Whatever happened to dead time (TV) at the top of the hour?

Tuesday is pretty dead but I usually have the 'set' on for background noise. I finish "watching' one program which runs right up to the top of the hour and just now immediately switched over to catch The Daily Show already in progress.

Why, I remember, back in the old days when I walked uphill to school in both directions, one could always count on five minutes or so at the top of every hour to take a leak or microwave a snack.

Yeah, I know the answer to my question. Mad Men figured out I wasn't actually paying attention at the top of the hour. I am this close to watching everything off of Tivo.

Yup, they figured it out, all right...

Time to start using the Tivo!

It's great because you can stop whenever you want to do whatever you want...

We use ours all the time.

:hi:

It started long ago, before many here were even born. Yet I remember and it pissed me off tonight because I count on the opening graphics of TDS to let me know if it's a rerun or not. It's kind of a survival of the fittest or survival of the most annoying. Once one network started doing it, everyone else was compelled to do likewise. Might as well tivo/dvr everything or order it ppv or watch it on the web.

from channel to channel. What throws me most are the unexpectedly SHORT commercial breaks, when I was expecting longer ones during which I coud get some things done.

My coping mechanism is having wireless headphones. I have the widescreen HDTV off to the side, muted, while I'm on the computer with the TV audio in the headphones (usually tuned to MSNBNC in the daytime) and classical music playing from the computer monitor. I can go to the kitchen, the bathroom, wherever I need to be, and still have the audio. This setup, my friend, is HEAVENLY.

referring to switching from one show to another without a commercial break. I guess the idea is to keep people from tuning out. Remember when TBS had all their shows start five minutes early (or was it five minutes late)? Same idea.

You see this on MSNBC when they cut from Dylan to Tweety, Keith to Rachel, etc. Unfortunately, the result is a LOT of commercials at other times during the hour. Like MSNBC running dozens of commercials in a row from about 25 past the hour till 35 past or later. Do they think we won't tune out during this barrage??

Meanwhile, there are a FEW commercials I actually don't mind watching, like any of the "Flo" ones from Progressive Insurance.

In addition to retaining viewers by ending their shows five minutes late it also guaranteed that their programming was listed separately in the TV Guide.

How annoying was that?