A Little Summary of Greek TV

When you don't live in Greece you want to pay extra for it, put a satellite dish on your roof just so you can watch the news and your favorite "Lampsi" type soap operas. Right? But when you come to Greece and stay for a couple of weeks you see that Greek TV on its own is pretty boring or funny, depending on your point of view.
It's a weekday and you've just woken up. What do you see on practically all the watchable channels (all 6 of them)? Proinadika, which means a morning show where you get to watch people in colorful outfits and studios, doing cheesy things to impress you, guests who all repeat the same chewed up answers to interview, and - the latest trend - people singing off-key trying to cheer you up. Depressing or funny? Take your pick.

It's afternoon. Time for coffee and gossip. "Guess which star was caught on camera making out with her fiance's best friend last night?" "I called in to tell you that I'm in love with my daughter's boyfriend and we're planning on eloping together soon." Imagine these statements, a blond presenter and a group of people pretending to be reporters full of insightful information about life in general. Annoying or ritual you love to hate? It's up to you.

Oh and I'm not even gonna comment on the soap operas, because I'm sure I'll get lynched by all of you that watch them. Yes, I know how many of you watch them. The afternoon gossip shows let me know the ratings (divided in quarters of an hour) every day for every show. Fun.

Finally, the news... Oh the news. Who actually watches them with pleasure is beyond my understanding. It's basically a show, where the anchorman/star of the night lets you know that he's looking out for you; after all, he has a look of sincerity about him. Can I talk about the many parathira (windows)? No, because I never stick around long enough to listen - they really annoy me. Star news forever! At least you know you're watching fake news and gossip, and they're proud of it, too.

There are only a few things I can watch and enjoy on Greek TV. Those are shows like Ράδιο Αρβύλα, lots of ΣΚΑΙ programs, only one or two series and night shows on subjects that have been researched on like Έρευνα and Το Κουτί της Πανδώρας. Of course I also watch lots of American series and movies. You appreciate them more when you live in Greece...


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