TLC used to be a good channel

[awoke_in_2003]

Then they start having shows about families with an irresponsible amount of children. Now they have a show about a man with five wives. This country is doomed.

[Arcanetrance]

1. I remember when all those channels were actually about learning things

Now the only time I turn on history is to watch vikings

[longship]

4. What? They have Hagar the Horrible now?

That may be a good one, except that Nodics are not fat and hairy. They tend to be slimmer and definitely not hirsute.

But the Lutefisk is wonderful, so they say.

[Arcanetrance]

5. I've had opportunities to try it can't get past the smell and look

[longship]

8. It's not good.

Trust me. And I am Norwegian (half, the other half is Suomilainen).

It is cod, cured in lye. One soaks it, to leech out the lye. Then one bakes the shit out of it. It comes out -- Tah-Dah!!!! -- like fish jello. Once you get past the smell you've got it licked.

I've tried it twice, once cooked by my gourmet sister. The second time I found out that it triggered migraines. I gladly set it down since then.

But pickled herring? Now that's good! Preferably on knackebröd.

[Arcanetrance]

9. I was offered it when I went to visit relatives in Norway I couldn't do it but

I was offered blood sausage and Lingonberry jam for breakfast one morning and enjoyed it tremendously have continued eating that since

[longship]

10. Now lingonberries are special.

Especially when served with aebelskivers.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86bleskiver

[Arcanetrance]

11. So making those

[3catwoman3]

55. My half-Italian husband...

...introduced me to aebelskivers. He bought a positively ancient pan at a garage sale before I ever knew him. We still have it.

(the spellcheck had absolutely no idea what to so with "aebelskiver" - LOL)

[Arcanetrance]

59. Lol I love when that happens confuse the spell check is my favorite game

[3catwoman3]

67. OT, but you will love this...

Ode To Spell Check

I have a spelling chequer.
It came with mai PC.
It planely marx four my revue,
Miss takes I can knot sea.

I've run this poem threw it.
I'm shore yore glad two no.
Its wonder full in every weigh.
My chequer tolled mi sew.

[trixicopper]

17. Lutefisk? Wonderful????

As someone who is part Norwegian, all I've got to say on that topic is: Anything that turns the silverware black, can not be good for you!

And herring, I don't care how it's fixed, it's still bait!

[sakabatou]

21. The series?

That's an actually good show. I like it at the very least.

[Arcanetrance]

23. Yeah the series I like it alot

[sakabatou]

25. I missed the last 2 or 3 episodes of first season

but it's good to see the second.

[Marrah_G]

36. I love "Vikings"

[winter is coming]

61. I used to like TLC, the History channel, and the Discovery channel.

I can't remember the last time I watched any of them.

[LeftyMom]

2. I'm looking forward to the new TLC show about the redneck couponing little people with 25 kids.

[Gormy Cuss]

22. Don't give them any ideas. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. A show about a family with too many children, and a show about a man with five wives dooms the US?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_most_children

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358654/The-worlds-biggest-family-Ziona-Chan-39-wives-94-children-33-grandchildren.html

[Cha]

6. The Stupid has taken over much of the airwave.. but, we keep fighting.. :(

unfair & unbalanced: CBS' Face The Nation Turns Exclusively To GOP For Ukraine Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024627117

[liberal_at_heart]

7. nice judgmental and prejudice attitude. This thread is getting trashed.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. If objecting to having 8+ children...

or five wives (which is illegal) is judgmental, than I guess I am guilty. TLC used to stand for The Learning Channel, not Network For Promoting Weirdos.

[joeglow3]

57. Do you support a man and five women willingly marrying?

[awoke_in_2003]

74. No, I don't...

it is against the law.

[joeglow3]

75. So is gay marriage in many areas

You oppose gay marriage there as well?

[awoke_in_2003]

76. True. I took the easy way out...

with my answer. My opposition to polygamy comes down to the fact that these folks tend to come from highly mysoginistic religions where there are treated like second class citizens who are subservient to men and are nothing but brood mares.

[joeglow3]

80. I agree it is a tricky situation

Clearly, there are cases where there is brain washing, etc. However, if 3 (or more) adults are fully aware of their decision to enter into one of these relationships, I think they should be able to.

[Warpy]

12. I think the initials should be TFC

There is no learning on that channel but there are plenty of freaks.

[awoke_in_2003]

14. Agreed...

"reality" TV is ruining this country.

[Warpy]

15. It's television for morons

If it weren't for TMC, I'd probably dump the dish and use my set for DVDs and that's it. Or watch them streamed on the computer.

There are a lot of alternatives out there if you don't want to be narcotized by inferior crapola.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. I am about

to pull the trigger on AppleTV. Roku is a non Apple alternative. I only use TV for watching movies and football anymore, so I won't miss much.

[MindPilot]

33. From their perspective, it's television for women and by women.

No, I am not making this up.

From The Hollywood Reporter:
TLC Taps Discovery's Nancy Daniels as General Manager

Previously evp of production and development at the corporate sibling, the exec will now oversee the female-targeted cable network.

Just a week after Amy Winter stepped down as general manager of TLC, the cable network has named her successor.

snip

Daniels, who will work out of the company's Los Angeles office, most recently served as evp of production and development for Discovery. There she oversaw recent ratings triumph Skywire Live -- as well as Bering Sea Gold, Fast N' Loud and Naked and Afraid.

She previously worked at TLC as svp of production and development, overseeing the launches of TLC series Cake Boss, The Little Couple and Sister Wives.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tlc-taps-discoverys-nancy-daniels-619734

[Warpy]

35. I suppose that means we can't expect any improvement in the future

unless she resurrects defunct soap operas which at least were springboards where some fine actors honed their chops before hitting the big time.

I'll continue to cling to TMC with occasional forays over to Science and Drag Race when it's on and PBS when they stop begging long enough to run Frontline.

Now there is a show that owes much of its success to female viewers, Drag Race.

[MindPilot]

45. I was just going to ETA that article is from September, so probably not.

I don't know if I've simply reached reached that point in my life where nothing is interesting anymore, or if everything really is turning to shit. There is literally nothing on TV that can hold my attention except for maybe the local news, Rachel and some of the science and a few of those restoration/overhaul shows. Simpsons, Family Guy. I'm watching cartoons as i enter my second childhood.

[Warpy]

48. I stopped watching broadcast news in 2004

and flipped over to Simpson's reruns. They told more of the real news than corporate news had for many years.

I didn't get satellite until 2006 so I'm still culturally deprived because I have no idea what was on for the decades I couldn't afford it. I'm also getting very bored with it except for the shows I listed.

[penultimate]

18. Ahhh yeah, I remember watching science shows on TLC back in the 90's

It totally changed at the turn of the century.

[kentauros]

19. That's what happens when you brand a channel.

Viewers aren't supposed to know that it used to be called The Learning Channel, because any kind of learning isn't part of the objective. They stopped spelling it out when they branded it TLC, and that's all they want people to know, other than to go to TLC when they want to watch lowest common denominator-style programming.

And they don't call it "programming" for nothing

[sakabatou]

20. MTV and VH1 used to have music videos and stuff about musicians

Now it's full of reality crap.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

24. TLC is a modern day version of a circus freak show

its meant for gawking and ogling people at the fringes. Every show is like a car wreck-designed to make it so you can't look away. There's nothing of value or that is socially redeeming or beneficial. Every program is meant for staring at bizarre behavior-from compulsive couponers buying crap by the cartload to Honey Boo Boo.

Its an insight into why we (society) even put somebody like Sara Palin on TV. to spew her venom. She's just a TLC reality show that gets broadcast on every network.(although I understand that there is a show called Alaskan Women Looking for Love) Elmer Gantry, carnival barkers, snake oil salesmen-its all a direct line of ancestry-because there is an inexhaustible supply of stupid in this country. The bearded woman, rubber man, the dog-faced boy, a guy who bites the heads off of chickens, TLC is just the modern version of these acts.

[Enthusiast]

26. Imagine what these channels could accomplish

for the nation's education if they tried. Instead it is 24/7 stupid.

[Marrah_G]

38. Unfortunately there is a very small audience for eduational programming

Which is why we can't have nice things!

[kentauros]

64. Stupid is more profitable than smart.

And it's been that way ever since Reagan help start the defunding of education.

[Seeking Serenity]

66. Been that way a whole lot longer than that. (n/t)

[kentauros]

68. True.

But in the case of "The Learning Channel" it truly did start out as an educational channel, back in the 1980s (and maybe earlier; I don't know it's full history.) That started to wane after "education" and "intellectual" became dirty words. And thus, they began to dumb it down to the lowest common denominator, which is now the most profitable sector, at least for television as it's run today. In the past, TV was still educational, even on prime time. That's barely the case any more.

[CrispyQ]

27. I used to spend many hours watching The Learning Channel.

Implosion specials, The Junkyard Wars, specials on extreme heat & cold, so many good shows. Then they stopped calling themselves The Learning Channel & went into the shitter. It's pathetic the crap they show.

[malletgirl02]

28. Not just TLC

The same drop in quality happened to the Discovery, History, and A&E channels. Yes I'm old enough to remember when A&E use to have breakfast with the Arts and was known as the Arts and Entertainment channel.

[MindPilot]

29. It is fetish porn.

There's no full-frontal nudity or explicit sex with graphic close-ups (which for me makes it doubly not worth watching) but it is at its core exhibitionists who like doing weird shit for voyeurs who like watching exhibitionists doing weird shit.

And selling some ad space.

But yeah, I liked it when it was like MTV; you could just leave it on and there was always something interesting.

[brooklynite]

30. UNREC

TLC certainly shows crap, but people have been saying "the country is doomed" ever since TV became available.

[MindPilot]

34. TV?! Comic books were going to be the abolute ruination of my generation.

Did I mention I scored a four-day pass to this year's Comic-con?

[brooklynite]

37. There's trouble right here in River City!

With a Capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!

[Codeine]

50. GodDAMMIT!

I only got Sunday this time. Hopefully I can get another day or three when the general sale starts. Last year we had all four days plus preview night. What an experience!

[MindPilot]

83. I couldn't believe it!

I sat down at the computer at about 8:50 for the 9am pass acquisition frenzy and by 9:15 I had a four-day with preview.

[Iggo]

31. When? Back in the 90s?

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. I still watch it. They still have great shows. I love "The Little Couple." I also

like "Hoarding: Buried Alive," "Breaking Amish," and "Cake Boss." Much like any channel, it's going to have shows that I don't care to watch. I don't have time for that kind of ire against a channel.

[Marrah_G]

39. I put on Hoarding marathons when I need to clean and organize

It is a great motivator to declutter.

[ScreamingMeemie]

41. Heh... It is. I used to do that with "How Clean is Your House?"

Nothing like seeing those messes to get me to grab a vacuum cleaner.

[Marrah_G]

49. was that the one with the english ladies?

[ScreamingMeemie]

58. Yes. It was super gross!

[Codeine]

84. I love those crazy ladies.

And it was nice to know that Brits can sometimes be as slovenly as Americans.

[vankuria]

82. Love the Little Couple too

Great show and very inspiring to anyone with special needs or raising a child with special needs.

[soflo80]

40. Same with Discovery and History channel

It's all reality shows now

[ScreamingMeemie]

42. Welcome to DU

[OregonBlue]

43. TLC, History, Discovery, A & E. I don't watch any of them any more. They are nothing but trash.

Seems there is an obsession with white trash southerners and teabaggers. So much garbage on TV any more.

[Orrex]

44. My recollection is that Trading Spaces was the beginning of the end

IIRC, that was back when it was still called The Learning Channel. When it switched to TLC, it was all over.

[MindPilot]

47. Kind of like when Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC...

and the question became "what are they hiding?"

[Vashta Nerada]

46. There's nothing of value on TLC.

[Codeine]

51. Remember The Furniture Guys?

I loved that show beyond reason.

[RKP5637]

52. TLC = Delete, move to trash. n/t

[Texasgal]

53. I agree.

TLC sucks now days, just like most of the cable channels anymore. Why I pay for it I have no idea... glutton for punishment I guess.

[Rex]

54. Most of Cable TV is regurgitated garbage 24/7.

They think so little of their clients, that they show the same shit all day long on some channels! Been TVEE free for years and plan to never go back.

[Jamaal510]

56. Don't blame TLC; blame its viewers.

All TLC is doing is providing what millions of people want. There is an appetite out there for Trash TV. It doesn't necessarily mean that this country is doomed; some people just have different tastes when it comes to entertainment and what they want to see on TV. My Mom is a UC Berkeley alumni, yet she loves Honey Boo-Boo.

[kentauros]

70. No, it really is the network, not the viewers.

Read the following article for an idea of how network executives view their channels and how they choose to "reach" more viewers:

Sci Fi Channel becomes Syfy; will viewers tune in or drop out?

Dave Howe, the president of the Sci Fi Channel, knows that many people will be upset.

"We needed a unique and distinct brand name that we can own for the future, that works in the multiplatform, on-demand world," he said, adding that "Sci Fi" isn't a brand name, it's "a genre name."

~snip~

There was a time when the name of a cable network said it all. "A&E" aired arts and entertainment. "TLC" was about learning, the "L" in its original name, "The Learning Channel." "Bravo" was devoted to fine arts.

But over the years, as the cable universe has grown, each network has sought to grab a distinctive slice for itself in hopes of bringing in viewers -- and money.

It's all rather telling of the whole industry. "Educating" people just isn't profitable, and thus we get "infotainment" or worse.

[get the red out]

60. I agree

Makes me sick. I "learn" more spending time with my dog than watching that crap. She is mostly border collie so has more intelligence than TLC offers, even when she eats cat crap.

[TheKentuckian]

62. It is now the opposite of learning, the ignorance channel.

[Seeking Serenity]

63. AMC used to be

American Movie Classics. Now, it's zombie channel.

[kentauros]

71. At least Turner stepped in and created TCM,

one of the few networks left that actually means what its letters stand for, i.e., Turner Classic Movies

[mucifer]

65. I remember when A&E was actually an arts and entertainment

network. That was many years ago.

[newthinking]

69. Turn off the cable. I did years ago. Saves money too

As long as people have cable packages they are at the whim of big business advertisers. Pull the plug and watch alternatives find their way over the internet. If enough pull the plug they will have to start offering the ability to pick and choose channels to reclaim territory.

[kentauros]

72. Really, ALL of these channels should simply be branded as the "PROFIT Channel"

and given a specific Pantone color number so we can tell at a glance which channel stands for which LCD (lowest common denominator) -type of programming resides there.

If a channel isn't in it for the PROFIT, then they can have real letter designations that stand for exactly what their channel is about, such as "DOC" for the now defunct Documentary Channel

[Hippo_Tron]

73. TLC basically makes the case for public television

[unblock]

77. fear not, there are only *four* wives. so the country's not doomed after all.

[shanti]

78. no, there ARE five wives in that show

there's also another show with four wives.

[unblock]

79. there's a second show? i stand corrected. doomed. hell in a handbasket.

[energumen]

81. I think the idea of redefining marriage deserves it's own discussion.

If we are willing to redefine marriage from one man one woman we really should open the definition up for polyamory. If we can handle two men or two when why not one man and two women or one women and two men. In fact, any mutually consenting configuration should be allowed. Any number of men and or women should be able to form a legal, contractual group with defined rights of survivalship etc. You hear all these arguments about how we shouldn't be in someones bedroom until some guy wants to marry two women, then it's ok to be in their bedroom. Because he is EVIL and perverted.