SageAgainstTheMachine Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Or any sitcom (or scripted tv show) False. There's tons of great TV out there, especially if you let yourself stray from the NBC, CBS, ABC comfort zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 False. There's tons of great TV out there, especially if you let yourself stray from the NBC, CBS, ABC comfort zone. But the sitcom is currently suffering some pretty tough times. There are great drama, and dramadies, but the standard 30-minute sitcom is in decline. I really liked Better Off Ted, but it didn't make it. Larry David's show is terrific, but I don't get HBO anymore. What newer sitcoms on the other nets (cable or otherwise) do you like, Sage? Maybe I am missing them. I think part of the problem with sitcoms is, nobody can stand laugh tracks anymore, but studio execs are still afraid to make sitcoms without them. But I'm really guessing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Christ Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I have to agree with seeing the BILLS in playoff games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Oh, well he's correct about the dearth of sitcoms, but he also said "all scripted tv shows", which I disagree with wholeheartedly. The only 3 sitcoms I truly look forward to are 30 Rock, South Park and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I also watch stuff like The Office, Simpsons, Big Bang Theory, Family Guy...but those are just for fun, none of them are particularly hilarious IMO. But the sitcom is currently suffering some pretty tough times. There are great drama, and dramadies, but the standard 30-minute sitcom is in decline. I really liked Better Off Ted, but it didn't make it. Larry David's show is terrific, but I don't get HBO anymore. What newer sitcoms on the other nets (cable or otherwise) do you like, Sage? Maybe I am missing them. I think part of the problem with sitcoms is, nobody can stand laugh tracks anymore, but studio execs are still afraid to make sitcoms without them. But I'm really guessing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Oh, well he's correct about the dearth of sitcoms, but he also said "all scripted tv shows", which I disagree with wholeheartedly. The only 3 sitcoms I truly look forward to are 30 Rock, South Park and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I also watch stuff like The Office, Simpsons, Big Bang Theory, Family Guy...but those are just for fun, none of them are particularly hilarious IMO. Yes, he did also mention scripted shows, and you are right about those (if you exclude sitcoms). The stuff from USA, FX and TNT (for example) is of generally high quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 False. There's tons of great TV out there, especially if you let yourself stray from the NBC, CBS, ABC comfort zone. That's very true. A better statement would have been: "anything even remotely watchable -- other than live sports -- on the 4 major networks" I think the last series I tuned into regularly on a major network was Seinfeld. However, HBO, Comedy Central, AMC, etc. have produced some excellent television in recent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Ads for 100 fighting Army figures for 99¢ on the backs of DC comics. Stamps on approval. Selling greeting cards for valuable prizes. Kids! Sell GRIT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Stamps on approval. Selling greeting cards for valuable prizes. Kids! Sell GRIT! Good God. I remember reading that as a kid. My great grandparents had a subscription. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullpen Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 People under 40 posting in this thread. FWIW, I'm 38 (and dreadfully peeking around the corner towards 40). When we'd pull into a parking lot when I was a kid and they'd have people directing you were to go my dad would wave at all of them like he knew them. As a kid I was in awe, my dad knew everybody. Now that I'm an old fart I do the same thing and realize he was just being friendly. I thought my dad knew EVERY single highway department flagman in Western New York when I was a kid. Now, I do the same thing. Carburetors A handwritten letter Milk delivery. "CAR!" ... "GAME ON!" My son's Fairlane has a carburetor, I actually was shocked I remembered how to work on one. We make the aforementioned son write thank you notes as well. When I was deployed to Saudi Arabia, my Grandma (RIP) would send me letters all the time... since she passed last month those have taken a special place in my heart. We actually still get milk delivered (it costs more, but the milk just tastes better). "CAR! "GAME ON!" Man the memories that brings back. One time we got the wise idea to put up a highway barricade to "make" cars turn on a side street rather than interupt our game... yeah, the purple ties came and gave us a rahter lengthy lecture about that stunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly McButterpants Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 VW Vans Car Phones in rental cars Joel Segal Law Commercials Cappy Dick ads in Comic Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Gangs of kids pummeling buses and cars with snowballs (I might be wrong here... tho' it might result in a SWAT response these days). Pogying. Pea Shooters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Yes, he did also mention scripted shows, and you are right about those (if you exclude sitcoms). The stuff from USA, FX and TNT (for example) is of generally high quality. One of my favourite rants, from the last decent show on network television (Boston Legal)... "Americans over 50 make up the fastest growing market . . . The baby boomers, now all over 50, earn two trillion in annual income . . . We’ve got more money. We spend more money. We watch more television. We go to more movies. We buy more CDs than young people do. And yet, we’re the focus of less than ten percent of the advertising. All the networks want to do is skew younger. Kids shows for kids! “What they’re doing intentionally excludes a class of society. That’s bigotry! We should be able to turn on our damn televisions and see something other than reality shows aimed at fourth graders, game shows aimed at those slightly smarter than fifth graders and scripted shows with dimwitted, sex-crazed twenty-somethings running around in suits or doctors’ scrubs! Old people, the ones with intelligence, don’t want to watch that crap! We’re fed up! The networks might think we’re dead, but we’re not. We’re very much alive, with working brains! Give us something to watch, damn it! “You know, judge, in addition to there being little for us to watch, most of it stinks,” he said. Sack then brandished his cell phone. “It’s this thing’s fault! A lot of people are on it while they’re watching. They no longer give television their undivided attention. They’re on the phone, or texting, or on the Internet. So the producers, they dumb down the plots, make them easier to keep up with while their viewers multi-task. Kids nowadays watch an average of three hours of television a day. That’s while being distracted. People over 55, we watch six hours a day. And we really watch. So, why aren’t they programming for us? Do these idiots a favor, judge. Send these network bozos a clue!” - Carl Sack (John Larroquette) - Crane, Poole, and Schmidt link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 "Trick or Treat for UNICEF!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullpen Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Yes, he did also mention scripted shows, and you are right about those (if you exclude sitcoms). The stuff from USA, FX and TNT (for example) is of generally high quality. About all I watch anymore (and I'm not trying to be high-brow or anything) is Nat Geo, Discover, History, MLB Network and whatever local baseball coverage I can get. I honestly can't tell you the last time there was a show on the big four channels that I watched or even had a show, other than the Sopranos that I had to watch each week. I'm not trashing people who do watch certain shows religiously or like the stuff that is on now, it's just not for me and I just don't "get" a lot of it and it's not my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 "Trick or Treat for UNICEF!!!" Actually, that's still going on... Goodwill Ambassador Sarah Jessica Parker helps launch ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ SJP is such a nice gal... link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Actually, that's still going on... Goodwill Ambassador Sarah Jessica Parker helps launch ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ SJP is such a nice gal... link Yes but when was the last time you heard that? Or even anything remotely polite on Halloween. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Oh, well he's correct about the dearth of sitcoms, but he also said "all scripted tv shows", which I disagree with wholeheartedly. The only 3 sitcoms I truly look forward to are 30 Rock, South Park and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I also watch stuff like The Office, Simpsons, Big Bang Theory, Family Guy...but those are just for fun, none of them are particularly hilarious IMO. The whole thread is based on exaggeration, so I'll stick by what I said. Yes, there's good stuff out there, but scripted tv isn't all that far behind the sitcoms. There is far less out there today than there was 15-20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 The whole thread is based on exaggeration, so I'll stick by what I said. Yes, there's good stuff out there, but scripted tv isn't all that far behind the sitcoms. There is far less out there today than there was 15-20 years ago. Far less good shows but 1500 more channels. Go figure..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Yes but when was the last time you heard that? Or even anything remotely polite on Halloween. Kids these days - they don't know the meaning of polite... link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 The whole thread is based on exaggeration, so I'll stick by what I said. Yes, there's good stuff out there, but scripted tv isn't all that far behind the sitcoms. There is far less out there today than there was 15-20 years ago. And I have to stick by what I said that you might just not be looking in the right places. While I admit that I don't like the direction toward which modern TV comedy is headed, there are plenty of high quality dramas out there. Weeds, The Wire, Mad Men, Lost, Breaking Bad, 24 (though it's gone downhill a little), The Shield, just to name a few stellar shows. On top of that, people tend to remember things from the past more fondly than they actually considered them in the present. Was Married With Children REALLY any more funny than Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Eastbound and Down, etc? Probably not, if you watch them side by side. But a lot of people seem to remember it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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