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Why is TV so dark today?

Discussion in 'TV, Music and Movies' started by Unlucky 13, Jul 22, 2014.

  1. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    Honestly people aren't dumb. Life isn't all rainbows and unicorn queefs. We know that. So dramas, and things like True Detective, while ****ed up, have stories and acting well beyond the cookie cutter tv sitcoms.....that make you want to watch, and can truly attach to it as if Woody Harrelson or MM were actual people you knew, not cardboard dads like Danny Tanner.

    I know my wife and I are in our late 20s and early 30s, and we can sit down and watch Brooklyn 99....which is hilarious...but we never consistently watch it to the point where we KNOW Sunday nights is Game of Thrones.....we KNEW Wednesday nights were BREAKING BAD.....and we KNOW Thursday nights are Sons of Anarchy.

    People since the dawn of time like fighting, blood shed, drama, crooks, cops and robbers, high speed chases, train robberies, gladiators you name it.

    Comedy has it's place too. As does chick-flicks and feel good movies. I watched "PS I love you" the other day.....other than Gerrard Butler making my ***** feel funny. It wasnt a bad movie.

    On the flip-side of stuff....I used to watch pro wrestling in the 90s and I saw everything from gushing blood, to titties, to broken bones, cuss words and middle fingers. I watch it now with my son, and no one "blades" (makes themselves bleed) and they bleeped out the "B" word this past Monday night. It's all cyclical.
     
  2. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    It's an acquired taste but I love The Americans on FX right now.
     
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  3. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    No here believes you're only assuming those things just now.
     
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  4. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    Oh and I missed the Sesame Street crack from earlier. My guess is Todd never made it past season 1. It was a mid season show with a tiny budget. Things got a lot better with season 2 but they never gave it a solid budget until season 4 when it finally got the standard $2 million per episode budget that most shows got back then. Odd how it got Emmy noms etc for makeup/hair etc for looking like Sesame Street ;p

    Seriously Todd do yourself a favor and just watch a couple episodes as standalone. Hush and The Body are a great start.
     
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  5. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Was there any question? I mean what else could you be looking for when you Google "Big Bird"?
     
  6. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I totally get where you're coming from. Obviously, life isn't always wonderful. I'm not looking for shows that make it look like it is either, but I also guess that I need a show to have a certain sense of hope as well. Life may not be perfect, but for me, thankfully I don't know any killers, or drug dealers, or anyone else like that, and I just plain wouldn't associate with people who were like a lot of the characters in these shows seem to be. I guess if I'm uncomfortable watching a show, I just can't enjoy it. If 90% of the characters are people who I cannot relate to or wouldn't want to be near, its hard to get attached.

    An example of what I enjoy would be Almost Human, which was cancelled so quicky this year. The lead characters were people I could get behind and supprort, despite being very flawed. It was smart and had a good wit, and even though it was set is a distopian near future, there was the hope that the characters could make a difference.
     
  7. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    FX is hit or miss.

    The Americans and American Horror Story are good. I've heard great things about Sons of Anarchy and Louie but have never seen either.

    Tyrant is horrible. The Bridge was mediocre.
     
  8. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Hush, The Body and Once More With Feeling are staples on any list of the Top 100 tv episodes of all time
     
  9. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Bates Motel is another great, genre show.

    Vera Farmiga is just tremendous and deserves an Emmy nom. And she's a MILF too, lol
     
  10. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Yeah, those are all shows that I would never, ever watch. I hate horror in all phases, and that show looks totally F'd up.
     
  11. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    AHS is a weird case. It always starts out great and then goes completely off the rails in the last 3-4 episodes. Ryan Murphy has great ideas but they all fizzle out.

    The Americans is a great show. Great performances and surprisingly good action. Also, every so often you can see Kerri Russel's ***, which is worth the price of admission.
     
  12. Limbo

    Limbo Mad Stillz

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    Seinfeld is hands-down the best sitcom of all time.

    I actually consider Sex and the City to be among all-time great shows (worth noting it started in '98). I know I'm probably in the minority on this on a football site, but that show was very very sharp while also being groundbreaking.
     
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  13. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    To me Seinfeld and the Simpsons first 10 years are the best sitcoms ever produced. Still relevant and quotable to this day.

    Literally every situation in life was covered by Seinfeld or The Simpsons first decade.

    It's actually a shame that Simpsons has hung around so long. It's not terrible per se, but it's no longer memorable or unique and it's been mediocre longer than it's been great at this point, which is sad.
     
  14. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    Honestly, a GREAT show that my wife and I love is "Parenthood" on NBC. Deals with a son with asbergers, family issues, families coming together, adoption, kids leaving for college, family bonding at the grandparents house (the grandpa played by Craig T Nelson)...the acting is awesome, the writing is good, I come from a big family and it reminds me of my family and siblings. Awesome show. Real good.
     
  15. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    This kind of a golden age for horror/sci-fi/fantasy on tv, and in general.

    The Strain has me hooked and we also just started watching Penny Dreadful, which is terrific. It's what the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen wanted to be but failed miserably at (the movie that is, not the comic).
     
  16. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I cannot fathom why that movie gets such hate, lol. I really enjoyed it and watch it when I see that its on TV a few times a year. Its fun, it moves fast, and while the characters aren't deep they have a good back and forth. Is it because it doesn't live up to the source comic? Otherwise, I don't get it.
     
  17. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I only saw it in once, in the theater, and hated it from the opening credits, lol.

    I wasn't even familiar with the comic at the time. Just shoddy directing, an incomprehensible plot, lazy acting. It was just the total package of badness.
     
  18. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    Season 1 was great. Season 2 I had issues with, but I think that's more along the fact that I thought they criminally underused Emma. Especially with the Tara Reid wannabe gone.

    For really newer shows I'm actually enjoying Syfy's Dominion. Nothing amazing......but better then what SyFy's been putting out these last several years.
     
  19. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    The whole marijuana storyline was kind of silly and just made you realize the show is kind of a waste of time every minute Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore aren't on screen.

    But it's still pretty amazing that the show is compelling when everybody already knows how the story eventually ends. Most prequels are pointless. This one is really good because the show is so good at illuminating that Norman didn't have to turn out the way he did and that numerous people could've helped him, mostly his mother, who instead completely f'ed him up even worse.
     
  20. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    pretty simple answer. push the envelope to get higher ratings. today's shows are doing it with darkness. shows in the 90s like the Simpsons pushed the envelope for what was deemed inappropriate for animation, south park took it to the next level. drama shows got boring as hell. how many remakes of ER before people give up?
     
  21. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    No, I'd have to disagree with the fine points.

    In broad strokes, yes; the volume of bad TV in the '90s was greater than now. But, on the other hand, there is some downright hateful, shrill **** on now like 'Duck Dynasty,' and 99% of reality television, and the pap that passes for scripting and acting on the CW, and countless other ****, too.

    But in the stratosphere of both eras, there is quite a lot of quality. I love 'Hannibal,' and it may well end up being the best series ever on TV; but you could argue that 'Twin Peaks' was both seminal and iconic, and that without the latter, the former might not even be allowed on the air today.

    And while there is a lot of comedy on now, most of it is legacy and coming up on its home stretch in only 5-7 seasons, while 'Frasier' went 11 and Friends went...I don't know, however long. It seemed like forever to me, a non-fan, but that doesn't make it bad any more than 'Community' just because I'm not its core audience and I don't get the attraction.

    And 19 of 20 new comedies are not getting past their first seasons; 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' was the sole exception from that group. Whereas, with 'Seinfeld,' 'Friends, 'Frasier' and others of that time, TV comedy flourished.

    And while, thanks to the contributions of Netflix and Amazon you have seminal, exciting and pioneering stuff now like 'House of Cards' and 'Orange,' and payers like HBO and Showtime give us 'Games' and 'True Detective,' and even on networks you have 'Hannibal,' there is NOTHING on TV now that could ever be as seminally important to the art form as 'NYPD Blue' was in its time; no sitcom now or in the foreseeable future with the wit of 'Frasier,' nor the warmth of 'Raymond,' nor the sheer, joyously-audacious inventiveness of 'Ally,' nor the emotional depth of 'Northern Exposure.'

    I would say that, on the whole, we have a greater volume of what can be regarded as "great" TV, thanks to a greater number of outlets for creators. And that's only going to get better as Hulu+ and others get into the fray—before you start to see a consolidation of outlets, and then the volume will follow.

    And while we've discussed just the mainstream, you can't ignore that throughout the '80s, '90s and '00s, we had no shortage of space operas—REALLY good-quality stuff, too—while we now have: ZERO. That's an area where we've gone from plenty to nothing at all, and it has to be included in the equation; which then tips the balance firmly into the past.
     
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  22. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    Yo...

    No. You lost me at 'Up.'
     
  23. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    'Blue' and 'L&O.'

    'Northern Exposure' and 'Deadwood.'

    You know...'The Wire' was most definitely NOT what a lot of you guys make it out to be; it was not groundbreaking, its innovation was marginal and partially derivative at best, the acting was fine, if hackneyed in terms of the portrayal of the black characters. There were at least 3 shows on that were better AT THE TIME, not to mention before and since.

    Sorry, but I've wanted to get that off my chest for a while now.
     
  24. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    It's true; while 'Buffy/Angel' was not my cup of tea, they were important to everything that followed.

    What a ****ing shame about 'Torchwood;' LOVED that show. Americans got hold of it and it wilted like a rose in a vampire's presence.

    'Spartacus' sucked the *** of Satan; has there ever been a worse piece of **** that actually got filmed and broadcast? And I can't think of a better metaphor for the lack of taste of the TV audience today than 'Glee.'
     
  25. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Glee wouldn't be something that I'd watch on my own, but my wife has enjoyed it, so I've seen a good bit of it. I would say that one person can enjoy something and another cannot, but that doesn't make it garbage. Its first few seasons were generally well written and acted, and the actors really can all sing well. The show can and could be rediculously silly at times and completely lose any grip on reality, but at the same time, be making a positive point and taking on a serious issue.
     
  26. cuchulainn

    cuchulainn Táin Bó Cúailnge Club Member

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    Well hang in there... and if you need it, Sick will lend you some of his chick-flicks and his Gerrard Butler ***** tickler. :shifty:
     
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  27. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    LOL, most of the time I just play around online and wait until its my turn to have the TV so I can play video games.
     
  28. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Did you ever see it?

    It is simply a great movie, animated or not.

    Same thing with Wall-E.

    Being a father of 3 young kids I see most of the kids movies and a lot of them are far better than most of the "adult" movies out there.
     
  29. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Glee was actually good the first two season when it was a dark comedy.

    It turned into "moral lesson of the week", stopped being funny and the best character on the show was smashed in a car wreck, paralyzed, miraculously cured, then marginalized the rest of her run.
     
  30. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    my bad, I thought I recalled you responding in FanHell that you were a big fan of The Wire when I suggested Luther season 1 was about as good as it.
     
  31. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    That's funny, I was gonna mention 'Luther' as better television. Has the movie gotten off the ground yet? What a great premise. Watch 'The Shadow Line' if you liked 'Luther.' Amazing.

    No, I liked three of the five seasons of 'The Wire.' I even liked the one everybody seems to hate, the waterfront season. I just didn't see anything special. Everyone references that one scene where they say nothing but "****" for like 7 minutes, but that's not clever, it's not witty; it's juvenile.

    And that Omar **** was NOT RIGHT. No way he goes out like that, that was some serious BULL****. I think they just ran out of **** to do with the character and thought up some perverse way they could off him while seeming all edgy. Bull**** is what it was.
     
  32. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    Sometimes, I get this feeling that someone takes over your account and posts for you.
     
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  33. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    IDK when it's due but it's definitely under way. Will be interesting to see where they go with it. Shadow Line is another of your recommendations that I already have saved on my IMDb watch list. One of these days I'll get to it, probably after I start Leverage.

    Sh*t I cant even remember how The Wire unfolded, what happened when, or how Omar's fate was met. I enjoyed the show immensely, but if it were on today I'd probably hold it in slightly lower regard, just as I would Lost, 24, and Nip Tuck even though they were in my top 5 all time back then.
     
  34. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    I liked the wire. The first 3 seasons. The last one was ridiculous.
     
  35. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Lol, nope.

    Not embarrassed by either of those things. I have a varied taste.

    But anyone who doesn't think Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3 are great movies has no soul.

    Wall-E (along with Dark Knight) was responsible for the Academy expanding the Best Picture field when there was outrage it wasn't nominated. Then Up and Toy Story 3 were nominated for the big prize the next two years.
     
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  36. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    I will agree with Todd on one thing. Donna and Louis Litt are probably the best supporting characters on tv today:

    [video=youtube;HGn7GFjVHCo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGn7GFjVHCo[/video]

    [video=youtube;lJjVVpfjQHA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjVVpfjQHA[/video]

    [video=youtube;Xj5TIqrlXdU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj5TIqrlXdU[/video]
     
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  37. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    Or just Louis Litt solo is awesome:

    [video=youtube;0VJian_Nh9M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VJian_Nh9M[/video]
     
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  38. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    Oh I definitely agree that there's also just as much garbage on today's television, if not more thanks to the presence of more networks/channels, but thankfully I don't have to watch any of it thanks to all the quality TV available. Was that as possible twenty years ago? Nope. Overall it was an unimaginative, confined selection compared to today IMO.

    I get that some of those shows were pioneers and necessary for the advancement of television programming, but that doesn't make their quality better than today's stuff in head to head comparison, and that's specifically what I'm discussing here- the overall quality.

    As for those sitcoms enduring longer back then, why wouldn't they with so little competition and so little variety available? What were the alternatives in 1999 during Friends' 6th season?
    Whose Line is it Anyways [ABC]
    Diagnosis Murder [CBS]
    World's Wildest Police Video's [FOX]
    WWF SmackDown [UPN]
    Popular [WB, spring]
    Charmed [WB, fall]
    It's a Miracle [PAX]
    A-Team reruns [Bravo]
    Grace Under Fire reruns [Paramount]
    Eastenders [BBC1, if you got it]

    How many alternatives are there tomorrow night at 8pm?.... and how long would it take viewers to grow bored with Friends with all these alternatives?
    Would Friends be any better or more watched of a show today than Modern Family that's won 4 straight Emmy's for Best Comedy [not including its chance to win again this year]?
     
  39. cuchulainn

    cuchulainn Táin Bó Cúailnge Club Member

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    Wait... Maynard is Louis Litt? :shifty:
     
  40. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Modern Family is the one good comedy and it is about Friends level. I did get bored with Modern Family quicker. Still you would have to look at it in a vacuum where there aren't a bunch of Friend rip offs.

    There is so much terrible crap on television. I never thought I could be a no cable type of person. Yet, I don't have cable and I don't miss it. Everything on today is such a waste of time. There are 4 Karaoke shows?
    So many shows with rich spoiled people acting like jerks.
    TMZ

    T.....M....Z....?!?!?!?!?!??!?

    There is a lot of good quality TV now, however there was a lot back then. It was a different time. Friends wouldn't be getting HUGE ratings.

    I miss Prime Time :(
     
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