I can't watch a lot of TV because of the editing! WHY cut (edit) so much?

[FormerDittoHead]

OK, I'm in my 40's, but I've watched enough TV for 2 people. I'm not reading the "classics" 6 nights out of the week only to sit down once in a while for Masterpiece Theatre and then start writing a message about the state of TV today...

My wife and I WANT to watch HGTV, TLC, and other "home" oriented shows but they ANNOY the hell out of me!

I can't watch them!

Why do these producers / editors feel obligated to cut, Cut, CUT, cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut, CUT, cut when showing say, a built-in coffee maker or new kind of storm door?

Also, what's the damn deal with the tilting hand held cameras? I say, OK, use it ONCE in a while, but it's like watching TV on a boat in a storm!

I know these conventions came from MTV and they're trying to get the attention of teens between bong hits, but really, is it necessary to use camera tricks to get my attention every, oh, 2 SECONDS when showing the latest in bathroom tile patterns?

[FormerDittoHead]

1. Excuse me for replying to my own message, but I just wanted to follow up

<rant>Last night I taped a 'craft' show from HGTV because they were going to show someone making stained glass, which is something my wife used to do before the kids came.

The editing hasn't changed from the OP, but I watched the segment, shaking my head at the gratuitious editing.

As I watched, I started counting at each cut, "one thousand one, one thousand two" etc.

The *majority* of shots never got to "one thousand two", many never completing "one thousand one".

There were THREE shots that got past "one thousand four", one got all the way to six.

I have to admire the amount of work it must take to do all of this editing, but I really don't think it makes it BETTER or more INTERESTING.

I honestly wonder if there was ever a point when someone said, "whoa, too many cuts!", because I couldn't imagine them editing it any more.</rant>

[Longhorn]

2. I have to agree with you.

I find it especially frustrating when they're showing the before and after of a project -- just when you're beginning to take in what the before looked like, they've switched to the after, so you try to focus on that and they've moved on to another view. I don't really get a feel for the changes -- they may as well be two different rooms!

[Qanisqineq]

3. I used to watch Trading Spaces

not only to watch the crazy rooms they designed and the surprise (or horror) on the homeowners' faces, but also to get ideas from some of their projects. Over the years they have edited things to such a point that you can't learn how anything is made. Last time I watched it, the whole show consisted of clips of people acting stupid or annoying.

I feel like a number of shows are hacked to bits now, showing stuff that is supposed to be funny but I find it annoying in large amounts. There are sooo many commercials, every 10 minutes. And the way some shows having "Coming up after the break" previews AND after the break re-air stuff that happened before the break... AUGH! Are our attention spans that freaking short?

With so little time to air the show and with all the editing, I feel like I am watching about 5-10 minutes of actual TV show for every 30 minutes.

(South Korean unscripted TV shows -- while taking commercial breaks either every 30 to 40 minutes or none until the end for shorter shows, they instant replay ANYTHING the slightest bit funny or surprising. Not just once but 2, 3, or 4 times instant replaying that one incident. Grrr!)