Alternatives to Boring TV (Enjoy Your Free Time)
If you can’t think of anything else to do (bar watching the box), you’re a TV addict! Here are a few alternative ideas to spend your life: Then you can watch far less TV.
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me. What is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
- Read a good book
- Take a course to learn something
- Relax in the garden
- Play with pets
- Go for a walk
- Go for a swim
- Visit the cinema
- Visit the pub
- Have a self-massage
- Go for a coffee
- Volunteer
- Go for a run
- Visit an art gallery
- Visit a museum
- Hike a mountain
- Write your CV
- Write a poem
- Go to a music concert
- Go to church
- Ride your bicycle
- Search for a nicer job
- Visit the local park
- Clear the clutter
- Decorate your house
- Fix things that need fixing!
- Organise your paper work
- Catch up on your sleep
- Go for a game of tennis
- Learn to paint watercolours
- Watch the sunrise (or sunset)
- Cook a nice meal
- Visit a nearby town
- Give blood
- Write a letter
- Visit relatives
- Call a friend
- Do a litter clean-up
- Go to church
Arrange your sofas in an L-shape (with the coffee table in the middle). This enables you to still watch TV, but fosters conversation, rather than ‘sofa along the back of the wall, and everyone gawping at the screen’.
How to Legally Cancel Your TV Licence
In many cases, if you don’t watch live TV (or BBC iPlayer), you can legally cancel your TV licence.
Nobody says you have to live in a stark white room and never watch TV again. Most of us like a repeat of the classics (Porridge etc) on a rainy afternoon. And some TV actually can be good!
BBC Natural History Unit occasionally produce beautiful programs (alas often shown once, then confined to the archives). Like Natural World Symphony, which was a work of genius, and never shown since. Also find good programs at BBC Earth.
TV Programs That Are Good to Give Up
Rolling news. Psychologist Rolf Dobelli asks how has watching distressing news helped you to help others in any way, in the last year? Just donate anonymously to favourite charities. Far better use of time. Or use easyfundraising to raise funds for favourite causes (on what you would buy anyway), and then just turn off the news. If we go to war, someone will tell you.
Soap operas are not very distressing, but some people get addicted. And record episodes if they go on holiday. If you can’t bear to miss an episode, ask yourself why?
Celebrity junk. Chris Packham recently wrote an open letter to Ant and Dec, asking them not to kill creatures for entertainment. He writes that we’ve given up chimpanzees having tea parties, so why is this still on? Killing creatures for fun also affects local ecosystems (jungle creatures that would eat those creatures also suffer).
Lazy Daytime Programs: The long string of talk shows, tired news panels, and endless reruns can suck up your whole afternoon. These shows rarely teach you anything new, or make you laugh out loud. They are often just noise and gossip, that fills time, without giving anything back.
Violent Series: Some dramas centre around extreme crime. Binge-watching can stir up your stress levels. You might notice you sleep worse or feel more jumpy. Even ‘quality’ shows like Law & Order. What would the producers do, if female actresses refused to play tortured murder victims?
Monetary Game Shows: Programs that dangle big cash prizes and push contestants to go all-in for money can feel frustrating or empty. The focus on greed or shallow success doesn’t offer much beyond yelling at the screen. They are boring beyond mind-numbing!
Famous for being famous. There are serious repercussions to this. After the suicide of Caroline Flack (by all accounts a very kind woman), many hair salons now don’t stock gossip magazines, so do the same for TV programs.
The death of pop star Liam Payne gives heed to such concerns. This nice young lad likely would have had a much happier life, if he had stayed in Wolverhampton, and never become a pop star. Just to feed the egos and bank balances of the judges, who in some cases seem to think they are more important than the acts they sign up.
It’s always given that the programs made Susan Boyle a singing star. But if you ever saw her first audition, she was mocked before she opened her mouth and started to sing. If she could not have sung like an angel, she likely would still be made fun of now. Is that the society we want to live in?
Phone-in Programs. Don’t use them. This makes a fortune for lazy TV programmers, who just get encouraged to make more.
Ads. When the TV ads come on, just go and make a cuppa. Although the Calm Act says they cannot be at higher volume, clever people sometimes master the audio, so they do appear louder, in order to try to hypnotise you into buying stuff you don’t need.
How Boring TV Impacts Your Mood
Getting stuck in boring or harsh TV routines often rubs off on you. The more you watch, the easier it is to feel tired, restless, or even annoyed. Shows that drag out drama, highlight bad behaviour, or leave you in suspense can weigh you down. If you find yourself snapping at family or reaching for snacks out of boredom, your shows might be to blame.
Think about nights when you finish a series and feel numb or bothered instead of relaxed. That’s a sign the program wasn’t worth your time. You only get so many evenings, so why fill them with something that brings you down?
Refuse to Support Bullying TV Shows
Years ago, everyone on TV shows was nice (remember Bullseye, with lovely Jim Bowen engaging with guests, who were never humiliated, even if they missed the dartboard, and lost the speedboat?)
Today, many TV shows echo social media, offering lazy programmes built on cruel jokes, exclusion and public humiliation. They (sadly) draw big crowds and advertising pounds, creating a society obsessed with bullying, ‘winning’, empty fame and prize money.
It may seem harmless to watch or support such media. But the trouble is that by watching (or even talking about and promoting) such shows, it’s giving ‘quiet approval’ to bullying in disguise.
What we watch and promote, carries real weight, to the kind of society we wish to create. If you care about kindness, the right thing to do is clear: don’t give your support to TV shows that encourage meanness.
Understanding Bullying in TV Shows
If you were ever bullied at school (or in the workplace), you will know the deep lasting damage that it can do. Sometimes for life.
But bullying on screen (just as in real life) wears many masks. It’s more subtle than stealing someone’s lunch money. Sometimes it’s a clever ‘dig’ at someone else’s expense, or contestants ganging up on someone, for cheap laughs. Often it’s mockery dressed up as ‘banter’.
It’s not just ‘harmless fun’ to promote such programs. The producers go out of their way to ensure people are humiliated, and supporting them means you are encouraging them to do more of the same.
It may not affect you, but the after-effects will harm others.
Bullying on Popular Reality TV Shows
Bullying on TV doesn’t always involve shouting or physical fights. Sometimes, it’s hidden as jokes, clever editing, or competitive strategy.
- Britain’s Got Talent: Judges often embarrass contestants. They laugh at talentless acts or make cutting remarks, all while the crowd jeers.
- Come Dine With Me: Sarcastic voiceovers and contestants mocking each other over meals might seem funny, but it usually ends with someone feeling isolated and ridiculed. Interestingly, the European versions of this show are good, with everyone being nice and pleasant to each other .
- Big Brother: Housemates face constant public judgement and pressure. Tasks and arguments are designed to trigger fights and embarrassment.
- The Traitors: The format pushes players to isolate, deceive, and shame each other. Hostile whispering and plotting, leads to cruel behaviour. It spills over into real life, when people forget that honesty is a require character trait for decent people in everyday life.
And the obvious too – all of these programmes are unoriginal, non-creative and incredibly boring!
Choosing Better (nice!) TV Shows
Although most TV these days seems to be either rubbish or bullying or both, the odd decent program is worth watching, like Michael Portillo’s Great Railway Journeys on BBC4.
He may not have been popular as a politician, but since giving up politics and launching into travel programmes, his popularity has soared.
Always polite, nice and enthusiastic, his programmes that follow an ancient book on railway journeys across England (and abroad) make for compulsive viewing:
A little over a year ago, I confessed I couldn’t stand Michael Portillo (Great Continental Railway Journeys) who dressed like an early 1990s gameshow contestant. It pains me to admit this, I got it wrong.
He is a weirdly compelling host. At one point, a woman kisses him on the cheek and he turns to camera and shouts ‘CHOO CHOO!’ at the top of his voice, like the horny wolf from the Tex Avery cartoons.
So fine, I got it wrong. And I hope he never stops making these shows. Stuart Heritage
Same with the delightful Susan Boyle. If you don’t already know and love her, you will after watching one of her travel shows. A former lawyer on Death Row in the USA (her late father was the Scottish equivalent of Chris Whitty), she gave it all up to make us laugh. And also wrote a wonderful book on kindness.
Be kind to others. But above all, be kind to you. You deserve it. You can be Wonder Woman if you want to. I know I am. Susan Calman
The Lasting Appeal of Inspector Morse
Inspector Endeavour Morse, created by novelist Colin Dexter, is an Oxford-based detective known for his intelligence and quirks. Morse stands out from most detectives because he often lets his emotions guide him.
He loves opera, enjoys crossword puzzles, and rarely shares much about his past. These layers give him depth and make him hard to pin down, adding to his appeal.
The Inspector Morse TV series first aired on ITV in 1987, running for thirty-three episodes until 2000. John Thaw played Morse, capturing the detective’s mix of prickliness and humanity.
Handsome John Thaw looked older than he was due to his white hair (he was 44 when filming began, and only 60 when he died).
When the series ended, John refused the offer of the famed red Jaguar, saying ‘it was too slow and terrible to drive!’
Shows like these, prove that kindness sells (think of Sir David Attenborough’s shows). Real talent and personality – means bullying, nastiness, ghosting and gossip are never needed, to entertain.
Vintage Films & Community Documentaries
Talking Pictures is a great little channel, that’s free to air. And plays lots of old films from the 40s and 50s. When the world appears to be a much kinder place. It also shows a few more recent series like Maigret. We had a quick look for today’s programmes, and it included vintage films for Batman and Robin Hood, and a thriller directed by Sam Wanamaker.
Not every TV channel pushes drama or negativity. Channels like Together TV focus on stories that help you feel good and spotlight real community spirit. Together TV offers shows about gardening, healthy living, and people turning small ideas into something great. No fighting, no shaming, just honest and interesting stories.
For cooking, read our post on food safety for people & pets. And for gardening, read up on pet-friendly gardens and wildlife-friendly gardens (also how to stop birds flying into windows).
Here are a few types of uplifting shows you might find on channels like Together TV:
- Community Makeovers: Real people improving their local parks or helping a neighbour fix up a home.
- Cooking and Gardening Series: Chefs or home cooks prepping simple, healthy meals with local ingredients.
- Health Joys: Wellness tips anyone can try, from stretching routines to mindfulness breaks.
- Feel-Good Challenges: Series where contestants support each other to learn a new skill, or overcome a small fear.
Animal Welfare Concerns About ‘I’m a Celebrity’ Show
There has always been a large percentage of England’s population concerned over the ethics of the TV series ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’. Which uses challenges for contestants to be scared by (or sometimes eat) various creatures ‘out in the bush’, when filmed in Australia (or sometimes other countries).
Each year, Ofcom receives thousands of complaints about the show. There are genuine concerns for both welfare over creatures either caged, scared or eaten for ‘entertainment’. But also it disrupts ecosystems (these are creatures that would in nature be food for other creatures).
BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham recently wrote an open letter to the producers (which has been viewed over 1 million times) asking the makers to finally can a program he says has had its day:
Circuses have gone, dancing bears have gone, cock-and-dog fighting are the sad preserve of psychopathic criminals. We have no performing dolphins and no chimpanzees dressed up for tea time.
The cruel exploitation of wildlife for gratuitous entertainment, continues to damage the reputation of a ‘nation of animal lovers’.
Although ITV states that it ‘complies with the laws of Australia’s RSPCA’, our own charity is also concerned and has frequently asked the producers to stop harming other creatures. In the name of raising the profile of ‘celebrities’ or has-been politicians wishing to raise their profiles.
RSPCA has also raised concerns about many of the creatures featured in the program, being frequently chased, dropped or living in overcrowded conditions.
The program also sends a strong message to the viewing public, that ‘insects’ are of no value. In fact, incredible insects are vital to ecosystems, and one of the most important species on our planet.
Money Could Be Spent Elsewhere
ITV often pays huge amounts of money to ‘secure’ contestants for the show (disgraced MP Matt Hancock was paid £350,000) with one contestant apparently receiving £1.5 million for participating. The charity World Animal Protection gives information on how this amount of money could instead be used:
- Put pressure on world leaders to end the global wildlife trade.
- Stop big cats being exploited for trophy hunting (remember Cecil the lion?)
- Power campaigns to end cruel treatment of elephants for tourism
- Maintain and refurbish sanctuaries for bears rescued from the bile industry
- Improve public awareness on why to avoid tourist aquariums (and fund ocean sanctuaries)
- Fund work with governments and food producers to end factory farming.
In England, it’s now illegal to hunt foxes or produce fur or foie gras, yet still one of the most popular TV shows involves harming animals for ‘entertainment’.
When panicked contestants are crawling through mazes with insects, spiders and snakes all around them, and having uncontrollable reactions like shaking, flicking hands and moving carelessly, it’s impossible that none of the animals are harmed. Is festive television the forgotten bloodsport? Surge Activism
