I was talking with my good friend Hollis last night (not his real name, but he knows who he is -- he's lurking out there and giving me crap for not mentioning him more in this humble collection of rants), and the subject of HBO came up. Well, I'm sure I brought it up, because I am enamoured with the HBO, especially the original series. We went back-and-forth about the relative vslue of HBO movies that you don't want to see versus the sometimes skimpy original programming choices for the monthly fee.
My thoery is that my cable company, for all they are evil bastards, offer me free HBO On Demand. Yay! On Demand! So, not only do I get to watch whatever HBO is currently offering, I also get to go back through and watch a bunch of other shows that I haven't seen before, or haven't seen in awhile.
So far, I've been through The Sopranos and have *finally* seen the last episode. (Hollis and I also had a discussion about that. No, I do not think Tony is killed. I think the final episode shows the fear -- and chutzpah -- that epitomizes the Tony Soprano's life. Everywhere he goes, he knows that this could be the time.) I am going back through Six Feet Under because it might just be my absolute favorite television show of all time, beating out Buffy, The Office, House, Gilmore Girls, and even Seinfeld. I've been through most of Big Love -- although I missed a few in the middle because I was out of town. And when Deadwood and Rome start from the beginning, I can pick them up, too.
But here's what I hate. I hate the constant commerical for On Demand that plays in the corner of the On Demand menu. I love television, but I love that I can turn it on and off and change the channels. I hate television in airports and malls and grocery stores and other public places. I hate that the noise is ubiquitous and insidious. And the commerical on the On Demand channel is horrible. It's just an annoying woman telling me what I can choose from and where to find it and showing my clips. I DON'T CARE. When I want to watch your show, I will. When I want to look for it, I will. Until then: Shut your trap.
It's the constant advertising that is pervasive in our culture. There must be a different way to construct a society; one that is not about buying more stuff. We can all see where buying more stuff has gotten our economy. And I buy HBO. I pay to not have to see a bunch of commercials. I'm happy paying for the service, because I like it. So to have that annoying woman in my face all the time when I just want to watch HBO really annoys the crap out of me.
P.S. No more saying you don't get a shout-out on the blog.
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2 comments:
Yeah, Six Feet Under was transcendent, from the amazing cast to the excellent story lines, to the most incredible final scene and use of Arcade Fire's music therein...man, what a good show.
I think it's the most honest ending of any show ever. ***SPOILER ALERT!**** Too soon, too late, in the night, heart attack, cancer, accident... in the end, we all die. Everyone. Always.
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