How would Breaking Bad and Mad Men (for example) differ if they aired on broadcast TV or Pay Cable, plotwise? FTR I watch neither show.
More swearing and more nudity, respectively.
Mad Men would not have lasted on ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox, at least not in its current form. It would never have drawn a sufficient audience to please the network execs, who would have either insisted that Matt Weiner dumb it down or fired him and brought in someone else to do so.
It could have succeeded on HBO in pretty much the current form; the only difference is that certain scenes in which a character was naked but had the naughty bits obscured by scenery would have not had the potted plant censor. I’m thinking specifically of the episode in which Peggy lays the smack down on Stan in a hotel room, but I’m sure there are others.
There’s been plenty of lingerie scenes where I’m sure they would have at least lost the top half. If not for the principles (Jones, Hendricks) then certainly for the assorted prostitutes, secretaries and flings who have graces the beds of Draper/Campbell/Sterling over the years.
Having just blitz-watched Breaking Bad on Netflix (a glorious experience for those yet to do so) for almost a week, I can say that the commercial interruptions on AMC are criminal on several levels. If for nothing more than that, HBO would have been a better venue. Showtime has taken the lead away from HBO these days, for my tastes.
If AMC could follow FX’s lead and provide a warning card for the break and one for its return, watching on basic cable could be more fun.
As for the broadcast networks, only PBS would even have a chance at doing a decent job with these and similar shows, but they’d have to be toned so far down that the impact of the show(s) would suffer. ABC, CBS, and NBC will never compete even with “basic cable” for content to suit me. Only CBS carries shows I even watch and they continue to dilute their quality with each new season. “Reality” and “Talk” and what passes for “Comedy” are all that those networks are up to now.
Yeah, if Mad Men was on broadcast TV, they would certainly have had to make the people more likeable and wash out the grety areas that make the show great.
What do you mean, a warning card for the break? I don’t want to be watching a show and see some message pop up that a commercial break is about to start!