‘Sexiest Chef Alive’ a reason to cut cord?
The abandonment of cable for streaming services is the media story of our time. Many have opted to stream because it saves them money. But the cost of streaming packages adds up. So economizing isn’t the only reason.
Cutting the cord changes the way you “consume” television. And how you think about it. You tend to watch what you want when you want it. For some that means “bingeing.” But even that represents an active choice. Old-fashioned television watching tended to be passive. You had to wait for your program to air at a specific time. On Demand TV and DVRs have ameliorated this problem, but you still have to wait for episodes to arrive in order to save them.
I think this psychological change in viewing habits explains a lot. I suspect that it explains why many who cut the cord never return to traditional television.
Of course, waiting for something “good” to come “on” cable television offers deserts of vast eternity to fill with pointless fluff.
For today’s fluffiest time-waster, I nominate “People’s Sexiest Chef Alive” (8 p.m., Food, TV-G). Jess Cagle, the editor-in-chief of People Magazine, surveys 10 up-and-coming chefs and at the end of the wellspent hour, one of them is anointed “Sexiest.”
Seriously, what does personal appearance have to do with cooking? What does a gossip magazine have to do with food? Or Food? How far has the network strayed from its mission? How dumb is this show?
I venture a guess that another reason so many have cut the cord is that cable networks no longer have any resemblance to their original incarnations. And don’t get me started on how cord cutting liberates viewers from the maddening, uninformative din of cable “news.”
At the risk of repeating myself, the choice to quit cable has more to do with psychology than savings. Ditching cable “news” is good for your mental health.
› Halloween’s over. Bring on the ho, ho, ho! Beginning today, Freeform begins its “Kickoff to Christmas,” a monthlong
prime-time onslaught of holiday and family movies, starting with “Christmas With the Kranks” (5 p.m.). “Kickoff” includes one new Christmas movie. But you will have to wait until Nov. 25 for “The Truth About Christmas.”
Netflix begins streaming the 2017 animated holiday fable “Angela’s Christmas” (TV-G) today. This half-hour feature is based on author Frank McCourt’s (“Angela’s Ashes”) only children’s book, inspired by stories his own mother told him about her youth in Limerick, Ireland, circa 1910.
› Crackle streams the third 10-episode season of “StartUp,” starring Mira Sorvino, Adam Brody and Ron Perlman.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› The Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers meet in “Thursday Night Football” (8 p.m., Fox).
› Mourning and reflection on “Grey’s Anatomy” (8 p.m. ABC, TV-14).
› A training session goes off the rails on “Station 19” (9 p.m. ABC, TV-14).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin .tvguy@gmail.com.