why is there never anything good on

the_pen_turner

hi there.
for the last while I have noticed that there is never anything on that suits me on terrestrial Irish channels
I often spend time in other peoples homes and we can never find anything to watch. it cant be me .

its all repeats of crap programs you would never want to watch or programs about stupid topics or even depressing subjects (kid dying,cancer)

why cant they put on programs people want and films that you could watch.

im not a lover of sci-fi or animated stuff or batman etc.
they have there place but surely it doesn't need to be on all channels together

there are brilliant films made every year that I would love to see but they are never on the TV.

in the last few day miss congeniality was on about 5 times. come on get a grip.
no wonder these channels are dying

CatFromHue

What would you like to watch so?

Sci Fi, animated stuff (I'm guessing you mean kids stuff), and Batman would rank very highly in what people in general like to watch.

jimmythedivil

And they often show good films and tv docs way too late at night or early in the morning. For instance the recent U2 show from Paris was screened at 11.10pm. On the same night they had Airplane on at 2am!

I do notice that they tend to show the same films over and over again. For example that one You, Me and Dupree must have been on RTE at least ten times since it was made, despite it being one of the least funny comedies in history.

nocoverart

You need to embrace Video Streaming and leave your TV on standby.

the_pen_turner

CatFromHue wrote: »

What would you like to watch so?

Sci Fi, animated stuff (I'm guessing you mean kids stuff), and Batman would rank very highly in what people in general like to watch.

I believe there is a person for every type of program and respect that.

I don't mind batman etc . each to their own but having batman on one channel and Spiderman on another and some other similar thing on as well is just annoying.

all I want is to be able to turn on the tv and find something to watch most of the time.
I know they cant satisfy me every time. but come on

CatFromHue

I agree and even when I'd UPC/Eircom with loads of channels I still found plenty of times where I didn't want to watch anything that was on them.

I think it's impossible to have something on that everyone, or even alot of people, wants to watch.

French_Girl

Agreed!
I found it especially difficult to find something decent to watch over the Christmas period.
I was like a small child picking up Christmas TV Guide, looking forward to watching all the movies over the holidays but DVD's had to come to the rescue.

the_pen_turner

the type of people that would watch star wars, star trek, lord of the rings, harry potter, all the marvel films etc are the type that would own the dvd and watch it regularly.

most people that watch tv are more easy going and take it as it comes. they are more likely to wait for a film to be on tv to watch it rather than buy it. (I have dvds at home for 5 years that I still haven't watched).

why aren't people like me and I think most people (at least most people I know) catered for.

French_Girl

the_pen_turner wrote:

the type of people that would watch star wars, star trek, lord of the rings, harry potter, all the marvel films etc are the type that would own the dvd and watch it regularly.

the_pen_turner wrote:

most people that watch tv are more easy going and take it as it comes. they are more likely to wait for a film to be on tv to watch it rather than buy it. (I have dvds at home for 5 years that I still haven't watched).

the_pen_turner wrote:

why aren't people like me and I think most people (at least most people I know) catered for.

What type of programmes do you like to watch?

BoJack Horseman

I've found more quality content than I have the time to watch it.

BoJack Horseman

the_pen_turner wrote: »

most people that watch tv are more easy going and take it as it comes. they are more likely to wait for a film to be on tv to watch it rather than buy it. (I have dvds at home for 5 years that I still haven't watched).

It seems you are asking why is there not more content produced for people who don't really give a sh*t?

I would have thought the options there are endless?

Sam Kade

There's a 1916 drama starting tonight looks promising. Usually with these programs the actors fail to drop their false accents but this drama from the trailer it looked as if they have. Cillian Murphy in the wind that shakes the barley was one example no one in the 1920's talked like that.

jimmythedivil

Sam Kade wrote: »

There's a 1916 drama starting tonight looks promising. Usually with these programs the actors fail to drop their false accents but this drama from the trailer it looked as if they have. Cillian Murphy in the wind that shakes the barley was one example no one in the 1920's talked like that.

Most of the cast in that film sounded like UCC drama soc actors, it was really annoying.

the_pen_turner

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

It seems you are asking why is there not more content produced for people who don't really give a sh*t?

I would have thought the options there are endless?

im not saying they don't give a sh*t
im saying they don't go out of their way to buy in content such as dvds etc.

as a result are more likely to be searching for something to watch than those who are passionate about their chosen genre and have it on hand to watch

the_pen_turner

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

I've found more quality content than I have the time to watch it.

you are lucky that you find the terrestrial channels fill all your viewing needs.
I find that they leave a huge gap and am constantly bored when I have no other choice tv wise to watch terrestrial tv

HeidiHeidi

the_pen_turner wrote: »

you are lucky that you find the terrestrial channels fill all your viewing needs.
I find that they leave a huge gap and am constantly bored when I have no other choice tv wise to watch terrestrial tv

That's why I always have a backlog of recorded stuff (that could be on at any hour of the day or night) to watch.

Well, nearly always - my plan came to a crashing halt this evening :mad:

Time to build up the recording stock again!

BoJack Horseman

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I find that they leave a huge gap and am constantly bored when I have no other choice tv wise to watch terrestrial tv

Do you have access to UK terrestrial?
And do you have DSL or some good mobile broadband?

Sam Kade

jimmythedivil wrote: »

Most of the cast in that film sounded like UCC drama soc actors, it was really annoying.

Yeah, I know a few of them Ken Loach just plucked them off the street, very shoddy film.

the_pen_turner

French_Girl wrote: »

What type of programmes do you like to watch?

I like
documentaries
sitcoms
comedies (friend, only fools, porridge, etc
action films
comedy films
some sports
discovery channel programs (you cant expect terrestrial to supply this)
stand up shows (not just reruns of Brendan grace even though he is great)
detective programs(Rizzoli and isles, csi, mentalist, Colombo,
motoring programs
quiz shows
people falling over and making complete tits of themselves programs
game shows
chat shows like Norton ross carr etc
craft shows
architectural /design programs



those are the only ones I have from the top of my head
you could easily fill a years viewing with that list but the reality is that I only watch (as in seek out) probably 1 hour a week on terrestrial tv if even that

Technocentral

the_pen_turner wrote: »

hi there.
for the last while I have noticed that there is never anything on that suits me on terrestrial Irish channels
I often spend time in other peoples homes and we can never find anything to watch. it cant be me .

its all repeats of crap programs you would never want to watch or programs about stupid topics or even depressing subjects (kid dying,cancer)

why cant they put on programs people want and films that you could watch.

im not a lover of sci-fi or animated stuff or batman etc.
they have there place but surely it doesn't need to be on all channels together

there are brilliant films made every year that I would love to see but they are never on the TV.

in the last few day miss congeniality was on about 5 times. come on get a grip.
no wonder these channels are dying

Sherlock was excellent on New Years day?

the_pen_turner

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Do you have access to UK terrestrial?
And do you have DSL or some good mobile broadband?

I do have sky+ . luckily I record the few discovery programs I want and watch them when I get free time

I have free to air as well. I never get control of the sky .
I use this all the time . without e4 c4 bbc etc I would watch nothing at all

my internet is pathetic. even you tube is too much for it


my thread was more about terrestrial tv because when im at home I can watch free to air or sky.
when im at friend houses that don't then we are suck watching rubbish

BoJack Horseman

the_pen_turner wrote: »

when im at home I can watch free to air or sky.
when im at friend houses that don't then we are suck watching rubbish

Well.... the internet provides me with much of my viewing hours these days.

A couple of years ago I purchased a chromecast.
A very handy app called 'Mobdro' allows me to access pretty much every TV channel out there, broadcast onto my TV via my phone & the chromecast.

At the moment I am watching NFL action on my xbox360.
I don't subscribe to Sky Sports so instead, I use my parents sky.ie login for the app & have access to all that content with perfect sound & visual quality.

So, your buddies may have the potential to access much more TV content, they just may not know it..... they just need a moderately good internet connection.

Shakyfan

I used to say there was nothing much on TV but I think it's more a case of there being too many channels! In the old days there were 2 channels in Ireland and 4/5 in the UK and all the good stuff was easy to find. Now with hundreds of channels there is probably as much good stuff but it's hidden amongst all the crap that they pad out the schedules with.

Thargor

When the media only bothers reporting on the likes of Mrs Brownes Boys or the X Factor what do you expect? At least you have pretty much every tv show ever made at your fingertips for free whenever you want these days.

Vic_08

Thargor wrote: »

At least you have pretty much every tv show ever made at your fingertips for free whenever you want these days.

Only through illegal or dodgy means courtesy of individuals uploading content to torrents or youtube though. More often than not anything less than wildly popular more than a few years old that I look for is only available through these means and usually in p1ss-poor quality because it came from some lad in Seattle uploading a rip of his VHS recording.

I vaguely recall being promised access to such a limitless library when the idea of on-demand video was first floated but of course that hasn't happened as the legal content owners/providers are far too busy trying to maximise their profits on limited piecemeal deals for the valuable stuff to bother with providing a proper comprehensive library.

The same goes for TV and content, the deals now being made are much more limiting to broadcasters, particularly low-value ones such as RTE/TV3/TG4. The big players are now much keener to get exclusivity rather than just first-run rights for both series and films, the Sky-HBO deal for example.

For films broadcasters buy packages that allow multiple showings over a fixed period, once they have bought them the likes of RTE are going to get the most for their money by using up their plays so it is true that films in particular do get repeated quite a lot.

One of the more interesting (to me anyway) aspects of Irish broadcasters output is that they used to show a lot of failed/cancelled US shows that they got cheap, stuff that often wouldn't show up on UK channels. Some were utter crap but being a failure on US networks has little to do with quality and many watchable shows were put on in the wee hours by RTE as long as you could tolerate them ending abruptly after 9 or 13 episodes.

Tipsy McSwagger

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I like
documentaries
sitcoms
comedies (friend, only fools, porridge, etc
action films
comedy films
some sports
discovery channel programs (you cant expect terrestrial to supply this)
stand up shows (not just reruns of Brendan grace even though he is great)
detective programs(Rizzoli and isles, csi, mentalist, Colombo,
motoring programs
quiz shows
people falling over and making complete tits of themselves programs
game shows
chat shows like Norton ross carr etc
craft shows
architectural /design programs



those are the only ones I have from the top of my head
you could easily fill a years viewing with that list but the reality is that I only watch (as in seek out) probably 1 hour a week on terrestrial tv if even that

I recommend you actually watch something that stimulates your brain.

the_pen_turner

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I recommend you actually watch something that stimulates your brain.

I like countdown (8/10 cats version)
I like that program with Dara o Brian solving the puzzles

BuilderPlumber

The main reason why there's nothing good on Irish channels most of the time is because certain individuals are forced on us for some reason. It is a closed shop with the same mediocre people doing everything. As a result, all we get are woeful modern Irish country/boyfolk singers, woeful talent competitions like The Voice of Ireland, overdoses of Ruby Walsh and Louis Walsh, 100s of boybands all sounding the same, Tubridy's inanities, and in the past, Pat Kenny's atrocious boring political programmes. All useless. Meanwhile, real talent is ignored and blocked.

One has to have DVDs and so on to entertain as TV even a lot of the non-Irish channels are poor. As a TV licence payee, I think people should have more of a say and not have mediocre individuals forced on us via Tubridy's show, etc. and/or programmes made to feature them (e.g. that quiz featuring Ruby Walsh: you'd swear he invented horse racing the way RTE lick his boots!!!!).

GottaGetGatt

Who even watches live TV anymore?Try Netflix for a month.Some top notch show on it.

Thargor

Vic_08 wrote: »

Only through illegal or dodgy means courtesy of individuals uploading content to torrents or youtube though. More often than not anything less than wildly popular more than a few years old that I look for is only available through these means and usually in p1ss-poor quality because it came from some lad in Seattle uploading a rip of his VHS recording.

You sound like you haven't tried in years, theres really nothing left worth watching you cant have in best possible available quality right now, the idea of downloading a VHS rip is laughable.

dublinman1990

If you're looking to watch something on Irish Terrestrial TV you're not getting much choice if you're watching either TV3 or UTV Ireland as both channels provide mostly ITV content.

Finding niche content is readily available on Cable or Satellite TV if your internet connection is not great. TV stations with niche content tends to provide programming that's not intended to beat ratings from the main PSB's. But if you had watched the content already; you haven't got a lot of choice to go after if your internet is bad.

Things like News & Current Affairs and strictly Irish content tends to be core PSB for RTE & TG4 and will be probably remain so for the foreseeable future.

What type of stuff do you have on DVD to give you the spare time?