Think I know why I don't watch TV series' anymore

[HMARK Center]

Didn't want to write about this in the thread about the show and clog up the discussion, but I watched Game of Thrones tonight, and I got hit with the same feeling I've gotten watching almost almost any other series these days: I can't get into most TV series anymore.

Like tonight: the show I saw was well-shot, mostly well acted, an all-around good production, etc., but if I flat out missed it next week and never caught it again during this season, I wouldn't miss a beat. I was the same way with Lost, same with Boardwalk Empire, same with tons of genuinely really good shows.

Does that make sense to anybody else? I can fully acknowledge when a TV series is well done, yet I feel like almost none of them hold any appeal to me beyond "Oh, that was nice" before I forget about it.

I've been trying to figure out why this keeps happening to me. While I'm sure part of it comes from my own viewing habits, I think part of it is that I keep feeling like a lot of the shows I try to get into end up coming off too similar to one another.

A lot of the stuff people keep saying I should watch are basically intrigue shows in some form or another, be it crime intrigue, family intrigue, political intrigue, etc, and many also tend to come off as pretty relentlessly dark and/or cynical. Not that I'm against that in all forms, but I really just think the appeal of watching shows like that weekly has lost it's luster for me. Either that, or a lot of the shows just delve into the "you have to watch every week or you'll miss something huge" factor, which just kind of bugs me after awhile. Obviously I want exciting things to happen, but I like it when a series takes a "break", so to speak, to develop it's world or it's characters more.

Honestly, I'm much more into shows that give me a lot of character development; once the "what twist or turn is coming next?", or "who might die this week?", or "what kind of back-room intrigue will we witness now?" factors take over from being complimentary pieces to becoming the driving factors of appeal for a series, I just kind of feel left out, I suppose.

So does this affect anybody else? I don't hate any of these series, I don't knock them in terms of how well they're made...but I just have a really, really hard time getting interested enough to follow any of them.

[saneiac]

If you buy these sorts of shows in full season DVD sets, do you find them easier to watch? I don't watch any episodic television at all anymore other than wrestling, but I buy a lot of shows on DVD and watch them at my own pace.

[RatedRKoffee]

I feel the same way. There are some fine shows on TV right now, Sons of Anarchy for one. Yet I just don't care to follow them. Heck even stuff like Venture Bros. which is pretty much my favorite thing on TV, usually gets ignored until I pick up the DVD. Really if it wasn't for the Red Wings and Raw I could cancel my cable and not much miss it, expect the ocasional Pawn Stars and stuff on demand.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

We're at a strange period of social and technological upheaval. I suspect many more shows will slide past us in the near future.

How many great shows are there already? There is probably already enough 5 star content to LITERALLY last a lifetime.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 18, 2011 1:24:26 GMT -5 saneiac said:

If you buy these sorts of shows in full season DVD sets, do you find them easier to watch? I don't watch any episodic television at all anymore other than wrestling, but I buy a lot of shows on DVD and watch them at my own pace.

Probably depends on the show; I wouldn't spend the money on a boxset of a show I didn't get into, which probably means I should start up a Netflix account.

But again, depends on the show. Like I said, so many of these shows just start running together to me. The acting often seems directed in a similar way, and the method of drawing the audience in seems to carry over, as well, the "watch for twists and turns" aspect trumping character development. A show can have an amazing plot, but if I'm not heavily invested in the characters and their growth over the course of the show, then I'm not going to be sticking around for long.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

I can't watch tv series either but for a similar reason but it's the long gaps between episodes that make me lose interest.

Most recent one was Stargate Universe, I was enjoying the series but then after about Episode 7 there was a gap of about 2-3 months before the next episode aired and by the time it came round to it I'd lost interest, forgot bits of what happened and just didn't bother watching again.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

I know the feeling, there's very few shows I go out of my way to watch each week. Big Bang, HIMYM, Animation Domination, Entourage, Boardwalk Empire all get DVR'd every new episode, that's about it. Most series' I "watch" are just whatever my girlfriend watches, and I just chill on my laptop or DS or something else.

Most of my TV watching is either sports, wrestling, or the Stewart/Colbert/Conan block on CTV

[Madagascar Fred]

I only watch 30 Rock, HIMYM, South Park n American Dad whenever I can...rest of em I find too boring,stupid or stale

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

The weekly drama is the new soap, basically.

But I'm personally all for that, as it was always way too much of a chore for me to follow actual soaps like Young and the Restless and Days Of Our Lives day by day by day. I'd rather watch Boardwalk Empire and then have a whole week to ponder what Nucky's going to do next while I go about my business.

[kevservo]

Apr 18, 2011 5:21:02 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Seth MacFarlane Domination,

FXD 4 U

[dlg3000]

I figure, I could always watch episodes of various shows on the internet for one. But there are a lot of good shows out there, but I just can't get into most of them, no matter how good they may be. But, in my opinion, they just don't make good comedies like they used to anymore. Modern Family is good, but the last great traditional comedy in my opinion is "Everybody Loves Raymond". Most comedies just aren't that funny or engaging.

[Jiren]

I never watch things in TV show format anymore due to not having the time so I just wait for the DVD's and I can watch wherever & Whenever I want.

[Next Level was WRONG]

I just don't episodic television at all. Why waste hours upon hours watching one story go past the point where should have ended when you could watch a movie and have the same story told better within two hours?

[EvenBaldobombHasAJob]

the only things I watch regularly are cartoons. Game of Thrones was great and I love the books so I'm going to watch that, but it's supposedly only 10 episodes, so it's not like it's a huge commitment. everything else I just wait for the DVD. even Venture bros, which is my favorite show, I wait for the DVD instead of watching it on TV.

[againareku]

i feel in a similar way. i know these shows have production values higher than ever, but i am just not interested. i don't even make it past the first episode. i have no interest in watching period. most of these shows have no heart and soul. the animation in your sig outwrites and outscripts anything ABC or HBO throw at me.

and picking up shows like CSI isn't going to help either. most people that are diehard about what you call intrigue shows do not watch wrestling oe animation of any form. something like appas lost days would go totally over their heads.

[darthalexander]

I find that since I have a PVR now I have a hard time watching shows "live" because of the commercials. They drive me nuts. I prefer to record stuff then watch it later when I can fast forward through the damn things.

For shows like Game of Thrones, I'll just wait for the box set and watch it then.

[Hit Girl]

Shows lack coherence these days. They just throw things at the screen and call it a "mythology". Smallville is an example of a directionless show that has no idea where its going so they just keep piling more stuff onto the show. I've given up on episodic television.

["The Bantam" Rob Boss]

'Cos they all seem to revolve around the same-old tired TV cliches. Police / medical / army / family life.... I can get enough of these "stories" by looking outside or reading a newspaper. I want stuff on TV that I don't get in real life, like sci-fi and fantasy. So many shows I've gotten into recently have been cancelled, shows that had promise (for me) i.e SGU, SGA, Enterprise, Caprica, Daybreak, Flash Forward - what is the point in even watching things on TV now? Might as well wait a few years to see if the damn shows at least get the chance to finish a season or a story without being abruptly cut off.

Ultimately though, I think TV has saturated as a viable medium, give it a few decades and I'm sure the rise in interactivity will render simple viewing of visual programming somewhat obsolete - I mean, video games these days are becoming so immersive and cater much more to my tastes, that I can't ever see TV figuring back into my schedule.

[HMARK Center]

Stepping back and looking at it some more, I also think I've gotten to the point with a lot of these bigger series where I sit back and just think "Ok, so when does the first major character die? Can we get it over with, please?"

This wouldn't be a problem in a series where I'm heavily invested in the characters, but like I said before, I really feel that plot often trumps characters these days...obviously plot is vital to any story, but killing off so-and-so at whatever point isn't going to do much for me unless I'm firmly committed to the character in the first place.

i feel in a similar way. i know these shows have production values higher than ever, but i am just not interested. i don't even make it past the first episode. i have no interest in watching period. most of these shows have no heart and soul. the animation in your sig outwrites and outscripts anything ABC or HBO throw at me.

and picking up shows like CSI isn't going to help either. most people that are diehard about what you call intrigue shows do not watch wrestling oe animation of any form. something like appas lost days would go totally over their heads.

Well, a big reason why I got into Avatar in the first place was because I became committed to the characters. This way, even if a given episode (like Appa's Lost Days, as you mention) comes along that doesn't move the plot along really fast, I can still be interested and invested in it because it devotes time to the characters and sometimes shows different aspects of them.

If people ever want to know why "coming of age" stories are always popular, the key to them is that you're firmly committed to following a character grow over the course of the book/series/movie/etc. That means that characters you sometimes like for one feature they have may have to change a little bit, or adapt, but its the price you pay to create real emotional involvement.

Power grabs, back-room deals, industry jargon tossed out a mile a minute...that doesn't do it much for me. The Godfather is a brilliant epic not because it focuses on every minute detail of how business is done in the mafia circa 1945, it's brilliant because we follow and become very committed to the Corleone family's development, especially Vito and Michael. The Sopranos was initially very good about this, I thought, but lost a bit of it once the series went past it's expiration date (David Chase initially didn't want to go past three seasons, I believe).

[againareku]

Really, when I watch actual televisioin, I hope it's fluff. iCarly, Ancient Aliens, Pawn Stars now. I used to love the crap shows on MTV like NEXT, Pimp My Ride, and Boiling Point. I still watch Maury and COPS sometimes. I used to watch Blind Date and Elimidate pretty regularly.

But now, really, all I can tolerate are reruns of Star Trek and Married with Children. And yes, wrestling.