What We've Been Watching

I got a call a few weeks ago from Nielsen Media Research, Inc. inviting us to participate in a study on what people watch on TV. I said sure, no problem. They even offered me 30 bucks to do it. Bonus!


Thursday I got the packet in the mail and started filling it out right away. There is a booklet with tables in which I have to write what time we watched TV, what show we watched and whether or not we were watching in real time or a previously recorded show.


The whole process has been sort of enlightening. I was thinking my boys watch too much TV. For kids their age, they probably do. But as I've been recording everything in the little booklets I'm thinking, it's not so bad. I have noticed that we watch almost no real time television. Pretty much everything is pre-recorded.


Here is a sample of the booklet, which I have scanned. It reminds me of ledgers my grandma would give me when I was a kid that I could play bank or school with.

We have two booklets; one for the family room TV and one for the master bedroom TV. The master bedroom TV has more written in it; it's pretty full from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. or later because that's when I fold laundry and watch my non-cartoon shows.

Here is a sample of what we've got recorded on our DVR for the kids (we record plenty of episodes to choose from so I don't get bored listening to the same ones--my boys would be happy watching the same one or two episodes over and over, but I'd go crazy):

• Little Bill (29 episodes )
• Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (18 episodes)
• Shaun the Sheep (17 episodes--this is my favorite of their shows; check out a sample on YouTube)
• Random Disney movies on TV: Finding Nemo, The Rescuers Down Under, Chicken Little, Tarzan
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (two Halloween movies that the boys love)

Shows that I record for myself to watch later include:

• Chuck
• Ugly Betty
• Jeopardy!
• Psych
• My Boys

David records things like:

• Criss Angel Mindfreak
• Any sporting event involving Penn State, Notre Dame, Boston Celtics, or the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Lots of comedy shows
• True Crime documentaries

We haven't been to a movie or even rented one in months! We've got so much TV to catch up on.

Oh, and the packet that arrived Thursday already had the $30 in it; in cash! Woot! Now I gotta decided what to buy with my "hard-earned" moolah. I'm thinking dinner somewhere fun sounds good--I'm really tired of cooking.