Televisions != monitors != film.

First, monitors are viewed up close, which means more of the image is in your peripheral vision, where flicker is more noticeable. This is also why flicker appeared worse on a 21" monitor than it did on a 14" monitor. Second, monitors are often displaying large fields of solid color, whereas the relatively low brightness, the motion, and the variegation of the image typically reduce perception of flicker. Third, NTSC, PAL, and SECAM all interlace, which doubles their effective flicker rate. Fourth, it's possible, though I don't know this for certain, that CRTs intended for TVs utilized phosphors with longer afterglows.

Film is 24fps, but each frame is "flickered" two to four times by shuttering the continuous light source behind the film, bringing the "refresh rate" up to at least 48Hz, and as much as 96Hz.