Blog : TV Worth Watching

Olympics Opening Weekend: What and Where Are You Watching It?

Normally on TV WORTH WATCHING, I'm describing and recommending things to watch, and where to find them. For the Olympic Games, since they're spread so far and wide over cable, broadcast and the Internet, I've decided to reverse the traffic flow.

All this weekend, you tell me. What are you watching, and where, and what do you think of it?

This isn't just to reduce my workload, though that wouldn't be a sad side benefit. It's to figure out, using you discerning TV WORTH WATCHING readers as an unscientific sample, who's watching what and where. And if you're avoiding the Olympics entirely, weigh in and tell us why.

Oh, and if you aren't clear on where to find what, remember to check out Diane Werts' handy-dandy FOR BETTER OR WERTS Olympics viewing guide. Ready, set... go watch.

2 Comments

kevin said:

I enjoy the fringe sports I would never otherwise watch. I will watch track and field, rowing, even archery in the Olympics, but never the rest of the time. I can watch great Baseball, Basketball or soccer any time, but this is the showcase for the other guys.

One exception: I hate hate hate judged sports. So no diving, gymnastics, or synchronized swimming for me.

I need a finish line, clock or scoreboard.

Comment posted on August 8, 2008 1:47 PM

Talbert said:

If the Olympics lose viewers over the last ones, a cause could be the fact that much of the television world has turned into separate competitions. Reality pits chefs, designers, weight losers, map followers, backstabbers and many other categories into warring parties whose goal is to win the equivalent of a gold medal--and a recording contract or an appearance on "Oprah."
America is numbed and tiring of contests, I think.
Is it time for Olympics to start down the path of world's fairs? They used to be big things, until the world shrunk and you now can get more marvels out of an iPhone than you could in all of Flushing Meadows.
Just a thought.

Comment posted on August 9, 2008 10:17 AM

Behind David in the picture is the first TV owned by his father, Virgil Bianculli, a 1946 Raytheon. (The TV, not his father. His father was a 1923 Italian.)

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air, occasional substitute host for that show's Terry Gross, and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His most recent book is 2009's Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' and he's at work on another.

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