TV Today

[oldunc]

I can't get with modern TV at all. There were a bunch of specialist channels for a while, from MTV and CMT (they used to play music videos) to cooking channels, military channels- all kinds of stuff; they seem to have descended en masse into the cesspool of "contest" shows. The dramas depend heavily on people frantically poking at computers, which is both boring and disturbing, interspersed with scenes of egregious violence and endless dreary stuff about the home lives of the participants, most of whom are either gay or single mothers. The computer people (who are no longer all cute 17 year old girls) somehow know everything without spending any time finding it out. The comedies revolve around people who are incredibly stupid and/or self destructive, untempered by wit or any evident attempt at humor.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I can't get with modern TV at all. There were a bunch of specialist channels for a while, from MTV and CMT (they used to play music videos) to cooking channels, military channels- all kinds of stuff; they seem to have descended en masse into the cesspool of "contest" shows. The dramas depend heavily on people frantically poking at computers, which is both boring and disturbing, interspersed with scenes of egregious violence and endless dreary stuff about the home lives of the participants, most of whom are either gay or single mothers. The computer people (who are no longer all cute 17 year old girls) somehow know everything without spending any time finding it out. The comedies revolve around people who are incredibly stupid and/or self destructive, untempered by wit or any evident attempt at humor.

Check out streaming services like NexFlix

My entry point was Midnight Diner

 

[Redheadlvr]

Too much trash on TV now,such as the dating shows. Pretty boys and bimbos.
Cooking shows that are biased,especially against Southern cooks.
"News" shows are so lame and biased towards one major party or the other. Hard to get real news.
My youngest daughter loves the Dick Van Dyke show.
Speaking of old shows-Rat Patrol.

 

[2HBStrat]

Did anybody watch Bob Odenkirk's new show Lucky Hank last night on AMC? I thought it was pretty good. IMHO, it has potential to be another hit for Bob.

I watched it. I like him and there were a lot of familiar faces in the cast so I will be watching.

 

[Ron R]

There are a LOT of very well done shows on TV these days. Yes, much of it is on streaming services, because all of these companies are realizing that being a content provider is where it's at, now and for the future.
Most of it is also a bit 'dark' in terms of subject matter, but that's a symptom of the times & economy. Much like how Zombie movies and shows always perform better during economic downturns.
I personally could go for more well done comedy, but that doesn't mean the whole lot of what's being produced isn't good.

 

[Ron R]

In the US, Abbott Elementary is an outlier, but it's the only thing on our network TV I'm even aware of (and that's because it's on Hulu). Time separates wheat from chaff, there was also no end of crappy shows in the 70s.

Still. With Oz and then the Sopranos, HBO broke the networks' backs and the delta in quality between cable and network has only gone up since. No comin' back from that when you have to stop to sell insurance and garbage food every 12 minutes.

Ghosts (on CBS) is a pretty good light-hearted half hour of TV. Not sure how long they'll be able to keep it up though.
And hey, The Simpsons are still still airing new episodes.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

Give the people what they want. Always a safe bet.
But then, we wouldn't have had "Twin Peaks," or "Firefly," or "Lillyhammer," "Justified," or any of the other shows that make streaming so much better than "network TV." <sigh>

 

[telestratosonic]

Did anybody watch Bob Odenkirk's new show Lucky Hank last night on AMC? I thought it was pretty good. IMHO, it has potential to be another hit for Bob.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[telestratosonic]

Watching SAFE right now. It's 8 episodes with Michael C. Hall, the guy who played serial killer Dexter in the 'Dexter' series. It's set in the UK (England, I think). Michael C. Hall has a pretty good English accent to this non-Brit's ear.

 

[BluesMann]

Having dinner with friends last evening, we reminisced about TV shows from the '60s... specifically, about creepy, mind bending shows like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. That was also an era of great shows like Combat, Leave It to Beaver, Bewitched, Andy Griffith, My Favorite Martian, etc. Sitcoms galore... and all seemed to have some underlying moral message. (Anyone remember Walter Cronkite's The 20th Century?)

I can't stomach modern TV because it seems to be filled with "reality" shows, which actually seems to be code for shows appealing to people's baser instincts and bad behavior, including so-called "news" shows. Modern "entertainment" has no redeeming quality... just something to hold our attention. Creativity is gone. Humor, even if it is attempted, isn't funny anymore. What is happening to us?

I guess I'm still living in the past. Live streaming has changed everything.

I live in the past as much as possible, it’s a much better world than todays.

 

[oldunc]

Check out streaming services like NexFlix

My entry point was Midnight Diner

I have Roku (which I use more than the cable now) and Amazon. Had HBO for a while. I've found a few modern shows that I liked- Mrs. Mazel, Silicon Valley, second season of Coupling. Most of it I really can't get behind. The characters are mostly pretty intolerable, the general sensibility a sort of dreary post apocalyptic weltschmertz, and the practice of putting out a few episodes and then disappearing for years makes them a very unreliable source of entertainment. Not to mention the sheer proliferation oof material- who has time to keep up with all that?

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I have Roku (which I use more than the cable now) and Amazon. Had HBO for a while. I've found a few modern shows that I liked- Mrs. Mazel, Silicon Valley, second season of Coupling. Most of it I really can't get behind. The characters are mostly pretty intolerable, the general sensibility a sort of dreary post apocalyptic weltschmertz, and the practice of putting out a few episodes and then disappearing for years makes them a very unreliable source of entertainment. Not to mention the sheer proliferation oof material- who has time to keep up with all that?

I find myself watching 90%+ Korean series. I look out for ones that are completely released and have none of the issues you mentioned. As for your final comment, it sounds like the reverse of the old joke "the food there is awful, and the portions are so small!"

 

[oldunc]

I find myself watching 90%+ Korean series. I look out for ones that are completely released and have none of the issues you mentioned. As for your final comment, it sounds like the reverse of the old joke "the food there is awful, and the portions are so small!"

I don't speak Korean. There are about 700 new shows released every day- there may be something tolerable in all that mess, but so much dreck to go through, it's not worth the bother.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I don't speak Korean. There are about 700 new shows released every day- there may be something tolerable in all that mess, but so much dreck to go through, it's not worth the bother.

You don't need to speak a language to watch a video in the language. In fact, watching videos in other languages opens up worlds for you.

 

[oldunc]

You don't need to speak a language to watch a video in the language. In fact, watching videos in other languages opens up worlds for you.

I'm cool with songs in languages I don't know, but TV programs? Well, maybe not knowing what they're talking about would be less annoying, but that's about it for upside.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I'm cool with songs in languages I don't know, but TV programs? Well, maybe not knowing what they're talking about would be less annoying, but that's about it for upside.

You can turn on subtitles.

 

[oldunc]

You can turn on subtitles.

Or I could read a book. Or watch old TV- I lived most of my adult life without TV, so I have a lot that I can catch up on.

 

[bactrian666]

Deep diving into Korean dramas and Comedy on Netflix. Finishing up "Crash landing into you" right now

 

[burntfrijoles]

There were certainly some classics like Twilight Zone and Hitchcock and some great westerns, a genre which I really love.
However, a lot of shows have not aged well. They were so formulaic and predictable (and cheesy). Many were not realistic: husband and wives didn’t share a bed; Westerns painted native Americans and Mexicans in shallow and racist ways; blacks were underrepresented and/or stereotyped, etc. Life was painted as black and white with no shades of grey. The good guys always won.
Children’s shows are much more educational than they were in the 50s and 60s and have a great deal of moral content as well.
Certainly there are too many “reality” shows which aren’t really realistic. Quality content is sparse but I also think there is a great deal of social and moral content in shows like Young Sheldon, Mom, The Neighborhood. A lot of quality shows are being presented on streaming services. Ted Lasso and Shrinking are prime examples.
I understand your feelings but I think your statement about “living in the past” is something that we all fall prey to, to some extent. Prior generations pass judgement on younger generation’s music, art, culture, behaviors , work ethic, etc.
Things change and change is constant.

 

[pypa]

It's not that there is no good tv. It's that there is too much tv, and finding the good tv is really hard. I would like to see someone invent a search engine that shows me what all my friends are watching - not what's trending in the US or the world. I almost always only watch series based on personal recommendations these days. There's some very good stuff out there.
Of course, everything is sequelled and prequelled and extended for 20 odd seasons. The shark jumping point tends to be Season 3 on most series.

I also think today's shows throw the F bomb around too much. It's as if because they can get away with it, they'll throw it in anything (just like new woodworkers put butterflies in everything they build #ifyouknowyouknow).

I like Yellowstone (Up through Season 3)

Also, check out 1883. It'll restore your faith in Faith Hill. But skip 1923. Han So Old didn't work for me.