It would be advantageous if those free channels provided content that people actually wanted to watch…I just drink in the hopes that things will become more interesting!
The worst of TV has gotten worse (I will admit that Man v Food is a guilty pleasure of mine). But in the same token the Best of TV has gotten better. Shows like Dexter, Californication, Breaking Bad, Mythbusters (although it lacks rigor), Burn Notice, Venture Bros. I do think that the trash tv is more prevalent but it is just filling in the gaps where other trash tv has abandoned. Also, the some of the “professional reality shows” are quite good Cake Boss is a favorite of mine. Remember also that the reason why there is more garbage programming is because there is more programming in general.
Of Course since I watch about 2hrs of TV a week you can take my opinion with a pound of salt.
Mythbusters is cool. Burn Notice is okay (maybe more so if you’re a guy). I think I’d like Californication (I’ll know after I get into my Hulu queue). I know I’ll like Dexter (in queue on Netflix).
I’m kinda talking the crap like the "Dancing-with-the-Dark-My-BFF-Got-Talent-vapid -shit that’s starting to permeate the airwaves. It’s been building for a while. I think you know what I mean.
Are you serious?
Of course, rap is so popular, why wouldn’t a TV show about one not be popular? OTOH, that doesn’t make it quality TV or even worth watching when one is desperate.
They don’t assume anything. In fact, they do quite a bit of market research.
Don’t blame the producers for delivering it, they are the smart ones, and in the end the rich ones.
Blame the consumers who watch it. That is the only reason it exists.
All the good stuff is on pay cable right now. AMC has Breaking Bad and Mad Men, the two best shows currently on TV. Neither of these can be seen for free; you either have to have the channel or buy them from iTunes for $2.99 a show. HBO and Showtime between them probably have 10-12 shows ranging from just OK to really good, which I won’t list off here, plus some incredible miniseries and movies made exclusively for their networks. We enjoy FoodTV and Discovery from time to time, with the occasional program on Bravo or Lifetime.
I agree that there is a lot of dreck out there, but there are so many damn channels, of course there’s going to be a lot of crap. There’s also a decent amount of good stuff. I guess you can wait for it all to come out on Netflix eventually, but it’s on TV right now. It’s really not all that bad, if you just pick and choose what you’re going to watch.
Ah, Pay cable. Yes I fondly recall the day when I could afford Pay cable. I sorely miss IFC and Sundance, above all else. If I want access to those channels, or HBO/Showtime, I’m looking at $140/month, which is simply impossible at this time. I’m referring to channels 75 and below. Hell, if I could afford a shitload of channels, yeah, I suppose I could find something to distract me from my meager existence.
That’s the scary part…there are enough people who will consistently watch this shit to justify a second season of same shit. Again, when did stupidity become a desirable trait?
What’s scarier is that Ow! My Balls! has already been on air for decades. It’s just called [Country]'s Funniest Home Videos.
The thing is, it costs money to make quality programming. The British can do it because of their different broadcasting setup and because a series is typically six shows. If it’s popular, it gets another series. If it tanks, oh well, at least everyone had fun while it lasted.
The US shows need something like 20 episodes per series, though, which means higher costs, and since it’s advertising supported, they have to be able to sell ad time on the shows (not as much of an issue for the Beeb or Aunty).
So, shows full of hot young people not wearing a lot dancing? Shows full of random strangers in the world’s biggest living room bitching at each other? Talent contests? Cheap, feeds into the “You could be famous!” thing, and doesn’t require much from the viewer. It’s ratings gold, and will have advertisers lining up round the block to buy airtime.
I’m not defending this at all- I really wish there were more “quality” shows on TV, and if it were up to me then Reality TV would be outlawed immediately- but that’s the only reason I can think of for the current plethora of World’s Blankiest Blank or So You Think You Can [Blank] shows on air at the moment.
It hasn’t been rolling downhill, it’s been at the bottom of the hill for a while now. Every generation thinks it just got bad, and it was better “back in their day”. No, it was always bad, and they’re just mistaking nostalgia for quality.
Actually, some of it got better. Scripted TV, probably due to competition from mindless reality TV, or maybe to compete with movies in DVD sales, has gotten considerably better. Nothing even remotely like Lost or House would have been on the air 20 years ago.
The Twilight Zone and Doogie Howser, M.D. spring to mind. Not that Doogie Howser is in the same “quality” as House, but I certainly see some similarities.
Hence why TV used to be better.
Three facts –
1: There will always be extraordinarily crappy shows on TV.
2: There will always be wonderful, well-made shows on TV.
3: There will always be people whining about fact 1 while ignoring fact 2.
Are you sure it’s that much? We get HBO/Showtime and most other non-movie channels (AMC, Nat. Geo, History, Food, etc) for about $80/month. Still not great, but I think we pay $155 total for our DSL, cable and landline. Dish seems to be having a big promo now for signing people up to a deal and a 2 year contract.
Although- I admit we’ve thought of cutting it back but there is always a new season lurking out there (right now its Mad Men starting next week and Dexter next month). I’m not sure I can wait for Netflix to come out with those.
Burn Notice is awesome. I don’t care what sex you are. I particularly appreciate the MacGyver-style voice overs on how to blow shit up, and fuck people up. But I’m watching it on disc from Netflix, so I guess that’s not a reason to have cable.
We bought a TV and got cable after over ten years without one just because it was cheaper than what we were spending on tickets to see the Bruins play. Live sports aren’t quite as available online as other tv yet. My husband has a surprising devotion to HGTV and we both like the Food Network, but other than well-built sexually-ambiguous carpenters and overly-elaborate cake decorations, I’d just as soon have the set turned off. Truly, even basic cable is a lot more channels than I grew up with (that would be… three) and yet there’s rarely much on I care to watch.
My point is that Gilligan’s Island was just as stupid.
But as for today’s television, Big Love has no analogue from 40 years ago because there just weren’t shows that good on.
Hell even as crappy as Lost is, it’s still better than your average fare from 40 years ago.
If you don’t like television of today then there are one of two things that apply to you.
- You just hate television
- You are nostalgic for equally mind-numbing crap
You mean Star Search?
Actually this isn’t true. Entertainment execs are spineless idiots to a large degree. Some are quite good, but for the most part they are fucking morons. They are so reliant on focus groups that they don’t know why people like what they like without them.
I occasionally catch a few minutes of Bewitched.
That show was stoooooo-pid.
twin peaks
Contrary to the mind-numbing assertion of mswas, television today is of the highest order of suckitude. Flavor of Love, gack. MAS*H yes, it, no.
Hill Street Blues.
Family.
Get Smart
I Love Lucy
All television worth watching. I don’t even bother to turn on the TV any more. When I do, I’m so bored by what I see it’s impossible to keep my attention on it. Lost. OMG, please…