Linda Hall: News flash: nothing on telly

Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.

No wonder people spend so much time on social media because there is nothing, and I mean nothing, worth watching on television.

When I first heard about Freeview I thought great, maybe there will be something other than trucks slipping on icy roads, cops pulling over people, border control searching bags and cooking shows to watch.

How disappointed I was. The only thing that's changed is it takes a bit longer to flick through the channels and therefore I get even more frustrated.

There are only so many antique shows one can stand to watch. People line up for hours on end to find out how much great-grandpa's medals are worth, or how valuable is great-great-grandma's china.

Then when they find out it's worth thousands they say "I'll never sell it, it means too much to me." Then why bother getting it valued in the first place? I wonder how many of these people who say "I'll never sell it" actually do after they find out what's it worth.

Perhaps that would make a good programme. Look up all the people who found out they were sitting on a fortune but said they "wouldn't sell great grandma's china for all the money in the world" and pay them a visit. Imagine a camera crew turning up at the door, demanding to see that cup and saucer you promised never to sell. I bet there would be some red faces. Can't say that I would blame people for selling their treasures though.

It would be pretty hard to stick to your guns if you were not very well off and someone in your family needed money for health care or education. I'd sell the cup and saucer in an instant. People are far more important than possessions.

On second thoughts, that probably wouldn't make for good viewing. What does? Well I really liked Trivial Pursuit. It was the only decent thing on telly. I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the show, judging by the public outcry when it was canned. Fans complained on Facebook and Twitter about the grand finale. It was like reading a book with a bad ending. Viewers were left frustrated with unanswered questions. Now the producers have decided to screen a one-off special to "tidy up loose ends". At least that's something to look forward to.

I thought about getting Sky for a while but, after hearing people complain that they still found it difficult to find anything decent to watch even with Sky, I decided against it. I don't want to pay money just to add to my viewing frustrations.

I used to really like watching Masterchef when it first started and I did tune in for the final last Sunday. However, I found the judges' tactics a bit too much this time round. Josh Emett reminded me of Gordon Ramsay with his language and they were all borderline bullies at times.

While I guessed who the winners would be, and well deserved I thought, the other finalists are now copping some flack on the TVNZ Facebook page.

People have left nasty messages, especially about Jamie Stodler. I really cannot understand why people think they have the right to do this.

We have no idea how much pressure these people were under and no idea how we would react in the same circumstances. I get grumpy if Mr Neat even asks me what time dinner will be ready. I usually reply "when it's cooked". All the contestants deserve a pat on the back for being brave enough to enter in the first place.

Instead of using energy posting nasty things on Facebook, perhaps these people could come up with suggestions for new programmes.