1 June 2004
Television Is The Devil
I haven't had cable TV in about four years. The last time, I abandoned it in disgust; I couldn't justify spending $50 or $60 on bad television. I think that DVDs provide more worthwhile entertainment for my dollar, and some of the over-the-air channels are useful, like PBS and Deutsche Welle.
But the top American TV network, NBC, has had no over-the-air broadcast in SF proper for a couple of years. This has become a frustrating problem: in the gayest city in the US, you can't watch the gayest sitcom in the US without paying for cable. This is good for SF's cable provider, Comcast.
I can live without NBC. I sometimes miss Saturday Night Live (I think the ladies in the current cast are a riot), and I kinda wish I hadn't missed the final season of Friends (so sue me), but whatever. Then came the final straw: KCSM lost the lease on its transmission tower. KCSM is a public TV station whose programming includes college telecourses in addition to the usual PBS fare. Tragedy!
Suddenly I felt that my selection of TV channels was inadequate. I caved, and ordered "basic cable". For only $15.82/month, I get perfect reception of 43 fairly lame channels. I get everything I had before plus KCSM, NBC, lots of public stations, and a bunch of other random stuff.
I might have done it sooner if I'd known such a cheap plan was available, but I'm already being reminded of why I ditched cable in the first place: Comcast's sales droids are pestering me to upgrade to "standard cable" at only $19.95 for the first three months—and $42.99/month after that. Yikes! That's too much to pay for TV. On the other hand, I'd sure like to watch The Daily Show and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy....