tv money

I admit that i am not at all up with the latest trends. It is often that i do not stumble upon the latest rage til long after the limelight has faded. Thus is the case with my newest favourite TV series;Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Most of my love of these two TV shows comes from the genius of the writer/creator Joss Whedon. He has a style that is smooth and easy to follow, yet complicated enough that you don't feel like you're being fed pulp. He also has a terrific grasp of the feminine power and of metaphors.

The sad part about this is that i have come to the party 10 years too late. While i eagerly enjoy watching the shows, they do not play on television anymore. Thus I'm forced to either watch it off the net (lots of streamed TV is online) or buy the series at the store.

I am not apposed to purchasing my television shows. i realise that in order for the TV i enjoy to air, i must be willing to put money towards it. Yet, i can't help but feel I'm being ripped off when i go to the store to purchase the entire TV series of Buffy. Best price I've found for Buffy: $350. Forgive me for feeling that is a steep price to pay. $70 dollars per series...which accounts to about $4 per episode. It just feels like a lot of work and money for something i could have gotten at home for free if I'd taped it.

My other option is view it online. This is apparently highly unethical because I'm steeling money from the TV studios. They don't like me watching the same show for free if they aren't getting paid for it. If they air it on the TV, they get commercial profits. If it gets streamed online, they get nothing...BECAUSE THEY DON'T DO IT THEMSELVES!

Most places online that you can watch TV. also have advertisements. They can come as part of the video file, or as part of the website that you visit. If TV studios would open up their own website for viewing their old TV series, i would gladly go to them. I would even pay a monthly fee for access to their archives of streamed TV shows.

So I guess what i really want is for studios to allow me to watch TV on my computer without going to a store to buy it. Is that really so much to ask?

Entertainment and me

I have officially become disturbed by the major businesses. I thought that they could never shut down all the sites on the web for piracy. I mean, anyone can make a webpage, nowadays. So how could they possibly be able to stamp out all the ways you can pirate their stuff?

My thinking has now changed. They are going to be able to shut down all the major sites. There will be small one here and there, but freedom and ease of information is going to be a thing of the past.

I'll probably be sued for saying this (but I'll hire Lindsey for my lawyer so WATCH OUT!) i don't think there is anything wrong with taking business away from the entertainment industries. I think it is time for a major revolution. Fim studios pay actors. Some actors get paid almost nothing, others get paid obscene amounts. If film studios aren't making as much money, they will not be able to pay their actors $6 million for a single film. If actors aren't paid as much, kids won't see being famous as so important. (that might be a debatable issue) but we as a society will hopefully start putting money into other areas of life...and i'm hoping that nurses, teachers, doctors, and social workers start getting more aid.

In short, if the Internet causes a change in the way our society runs, I'll be very happy.