My ex used to do the total control with the remote thing too.
I had a studio back then
and would do a lot of work at night in my favorite chair
while watching tv.
I finaly went and bought
(breaking technology for back then)
a CD walkman.
And I sat , drawing, painting, beading or whatever
in the chair right next to him
and never looked up.
Justy in my own private Idaho
and you know what?
He never flicked channels again.
It proved to me
it was nothing more than a control thing.
He'd just sit, drink, and pass out.
Then - I'd tune the tv into what I wanted to watch.