I’ve been snooping around a little here, trying to get a feel for the place, and there doesn’t seem to be any consensus on the place of television in this forum. Some people want to discuss tv shows, other people don’t seem to want any tv at all. Me, I’m on the fence. I see some great stuff on tv that I’d love to discuss here (and I’m not talking about sitcoms - I don’t tend to watch what the masses watch). So, anybody else have any thoughts on this? No tv discussions? Try to limit them to intelligent tv? How about made-for-tv movies? Discuss anything we want and let the threads die a natural death if no one is interested? Mods, any suggestions?
There’s a season for TV and August ain’t it.
In about three weeks, we’re going to be inundated with threads about the West Wing premiere, the ER premiere, whatever they’ve done to Danny on NYPD Blue, the new lawyer on Law & Order, and dozens of other TV threads.
For the moment, I think people are just enjoying the idea of a “Cafe Society” where serious art and literature are discussed. But while there are exceptions, I think most Dopers are interested in the whole spectrum of arts and entertainment, from Picasso to Survivor. I mean there’s Star Trek the TV series, and the Star Trek novelizations, and the Star Trek movies… 
This is an arts and entertainment forum, which seems to me to encompass professional wrestling and games shows right along with “intelligent” television. If you start debating what consitutes art, you’re only going to end up in Great Debates anyway.
Yikes, the last thing I want is a debate about what constitutes art (I was there for the great outrage thread about the guys who were killing cats and calling it art ::shudder::). I agree with your take on this forum, Virgin (may I call you that? ;)). I guess I’ll post about television events that I find noteworthy, and respond in threads that interest me and ignore others, just like we’ve always been doing.
I watch a lot of TV. Too much…
Two current TV favorites of mine are:
“untalkative bunny” (on Teletoon in Canada) – a 13-part animated series about a rather strange-looking bright yellow rabbit who lives by himself in an apartment somewhere in Ottawa. His best friend is a squirrel. And yes, he really doesn’t say anything: even when he wanders by accident into a psychiatrist’s office and she mistakes him for a new patient.
“The Chris Isaak Show” (on Much More Music in Canada; Showtime in the US???) – Chris Isaak plays himself. A very funny, quirky about the music business. I’m sure that just because “I” like it, it will be cancelled. But who knows… The music is great (there at least 2 musical interludes per episode); the plot usually revolves around some sort of moral dilemma of Chris’s.
Can someone please explain the mermaid to me? I think she’s supposed to be some sort of oracle (almost everything she says is cryptic – at least to Chris). Otherwise, just an excuse for some skin…
The forum description:
Well, “TV” was part of the description at one point, but it the description got changed a number of times. One of the earlier versions was
Our intentions for the forum didn’t change, but the wording did. We figured comedy and TV were subsets of “entertainment” and “art”. I don’t think we intended televised sports to be included, even if it is a form of entertainment. Somebody (it might have been me) said something about not wanting to encourage discussion of stand-up comics, which is one of the reasons we dropped “comedy”. We don’t have a problem with discussing comedic movies, books, etc., here.
The above is just my take on it. Euty and Ike may have different ideas, and theirs trump mine, since this is their forum.
I sure hope it’s okay. I’m working up to a discussion of Campbellian themes in Cartoon Network’s “Samurai Jack”, the show that has made me halt plans to cancel my cable at the end of September.
:::Deletes new thread titled “Was 3’s Company better with Don Knots or Norman Fell?”:::
Okay, I think I got it; if we find it artistic or entertaining, we should feel free to discuss it here. And anyone poo-pooing tv-related themes can ignore the threads they don’t like, like we do in all forums. Sounds fair to me.
(And btw, Norman Fell was the definitive arch-landlord. Plus he came with his crazy wife. The real discussion here is who was better as the ditzy blonde, Crissy, Cindy, or the last one.)
(Oh yeah, Chris Isaak is one of my favourite shows too. I think the mermaid is from the aquarium somewhere, and Chris sits and contemplates her and has these conversations in his head. Very metaphorical, ya know.)
And yet you’re leaving “Beverly Hillbilly Geneology” where it is?! 
I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but for me television just isn’t as entertaining as it used to be. There was a time when the entire roster was filled with sitcoms I avidly followed. The early 90’s had Murphy Brown, Quantum Leap, and Cheers’ final hurrah. Heck, I was one of the people who liked Herman’s Head, if you can imagine. Now I either just don’t get it or have something better to do. About the only primetime programs I watch regularly now are JAG and Friends (and the latter may already be at the “beginning of the end” stage). Xena recently ended, The Powerpuff Girls has been mired in reruns for ages, and I can’t bring myself to watch South Park anymore.
I think CBS did the right thing in developing their reality programming. Both Survivors succeeded not because of the real-life dynamics and the intense drama, but because they were well-produced an edited. In time, IMHO, the other channels will either have to meet CBS’s standards or fall by the wayside. I’m eagerly awaiting the premiere of The Great Race (or whatever it’s called); this has the potential to be an incredible ride from start to finish.
So TV has its uses. But it’s certainly not a substitute for anything. Least of all the Internet.