TiVo has a (sometimes) nifty feature where it will suck down shows that it thinks you might enjoy based on what you watch and what you've given thumbs up and thumbs down to. Sometimes its choices are really odd (The View? Seriously, WTF?) but occasionally it finds something I like. Case in point, this weekend it grabbed an episode of The Oblongs, a short-lived and quirky little animated sitcom featuring the voice talents of Will Farrell and Amy Smart. I happen to like the show, so I sat there and watched it, and then got annoyed.

For whatever reason, television networks of this day and age have decided that they need to bombard viewers with extraneous information while they are trying to watch their favorite shows. Memo to Network Executives: STOP IT.

I took some screen grabs from the episode to show you why I might be bothered by this. Check out Exhibit A:
You'll notice that the network, tbs, feels the need to inform me of what show I'm watching. This isn't unusual, but it's a relatively new graphic that probably started appearing within the past ten years. Of course, it is simply a waste of space for someone like me who has a DVR that gives him not only the name of the program, but the episode name, actors, original air date, similar programs, etc. But not everyone has one of those, I admit. Then again, this is a cable network, and any cable box I've seen in the past several years has come with a built-in guide that performs similarly. Hell, my parents, who still live in the land of broadcast-only stations, have a guide on their tv (I assume mostly to let them know which version of CSI or Law & Order they are watching). So, really tbs, how many people are benefiting from this?

I'm willing to let that one slide, even though it bugs me. This next example, though, is inexcusable. I present to you Exhibit 2:
Mein Gott in Himmel! What the fuck IS that thing? It's taking up a full 1/4 of my viewing area and is even completely obscuring one of the main characters in the scene. You can't tell because it is a still but that graphic also did some kind of crazy animation and may have made sound effects too. I've harped on that particularly annoying trend in the past, too.

I can only imagine that this tactic will get progressively more asinine until we reach the point where we are basically watching ads with actual programming content just thrown in for color. Point your eyeballs in the direction of the (hypothetical) Exhibit Charlie:

Scary, but not far from the truth.