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Comment by jcims | Hacker News Reader

Just watch the intro to an old movie or sitcom that you can remember from back in the day.

I generally used to flip channels or read something or talk during them, did anyone ever regularly sit through them attentively?

If I wanted to read or talk to someone, why on earth would I have the television on?

If it's on, it's because there is something I feel is worth my time and attention.

(One reason I broke up with an otherwise-potentially-serious partner some years ago was that she -- and her family, it was a familial trait -- seemed unable to be in a room for more than a minute without turning on a TV.)

Step by step.. day by day..

Haha why?

In case this is a serious question and not a joke (unclear which it is) then he may be saying that older movies and shows had these longer intros that seemed normal at the time, but if you watch them again now they seem long and boring now. So that is one to show how your attention span has become shorter

That’s exactly what I was getting at... The best is watching it with your kids...they can’t take it lol.

Meanwhile, in Norway, slow tv [1] is quite popular.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_television

You'd also watch a show one episode a week unless it was on reruns. It used to be almost impossible to watch TV for 4+ hours because at certain times of the day, absolutely nothing worth watching was even on.

Or movie trailers, like the French Connection

Here’s the intro to Twin Peaks...

https://youtu.be/i7d0Lm_31BE

I believe Twin Peaks' intro is actually the longest in TV history. It's a real whopper.

I agree that the intro is kind of nutty in how long it is, I also think it’s a great part of the show. It really got me “ready to watch” and brought me out of whatever else was going on and into... Twin Peaks.

That being said, I only first watched the show in the last few years, early 30s. Would almost certainly driven me crazy earlier in life.

It is happening again.

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