Downloading TV From the Internet
Ok, let's be straight up about this. If I said I’ve never illegally downloaded anything from the internet, I’d be lying. I’m not proud of this fact, but there it is.
I’m writing about this today, because “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Last night, after weeks of pre-publicity, the American version of Life On Mars premiered on Australian television.
Now, normally I watch very little television, and even less if a program is on a commercial station. Why? For the same reason many others don’t watch commercial TV. The commercials. I can’t stand the damned things. I can’t stand how they constantly interrupt the action and destroy the flow of a story, often at the most interesting or exciting part of the film.
But I was willing to make an exception for Life On Mars. Partly because it looked interesting, but mainly because one of my favourite actors, Harvey Keitel was appearing in it. I figured that if Harvey Keitel was in anything, it would have to be worth watching.
I lasted 30 minutes, and then gave up. Not because Life On Mars was boring. Not because the acting was second rate, and locations uninteresting. No, I gave up because of the commercial breaks. They came literally every five minutes or so throughout the first half of the program, and after I had abused Channel 10, loudly and effusively for the second or third time, my housemate said to me, “Why don’t you download it from the Internet?”
Bingo!
“Why not indeed,” I said, and rushed off to the computer.
Can I say again, I’m not proud of what I’m doing. I’m old fashioned in this sense. It’s illegal, it’s unlawful, and if nothing else, the quality of the downloads leaves much to be desired. It is for this reason I don’t download movies or other television programs. I prefer to buy the official release because I get a lot of satisfaction out of owning the full package. My personal collection of DVDs runs to almost 300 titles – all bought legally and in many cases, expensively.
I could of course, buy Life On Mars when it is available here in Australia, but I rarely buy complete television series’, and probably won’t buy Life On Mars when it is released either. So I’ve resorted to downloading the program.
I know, I know, ‘free to air’ commercial stations can only survive if they are able to screen advertising to pay the expensive costs of providing their schedule of programs for free. But there has to be a balance. A balance between their commercial money making imperatives, and the enjoyment of the viewers.
The program guide would lead you to believe that each episode of Life On Mars runs for an hour.
Wrong.
The first episode of Life On Mars – as downloaded – runs for 42 minutes and 11 seconds (42:11). This means that almost a third of that hour – 18 minutes – is available for advertising, station promos, and trailers for upcoming shows. Eighteen minutes! No wonder Channel 10 constantly interrupt Life On Mars, and other programs every five or six minutes with their infernal breaks. In my opinion eighteen minutes is not a balance, and either I don’t watch it at all; watch it and spend every commercial break shouting at the television; buy the series when it is released; or download it from the internet like thousands of others.
Any comments from readers would be greatly appreciated.
I’m writing about this today, because “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Last night, after weeks of pre-publicity, the American version of Life On Mars premiered on Australian television.
Now, normally I watch very little television, and even less if a program is on a commercial station. Why? For the same reason many others don’t watch commercial TV. The commercials. I can’t stand the damned things. I can’t stand how they constantly interrupt the action and destroy the flow of a story, often at the most interesting or exciting part of the film.
But I was willing to make an exception for Life On Mars. Partly because it looked interesting, but mainly because one of my favourite actors, Harvey Keitel was appearing in it. I figured that if Harvey Keitel was in anything, it would have to be worth watching.
I lasted 30 minutes, and then gave up. Not because Life On Mars was boring. Not because the acting was second rate, and locations uninteresting. No, I gave up because of the commercial breaks. They came literally every five minutes or so throughout the first half of the program, and after I had abused Channel 10, loudly and effusively for the second or third time, my housemate said to me, “Why don’t you download it from the Internet?”
Bingo!
“Why not indeed,” I said, and rushed off to the computer.
Can I say again, I’m not proud of what I’m doing. I’m old fashioned in this sense. It’s illegal, it’s unlawful, and if nothing else, the quality of the downloads leaves much to be desired. It is for this reason I don’t download movies or other television programs. I prefer to buy the official release because I get a lot of satisfaction out of owning the full package. My personal collection of DVDs runs to almost 300 titles – all bought legally and in many cases, expensively.
I could of course, buy Life On Mars when it is available here in Australia, but I rarely buy complete television series’, and probably won’t buy Life On Mars when it is released either. So I’ve resorted to downloading the program.
I know, I know, ‘free to air’ commercial stations can only survive if they are able to screen advertising to pay the expensive costs of providing their schedule of programs for free. But there has to be a balance. A balance between their commercial money making imperatives, and the enjoyment of the viewers.
The program guide would lead you to believe that each episode of Life On Mars runs for an hour.
Wrong.
The first episode of Life On Mars – as downloaded – runs for 42 minutes and 11 seconds (42:11). This means that almost a third of that hour – 18 minutes – is available for advertising, station promos, and trailers for upcoming shows. Eighteen minutes! No wonder Channel 10 constantly interrupt Life On Mars, and other programs every five or six minutes with their infernal breaks. In my opinion eighteen minutes is not a balance, and either I don’t watch it at all; watch it and spend every commercial break shouting at the television; buy the series when it is released; or download it from the internet like thousands of others.
Any comments from readers would be greatly appreciated.
Labels: Harvey, Keitel, Life On Mars
posted by Jim Lesses at
10:50 AM
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