BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Reasons why I don't watch TV, number 34

So last night I was watching "House Hunters" while eating dinner. The couple were a younger couple, newlywed and looking for a house close to her parents (as apparently she couldn't bear to be separated from them).

One of the requirements was for a big back yard for the large dog - and then it started, with the sly sideways look and the giggle "oh, and of course, the children later on". Then we get the "oh, honey, wouldn't this make a great nursery?". When they asked about an off leash for the dog, the estate agent told them there was one right down the street "and there's a playground there for the kids too". Did anyone mention kids? Hello?

When the nursery comments came up, the husband would say things like "yeah, eventually". You could tell from his body language that he wasn't really that interested, but let's humour the wife ...

Right at the end they have a segment where they go back a few months after the move and check in. The house they ended up buying was actually a 45 minute drive from her parents, and they were talking about how that wasn't actually a bad thing. Cue the simper from her and then "well of course, they'd like us to start a family soon". To which he said, rolling his eyes "yeah, they might have mentioned it a few times". I'm thinking, poor bugger, all aboard the breeder railroad!!

The whole tone of the couple's interactions just irked the hell out of me. It's like, well, everyone knows the only reason you'd buy your own place is so you can bonk like rabbits and pop out sproggen to please the oldies. Gack. I much prefer "Big City Broker" where it's all high end condos in Toronto, the decor is fabulous, and there is nary a brat in sight - just the odd cute lapdog :-)

I've never seen Big City Broker. I'll have to keep an eye out for that show!

LOL!! Well said. That kind of thing totally makes me want to barf.

This seems to me to have very little to do with not watching television and very much to do with avoiding certain opinions or feelings which can be found not only in televised media, but in allo others as well, not to mention real life.

I also had a perturbing tv experience last night. I was watching Two and a Half Men, that show with Charlie Sheen. In this particular episode, he gets a call from a woman he had previously slept with becuause she thought she was pregnant. Turns out she wasn't, but it was enough to scare Charlie into thinking that he should get snipped, so as to avoid future mishaps. Well at the end of the episode, he had a change of heart and decided against it because he may "someday want kids."
Now, I don't know how many of you are familiar with this show, but his character is an alcoholic womanizer with commitment issues. Not exactly father material. But apparently knowing yourself well enough to know that you shouldn't breed is too controversial a subject for prime-time tv. Blech!

Froggy_Moo, as a watcher of "Two and a Half Men", I remember that episode, and I remember thinking that it would be stupid for Charlie not to have a vasectomy, considering that he doesn't want kids! Shoot, he only tolerates Jake because he's his nephew and lives there part-time only!

Pikasam, admittedly, I'm addicted to HGTV (and A&E's "Flip this House"), and I love to watch a lot of their shows. However, if I see a description on the satellite guide of episodes of their shows that mention "wanting a larger home for the family", or "outgrowing their current home", etc., I will not watch those episodes. There are many times when it's just a couple looking for a house, and I am so annoyed whenever they start dwelling on the future children, especially when one of the two seems more excited about it than the other. Yikes.

I feel your pain!

Yeah, I love HGTV, too, and am equally annoyed by the breeder frenzy. One of my favorite shows is Divine Design, but since the woman popped out her kids, a lot of the shows are about children. Not interesting.

I know! I love Candice Olson (Divine Design) - sometimes her designs are a little too pastel/floral for me, but she really does excellent work. However, I've noticed that a lot more of her makeovers involve children somehow since she popped out her second one.

I really love to watch the episodes of HGTV shows that have little or nothing to do with kids. However, those are becoming few and far between lately.

My DH and I moved around a lot over his working years due to his job. So we were always looking for a house in a new location.
I would always ask the Realtor right up front about proximity to schools, play grounds, parks and the like and then, when the Realtor had finished telling us about all the schools etc. that were near by, I'd say "Great, now find us something as far away from all that stuff as possible".

As far as watching TV goes, I used to really like to watch Nancy Grace. Not any more though - half the show is now about her babies.

Argh. Nancy Grace makes me CRINGE. It's the Daily Show and Colbert Report for me, or else the Evening News.