We don’t have a television in Malta. The only TV we see are shows that I download and the occasional football game at the local pub. So, I’ve been watching a fair bit of TV–just grazing, as opposed to watching specific shows–here in Toronto. I was reminded how weird it is:
- Does anybody else think this Irish Spring body wash ad is bizarre? I mean, the guy is rubbing Essence of Irish Lass all over his body in the shower. Weird.
- I have no interest in golf, but I was waiting for the highlights and the Grand Slam of Golf (I think) was on TV. All the players (and, I think, their caddies) were wearing microphones, so we could hear their conversations about club selection and so forth. Is this commonplace? How often do they curse on-air after a bad putt?
- Who watches Ellen and who watches Oprah? I noticed that they’re on at the same time–do they have different demographics?
- Isn’t the subtext of Take Home Chef hilarious? A ridiculously handsome and charming Aussie greets an attractive young woman at the grocery store, helps her shop for a special meal, goes home with her while her boyfriend or husband is away and prepares the meal. It ought to be called The Cuckolding Chef Comes Calling.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
It ought to be called PLEASE LET IT HAPPEN TO ME.
Ellen cuts across several demographics. Oprah’s chief aim is upper middle class SAHMs, although other people also watch.
We bought a 32 inch LCD HDTV (cheap, $700 at Costco) a while back, and we’ve found that it gets used for a) video games, and b) movies. The only time we watch TV is when we have friends over and we power through an entire season of British comedies like Peep Show.
With both myself and my girlfriend on our laptops 90 percent of the time, it’s predominantly the odd download (everyone get Life on Mars, fantastic show) and video podcasts that have replaced television. THe only reason i keep our bare minimum cable subscription going is CBC Newsworld.
HAHA! Meg, you’re comment was the first thing that came through my mind!
As for that Irish Spring commercial, I saw it for the first time yesterday and you’re absolutely right…it’s a bit creepy when you start to think about it. Reality is, this is the best body wash I’ve ever used!
You should really patent ‘The Cuckolding Chef Comes Calling’, the folks in the reality TV biz are starting to get desperate. It’s only a matter of time…
Obviously, Darren, you’ve never showered with an Irishman. I see nothing unusual here.
I don’t watch either Ellen or Oprah, but if I did, it would be Ellen for sure. At least when she celebrity-butt-kisses, it’s funny.
The most amazing thing about television nowadays is that your TV experience varies depending who in the house watches. I never watch. Generally, I’ve got too much work to do and unwind watching the occasional movie on video. My nine year old and wife do all the viewing so my awareness of TV is limited to Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, whatever historic dramas and qurky independent films happen to be on that week and maybe Top Chef.
I used to watch Oprah – that was way before Ellen. When she hit 10 years, that’s when I quit and decided it was time to do something else. So I switched to Dr. Phil until he started looking more like Jerry Springer.
Oh – and here’s a shout out for Top Chef and Fosters’ – though I’m now going to be going through withdrawal as we’ve cut our cable to bare minimum.