Penny's parents were both teachers and thought TV rotted the mind. She was very brainy but somehow I think she'd probably still have been brainy if she was allowed to watch it! OTOH, I don't think she actually *cared* at the time, although possibly she may have thought she missed out on cultural references once she was older (I have no idea, she moved away when we were about 12 and we lost touch).

I didn't have one as an undergrad - we had a shared hired one for the flat - the B&W one was inherited from a friend and came to Aberdeen with me. My current flat screen TV is only the second TV I have ever bought, my previous one having gone on the fritz about 3 years ago after more than 10 years of service.