Living in TV Land

When I moved into my apartment last fall I signed up for a special cable TV deal with Adelphia. For six months I was to get six HBO channels, five Cinemaxes and their full slate of digital cable channels for just $39.99. Well, today is the last day of the deal and since I didn't feel like paying $70 each month, I turned in my cable box and I'll go back to a more modest slate of basic cable. Yes, I shed a tear.

The most glaring loss I'll face is that of HBO's Six Feet Under. I'm five episodes in to the new season and it's just starting to get good. But now I won't be able to see the eight remaining episodes until they release the DVD set, but that could be a year and a half from now. But other than that show, I really don't watch much of the premium channels. The digital channel I'll most miss is ESPNEWS. Having a live Sportscenter every half hour is an invaluable convenience I'll surely miss.

There are a few other cool, but non-essential channels I'll lose. MTV2 is good for seeing "alternative" videos but I was surprised at how much unoriginal programming they have. They endlessly air old episodes of UltraSound and True Life, making it feel like it's just a dumping ground for it's parent channel. ESPN Classic was nice but a tad disappointing. Old Lakers-Celtics games are great but most of the games are uninteresting (Do I really need to see the 1993 Alabama-Auburn game?). Other stations like Fox Sports World (constant soccer) and Game Show Network (cheesy Gong Show reruns) are good for passing the time, but won't really be missed. I think the loss of these 30-or-so extra channels is a blessing, because I watch far too much TV as it is (which is blatantly obvious from what I've just written).