you folks must all be under 35yrs old because i haven't read anything about classic television[in case you youngsters are wondering what that is]it was wayyy back in the days of black and white tv shows[no not black and white people,the shows were not made in color]and there were only four stations[imagine that]but the shows were better than mostly ANYTHING that's on today...i'll tell ya what,turn on[TV Land]and you'll bet some idea of what i'm sayin.

Ahem, any TV made before the Sopranos is not worth watching.

(OK, not really true, but kind of true).

I like plenty of TV from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. But I'm not sure how much business a thread on Cheers or Happy Days or Andy Griffith will get, since the demographic here skews young.

WHat I can't stand (and I don't think this was what Jack Nance meant) is the claim that TV/movies/music was only good before (insert arbitrary date here). If you seriously think that all good TV was made before a certain date, I think you're not watching today's TV shows closely enough, or your simply being biased against an era because you don't want to like the stuff that's out there. There are a half a dozen shows (at least) that are as good as anything that's ever been on TV: Lost, The Wire, The Sopranos, The Simpsons, The Shield, 24.

If anything, the TV today is better than it was in the past, namely because of the advent of cable television. There are a lot of crappy network shows around now along with a few good ones, and that is pretty much the same as in the past. However, what is different today is the arrival of HBO, Showtime, FX, etc, which bring more freedom, more experimentation, and more formats to the medium.

If it wasn't for the dvd player, my tv would be collecting dust. Guess I'm an exception on tv shows. My mom watches the new programs, especially the drama programs. When I visit her house, if I chose a show, it's always a classic tv rerun. Sometimes I start watching the Simpsons but often tune out as it just isn't funny as it once was- especially this year's finale.

Even though I rarely say this about music in the music forums, I would agree that television as an art form is better now than it's ever been. I'm assuming it's due to bigger budgets, but even on the networks, there's been shows in recent years, like Lost, 24, & Alias, that blow anything from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s out of the water. You're seeing big screen quality productions on the small screen.

Yes, it's more professionally competent, but it's hard to find writing and acting as good as "All in the Family", although I respect some of your choices.

The multi-camera, in-studio sitcoms are a little different story. Since not much has changed production-wise on those since the 50s, I'd say they've already had their hayday with shows like "All in the Family", "Cheers", "The Cosby Show", and "Seinfeld". Although "The King of Queens" has some occasional laughs, there's zero sitcoms on the air that I enjoy now. It's time to declare that genre dead. I think they've been replaced by far better single-cam comedies like "The Office", "My Name is Earl", or the sadly departed "Arrested Development".

Exactly...the day of laugh-track, three-camera network comedies is pretty much over. The stuff coming out now is so original that it can't really be compared to the 70's and 80's stuff (keep in mind that "All in the Family" was groundbreaking when it came out too).

Nothing more annoying than people saying "Television isn't good anymore".......before breakthrough shows like The Wonder Years, The Simpsons and Seinfeld, television never even had a single good comedy. Just strings of unfunny jokes, coupled with a laugh track. Then there's the thin dramas that were usually very dumbed down so the low IQers of most of the country could understand them (hence why a great show like Star Trek was "too smart" for the public at the time)......television now is a million times better then it was 15 years + ago....

Ha! Good one, Casper! Way to show how silly the original argument is by turning it on its head and making an equally silly argument.

Well played, sir! Well, played!



You were joking, right?

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I'm turning 29 in September, so it's hard for me to talk about TV before the 80's other than what I saw on Nick at Nite. That said, I'd say it's fairly balanced as far as the number of shows I like from the 80's, 90's, and 00's. I'm a total 24 and Soprano's nut, but my favorite show of all time is still Family Ties

quote:

Ha! Good one, Casper! Way to show how silly the original argument is by turning it on its head and making an equally silly argument.

Well played, sir! Well, played!



You were joking, right?

hey now, he deserves to have his opinion. Some younger people don't understand the appeal of older shows, just like some older people don't understand the appeal of newer shows. And FYI, sarcasm doesn't work as well in text.

Well, SNAP!

Now Playing: "Hearts and Flowers" <-- that one's a little trickier, but trust me...it's HIGH-larious.

quote:

Originally posted by LordSmoogsbottomIII:

quote:

Ha! Good one, Casper! Way to show how silly the original argument is by turning it on its head and making an equally silly argument.

Well played, sir! Well, played!



You were joking, right?

hey now, he deserves to have his opinion. Some younger people don't understand the appeal of older shows, just like some older people don't understand the appeal of newer shows. And FYI, sarcasm doesn't work as well in text.

Opinions are like assholes: everyone's got one and they all stink.

If Casper seriously thinks that the Wonder Years was the first "good comedy" in the history of television, I'm betting that I'm not going to take his opinion as any more worthwhile that "TV sucks today." Maybe Casper is overstating the point for emphasis, or maybe he's never seen some of the funny sitcoms pre-1989, or maybe he lacks context (I know people who can't find 1960's family sitcoms funny because they're wholesome and not edgy at all), but I'm pretty sure I could name at least a dozen funny sitcoms and drama (each) before the 80's.

The funniest part of this exchange lies in the fact that Casper is responding to a pretty silly over-generalization (all TV stinks now) with another, just as silly over-generalization (all TV stinks before such and such a date).

I think since only the great shows from before are syndicated today, it's easy to overlook that most shows from that era were trite little 'our perfect smiling family' shows that toed the cultural 'father knows best' line.

The approach to television was so different then than today it's hard to compare. Back then not a lot of shows had real budgets, and television rarely got movie-level actors. Serials were also more or less unheard of, whereas today the most loved shows are almost all serials (24, Sopranos, Lost, etc).

I'd say the overall picture of television is better today just because there's such a bigger range of what people are allowed to do on television, and because some television is taken as seriously as movies on the production level. But, that's not to say the best individual shows are necessarily from this era.

I love the original Law and Order, Homicide, the Simpsons, and Seinfeld. But for me, TV is better than it's ever been, and all because of shows that have premiered within the last 6 years or so: Deadwood, the Wire, Sopranos, Lost, the Shield, 24, Battlestar Galatica, the Office, My Name is Earl, Veronica Mars.

You had to be there to really appreciate it. I am also of the opinion that using "The Simpsons"
and "The soprano's" as example's of TV excellence, is ridiculous. Check out "Gunsmoke"
or "Little House On The Prarie". At least you can watch these shows with your children. I would not let my kids watch the simpsons, because I dont want them to get the idea that kind of smart aleck behaviour is acceptable.

Matt
San Rafael, Ca

quote:

Originally posted by emjee:
You had to be there to really appreciate it. I am also of the opinion that using "The Simpsons"
and "The soprano's" as example's of TV excellence, is ridiculous. Check out "Gunsmoke"
or "Little House On The Prarie". At least you can watch these shows with your children. I would not let my kids watch the simpsons, because I dont want them to get the idea that kind of smart aleck behaviour is acceptable.

Matt
San Rafael, Ca

I don't think many of us use family-friendliness as a criterion for good entertainment. Personally, I can find more cleaverness in one episode of The Simpsons than the dull Little House on the Prarie had in it's entire run.