While digital offers metrics, and print longevity, no other medium has the power to engage, delight, infuriate and entertain in equal measure as the humble
goggle box.
Live theatre was art, but the stuff churned out by the
goggle box was assumed to be trash, so much so that when the BBC began to transmit plays, they found great difficulty in persuading anybody to supply scripts.
Although a rather more highbrow affair than the hugely successful National Television Awards, the Baftas awards night is nevertheless a must-see for everyone with any interest in the '
goggle box'.
The colder weather and darker nights mean we tend to stay in and relax in front of the
goggle box more.
Our headmaster regarded television (or 'the
goggle box' as he disdainfully called it) as a blight on society and a threat to our education.
Her Majesty was pregnant with Prince Andrew at the time and it was deemed unsightly to have ladies in an "indisposed" situation on the
goggle box.
Whole weekends can go by without the need to leave the
goggle box as game rolls into game.
Yet the statistical evidence of the popularity of television is overwhelming: over 99 per cent of households now possess at least one television set and we spend an average 24 hours a week watching the '
goggle box'.
So much so, in fact, that a Facebook page was set up in support of him entitled '
Goggle Box. Get Rid Of Eve Woerdenweber.'
And it seems that we can't even tear ourselves away from our gizmos when we watch the TV either - with 53 per cent of Brits now streaming videos, firing off instant messages and updating our social media statuses whilst we are also tuned into the
goggle box.
9 WISH LIST What we're really lusting after this weekend 10&11 AWAYDAYS On four wheels to get to the Italian mountain town Courmayeur where it's downhill all the way on a pair of skis for Sam Wylie-Harris 14&16 TV CHOICE What you really should be watching on the
goggle box today and for the next week 17-23 TV LISTINGS Your 7-day television listings guide starts here 24 PUZZLES & STARS So, how clever are you then?
The roses, they have faded, Gone are the Summer stocks, On that '
goggle box'.
Now, apart from the fact that this is simply stating the bleedin' obvious, it is yet another wake-up call for bad parents who dump their offspring in front of the
goggle box for hours on end because it means that they require no attention from mum and dad.
Today I'm writing about the kind of things that happen to me in those instances when I'm not watching the
goggle box and have to venture outside - things that usually make me wish I'd never left my armchair in the first place.
