Streaming’s not for me. Keep it real!
HAVE you heard that young (or should that be ‘younger’?) people no longer buy CDs or DVDs or consult the TV guide (the one with this Saturday edition of The Mail is by far the best!) in order to choose what to watch?
Families may sit together to watch a show like Strictly Come Dancing, but that seems to be rare — and do people enjoy the ‘ water- cooler moment’ any more?
The other day somebody in the TV industry told me few colleagues under the age of about 45 ever watch TV shows as they are broadcast.
Instead they ‘stream’ — something (sshhhh, don’t tell anybody) I’m not sure how to do. Why call a series of downloads a ‘box set’ when there’s no actual box? Why should I apologise for liking real things?
Like choosing a CD from our large collection, or going to the DVD cupboard (yes, we have one) and deciding to watch an old favourite, or saying, ‘Great, it’s Monday — time for brilliant Blue Lights on BBC1 tonight.’ Yes, I’m so old-fashioned I like a weekly instalment — with a future box set in mind.
In the past I used to watch far less TV, so I missed out on truly excellent series such as Inspector George Gently or Foyle’s War.
So, making up for lost time, I ordered complete box sets of each of them. I’m now the proud owner of every episode of both; the writing, the acting, the direction, the casting . . . television drama at its best.
I’m beating a drum for analogue pleasures and deferred gratification. For the fragrant delight of opening a brand new book, or returning to a volume you’ve loved for ever, so that a part of you rests within the pages. And for stashing those box sets, knowing you’ll be able to watch them all over again, having forgotten the darn plots.
■ Bel answers readers’ questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, london W8 5HY, or email bel. mooney@dailymail.co.uk. Names are changed to protect identities. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence.