An ode to cable TV’s greatness

We don’t have cable TV at home down here in Manila. For a while, it was actually okay, and I found myself doing other things than just sitting down in front of the tube and being a couch potato. Since TV isn’t a staple at home, I have enough time to read more books, play guitar, or drums, or bass. I even have time to study.

I really miss the quality programming available only on cable TV, though. I have nothing against local TV; really, I don’t. I even appreciate our local documentaries and some of the comedy shows that are on during weeknights. Hell, even Eat Bulaga at noon is funny in a really retarded way sometimes. I guess it just depends on my state of mind and my capacity to take it all in. But the point is, nothing can compare to the shows on cable TV. They’re just better.

I find that every time I make a trip up home to Baguio, I am stuck in front of the TV because I always find something to watch on cable. There’s always something to watch. And the networks don’t close right after midnight, so I really stay up and watch whatever. With local TV, there’s nothing on but snow and static after 1 or 2 a.m. Or Master Showman, which is just really something else (I feel sorry for all the guests on that show. I know, I’m sure it’s a good opportunity to be seen, heard and known, and that since the host is one of local TV’s icons, it means a lot. But seriously, all the guests look really tired or sleepy. Or they look like they have some better, more fun place to be other than there, especially on a Saturday night).

I used to have an English teacher in 5th grade, Mr. Piowaty, and he used to tell us all that watching TV would turn our brains into slime. He said that when we watched TV, there was nothing going on in our heads and that without exercise, our brains would become really soft and just become slime. For a while I really believed him. For about three and a half hours, to be exact. When I got home that afternoon, I made an open apology to the TV in our living room for ever doubting its powers and greatness.

The point is that TV doesn’t make someone stupid. It’s what you do with what you watch that either makes you a better person or a "slower" person. I use TV to my advantage, because it is one of the greatest mediums of communication ever created. Cable TV just ups it a notch.

Ever since I was a kid, the TV has been one of my greatest mentors. Where else would I have learned to properly and effectively use slang and curse words, a staple in today’s modern society? Or how else would I have been exposed to the realities of sex, violence and drugs? TV actually creates a safe barrier for outsiders to actually experience the realities of life, without having to actually come into contact with these things.

And there are positive benefits, too. Where else could a child learn about traveling to distant parts of the world without spending a fortune or having to be with parents? Or how could I have ever seen snakes and crocodiles and dangerous animals without being eaten alive (or without falling asleep because of a boring encyclopedia, for that matter)?

I know imagination is important. But TV is important, too, and it allows one to exercise the imagination in a way that is totally different from the imagination that is needed when you read books. Both are equally important, and right now, I think I just need cable.