Is there any use in seeing TV serials?

[nirosha sen]

Mine awaits with impatience, drumming his fingers, while I watch Annamalai!!

For it's prime time at 9pm, and CNN, BBC and CNBC have much news compared to "this show for retards!!" as he says.......

[Roshan]

Why only women? What about the men? I have seen many men who are addicted to TV serials. The worse part is, when they get held up in office or have some unavoidable appointments they call their home and instruct the women folk to record that particular day's episode for them

As r_kk and PP rightly said they - especially women are wasting their valuable time which they can utilize on some productive work or atleast watch some worthy programs or do some reading. And the children, especially the kids are the worse affected ones. The elders dont realise the negative impact these serials create on children.

It is so sad to see the elders requesting the kids to brief a day's episode when ever they miss it. The parents take great pride when their kids mimic a particular character of a serial ( usually a wicked character). These are also a part of 'child abuse' I would say

The most irritating part is - when there's a family get togethr, party or function all women folks get together and start discussing about the serials as if those are happening in real.

[suressh]

kombu muLaiththa ( athuvum moonru muRai ) roshan-aip paarkka paarkka enakku siripputhaan varukiRathu...

tholaik kaatshi thodarkaLinaal mukkiyamaana onru vittupOivittathu pOl thOnRukiRathu. athu -

virunthOmbal....

[r_kk]

Human is not a machine and entertainment also a small part of life. But the problem with these kinds of serials is that it considered as more than as entertainment and as a major portion of life itself. If you go to movie of your choice after a long work, you will enjoy just like having a sweet at the end of food, and most of us will forget the movie that we had seen, within few hours or days (some of them at theatre itself). But serials are not like that. Here sweet is served as main food, all the time and people are waiting for the next episode as addict and discuss lot about what comes next. So much more time is wasted.

And most of the serials are unrealistic and each episode ends with a twist or surprise, which makes the viewer to wait for the next day and create an eager to discuss to find the possible outcome of the twist.

Already our traditional arts, which were part of our social life, are difficult to survive due to the effect of movies. Now we have serials also against it. The effect of serials on social life, family life, children behaviors can be written in many pages with lot of twist (like serial! then only sincere viewer may find this subject interesting).

[Roshan]

And most of the serials are unrealistic and each episode ends with a twist or surprise, which makes the viewer to wait for the next day and create an eager to discuss to find the possible outcome of the twist.

They say those serials have 'cliffhangers' but I think once you get accustomed to it - what happens next becomes highly predictable. Most of the serial lovers do admit it and yet keep watching with lot of enthusiasm.

[Querida]

loved your reply Roshan...what you said about men is so true...i know some people say it's time for them to spend time as a couple but both aimlessly staring at melodrama is far from quality time...that and the auntie-jis who go on like the characters are real people they know...how many times...and i've said this before...have i heard such a far-fetched tale of sorrow and taken it seriously only to find it was some tv serial

[hehehewalrus]

Wow, lot of responses

While starting the thread, I purposely did not state my views since I wanted to see what automatically comes in the minds of people when you talk of serials - If I had expressed my opinion, it would have influenced people to think in a particular direction.

Imagine that your children are in the drawing room.

Scene1: Two elderly people join them and loudly gossip about another person saying lot of "illaadhadhu pollaadhadhu" things.
Would you allow that to happen in front of your kids?

Scene2: A grown up guy and a girl talk of methods to fool parents(tuition/group study/other lies) and devise methods to meet clandestinely - or do much worse than just discuss.
Would you allow that to happen in front of your kids?

Scene3: Minor guys or gals talk and comment all kinds of things about the opposite sex.
Would you allow that to happen in front of your kids?

NOBODY in the right mind will tolerate this happening in their living rooms.

But when the same things happen on TV, forget the kids, parents themselves are unable to stop themselves from watching.

The matter here is this:

1. Do what we see influence us?
2. Do what we hear influence us?
3. Do what we endorse influence our children?

The obvious answer to all three questions is YES.

Can anyone watch serials for 2 hours a day, 10 hours every week, 60 hours a month, 720 hours a year, then come out and say that what he listened/saw/heard for 720 hours a year will not influence him?

Is cigarette smoking a relaxation?
Is alcohol a relaxation?

It is not my desire to criticise anyone. But in these days when kids are having hundreds of things to misguide them, when the generation gap is so huge between a 30 year old and 20 year old, when parents cant agree with kids' choices, when youngsters run away and marry......

My neighbors in India were a young couple - their kid, a 5 year old used to spend all her time in my home(4 bachelors) from 7pm to 11pm - parents sitting glued to the TV all these hours. This non-tamil group of bachelors memorised the theme song of a tamil serial as it was belted out of their neighbors home unfailingly at 10:30 every night

[suressh]

naaL thavaRAmal tv pArkum in naNbarkaL sila pEr uNdu...

"ennada kathai" enRa ennudaiya kELvikku mattum avarkaL evaridam irunthum ithuvarai pathil illai....

[suressh]

walrus,

vERoru thiriyil neengaL ennidam kEtta kELvikku pathil :

"aamaamunga"

( athu sari... antha thiri enna aachu...? pOye pOchu... its gone )

[nirosha sen]

I watch only Annamalai so far!!! Waiting for it to be over before I quit Tamil serials, Pa!! Their themes are all the same! But ....

......... Chidambara Rahasiyam sounds intriguing!!! Wonder when it's gonna turn up in Malaysia???