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I wish there was another option besides yes or no because there are a lot of variables at play.
I think when it comes to network television alone, TV is horrible. The main networks aren't doing that well, especially NBC. Cable television, both basic and premium, are topping networks left and right when it comes to quality television. rather unfortunate since you do have to pay for cable, but it's also a blessing in disguise because paying for that programing means the networks rely less on ratings.
When it comes to dramas, TV is at an all time high. the quality of dramatic programming is better than I can ever remember it. Serialized shows are becoming more and more popular and topping procedurals in quality (though quite a few of the procedurals aren't that bad themselves). Some of my top favorite shows are dramas.
When it comes to sitcoms, I think TV is struggling. It's long been obvious that the "Must See TV" comedy block of yore is gone. A large chunk of sitcoms are becoming/are stale (e.g., 2.5 Men, The Office, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, even Big Bang Theory). Innovative comedies tat push beyond the typical sitcom mode don't do as well with the masses (e.g., Community). It seems like Modern Family is the only relatively new sitcom earning critical and audience acclaim (it's too early just yet to decide about The New Girl). Most of my favorite sitcoms aren't on network TV.
I think TV is in a flux because the old ways aren't working anymore. TV execs need to find new ways to calculate earnings, new formats to explore, and new ideas to formulate, especially for sitcoms.
More than ever, just a vast sea of excessive long commercial ads, infomercials, worthless reality shows, inferior copycat shows, low quality mind-numbing shows. There are also quality shows, but they often don't get a large audience of viewers.
No. The only thing better is that TVs are more advanced and we now have HD. The programming, which is littered with asinine "reality" shows is not, despite the fact that there are probably 20x more channels than there were 20 or 30 years ago.
There is a lot more crap than there ever has been but the trade-off is that some of the best and most creative TV shows are on the air right now. The emergence of cable network TV shows has pushed television to a whole new level. They have a lot more flexibility than the big networks ever had and because of that, they are producing quality television that this country has never scene. Shows like Breaking Bad, Dexter, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Homeland, Justified, American Horror Story and so many others just beat the pants off old favorites like MASH.
Television is better now because it was never capable of being better than it is now due to the political correctness that the major networks have always had to follow.
More channels and more choices are not equaling quality shows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boompa
500 channels of crap and commercials
Yep, so true.
Back when there were only three channels that broadcast for about 12 hours a day so content to fill these hours was much easier to do. Now there is not nearly enough content for all the channels that broadcast 24/7/365.
That's where all these yucky reality shows come from.
There's more shows today which means more crappy shows nobody will remember in ten years, but the good shows are in a different league from classic tv shows of yesteryear. Something like Eagleheart or The Wire would've been inconceivable 20 years ago.
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