What IS the big deal with television?

I've thought about this question a lot since we talked about it on Tuesday in class; What is the big deal with television? Some people seem to think that television is merely a form of entertainment, a tube that sits on the floor and releases a ton of invaluable information that make you laugh. I tend to disagree with this feeling, probably because I was raised during a time when the televsion was steering away from merely providing entertainment and towards incorporating education, reality, and even religion. Most of what I watch on television now is constructed in such a fashion that it is form of educational messaging. The history and discovery channels are two of my favorite channels, which we discussed in class. Reality televsion can be annoying at times, depending on what you're watching (I Love New York versus The Real World versus The Bachelor), but I tend to learn a lot from reality television, too. Plus, reality television actually gives people that are not necessarily actors from Hollywood a chance to debut their lives and talent in the form of a "show".

Television is also used for communication in the form of advertisements and commercials. Without these commericials, the television shows that air in between the commericials would not be a success. Sure, there is Ti-Vo and other mechanisms of blocking out the commericals, but the idea that people hate commericals and love the shows is two-fold. Some people might actualy enjoy watching the commericals, particurly ones like the commericals shown during the Super Bowl; they are funny, appealing, and often solicit a product or idea so that the viewer goes out and buys it or takes part in it. That seems pretty effective to me. I am not a Ti-Vo user, and sometimes I record shows to watch them later on, but I don't do this to avoid commercials, necessarily. I do this because it's convenient for me. I don't like all commercials, but I think the invention of commercials was absolutely genius of someone to think of. Without them, television really wouldn't be what it is today. I mean, imagine this: What would the USA channel, or even the TBS channel, be without the constant, repetitive commericals that come on between EVERY SINGLE SHOW soliciting what will be aired next, or what show will be on that night? It's so annoying but it's very effective. Even the small pop-up messages that spring up on the screen as you're watching your favorite episode of Friends is obnoxious, but you've to admit, it's effective advertising.