At some point in the late 90's my cable was turned on by mistake when Comcast was hooking up my neighbor's line. It was in resulting binge of free TV that I stumbled onto Buffy and then the Buffistas. The cable stayed on for ten years, until they switched to digital, and were better able to monitor where their feed was going. I couldn't bring myself to start paying.
Now we watch free Hulu, but mostly rely on DVD's from the library. It means that we are always a year or two behind on popular culture, but with two preschoolers at home, that is our proper position anyway. We've let that go.
So we are currently watching season 5 of Mad Men. And lots of Thomas the Tank Engine. It's the fate we chose.