All the Finns and Swedes I've met who speak perfect English say they learned from watching TV and movies. So much for everyone in America in the 90s who said you couldn't learn languages from the TV. They were WRONG!

I also have trouble with the news, but I enjoy commercials, sitcoms, and game shows. We have Family Feud, and Jeopardy ("Your Game"), in which the contestants wear cloaks for some reason. I like those shows because if you miss something, you aren't handicapped for the rest of it. Oh, also Taxi, which is like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, but takes place in a taxi that someone flags down, and then when they get in, the lights come on and the host/driver turns around and starts asking them questions.

Russia must make its own soap operas but the only ones I have seen are Spanish and dubbed. Oh and Grey's Anatomy. That might be another good way to go--watch shows that you've already seen that are dubbed properly, without the bleedover, and with more than two voices for the characters.