TV time

We stayed in a cottage on holiday recently. The girl got bored so we put on the TV to give her something to do while we settled in the place.

Now we don't own a TV. We don't bother. Between DVDs and streaming services we've more than enough to keep us all occupied. So, in 2002, when L and I did the bit move to London we decided to just not bother getting a TV. We'd just see how long we could get by without one. Turns out, it's been 14 years and, judging from this trip, that's not going to change anytime soon.

The TV at the cottage had Freeview (I think it's called). When I last had a TV there were 5 channels, so I can't really tell the difference between cable and satellite and whatever the other options are. It's like sexing a pigeon – I'm sure I could figure it out if I really had to, but there's not much to gain by doing so.
Anyway, There were a few dozen channels with the 3 or 4 free kids stations. So searching for something to watch was essentially switching between these stations.

We finally found something the girl likes, Nina and the Neurons, a short little educational science show where a scientist (well, really an actress dressed in a white lab coat, because having a conventionally dressed woman and calling it "Katrina and the Neurons" would just raise unnecessary comparisons) answers a question involving the five senses. Plus there's kids to read scripted questions and be dragged around to prove points¹.

The show is 10 or 15 min long. When it came to an end, and the girl exclaimed Another!

We needed to have The Talk. The talk about how TV works. I was expecting to have to do this at some point, but I'd not realised it be so soon.

We can't. It's over. There's no more.

But I want to watch another. I don't like this. (she didn't like the show that was on next)

It's not like I don't want you to see another. It's just there is no more. It's just not on now.

Why can't I see another?

It's not us. It's the TV. This is called television. It looks a lot like watching a video, but it's not. There are people out there who schedule a show. That means they decide when a show is going to be on. And when that show is over. They don't let you see another. It's not us. We're happy for you to see another. It's the people at the TV station who do the scheduling.
After a show is over, if you're lucky they don't let you see another only for a whole day. In most cases they don't let you see another one for a whole week. Or longer. That one Nina and the Neurones is all you get. That is it. No more.
That's why we don't have a TV. It's just madness.

She tried watching another show for a few minutes. And after that we turned off the TV and she never showed any interest in it again.