TV Unplugged

I have some unfinished thoughts on the Lakers-Celtics series that will go up tomorrow.  In the meantime, wanted to ask the larger community about an issue that many of us might face...

After getting married, we've intentionally been going without TV for the last 1.5 years.  No antenna, basic channels, cable, etc.  For the first time in many years (college days?), I don't have the ability to flop down on the couch after work and veg away hours of sports, reruns of movies, foodie shows, etc.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing.  I recommend it for anyone getting married in the future - not having TV removes an easy excuse not to talk to your new spouse, and it's a good thing to try for a year.  However, we've noted that even just being able to get broadcast channels (stuff we could get over an antenna) would help us work out more (we both have habits of exercising while watching, like situps/pushups/pullups during commercial breaks) and sometimes it's nice to watch major network shows on a larger screen than on a laptop playing Hulu.

So, we've been trying to figure out how we could best partake in media now that we've moved into our new house.  We're tentatively thinking of installing a rooftop antenna around the time that we replace our roof this summer.  However, some hanging questions include:

- Can we go without paying for TV and rely on DVDs/Hulu?
- What will I do for NBA purposes?  Should I sign up for League Pass online?
- If we don't have cable TV, is it really necessary to get a nice big flatscreen (once our CRT burns out) primarily for video games and DVDs?
- Are there TVs that we can hook up laptops to, or that can play directly off the Internet?
- Is it worth looking into streaming media like Netflix online?  If so, how big of an internet pipe is needed for good performance?
- Is there any truth to the rumors that with so many people hopping off of cable plans that run from $40-$100 a month, cable companies will eventually need to cave and go to a pay-per-channel model?

Some links I've skimmed but haven't researched in depth yet:
http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2010/01/04/paying-for-tv-one-way-or-another
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/01/your-guide-to-cutting-the-cord-to-cable-tv008.html

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/01/espn_on_xbox_360_tipping_point_for_cable_workarounds.html
http://lifehacker.com/5475091/how-can-i-ditch-cable-and-watch-my-tv-shows-and-movies-online
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/10/03/26/155255/Whats-the-Best-Way-To-Get-Web-Content-To-My-TV

How about the rest of you?  What do you do for media intake on the small (computer) or big (TV) screen?  In particular, what do you do for live sports?

2009 Retrospective: Top TV, Movies, Games

Again, in no particular order...

Top TV Shows
Top Chef season 6 - After a subpar season 5, the most recent season was plain awesome. It was a real pleasure to watch the top echelon of chefs compete throughout the season, with the top 4 taking home every Elimination Challenge, and 3 worthy challengers for the crown (Kevin with the most elimination wins, Bryan 2nd most elimination wins and never being in the bottom, and Michael with the 3rd most elimination wins, most quickfires, and most times in the top 3). I can only hope that future seasons will continue to attract high quality talent, and that Bravo will eventually stream episodes online.

Lost season 5 - Lost, and the next show on this list, should serve as an inspiration to TV show creators to write out a tight narrative for the entire story arc of a show before putting it to film. Ever since planning out the end, every week has been must-see TV. Can't wait for the season opener on Groundhog's Day to see what effect the nuke had on the mythology and characters.

The Wire (seasons 1-5) - After high recommendations from Shally's brother Sam, my college buddy Danny, and about every TV critic out there, we decided to give this HBO show a shot on DVD, and quickly became hooked into the gritty, raw, personable depiction of life in inner-city Baltimore. One reviewer said, of the series, that "The Wire" is like the "Great Expectations" of the 21st century American city - a story that becomes the quintessential example for future generations. I wouldn't be surprised to see this show being watched in classrooms years from now to discuss sociology, poverty, ethics, politics, and justice.

30 Rock (seasons 1-2) - Sometimes you want something light and humorous to watch, and after exhausting "Simpsons" and "Friends" reruns, we decided to take a chance on this critically acclaimed series and quickly became fans of the sharp writing and memorable characters. Jack Donaghy is awesome. And it doesn't hurt that Liz Lemon is a Star Wars geek ("I will slice you open like a tauntaun!").

Top Movies
Star Trek (theater) - I wouldn't say I'm a JJ Abrams fanboy, but he's certainly had a hand in a lot of quality material that is just entertaining. Next Spielberg? Really enjoyed Sylar as Spock, and the DVD's humor/outtakes video is hilarious.

Up (airplane) - Dug is my favorite supporting character of all the Pixar movies. "Oh boy! A BALL! I will go get it, and then I will bring it back!"

Namesake (DVD) - Starring the guy better known as "Kumar," this was a thought-provoking movie about the story of many of my friends' families - our parents coming over from the mother country (in this case India) to work in the tech industry and create a "better life" for the next generation. Made me want to ask my parents what it was like coming here from Taiwan all those years ago.

Children of Men (DVD) - Good sci-fi movie about a dystopian future where mankind can no longer reproduce.

Top Games

Gears of War 2 - The campaign was more of the same, but what made this memorable in 2009 was the addition of Horde mode - being able to play cooperatively with 3 or 4 friends against ever-increasing numbers of foes made for extremely enjoyable gaming parties, plotting strategies and then executing them.

Modern Warfare 2 - The closest that I'll ever come to starring in a Michael Bay movie. If only it had a Horde or Zombie mode - co-op Spec Ops is pretty good, but not quite as fun as teaming up with a bunch of friends.

Portal - The most inventive game I played this year. Shally often watched and made suggestions on how to defeat the puzzles, until the later levels where constantly-changing gravity made her motion-sick.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy - Shally and I enjoy playing through games together in co-op mode, or in adventure games with good stories and puzzles that we can solve together (with me usually doing the execution of our strategies and all the fighting). We went through both of these on the Wii this year.

Set - Not a video game but a card game, Shally introduced me to it while at the Great Barrier Reef in between snorkeling exhibitions, and it's now an occasional pasttime for us. Basically, it involves looking at 12 cards with varying values in each of 4 categories: number of items, shapes, colors, and fills, and the goal is to get as many "sets" as possible where each category is either all the same, or all different. Very compact game, easy to transport, and we even got my parents into it.