And let me confess that last time I was in Berlin I got hooked with ‘Verliebt in Berlin’, the German version of ‘Ugly Betty’.
I kinda’ knew the story because the Colombian original version was a hit n Mexico, and then there was a Mexican version too.
Even though as a typical Latin man I’d never watch a telenovela (soap opera), learning German allowed me to indulge myself and enjoy the guilty pleasure of watching how an ugly lady transformed into a gorgeous woman…

Nowadays, much as I’d like to, I no longer watch TV regularly. Obviously I make sure to make some time to watch nice events, like concerts and award shows around the world.
Lately, the American show ‘Heroes’ has caught my attention: it’s great and did I already say that of the actors, James Kyson Lee has been seen wearing Singelringen?

I’ve never had cable in Chicago, so it has always just been WGN, no matter what show was on.

Great post Linda.

I watch television out of pleasure, for information and also because I really, really enjoy the sociological and cultural aspects of visual media. As important as the Internet is and continues to be, television is still the BEST way to engage a large group of people in the same topic/show. Although as the options for viewing increase, total audience per show can become fractured, but television is still one of (if not THE) best ways to spread information.

Although plenty of television is pretty awful (especially American television, though I have extensively studied European and Asian television series’ and their trends and cultural cues as well, and they are certainly not immune), I find that even the “awful” shows can offer a certain value, if for no other reason than voyeuristic entertainment or a large sociological understanding of a culture, or just out of kitsch. Of course, if a show completely lacks both value and isn’t entertaining in even a “trainwreck” kind of way, then I have no use for it and won’t watch the program.

That’s too bad that you don’t get HBO Latina in Hawaii. We have three or four HBO Spanish variations (one for HBO and HBO2 and I think the same for the West Coast HBO feed), but I programmed them out of my TiVo. I might have to program them back in and see if I can try to pick up some basic Spanish via The Wire (which to me, is the one of the greatest television shows of all time and certainly the “best” television show produced in my lifetime — there are plenty of other shows that I enjoy more, but The Wire is so good it truly transcends the medium. It’s Shakespearean).