99% of TV sucks? (movie, the office, hdtv, on tv)

[nurider2002]

couldn't disagree more, didn't watch TV for years due to all the reality shows and formula sitcoms but have come back for Big Love, Weeds, Dexter, True Blood, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, United States of Tara, etc., all shows with great old fashioned values!

[Towhee]

Originally Posted by nurider2002

couldn't disagree more, didn't watch TV for years due to all the reality shows and formula sitcoms but have come back for Big Love, Weeds, Dexter, True Blood, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, United States of Tara, etc., all shows with great old fashioned values!

I am afraid we do not have those on our few channels. What channels are they on? Must be on cable, or satelite. We have neither of those.

[nurider2002]

yeah, that's the drawback, they're all on hbo, showtime or AMC. Several good documentaries on hbo; John Adams doc was great.

[cougfan]

I recently read Ed McMahon's book "When Television Was Young" and one of the interesting things he does is show how many of the popular shows and formats today are not much different than what was on in the late 40's and early 50's. Variations of the same theme.

Plus, seeing ads for a "Giant" 14-inch screen TV was pretty neat!

It does seem that most TV shows today are hyper-specialized to a certain group, where at least when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's that shows were more for the general populace. Of course that is my perception - maybe just having only 3 channels we just settled for what was on at the time.

Then again, I watch wall-to-wall College Football on Saturdays so I won't criticize someone if they want to watch Idol. I just don't get the appeal, though - just warmed over Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts to me.

[plaidmom]

Another "did not own a TV for decades" person who now lives with cable.

I have to admit I am adicted to one type of "reality" show: the cooking shows. Iron Chef and Top Chef Masters. It's like porn to me : I love to cook and I love to watch other people cook too!

I also enjoy some of the new SciFi. Loved Battlestar Galactica and now Torchwood.

[Towhee]

I am almost ashamed to admit....I am enjoying " More to Love" . I am drawn to it like a moth to a light !
Now if there were more shows like NCIS, I would be much happier with TV.

[SVTLightning]

Originally Posted by TheCaliforniaBear

I guess it's good if you want to lull yourself into a TV induced hypnosis. But if you want to watch something of quality and substance that makes you think , you have better watch a DVD, or go online. Because TV is geared towards people with an IQ of 90 and below.

Thats the joy of Living in the USA, you don't have to watch what you don't want to, and with hundreds of channels, there is something for everyone.

I personally do not consider myself a tool, and I can watch a mindless tv show and not think it is the end all be all of tv lol I'm not going to judge others if they do though. you can always use the off button! haha

[ditchlights]

Is it not amazing how you can pay $59.99/month for a "premium" cable package and still find yourself completely disintersted with virtually ALL the selections no matter what time of the day it is that you are channel surfing? I continually find myself watching Sportscenter re-runs or simply turning off the T.V. and going back on-line to city-data.

[anadyr21]

Originally Posted by TheCaliforniaBear

As I look through this forum at the different shows people like, I think to myself "Wow, all of these shows suck."

Then I turn on the TV and once again. Almost every single show sucks.

It seems like it's all just very, very simple and dumbed down. Lame formula plots, stereotypical characters and settings. Cliche people living fake lives. Very, very uninspiring.

Then of course there is reality TV Almost every time. The people on these shows are the biggest tools on Earth, with barely functioning brains and huge egos. And they edit into the show the most ridiculous scenes possible. It's like watching a bunch of monkeys in a cage. And the entire premise of these shows is usually lacking in all depth and substance. Dreadful. Shameful to America that this stuff is popular.

I guess it's good if you want to lull yourself into a TV induced hypnosis. But if you want to watch something of quality and substance that makes you think , you have better watch a DVD, or go online. Because TV is geared towards people with an IQ of 90 and below.

Do you know what happens to the few shows that are well written, have interesting concepts, has an acutal storyline, and/or make you think? They get cancelled. Some get completely overhauled. I'd like to use Boomtown as an example of an overhaul. In the first few episodes (maybe the season, I forget), the story was told out of order. At the end, everything came together and you understood how the first scene was really the last. People complained the format was too confusing, so by the next season, the whole show was just formulaic. There have been other fantasy, sci-fi, and quirky shows in the last 5 years that are lucky if they make it a whole season. What people seem to want are shows that make them laugh, make them feel like they're better than some of the losers on reality tv, or just be plain entertained. How else can you explain the phenomenon that is/was HEROES?

Network tv is abyssmal. Every season, I have hopes for some of the new shows. I suspect the handful of shows I'm interested in will be cancelled midseason.

Now cable shows are where the good tv is. HBO has some really great programming, and Showtime seems to be trying to follow. The History Channel has become one of my favorites too.

[mom2redheads]

I can not wait for reality shows to become a thing of the past.....hmmmm someday! I think it's dumb...people with no talent at all becoming FAMOUS because their lives are full of drama, it is CRAZY! I think maybe the worst reality show right now is Toddlers and Tiaras...has anyone seen that?