What the hell happened to TV in the US?

[Yellow]

Seriously.

I've mentioned before that I don't really do TV. I stopped watching years ago because it was boring, though I do a month or two of Netflix a year when the mood strikes me.

But this week, I've been on my first vacation in years, and I've tried to watch TV at the hotel. Now, I could just wonder about the retards who are writing for the history channel (which is apparently the hypothetical aliens channel now). But it's the sit coms that are blowing me away.

I remember a stint of chrinic babysitting I did about 4-5 years ago, and the kids watched those pre-teen comedies from time to time. No matter the show, they had the same pattern -- one lazy one-liner after another with a constant laugh track. I thought it was insulting, even to kids, but whatever, they liked it.

So fast-forward five years and I'm sitting down to see these shows I repeated hear are "so funny". IT'S THE SAME FUCKING THING! When did this new level of stupidity start working on adults? I really don't see the difference between The Big Bang Theory, iCarly, Modern Family, and the Suite Life of Zach and Cody. (I tried It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia too, but it seems like what they lack in laugh track, they make up for in constant punchlines with an utter lack of cleverness.)

So I didn't have the benefit of a natural progression toward this crap, but I really, really don't understand why more people aren't fed up with TV.

 

[Black Rose]

This is my moms favorite show:

https://youtu.be/FTflLZcUea8

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

From my experience, that average person doesn't have a very good memory and a really short attention span. That being said, it seems that nearly everything has been standardized, templatized, patterned, and the bar lowered. They're pandering to the lowest common denominator in order the get the greatest viewership and extract as much revenue as possible. We have doctor shows, lawyer shows, and crime/police shows for dramas and all the sitcoms are all the same. Did you notice that the show Castle is a rehash of Murder She Wrote? Why are there five CSIs now? It's because the show format works.

I think it's also why some of the new shows on HBO, AMC, and Netflix are so popular. Firstly, they aren't nearly as sterilized as cables television. Secondly, they have writers who are writing for a purpose other than money. And, thirdly, they are closer to being original and new. Look at Game of Thrones, Rome, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, et cetera. I don't watch television much anymore. My favorite shows used to be Modern Marvels and How it's Made. I have to watch H2, now, and Science because History and Discovery turned into reality TV crap (reality TV is a lot cheaper to make). The other thing is that the average person would rather be entertained than educated or required to think about things. I think the average person would rather watch Mike and Molly than House of Cards.

 

[Jennywocky]

Dunno. I stopped watching network TV in general years ago, especially comedies. I think there's been some great stuff happening on cable and Netflix, Amazon, etc. (like Dok says), and that's been worth watching -- it's almost a renaissance of sorts, since production value and writing has improved tremendously, making it a viable form along with the cinema and having the benefit of a longer serial nature to tell the story in, without the studios having to spend $100-200 million and having to pay alot for the big-name stars.

Any time I've had to watch regular TV (like at the gym while exercising), it's been pretty flat. I hate CSI and its ilk, I'm just not into these emotionally flat procedural shows where they pretty much spell everything out from the start and there's no real suspense or brainpower involved. I remember Burn Notice coming up once -- I hated the show, the only bit of "cool" was seeing Bruce Campbell.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I never understood why TV couldn't take a great book, either classic or a book with high reviews (like say, The Handmaids Tale or Call of the Wild, The Women in White, Heart of Darkness) and have screenwriters re-work it and do a series. It wouldn't be movie quality but that's ok. It's entertaining and will have a high audience. Maybe not as high as mindless stuff but you know they'd get decent ratings with enough hype.

Yes, I know PBS has been doing this in Masterpiece Theater or plenty of books being made into a movie but hell they are always recycling inane stuff now like The Brady Bunch Movie, why not this?

 

[TBerg]

House of Cards depressed the hell out of me. Made me think government is even worse than it appears.

 

[Jennywocky]

Meh, I don't think it's that bad.
... then again, maybe I'm wrong.

 

[TBerg]

I could actually handle Breaking Bad better. It seemed less wrong to clean up a personal disaster with murder than to pursue ambition by means of murder.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

The Discovery Channel and National Geographic (now The Sasquatch Channel!) is my lifetime barometer here.

I think it reflects a general economic change of more TVs per household -> every household member of every age group now has their own and thus more viewing leverage, which allows access to traditionally inaccessible (and uneducated) age groups ("tweens," impoverished, etc), thus diluting intelligent adult content at peak hours.

TLDR: Programming quality has declined because of increased exposure and accessibility, while viewership has increased. Also, a lot of people watch such things like Ancient Aliens to actively make fun of them.

 

[Analyzer]

The best channel is the Weather Channel. Local on the 8's especially. It's good background noise and straightforward. Although things have changed now that they feature reality shows.

I think it reflects a general economic change of more TVs per household -> every household member of every age group now has their own and thus more viewing leverage, which allows access to traditionally inaccessible (and uneducated) age groups ("tweens," impoverished, etc), thus diluting intelligent adult content at peak hours.

Looks like TV programming has been subject to the law of diminishing returns, like most things.

 

[Helvete]

Yeah I stopped watching tv years ago and have started again as the people I'm staying with watch it a lot, and it feels rude to solely stay on my laptop and spend no time with them...
'Normal' is utter shit - the same as it was when I stopped, it makes you stupid too, like you can actually notice how it dulls your mind and you think less, almost unquestioningly absorbing the information being thrown at you.

Ads are worse now too. I was watching a film late night and literally every 15-20 mins there's an ad break that lasts 5-10 mins long. I turned it off and went to bed halfway through as I got that sick of how much time was being wasted. I was thoroughly enjoying the film too.

 

[Helvete]

Yeah I stopped watching tv years ago and have started again as the people I'm staying with watch it a lot, and it feels rude to solely stay on my laptop and spend no time with them...
'Normal' is utter shit - the same as it was when I stopped, it makes you stupid too, like you can actually notice how it dulls your mind and you think less, almost unquestioningly absorbing the information being thrown at you.

Ads are worse now too. I was watching a film late night and literally every 15-20 mins there's an ad break that lasts 5-10 mins long. I turned it off and went to bed halfway through as I got that sick of how much time was being wasted. I was thoroughly enjoying the film too.

 

[dark+matters]

Wait... Yellow is green?

I have never purchased a television and never intend to. I only watch YouTube and the occasional movie or borrowed television episode. Even when I go to the gym, I watch YouTube or listen to music. I like the rawness of seeing ordinary individuals who really had something they wanted to say or do.

 

[Hadoblado]

I stopped watching commercial television when I moved out of my parents house nine years ago. At first because I didn't have a television and later because ads seriously piss me off on a whole other level, because downloading/streaming allows circumvention of ads, and because I generally see gaming as a more engaging form of entertainment.

Every now and then there's a series I go and watch, but I'm fairly picky and most shows just aren't worth the effort. I'm probably less dismissive of shows than yellow appears to be though ^-^

 

[DrGregoryHouse]

Yes.

 

[StevenM]

I thought TV always had intentions of putting the person in a trance.

Something with erratic movements will grab your attention and keep it (something evolutionary maybe).

Anyhow, before long, you've forgotten where and who you are as you get absorbed. A very subtle hypnosis takes place.

Working as best as I can from memory, some messages I've seen thrown out from a hair commercial-

Turn on,
the color.
Turn on,
the volume
Thick, plump and sexy,
hair.
Turn love on.

If you decide to just go with it, and enjoy your little semi-sleep, you only consciously register that they are selling a hair product, and can easily miss the sexual cues being anchored along with it.

I know, it's not really a secret that commercials use sex to sell. The point was the slight hypnotic mindset while watching TV.

More than 90% of the time, learning, building and creative endeavours are favoured by my attention, and I hardly stay long enough to watch TV.

Though I find it can sometimes help as a distraction from the apprehension of obsessive thinking or anxiety.

Yet, it's something more that I'd rather do alone. I feel chained to the spot with limited freedom if forced to watch with someone else. I'd rather go for a hike on a nature trail or doing something more engaging if having to interact with someone else.

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

House of Cards depressed the hell out of me. Made me think government is even worse than it appears.

I thought of it as the Evil West Wing.

 

[onesteptwostep]

Watch documentaries or mini-series if you're bored of tv entertainment. I personally haven't watched 'tv' of anysort in any of the countries I've been in for the past... let's see... decade? (haven't owned a tv since high school freshmen year). I was forced to watch tv in the military but that was it really.

Anyway I 'acquired' and thoroughly enjoyed watching The Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and The World at War pieces. Documentaries of economic crises, political figures and past empires/civilizations are fun too.. I can't really remember the names of the ones I watched though at the moment.

But all in all it all depends on what your tastes in entertainment are ^^

Whenever I do get a glimpse of tv now I always look at the commercials and try to figure out how the culture is developing, not to mention what marketing/advertising methods they're employing.

 

[Redfire]

The US releases a huge amount of TV. Most of it is bad, yes, just like most TV anywhere else is bad too. They also made True Detective (best show that ever was), and many other good shows (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, etc). Try Rick and Morty for comedy.

 

[Ostap Bender]

I do not pay for cable TV and only have cable modem which I use for Netflix & recently Amazon Prime. I like the ability to watch on demand and some of the shows I watch I am also doing something else (ie. researching something on tablet / laptop). While I absorb content I pay attention to very few bits & pieces, hence my disappointment with TV & movies of 5+ years. Everything is way too predictable.

 

[EditorOne]

"I never understood why TV couldn't take a great book, either classic or a book with high reviews (like say, The Handmaids Tale or Call of the Wild, The Women in White, Heart of Darkness) and have screenwriters re-work it and do a series."

Because understanding a great book takes a great mind. Modern scriptwriting would chop the story up into "tv segments" ie., six-eight minutes of story to allow for commercials. It would also require the book be "adapted" to a tv-movie paradigm they know will pay off, a certain amount of action, a certain amount of romantic interest, a contrived challenge, some treachery to be overcome and a clear villain, plus a certain amount of eye candy. By the time you got done with Heart of Darkness it would look like a bad episode of "Survivor."
Travis McGee is about to undergo that treatment. Since a quarter of all those John D. MacDonald books was private eye/'salvage consultant' Travis McGee viewing his Florida world through a jaundiced, bitter eye, which doesn't convert well on film, they're starting at a deficit of 25 percent. Since his jaundiced eye saw corrupt humans and an incredible natural environment raped for greed, lose the context and paradigm - we'll get visuals of happy beauty and people drinking in fern bars. You wonder why they even bothered, except then you realize someone told them it was a good series with opportunities for many sequels. So they take the name and the prestige that goes with the name, and they turn it into garbage - much like Florida, ironically.
Bah humbug! You kids get off my lawn!

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Looks like TV programming has been subject to the law of diminishing returns, like most things.

See... snappy little summative phrases/names for concepts like that are what I lack. Life would be so much easier if there were such a thing as a key for translating my thoughts.

 

[Yellow]

.. And, thirdly, they are closer to being original and new. Look at Game of Thrones, Rome, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, et cetera. I don't watch television much anymore.

Lordy, don't get me started on Game of Thrones. I tried reading the books (never saw the show) and I don't get it. Granted, I see why it's popular -- it's shallow, violent, and hypersexual -- but it's not good literature.

Wait... Yellow is green?

yes.. well, I threatened to go on a teal power trip, which, as Jenny pointed out, makes a greenish color when mixed with yellow.

I stopped watching commercial television when I moved out of my parents house nine years ago. At first because I didn't have a television and later because ads seriously piss me off on a whole other level, because downloading/streaming allows circumvention of ads, and because I generally see gaming as a more engaging form of entertainment.

I think patience is a huge issue for me too. Ads are irritating.

By the time you got done with Heart of Darkness it would look like a bad episode of "Survivor."

I was totally with DZ, but you're right. It would be heart-breaking to see that happen to good novels. Maybe we could bring Wishbone back.
[bimgx=250]http://thetangential.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Wishbone.jpg[/bimgx]

 

[ENTP lurker]

I like morbid comedies such as Psychoville (it is hilarious yucky and bit scary) or from same comedy group: The league of Gentlemen (Welcoming sign: Royston Vasey: You'll never leave).
I don't like violence but those shows are stretching heavily the concept of comedy as they break barriers.
Those kind of shows are extremely rare.

I don't watch much TV. Big bang theory is always come cool though.

 

[Perfectly Normal Beast]

The league of Gentlemen (Welcoming sign: Royston Vasey: You'll never leave).
I don't like violence but those shows are stretching heavily the concept of comedy as they break barriers.
Those kind of shows are extremely rare.

+1

i'm struggling to think of any other show that trashed the insipidness imposing barriers of "decency" and "good taste" to the same extent as the league of gentlemen, not merely for the purpose of comedy but also as a means to comment on the darker aspects of human nature and society.

hello dave! you're my wife now.

 

[_whispers_]

TLDR: Programming quality has declined because of increased exposure and accessibility, while viewership has increased. Also, a lot of people watch such things like Ancient Aliens to actively make fun of them.

I like Ancient Aliens. It helps with my sleeping problems

I haven't watched tv in about a decade. My father is the only person I know who still does that. I watch some american tv shows mostly out of habit. I've been watching them for more than 8 seasons now, so why not stick till the end? The new ones I pick are British or Canadian, with the exception of shows that I watch for glbta themes/

 

[Grayman]

I don't mind the dumbed down shows. I find myself to be more productive when they are simple and easy to follow while I do other things. I suppose I could listen to music on the radio... meh even more dumbed down. At best I can do classical since it provides a more emotional experience that I crave every so often... I cann't remember the last time I just sat and watched a show...

 

[cheese]

Dumbed down shows are good for me too. I like having background noise, and I like not having to invest too much in my entertainment. When I want a full-on experience, I go for something deeper. I think it's good to have both, and there definitely is more than just bad tv.

 

[Sinny91]

I don't watch TV anymore, I tune in about once a twice a week for four hours, but the whole of my horizon consists of:

Ameican Dad
Family Guy
Two Broke Girls
Big Bang
The Hotel Inspector
Ramsays Kitchen Nightmare's
Star Trek
Buffy
Charmed
And the occasional similiar 'other'
RT News

I don't know what that says about my mental health, but the other 90% of my time is spent in books, or collaborative research projects online. I suppose I do have a crude sense of humour, but I'm alwayys high. Apart from my 'guilty pleasure's', I find most programs repulsive these days... The whole concept is so detached from reality.

 

[redbaron]

My favourite TV show is Egg Challenge.

Highly recommended for all INTPs.

 

[TBerg]

I mostly listen to WNYC and watch YouTube. In the evening, I watch the PBS Newshour and watch House MD on Netflix while I exercise. Actually switching to a live broadcast of commercial TV is disturbing to me. It turns us into mesmerized sheep.

 

[Pyropyro]

I've abandoned Western TV series a long time ago and I don't like local TV series as well because of the following:

* Milking all the drama - I'm totally fine with drama if the characters did their best to alleviate their problems. Unfortunately, TV characters just like to mope around rather than do something about their issues. It seems that they're always waiting for that manic pixie girl or prince charming to fix them. Come on, at least IRL is more exciting than that -_-

* No closure - series producers simply cancel shows if the ratings aren't good enough. As such, a lot of gaping plot holes are left hanging and I don't get a closure to the story. Even if they do, it usually seems to be rushed since the writers obviously have bigger plans for their work.