'daytime programming' ... mostly the off channel is my favourite. when i lived in the uk and watched tv in the day it was a lot of antique roadshow sort of stuff ... or DIY.

Country Girl said...

Damn. I missed the philo pastry lesson on Martha.

Anonymous said...

Hee.

I love Martha Stewart. She's so self-possessed and confident.
I wish she'd come over and dominate me. :)

Tess Kincaid said...

Lots of people like the TV on in the background for company, but I never have the TV on in the daytime. I rarely watch TV and when I do, it's evening PBS and news. But I do love to pop a DVD in to watch at night!

Tess Kincaid said...

"I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book."
Groucho Marx

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I can ecco the sentiment from South Africa as well. All there is on during the day is dribble. I've been off the last few days as well and ended up playing around on my pc the whole day because there is nothing on tv. At least you still have cooking shows and garden shows. That we don't even have over here. And don't let me start on 30minute infomercials. Aaarrgghhh... I want to be sick.

By the by... in responce to your comment on my Wilderness post, if you want any of my pic to use as desktop just let me know and I will e-mail you the picture in its entirety. I make my pics very small for upload onto Blogger so it won't be of desktop quality. Let me know and let me have your e-mail.

Charles Gramlich said...

When I'm home during the day and watching TV I watch NFL network or the Sci Fi channel generally.

RiverPoet said...

I hear you! I'm so glad that I work and read, because if TV was my life, I'd be very bored, indeed. My daughter, on the other hand, loves watching reruns of Scrubs and Law & Order, mixed in with Judge Judy and Jerry Springer. My son doesn't have a TV in his new place, and I think it's helping him stay on track with school. It's an incredible time waster. If one watches too much of it, one becomes like the Jell-O in the commercials!

Peace - D

Adventure girl said...

Sociology is what my degree is in;)

I hate the view! They drive me nuts and I don't know how they have lasted this long.

Hope you enjoyed your days off.........................and now it's the weekend;) Have a good one!

Dr.John said...

Read a good book in the afternoon.

Jo said...

Lilly, oh, gosh, I totally agree about Oprah. I once did a post about Oprah, and people came on and sandbagged me. What is it with Oprah? She has fashioned herself as Queen of the World, and everyone follow along blindly. All she gets is more and more wealthy! Phew!

Leslie, yes, if I were home all day, I definitely would find other things to do, but I just plopped down in a chair and turned on the TV, only to find that everything (!!!) was geared towards "the little woman". This is the 21st Century for crap sake. What the heck is going on?

Kathy, "I think day time T.V. is a good motivator to get OUT and about and do something, anything but vegetate in front of the tube!" Hear! Hear! But what the heck are the programmers thinking? Who is doing the programming? I was disgusted!

JR, I would never have believed that if you hadn't told me. That is so strange!

Bobbie, well, I can see getting addicted to a soap, especially with the running story lines. But the whole of daytime television was geared to women! And it was all boring!

Frizzy, I totally agree that the off channel would be my favorite too. My question is, what is the mentality of the people who are programming these shows during the day? *gag*

CountryGirl, oh, you didn't miss much. Just go to the freezer section at your supermarket, and buy it. It's just as good. :-)

Ivan, Martha Stewart? Well, okay. "Come on, baby, light my fire." :-)

Willow, you and I have almost identical taste. I love PBS, news, or the movie channels. I love to watch old Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, et al, movies.

Firefly, you have 30 minute informercials too? Aren't they the worst? They are even worse than reality shows. And, yes, I love that photo of the beach you had on your post yesterday. It is just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!

Charles, well, NFL or SciFi is just about all there is for men during the day!!

Riverpoet, oh, don't even get me started on Judge Judy. She makes trailer park trash look as if they come from Buckingham Palace. What a dreadful woman!

AdventureGirl, you have a degree in Sociology? Wow! That so interesting! And yes, those women on the view are like watching a slow-motion train wreck. They make women look bad.

Dr. John, oh, ask anyone, I am an avid reader. But sometimes I like to put my feet up and watch the tube for a while. But not during the day!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Have you seen Martha Stewart making cookies with rap stars? That's comedy for the masses!

VioletSky said...

That's funny. I also wrote about the soaps. I turn the tv on for company, but often will walk away and leave it. Sometimes, I get wrapped up in the real estate shows or Y&R or Days. This was one of those weeks.

Jo said...

Pamela, no, I would love to see that!

Violetsky, I'm afraid to get hooked on any of the soaps... :-)

becky aka theRAV said...

Well, I know it is not entertainment but I do try to catch up on "Feneral Hospital" occasionally. Sorry. It is one of my vices. When I had surgery, I watched a lot of HGTV til the point they repeated which is one of my pet peeves. I had trouble sleeping at the time. It was either that or play on the laptop. I would just like to be on the show where Oprah gives stuff away!