If for a month there was only one television network , and you controlled it

[RB TexLa]

what would you force America's ignorant to watch? No changing the channel, everything is the one network you control.

[DJ13]

1. "The Simple Life" starring Paris Hilton

But then again, I have a mean streak.

:evilgrin:

[azurnoir]

4. The Real World

I'm even meaner

[DJ13]

8. Noooo!

[LiberalHeart]

2. Test pattern.

[conscious evolution]

28. That or a blank screen

If I had to show something it would be the carnage of war.With smellivision.

[supernova]

3. Rachel Maddow

and Keith Olberman

[ret5hd]

5. I don't censor with you.

[DS1]

12. Stop remembering people's usernames on the Internet

It's not possible! :rofl:

[tulsakatz]

6. MSNBC!!

[Rhiannon12866]

38. Seconded!!!

CNN has become practically unwatchable... x(

[tulsakatz]

54. I stopped watching CNN a long time ago!!

although I do miss Cafferty File but you can also see that on the internet.......

MSNBC has turned into a very good channel.....well, except for early mornings with Scarborough..

[Rhiannon12866]

56. Me, too! The only time I turn it on now is on weekends when MSNBC

has those horrible "marathons" of life behind bars or decades old grisly murders. x( Isn't there any news on the weekends?! :eyes:

And I do miss Jack Cafferty, too. Used to make a point of watching him. Not only does he speak out, but seems to get a kick out of embarrassing Blitzer...:rofl:

I do turn on CNN on weekends, considering the MSNBC lineup... I sometimes turn on Blitzer since I can't catch all the am news shows and I do like Fareed Zakaria most of the time. He has some pretty good guests... :-)

[tulsakatz]

65. I love Fareed Zakaria!!

but I seldom see his show because I'm usually working at the time. Although I think I can watch the video on his website, I just haven't gotten around to doing that..

Yes, MSNBC's weekend programming sucks big time!! They were showing the same crap during the holidays........thank God life is getting back to normal again and back to normal programming. I'd even rather see reruns of Coundown, Harball, Rachel, etc instead of the behind bars series...

Although I usually watch if they're rerunning the predator series too....but the jail programs are not worth my time.

[Moochy]

7. The Insider / Entertainment Tonight

In painful, half-hour doses.

[grilled onions]

9. Pull The Plug

Imagine all the books they could read,the nature they could discover outside plus all the communication they might have with people under their own roof if they just turned the box off for a month.

[Dreamer Tatum]

10. I'd force you to watch a show about the Constitution nt

[Triana]

11. Endless footage of all the killed, maimed, injured in the Iraq war - both Iraqis and

Americans - along with a ticker that keeps up with the minutely cost of the thing - and how much - in relation, it has cost each man, woman, and child to keep the thing going.

And the television - NO OFF button. NO WAY to turn it off. It would play 24 x 7 x 365.

Other endless loops: films of the abject poverty in the US and around the world, films of women dying in childbirth due to lack of birth control, lack of safe, legal abortion, and no healthcare...I could go on...I'm sure the folks at V-Day would have some footage of what happens to the women in Darfur and Afghanistan that would be suitable...

I'd call it:

THE REALITY SHOW . . .

[Fireweed247]

21. yes

:applause:
and footage of returning veterans and how they are treated by the government, and then maybe some examples of people doing random acts of kindness, a reality show of how the world could be if everyone cared and everyone shared.

[Dukkha]

52. my choice as well

especially the censored coffins returning home and the families reactions and footage of how they try to live without their KIA provider

[SoCalDem]

13. The genie is out of the bottle..too late

The "unwashed masses" would just pop in their DVDs of Chuck Norris & HeeHaw for a month:)..or play video games..

I would be thrilled to just HAVE a true "alternate view" available..

I know we have Democracy Now & Link & PBS, but they are far from mainstream, and except for PBS, most are very obviously low-cost, offbeat, and extremist in nature..I like some things Amy Goodman does, but for the majority to accept alternative views, they muist be presented in a manner they have become accustomed to..That's why Rachel & Keith have succeeded...we just need more of them..

We WILL get a more hardline, investigative press again..after Jan 20... The powers-that-be are right wing, by nature, and they are eagerly gearing up to go back into action, after an 8 year nap..:(

[w4rma]

Democracy Now! (nt)

www.democracynow.org

[EFerrari]

58. If people watched LinkTv for a month, that would become the smartest month of their lives.

:)

[CLANG]

14. I'd want the ignorant to be educated

about how they've been lied to over the last 45 years, starting with the Kennedy assassination and the involvement on George H. W. Bush.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Ethics In America, mixed with Arrested Development....

The 2 best shows ever.

[hlthe2b]

16. Loved Seasons 1 and 2 of Arrested Development...

Season 3 pretty much jumped the shark IMO.... but I do wait with anticipation if they decide to make the movie promised some time ago....

[hlthe2b]

17. Anything with Bill Moyers... or similar...

[onehandle]

18. All American Idol. 24/7.

Give the people what they want.

[dysfunctional press]

19. how would you be "forcing" anyone to watch anything?

don't their televisions have an off switch?

that being said- for me the programming would be fairly easy-

anything and everything with bruno kirby, "harry o" the complete series, "how it's made", and instead of shark "week", it would be shark month.

[RB TexLa]

20. The ignorant of America turn a television off?

:spray:


Really, that's funny.

[Greyhound]

40. "don't their televisions have an off switch?"

Not that I've noticed.

[trof]

22. 1984?

;-)

[ZombieHorde]

23. Zombi, Gantz, Ninja Scroll, Roger and Me, Anal Sanctuary, The Daily Show,

Zombie Holocaust, Wicked City, Gandhi, Night of the Living Dead, Salo, Wild Zero, Bullshit with Penn and Teller (selected episodes), Brokeback Mountain, Suicide Club, Patrick Still Lives (explicit version), Izo, Real Time with Bill Maher, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Videodrone, Godzilla vs. Hedora, Brother Sun Sister Moon, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Singapore Sling, Samurai Jack and Spongebob for the kids.

edit to add: Rachel Maddow

[sandnsea]

24. Boston Legal

Entertainment and Information.

[Shiver]

25. Complete control, eh?

Alright, I'm game...

Sunday: Bush speeches with commentary by Joel Robinson and the Bots from Mystery Science Theater 3000. From noon until six pm, Kieth Olberman, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

Monday: All-day Firefly marathon.

Tuesday: Battlestar Galactica. All day.

Wednesday: 24-hours of Dead Like Me.

Thursday: Nothing but The West Wing

Friday: Porn - you guessed it, all day.

Saturday: A really boring guy reading from the phone book, with the message "GO READ A GODDAMN BOOK!" flashing on the screen.


Yeah, I like to offer some variety :rofl:

[Sherman A1]

26. The West Wing

Perhaps they could learn a few things.

[Greyhound]

39. I like that idea.

I would probably not show episodes made after Sorkin left though, it got pretty _shrubby after he left.

[Sherman A1]

41. Yeah, It did change after Sorkin left but,

it would still have some value to the folks suggested by the OP.

I bought all 7 seasons and had a private marathon during the Christmas wrapping duties here. Made that bearable and even somewhat refreshing!



:toast:

[Greyhound]

44. I could never do that (something other than watch it), too many episodes

literally make me cry over what America and Americans could and should be.

[Hippo_Tron]

60. Season 7 is actually really good...

Mostly because Alan Alda is just plain fantastic and really brings new life to the show. 5 and 6 were okay, but a major step down from the Sorkin days.

[bobbolink]

27. REal information about poverty. Unfortunately, that is not high on the list of 'progressive" causes

:(

[dweller]

29. 1st nine days, the Watergate Hearings

2nd nine days, the Clinton impeachment proceedings.

3rd nine days, a critical, indepth review/probe of the last 8 years and analysis of the means to correct them.

2 days of review, compare and contrast.

Last day of month, interactive exam.

Pass, get your regular viewing back.
Fail, start all over again.



heh, i had to think about this one. Initially my response was 24hr episodes of Harry O. . .
dp

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

30. Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey

[Celeborn Skywalker]

31. Symphonies,

Operas, Theatre, Rachel Maddow, and Fareed Zakari.

[Swamp Rat]

32. Autopsies of dead Iraqi children 24/7, with the occasional video of Bushler's pro-war speeches

with photos of death and destruction behind him.

[deaniac21]

57. Sort of similar to the anti-abortion and PETA techniques.

[Swamp Rat]

59. No, not similar at all.

[deaniac21]

63. Well, exacly the same......

[Swamp Rat]

64. How can they be exactly the same?

:shrug:

Edit: Since I have not examined closely the techniques of PETA nor anti-abortionists, I may not know what you know. ;)

[deaniac21]

69. You don't need to study. You already have it nailed.

[quickesst]

33. Sci-Fi Channel...

If there's only going to be one channel, and I alone control it, it's going to be one like. If I just wanted to be a cruel sob, I'd probably choose the golf channel. Thanks.
quickesst

[anigbrowl]

34. Big brother. Thanks heavens we don't have such a situation.

I do think there's a ton of ignorant people out there, but you can't legislate decency.

[omega minimo]

35. Dr. Sachs' aphasiacs laughing hysterically at Ronald Reagan's obvious phoniness

[elehhhhna]

36. Real Housewives of Orange County...

so they stop thinking the rich are "special".

[notesdev]

37. History & Economics

Week 1: World History
Week 2: US History
Week 3: Macroeconomics
Week 4: Microeconomics
extra days: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

[Gwendolyn]

42. Hmmm...

Intervention
The Daily Show
Yoga/Aerobics (which ones don't matter; aired 3 times a day)
30 Minute Meals (or other healthy lifestyle cooking show)
Planet Earth
Judging Amy reruns
Law & Order (for me)
MSNBC
BBC
Friday movie nights (to include docs like Sicko)

Hopefully something would stick.

[annabanana]

43. Max Headroom

[BuelahWitch]

45. Look at my avatar....

Kukla, Fran and Ollie, plus other shows, in glorious black and white!

[Touchdown]

46. Stargate SG1

Insolence! Bow before your God Anubis!












Indeed!

[McCamy Taylor]

47. Asian programming, which is all Buddhist influenced about the dangers of dualism.

Anime, Hong Kong action and martial arts and fantasy, Korean cinema---everything worth watching that comes out of Asia is a Buddhist parable. It would be good for America to saturate itself in some nondualism, learn that weakness can be strength, that compassion trumps revenge, that no cause relieves us of our obligation to our fellow human beings.

Ichi the Killer , Bullet in the Head , Running on Karma , Tekkonkikreet , Gankutsou ....America needs to see this kind of action film rather than our usual Rambo style pablum. We are way beyond High Noon .

[Forkboy]

48. Godzilla movies 24/7!

Swampie's answer is pretty good, too. x(

[fishbulb703]

49. Curb Your Enthusiasm or Boston Legal.

[Political Tiger]

50. No progressive.com commercials!

God I hate those commercials!

[Throd]

51. Metalocalypse

[bc3000]

61. I concur

[ThomWV]

53. BBC-America, give them a month of that and they would never accept US news again.

[depakid]

67. ABC (Oz) or even CBC (Canada) are better

Much more in depth analysis of the issues- and a fair bit of humor.

[ColbertWatcher]

55. THE. WEST. WING. n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

62. The Corporation would be on my list of things to show

Because it and other good movies like it don't tell you what to think, but they do allow you to think about things from a different perspective. That's all I would aim for really. I would not use the opportunity to propagandize people into believing what I believe, just to encourage them to look at things from different perspectives.

[baldguy]

66. I'd give Mike Malloy & Michael Moore 4 hrs every night.

[TheWraith]

68. A mix of good fiction and good nonfiction.

Starting at 6 PM, Christiane Amanpour gets an hour-long newscast to pretty much do what she wants. Rachel Maddow at 7.

At 8 PM, Countdown with Keith Olbermann followed by The West Wing at 9, Battlestar Galactica at 10, and The Daily Show at 11.

Late night is The Wire, Rome, Deadwood, and The Tudors, until about 6 AM, when we'd go to 3 hours of news from around the world. Any perky anchors who apply for a job there will be shot. 9 AM to 6 PM, good documentary stuff: Engineering an Empire, The Revolution, etcetera.