This week’s edition of Ten On Tuesday recognizes that fall isn’t just back-to-school season, “it’s back-to-the-couch to-watch-TV” season too. Old favorite shows come back with new episodes, and potential new favorites are introduced (or die within three weeks). “10 Great/Awful Things About Television Today” will be divided into two parts, five of each.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first:
- 200+ channels, and so little worth watching. I guess when you have that much space to fill, a lot of it will be, by definition, “filler,” which is frequently a synonym for “crap.”
- Not enough options for the family to watch together. Granted, this is more complicated at our house, since we have a 14-year-old and a 9-year-old, and at times that five-year gap feels a lot bigger, but even without that, family viewing at our house mostly reality shows like The Amazing Race, American Idol, and Mythbusters.
- Lack of originality and excessive self-reference. Remakes, reruns, and borrowed concepts on the one hand; on the other, stuff that you’re afraid to admit you just don’t get because it’s so “insider.”
- Similar to the second item I mentioned, but not the same: the general sleaze factor. It permeates nearly everything – language, style, attitude. The tabloids have taken over in almost every kind of programming, and there are so few boundaries anymore. Some boundaries are actually worth keeping up, in my opinion.
- The commercials. There have always been bad commercials, but the bad ones seem worse than ever.
But there’s good stuff too:
- The good shows are very good – smart, original, and not insulting to your intelligence (although they may require a LOT of suspension of disbelief, especially if they are 24.) The Emmys got one thing right: 30 Rock is the best comedy on TV, and I’m still riveted by Lost.
- The DVR. It has restructured how we watch TV, and we can’t go back – besides, it lets us skip over the bad commercials.
- 200+ channels, and there’s probably at least one that matches your own very special interests…
- The technology. My husband could expound more on this, but the TV sets themselves have amazing picture and sound quality. (Heck, when I was a kid, we still had a black-and-white TV!)
- The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. We could not survive these crazy political times without them.
What do you think is good, and not so good, about TV these days?
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I have to admit that I LOVE a show that’s probably not so good – Dancing With the Stars. It’s the only show I make sure I watch each week.
Kathy (Bermudaonion) – That’s one that I haven’t been sucked into yet, but I do follow it online so I know what people are talking about :-).
I have to say – I don’t love reality shows (with the exception for Project Runway). I like “stories” and feel like a few of my recent favorites that were cancelled may have done better before the reality show craze started…
We are a devoted Amazing Race and American Idol family (The Mole, too, when it’s on).
The commercials bother me quite a bit. We like to watch Reba reruns on lifetime in the evenings (I have a 6 year old girl and 10 year old boy, and it’s one show that we all – including hubby – agree on). The problem is that there are often commercials for Desperate Housewives (among other things). When there are nearly naked people rolling around on top of each other in a commercial during a family friendly show that runs around 6pm, I think that’s a problem. My son has learned to cover his face when he sees the beginning of one of those, and I try to hit pause, but I don’t always get to it in time. I would hate to have to stop watching a show we all enjoy, but it might come to that. I don’t consider myself a prude, but there are some things my children just doesn’t need to see.
First of all – I’m also a fan of boundaries! And good taste, which doesn’t mean priggishness, but come on….
The best show on TV these days in my opinion is MAD MEN on AMC. It might be the all-time best, actually. It’s that good.
On the family-viewing front, we have a great time cheering together during AMERICAN GLADIATORS (no, really) and it actually carries some great sportmanship messages. Also AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS – an oldie but goodie that makes us all laugh. Oh, and HOW IT’S MADE is fun for all (in addition to the ones you already listed).
I wholeheartedly agree that the pickins are slim! I miss the old days of just few channels – narrow bandwidth. Bring back the gatekeeper! :^)
Well, LOST is the best show ever in my opinion but we only have two short seasons left. 🙁
I also think Pushing Daisies is a fantastic and smart show but so highly stylized I know that it leaves some people cold.
I also love Gossip Girl (total smut) I just can’t help it.
I’ve never really gotten into 30 Rock (sorry!) but I don’t like comedies so much. I don’t watch the Office either. The only one I watch is Samantha Who.
For families, you are right though…there’s just not much on.
Kate – I was anti-reality shows for awhile myself, and I still avoid many of them. My husband was actually a reality-show virgin till I introduced him and the kids to The Amazing Race and American Idol; I THINK he’s forgiven me :-).
Traci – I agree. Ideally, the commercials that run during a program should fit with the show somehow, and “adult” TV shows wouldn’t get promos aired during “family” shows.
We do avoid some of the really tacky commercials because we don’t watch a lot of sports on TV, though.
Anna – I know you’re a big fan of Mad Men, and I hear nothing but good things about it, but my loyalty to a drama that was introduced to basic cable in summer 2007 belongs to Burn Notice :-).
Sometimes fewer choices actually are preferable, I think.
Amy – I so agree with you about Lost. I plan to savor these last two seasons, and I’m eager to see how well everything gets tied together (at least, I hope it will!).
30 Rock is actually a little guilty of the “insider” thing I mentioned, but I forgive it because Tina Fey is a nerd goddess :-).
I am new to the reality TV game. I thought it would just go away after a couple of seasons. How dead wrong I was. Sunday, feeling blue and disconnected from my fellow man, I watched a marathon of “Tabatha Takes Over” on Bravo, and I have to say, it kinda shook me outta my funk. “You’re a selfish ASSHOLE!” I caught myself screeching at the hairdresser who wasn’t getting with Tabatha’s program.
My major favorite “real” shows are on cable, with HBO’s “Big Love” leading the pack. Followed by “Dexter”, “Weeds” and “The Tudors.”
Thank God at least ONE of those is playing at all times. My sanity requires mini-vacations in order to survive…
One show that I forgot that falls under your sleaze factor: TMZ. How does that become a show?
I agree with The Daily Show and Colbert. It’s fun watching them catch the candidates in lies. Better than amy other news coverage. 🙂
Great post. Although I’d have to toss in my favorite Mad Men as a reason we should still own TVs. And, I definitely agree with the DVR comment – I could not live without it. Or so I thought. But lately I’ve found myself watching more and more shows on my computer. It started with the conventions, and now it’s happening more. Mostly because I can’t let the new puppy in the rooms with the tv’s so I started investigating Hulu.com, etc. But, it’s starting to become a habit.
Diane
p.s. Thanks to for the link in an earlier post this week.
Lucia – I don’t have HBO or Showtime anymore, so I’ve missed most of those. And yeah, I thought reality was a short-term trend too. I guess we should never over-estimate people’s taste…
Mike – TMZ is one of Tall Paul’s guilty pleasures, because the voiceovers are so snarky, but you are right on about the sleaze factor. Ew.
Diane – You’re welcome for the link – that was a great post.
Anna spoke up for Mad Men too, in her comment :-). I haven’t tried watching TV on computer yet…I’m afraid I might like it.
Great list. I agree with everything you said!
I was feeling especially vegetative the other day and turned on the television set, something I rarely do anymore unless there is something specific I want to watch. I flipped through all 500 or so channels forwards and backwards and still didn’t find anything that caught my eye.
Wasn’t the DVR a wonderful invention? And I thought the VCR was a godsend!
Literary Feline – I’m the same way about not turning on the TV unless I’m planning to watch something, although if Tall Paul has it on I may get sucked in to whatever he’s watching. Thanks for reminding me why I don’t do that myself :-)!
You already mentioned my 2 fave things: the DVR and Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert. I’ll just add Netflix – for people like me who are just now getting into Lost!
April – I just buy the DVDs myself :-), but I know a lot of people who swear by Netflix.