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The Current state of TELEVISION Shows and Programming

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by mdee, Mar 23, 2015.

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  1. mdee

    mdee VIP Whale

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    As a kid who grew up at the dawn of B&W 35mm Film and Kinescope Television, times sure have changed!

    Seems I’ll get interested in a Series only to find it cancelled within 5 episodes or maybe they will last one Season. It happens so often that I will no longer invest my time in a Series or Spin Off just for the sake of watching it.

    Example: I have followed and continue to watch the original CSI/Vegas for the past 15 years. And I watched the other franchises come and go but this new CSI:Cyber is to put it mildly terrible! I got about 10 minutes into the
    3rd episode and deleted it and then dumped it off my DVR scheduled shows list.

    I continue to follow every Season/Episode of: CSI, The Walking Dead, Justified, NCIS and Hell on Wheels etc… But lately it seems I’m dumping more shows after just a few episodes because frankly they aren’t’ any good or
    their choice of an actor (or actor wannabe) annoys me or the writers screw with the original premise/formula of the show. So now I’m cancelling them! Plus I can binge watch entire seasons of shows like Hawaii Five-0 on Netflix.

    Shows I started watching but lost interest in for one reason or another – The Blacklist, Agents of SHIELD, Hot in Cleveland, The Flash, CSI:Cyber, NCIS: Los Angeles & NCIS: New Orleans. I’m still watching Gotham and
    Sleepy Hollow but will admit I had to fight the urge to dump them as well. I’ll see what Season 2 holds for both. As far as comedies go I enjoy; Last Man Standing, Mom & Undateable (Season 2 just started) it’s great!

    So what about you? What are your thoughts on the current state of television or the way shows come and go or sometimes take a long hiatus only to return after you've lost interest?
     
  2. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    This topic ought to be "prime" for the negative nellies to weigh-in...

    Our family watches a fair amount of TV, probably a lot by some standards, and we find ourselves enjoying the "reality" shows... Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother... yes... even Party Down South, Bar Rescue Real World, Challenge, etc. The wife and girls watch the various Housewife's shows religiously. I use the hell out of our DVR for People Court (love Marilyn the Judge). My son and I watch an awful lot of sports. I guess I have to agree that our watching of "series" types shows is down too. I've watched all three-(3) episodes of CSI/Cyber... I like the graphics... but the reviews have NOT been kind and I doubt it'll survive. We used to be big on sitcoms and I guess now have found ourselves DVRing old ones like Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens and others, as opposed to watching the new ones, with the exception of Modern Family!. Not sure why that is?

    I enjoy news/politics too and find myself watching a certain amount of that as well... alone... rest of the family hates it. Sadly... I turn in earlier than my parents did. They were both up till after Johnny Carson nightly... not me boy... 'bout 9:30-10 is it for this cat.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2015
  3. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    Why so many crime/violent/law enforcement shows? People want to watch imaginary nasty stuff after watching the nightly news?
    I just leave CBS on all day.news in the morning at night it's just running in the background as I am at the pc reading the boards..
    I thought the remake of the 'Odd Couple' may have potentional to replace 2 and a half men as a watchable show but that failed..
    Only show that I miss and would actually change the channel for was 'Las Vegas' on NBC.. Corny as hell but liked it.
    And I miss CNN'S Headline News that used to play on a half-hour loop late night..Replaced by hour long talk shows with hosts discussing current crime topic w/talking head guests just screaming at each other...
    And I miss 'America's Most Wanted' a tv show that actually took a lot of real-life criminals off the street...Cancelled but ratings for imaginary crimes/punishment get the ratings to survive...Rant over.
     
  4. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    I've found that in the last few years I only DVR two network shows. Survivor and the original CSI. I'm a survivor Junkie. CSI has been in a slow decline and for me it's barely watchable, compared to earlier seasons. Like Smartone said I find myself DVRing a few series of reruns: Cheers, Frasier and lots of the true crime shows. Lost, IMHO, was the best network drama ever. I miss shows that have season long, and even series long themes. The original CSI did this to great effect years ago.

    I just dropped HBO, Showtime and Epix from my cable lineup. HBO doesn't have the great series like they did in the days of The Wire, Deadwood, Rome etc. Homeland on Showtime is excellent, but I'll just wait for the BluRay to come out. That is a great show to binge watch.

    Netflix, at least for me, is a better way to go, especially for watching a lot of episodes at once of a lot of great network/cable series.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I've found that in the last few years I only DVR two network shows. Survivor and the original CSI. I'm a survivor Junkie. CSI has been in a slow decline and for me it's barely watchable, compared to earlier seasons. Like Smartone said I find myself DVRing a few series of reruns: Cheers, Frasier and lots of the true crime shows. Lost, IMHO, was the best network drama ever. I miss shows that have season long, and even series long themes. The original CSI did this to great effect years ago.

    I just dropped HBO, Showtime and Epix from my cable lineup. HBO doesn't have the great series like they did in the days of The Wire, Deadwood, Rome etc. Homeland on Showtime is excellent, but I'll just wait for the BluRay to come out. That is a great show to binge watch.

    Netflix, at least for me, is a better way to go, especially for watching a lot of episodes at once of a lot of great network/cable series.
     
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  5. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    i watch very little big 3 network shows....zzzzzzzzzz
    i tend to watch a lot of old westerns from the 50's and 60's that i was too young for when there were fist on.
    gunsmoke, bat masterson,wanted dead or alive, deth valley days.....no commercials on encore western channel
    those were the days when a season had maybe 20-25 episodes.
     
  6. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    Not mentioned but CSI was very unceremoniously dumped by CBS with no announcement. CBS put them on late Sunday which spelled it's death because of football runovers. They cut the 22 episode season to 18 and then George Eads quit the show. Very, very, very sad and a kick to the groin for fans of 15 seasons who watched this show religiously.

    I like the reality shows, Survivor, Big Brother, Amazing Race. Axe Men, Swamp People, Wicked Tuna, Dangerous Catch (the best!), River Monsters (This guy is truly insane). What the South Park boys called "Murder Porn", those shows that dig around inside old murders. I don't know, it just fascinates me.

    I binge watched Breaking Bad and two other very popular Showtime dramas that I am not going to mention because if somebody posted a spoiler I would be very unhappy.

    Too damn many shows about Alaska. Way too many shows about cars. And I just can't get into the Appalachian Mafia stealing each other's ginseng.

    Seinfeld reruns. Some of these shows I've seen 20 times and they still make me lol.

    There a bunch more series that I'm planning to watch now that I have my Roku.

    Oh, and this is probably sick, but I will watch those Hitler documentaries over and over. It never ceases to amaze me how this little failure of a man rose to power and wrought so much horror on the world.

    I never made it past the first commercial break of CSI:Cyber.
     
  7. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    We watch the local news, partially because it is such a throwback and it is sooooo poorly done, but it does hit the small town happenings along the south central coast. Don't watch cable or national news -- that's why we get the WSJ and the LA Times.

    Though there is little reality in all these staged reality shows, we're addicted to quite a few home and yard shows. I guess the one network thing we always watch or record is the Voice. Since Food Network is so much less about cooking we were able to mostly sever that umbilical cord. Golf Central on Golf Channel. Most any college FB game when fall rolls around.

    We're trying to read more rather than simply turning on the brain-number, and with the days getting longer we chase that light outdoors as much as we can.
     
  8. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    Here is my 5 cent analysis. Back in the day, we have a lot fewer TV channels. Therefore, the quality of the shows was better. Then, as cable/satellite exploded and the number of channels went way up, quality went down. A lot of shows are just plain stupid or have that least common denominator appeal. Recently, shows have made a turnabout. There are many newer shows that are very good. Breaking Bad, Shameless, Transparent, Gotham (at times), True Detective, Sopranos, Fargo, etc. Shows with solid writing and solid acting. Shows that have an arc. They have a story to tell and then they're gone.

    I never watch the news. It's depressing.
     
  9. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Sit Coms with the canned laughs...........
    A laugh after every bad, unfunny line, a character says.
    That was and is TV at it's worst.
    *
    Then, Reality TV took over........can we thank "MTV REAL WORLD" ?
    Every celebrity loser can find work, now.
    Bad behavior is rewarded + encouraged........just ugly.....losers.
    ....and scripted as all hell !!!!
    *
    Walking Dead
    How many avenues for reruns can this show have ?
    It went into reruns - as the last premier episode was aired.
    Never seen this happen before ?.........and I like the show --- they
    almost lost me when the group lived on the Vet/Dr.'s farm and the show
    decided to go into "deep characterization" episodes......and we didn't get enough
    Zombie Action.........I almost stopped watching.
    *
    I watch Survivor....use to watch Top Chef.....somehow, I started missing their new season -
    then, just quit watching Top Chef.
    my wife has me watching Big Bang Theory.........it's okay.....sometimes the laugh track is annoying.
    I don't pay for the HBO or movie channels ---
    And I never watch Cop Shows......just doesn't interest me.
     
  10. mdee

    mdee VIP Whale

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    My daily TV viewing habits are from 5pm to about 9pm. I have 2 DVR's. I knew they were shorting CSI for the Season to air the new show but I thought it was a money saving measure.
    I did not realize it was cancelled! I felt it still had some life in it.The only Reality type show I watched was Face-Off which is a Hollywood Makeup Contestant show. I dumped it this Season.
    The Walking Dead went on a Hiatus from Dec to Feb but is currently in the 2nd half of Season 5.

    Andy Kaufman used to talk about TV shows with Dead People on them (meaning Canned Laughter) Now every episode is shot in front of a Live Audience and they feed you Pizza and Water to pay for your laughter.
    We watched an episode of Undateable being Recorded Live at one of the LA Studios and my friend has a distinct laugh. It was funny to hear her laughing when that episode finally aired several months later.

    Pretty sure I've seen all the Re-runs of the TV show - Las Vegas but I'm waiting for the day I can binge on if it ever comes to Netflix! Oh I watched Battle Creek because of Josh but I dumped it after 3 episodes...

    PS: Just started watching iZombie - It's quirky and Fun!
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2015
  11. Someone

    Someone High-Roller

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    I watch a lot of TV and pretty much all of it online

    I am what is called a "cord never" now which means I cut cable TV more than 6 months ago (or that I never had cable which I did for a long time)

    I am also a "binge watcher" which means I prefer to watch several episodes in a row

    I like reality TV probably more than some other types, but sports, cooking shows, documentaries ect can catch my attention as well

    the one thing that has crept into TV that I cannot stand is all the "tension" and "fighting" and the fake and staged aspects of it

    some of it is real and some of it is enjoyable for instance Hells Kitchen would just not be the same without Gordon screaming at those morons, but even then those morons screaming at each other I could do with less of

    Orange County Choppers the Tuetuls CLEARLY have some issues they are working through.....Deadliest Catch again massive amounts of intense stress will lead to the fighting no matter what

    but other car shows like Gas Monkey ect the "tension" and drama is just so fake or some other ones where people argue over how to power wash a greasy differential....I will tune out

    where you can really see the difference and how USA producers and editors ruin a show is if you watch a Euro version or a Canadian version of the same show.....Dragons Den/Shark Tank is the perfect example of this.....the Euro and Canadian versions of the show are so much better and there is still tension, but it is much more realistic and makes sense VS the Shark Tank

    hell Kevin O'Leary is on the USA and Canadian version and he is still the "bad guy" on both, but he is so much better on the Canadian version.....the one interesting thing is I think the USA ideas are far and away better than either the Euro or Canadian and the Canadian ideas seem to be several years behind the USA ones often....I suppose in a country of 10% of the population of the USA spread over more land it makes some sense

    Axmen, Swamp Loggers and some similar shows I just plain tuned out because the fake tension was so bad and same with Top Chef.....Top Chef seems to have caught onto that, but they still push agendas that ruin the show as well, but seems a bit less lately for that as well

    Gold Rush Alaska another I like to watch, but gut the fake drama and the fake "crisis" and get back to people trying to find gold....they will have enough issues on their own without all the staged nonsense

    also some shows jump the shark way too fast.....they go from building a car and showing about building the car to suddenly a staged advertising build with fake deadlines or silly "bets" on completion or silly contest or "events" about why that dumb car has to be built (Gas Monkey)

    or just stupidly all around like chip foose and "stealing" peoples cars with the help of friends to trick it out and the car ends up just stupid and filled with nonsense and 3/4 of the show is "pranking" the stupid car owner.......how about just building a car

    or again with Bravo trying to make one of their reality characters (or a bunch of them) into "celebrities".......uh hello their 15 minutes is over they gave me tired head halfway through the show and I probably do not want to hear about them again

    one show that was great on Bravo that I thought I would hate and that had all the chance for an "agenda" hour was Flipping Out.....one of the funniest shows in a long time and the drama was real because Jeff was such a nut and so non PC.....and there was every chance to take a turn into more of his "personal life" and I think he put a limit on that and I respected that.....and damn he can get after a crew of contractors and design a house
     
  12. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    I love HGTV. Whenever hubby calls to renegotiate our cable/phone/internet package, I always hear him ask "does that include HGTV". In the sitcom category, I really enjoy Modern Family and Big Bang Theory. I like Criminal Minds and Big Brother is a guilty pleasure.
     
  13. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    I couldn't even tell you what sitcoms are currently on or new...

    I'm a sports guy or mighty ships/airplanes on Smithsonian
     
  14. NativeSoCal

    NativeSoCal Low-Roller

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    First of all, with work, life, and Vegas.......
    Who really has that much time to watch TV?

    For me......Sports.
    Any sports, any time...except soccer. I've tried, believe me, but I just can't digest it.
    Sports.
    Sports. All sports.
    Sports talk shows.....PTI, Around The Horn, First Take (even though I truly hate Skip Bayless)
    Horse racing.
    Watch it, bet it.

    Oh, and throw in an occasional HGTV show, like House Hunters, or a DIY show.
    How it's Made can grab me as well. Love the machinery itself that makes things.
    Maybe a car show if they are restoring a muscle car or similar.

    Drama shows? Please. Day to day life has enough drama as it is.
    My wife gets hooked on several....House of Cards, Sons of Anarchy, True Blood, American Horror Story, Orange is some other color or whatever....LOL
    I can last about two seconds with any of those.

    Reality?
    Survivor....Big brother...Amazing Race.......Voice.........Idol.......Biggest Loser (great name for a reality show) LOL .........Bachelor...........Dancing with the D-List Washed up Celebs.......
    These are all, ...... ALL - prime examples of the dumbing down of America. Bar none.
    This is garbage!
    It just boggles my mind what people will spend their precious time watching.
    I would rather have sharp sticks of bamboo dipped in poison shoved into my eyeballs than to ever suffer through 1 episode of a <cough-cough> "Reality show" :bang:
     
  15. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    In another online world a woman claimed the old shows on the freebie digital channels (ME TV and Antenna TV) are so much better than anything on TV today. What a sad life.

    Most of what I think has been said: cable channels diluted the talent pool, so you have to search more for good TV. And if you like junk food for dinner, TV has tons of it nowadays. No wonder the U.S. is so obese.

    I've long held the belief that much of what makes a show good or bad is the writing. Brilliant theory, I know. The jokes of today may be more crude, but that doesn't make them funnier. (Forget sexual innuendo, now you can basically come out and say it.) The Bob Newhart Show is still entertaining because it was so well written. It's dated, but it's brilliant. The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island were never brilliant. We love them for the nostalgic value, but they're not entertaining for us as adults. Good to watch with the kids? Sure.

    You want to watch a classic show that isn't funny at all: Diff'rent Strokes. I grew up with it, and I can't stomach a repeat of it today.

    Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, they follow in the tradition of M*A*S*H, popular shows that are still worth the time today.

    There are still great comedies and dramas being written, and there are plenty of interesting "reality" shows out there. Unfortunately we live in a Jerry Springer society, and there's plenty of programming produced for that audience.

    I can't convince myself to binge watch. House of Cards produces a wimpy 13 shows per year. Why would I want to tie up an entire weekend to watch all of it and then go without for 51 weeks?

    Be it streaming TV or networks, it's amazing how a "season" of a show can be just 10 or 13 episodes. I guess it's better than churning out garbage for the sake of dragging out a series.

    I don't have a TV show I tune into each week, awaiting the next episode. I'm not the only one these days, but I do miss having a show I cleared my personal calendar for each week.

    I do like how much easier it is to spend your winter consuming an entire run of a TV series. Last winter I watched Breaking Bad. Good stuff. This winter I watched Twin Peaks. (I didn't get it.) in the meantime I've kept up with Orange/New Black and House of Cards.

    I haven't had cable for years. I hardly miss it. I like watching sports, I just don't have the time to watch a lot of sports, so I don't really miss out on much that way. Since I can't watch Better Call Saul each week, I'll have to buy streaming access to it. Fine with me. It beats a monthly cable bill.

    It's only a matter of time before cable as we know it implodes. They say that when all TV comes a la carte we'll be shocked by how much it costs to get ESPN and how many fringe channels will die because there won't be enough a la carte buys. Bring it on, I say.
     
  16. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    Have ya ever watched Australian rules football? If not...check it out...Fox sports 1/2/soccer channels...amazing and awesome sport. Preseason just finished...regular starts in 2 weeks...
     
  17. NativeSoCal

    NativeSoCal Low-Roller

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    I'll give it a go!! :thumbsup:
     
  18. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    Excellent...hope ya enjoy it! Hawthorne, geelong, and Sydney are the best teams. I'm a port adelaide supporter...up and coming, young team...exciting brand of play
     
  19. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    I've been watching aussie rules for almost 20 years on and off. Go Cats!

    Also watching the cricket world cup right now online. South Africa just got a wicket. Lol. Why do I like crazy sports?
     
  20. NJS24

    NJS24 Voice of Reason

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    Television, movies, entertainment isn't what it used to be. Nowadays most everything I see on TV is recycled garbage, vampires/zombies, or not so real, reality TV. I suggest the writing is the real problem, as I think there are still talented actors out there ready to entertain.

    So for me, it's sports... ESPN as background noise... The 30 on 30s are fantastic by the way.

    The only two non sports shows I look forward to are The League on FX, and Immpractical Jokers on TRU
     
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