How Many of Us Hate Change—Especially When it Involves Our Hard Work of Cataloguing and Listing Favorite TV Channels?

How Many of Us Hate Change—Especially When it Involves Our Hard Work of Cataloguing and Listing Favorite TV Channels? by Roxanne McDonald

What in hell has happened to my TV Listings?

I am completely lost. This morning, as I always do when I first sit down at the computer to complete my rituals, which include writing out the TV show line-up for the day—I clicked on my HOME folder, clicked on the WATCH folder, clicked on the TV folder, and clicked on Y! Listings—Yahoo! TV. But I was taken to an “oops!� page, with some TV Listings Beta header, instead of the schedule of the day.

After re-loading the page and clicking around this newly formatted site, I realized that all of my saved info is gone into the refuse dumps of cyberspace, evidently.

My personally selected and added favorite channels are gone, the month, day, year, and time zone data is gone. The ritual of finding the shows I watch faithfully and/or those I watch to write to you about are also gone.

Besides that, what has taken place of my version of a most functional TV/movie guide is substituted with replications of what a hundred other TV sites are doing: the “News� section, for instance, features one single chat line, which is oddly repeated three times. So one can click on how great Lost is, three times. That’s it. No reports, no news writer interviews of celebs, no updates.

I concede that the Yahoo! TV Guide Listings was free—or at least it was to those who are SBC Yahoo subscribers (which I am). I also concede to the fact that SBC Yahoo! ISP and other constituents merged with or were bought out by AT&T, which I LOOOVE. But I cannot reconcile my coo-coo, ADD, quasi-obsessive-compulsive brain with having to re-search for, re-calibrate, re-categorize, and re-acclimate to another online TV guide.

How is it that “they� get us addicted to a phenomenon (in this case, using internet technology instead of physical copies, publications, books, the TV listings of our cable or satellite service provider…and they they ^&%@$% change the repertoire, process, and our biochemical mental make-up in the process.

And further, what is frustrating about the new format is that not only does it not give all future airing information, it gives what they have decided to call PULSE items, listing on a menu bar at the top of the useless page ten shows coming on tonight (for example)

that are evidently the most desirable shows which the site administrators have learned about by putting their fingers on the pulse of the American TV-viewing public.

Personally speaking, I only watch one of those shows, so the list, which includes America’s Next Top Model (the one I watch), Battlestar Gallactica (not interested), Deal or No Deal (insipid waste of the hilarious Howie Mandel’s comedic talents), Family Guy (seen it…next!), Grey’s Anatomy (maybe someday, for Patrick Dempsey), Heroes (who?), Jericho (Where?), My Boys (Wha?), Tyra Banks (prefer ANTM, having left talk shows behind when Rosie stopped airing), and Veronica Mars (not on my radar, not part of my social circle or experience).

And besides, if we are hooked on one of the above, we know the time it comes on…. Now when are my other shows and movies coming on? Huh? Maybe another site will tell me what I need to and pay to know.

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