Has Network TV Always Sucked?

[Cyno]

When it comes to daytime TV, it's pretty much CBS game shows (Let's Make A Deal, Price is Right) and Young & the Restless for me. And sometimes Maury as a guilty pleasure.

[Bang Bang Bart]

Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and Supergirl all say otherwise.

[domrep]

I watch the Flash and that's about it. Network TV lost its appeal to me years ago when TGIF ceased to exist.

[Danimal]

I think the other options skew perception. Because there are so many other options there are network shows you'll never watch or won't give a real chance to. Also, because the other options keep getting better in terms of both quantity and quality you are less likely to accept mediocre network shows.

I have a ton of channels on DirecTV plus I watch some Netflix. I can always find something I like. When I was little we just had network. You had to get into what was there or do something else. I don't think it was necessarily much better it was just what you had and you accepted that. Now you don't have to.

[Some Guy]

Dec 14, 2015 2:37:13 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Most of what I watch now is on OTA channels. Which is a change from a few years ago.

There is decent dramas like Supergirl and Flash. And some really funny sitcoms like Goldbergs,The Middle,Modern Family and Fresh off the Boat. Really outside of Walking Dead and Ash vs Evil Dead I am not watching anything on non-OTA networks. Seems to me most Cable networks have way to many reality and bad ripoff shows.

This is a myth. There are pretty much quality shows on nearly every network, and streaming platform. Hulu, Amazon, Netflix all have multiple. Cinemax, HBO, Starz, Showtime, FX/FXX, Comedy Central, Sundance, IFC, A&E, even ESPN has 30 for 30.

TV has pretty much never been this good and it's more or less impossible to keep up with all the quality shows. The reality shows are even easy as shit to drown out at this point.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Dec 15, 2015 2:59:33 GMT -5 Some Guy said:

Dec 14, 2015 2:37:13 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Most of what I watch now is on OTA channels. Which is a change from a few years ago.

There is decent dramas like Supergirl and Flash. And some really funny sitcoms like Goldbergs,The Middle,Modern Family and Fresh off the Boat. Really outside of Walking Dead and Ash vs Evil Dead I am not watching anything on non-OTA networks. Seems to me most Cable networks have way to many reality and bad ripoff shows.

This is a myth. There are pretty much quality shows on nearly every network, and streaming platform. Hulu, Amazon, Netflix all have multiple. Cinemax, HBO, Starz, Showtime, FX/FXX, Comedy Central, Sundance, IFC, A&E, even ESPN has 30 for 30.

TV has pretty much never been this good and it's more or less impossible to keep up with all the quality shows. The reality shows are even easy as shit to drown out at this point.

How can it be a myth when it is my opinion that most cable networks are loaded down with reality tv. Or reruns of tripe like CSI,Law and Order and other over-rated dramas. Look at channels like Sundance ,they are now showing Law and Order.

With more and more people dropping cable and satellite it just proves to me that TV has went to crap over the past 20 years.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Dec 15, 2015 2:44:51 GMT -5 Danimal said:

I think the other options skew perception. Because there are so many other options there are network shows you'll never watch or won't give a real chance to. Also, because the other options keep getting better in terms of both quantity and quality you are less likely to accept mediocre network shows.

I have a ton of channels on DirecTV plus I watch some Netflix. I can always find something I like. When I was little we just had network. You had to get into what was there or do something else. I don't think it was necessarily much better it was just what you had and you accepted that. Now you don't have to.

See I am kind of the opposite mind. When I was a kid cable didn't make it out where I lived until late 1990. So we had 5 or 6 channels. And unless it was like 3am I could usually find something to watch. Now I got DISH and at least 900 channels and most days I have trouble finding an hours worth of stuff to watch.

[Dragonfly]

I tend to be more lenient towards network shows over cable and streaming due to the relative lack of Internet think pieces. I know that sounds silly, but I'm being serious. Take Master of None for example. I am a huge fan of both Aziz Ansari and Parks and Recreation, so watching that seems to be a no-brainer. But I almost didn't. Why? It's because from the second the damn thing was released, I was barraged with opinion pieces. They were everywhere, analyzing everything from race relations to Millennials to "the experiences of first generation immigrants." And to be fair, all of those topics are covered (and quite well, I might add). But it is also a show that has Colin Salmon pining for a lost cat while playing with dominoes and Eric Warheim befriending a Japanese robot seal. That kind of thing tends to get lost in the sea of overthinking. On the other hand, I can sit back enjoy, say, Limitless or The Middle, without worrying about some freelance writer's thoughts on society as a whole. I just sit back and fun.

[sfvega]

Dec 15, 2015 2:59:33 GMT -5 Some Guy said:

Dec 14, 2015 2:37:13 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Most of what I watch now is on OTA channels. Which is a change from a few years ago.

There is decent dramas like Supergirl and Flash. And some really funny sitcoms like Goldbergs,The Middle,Modern Family and Fresh off the Boat. Really outside of Walking Dead and Ash vs Evil Dead I am not watching anything on non-OTA networks. Seems to me most Cable networks have way to many reality and bad ripoff shows.

This is a myth. There are pretty much quality shows on nearly every network, and streaming platform. Hulu, Amazon, Netflix all have multiple. Cinemax, HBO, Starz, Showtime, FX/FXX, Comedy Central, Sundance, IFC, A&E, even ESPN has 30 for 30.

TV has pretty much never been this good and it's more or less impossible to keep up with all the quality shows. The reality shows are even easy as shit to drown out at this point.

Half of the things you named were streaming services and premium channels though. Basic and extended cable without those premium channels is absolutely chock full of garbage. Sure, AMC and FX and a few others put on some consistently good to great shows. But they are still absolutely the minority. I mean, you mention ESPN for one series they have. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE sports. But ESPN puts out as much garbage TV as just about anyone.

Yes, there are more quality TV shows. There are more bad TV shows as well. There are just more TV shows, period. It's tough to say what the ratio is, or if it's higher or lower than previous points in time. But it's not a myth that there are too many bad reality shows on bad cable networks.

I do think that more creative and less formulaic outlets like AMC and Netflix and HBO are producing great TV, by capitalizing on a market that was open. People answered too long to network higher-ups and censors and advertisers and demographics, and not enough to the public for compelling TV. Now, an outlet like Netflix can just say "f*** it" and give the right people a blank canvas to work with, and the result is leading edge TV.

[ritt works hard fo da chickens]

Has Network TV Always Sucked?

No.

Picket Fences ran from 1992 to 1996 on CBS and was IMO as good as anything FX, AMC, HBO , Etc. It was edgey without trying and characters that were so well acted and relatable. It seems kind of weird that network TV had a relatively normal family that dealt with all sorts of social/political/religious issues head on usually offering varying viewpoints as valid. I don't think that is possible today. God, that show was so good and could stand on equal grounds with many of the cable dramas of today.

[Saul Goodman]

It's like old music from the 70's. All you know about or remember are the good songs, but when you listen to a recording of the top 100 songs from a random week in the 70's, you realize that the music kind of sucked. We all remember the great shows from the pass and look at that time period as a golden time for TV, but if you look at it as a whole, you realize that a lot of it was awful. TV and music has been always mediocre.

[Deleted]

It's like any other form of entertainment. A small percentage will be appealing to you personally, and the rest will seem like crap.

[Some Guy]

Dec 15, 2015 3:57:02 GMT -5 sfvega said:

Dec 15, 2015 2:59:33 GMT -5 Some Guy said:

This is a myth. There are pretty much quality shows on nearly every network, and streaming platform. Hulu, Amazon, Netflix all have multiple. Cinemax, HBO, Starz, Showtime, FX/FXX, Comedy Central, Sundance, IFC, A&E, even ESPN has 30 for 30.

TV has pretty much never been this good and it's more or less impossible to keep up with all the quality shows. The reality shows are even easy as shit to drown out at this point.

Half of the things you named were streaming services and premium channels though. Basic and extended cable without those premium channels is absolutely chock full of garbage. Sure, AMC and FX and a few others put on some consistently good to great shows. But they are still absolutely the minority. I mean, you mention ESPN for one series they have. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE sports. But ESPN puts out as much garbage TV as just about anyone.

Yes, there are more quality TV shows. There are more bad TV shows as well. There are just more TV shows, period. It's tough to say what the ratio is, or if it's higher or lower than previous points in time. But it's not a myth that there are too many bad reality shows on bad cable networks.

I do think that more creative and less formulaic outlets like AMC and Netflix and HBO are producing great TV, by capitalizing on a market that was open. People answered too long to network higher-ups and censors and advertisers and demographics, and not enough to the public for compelling TV. Now, an outlet like Netflix can just say "f*** it" and give the right people a blank canvas to work with, and the result is leading edge TV.

Eh, the only real garbage channels are like TLC and portions of E! Comedy Central has never been stronger, MTV has a lot of stupid shit but some of their shows have been sneaky good, USA has been constantly trying and (apparently) succeeded with Mr. Robot, Lifetime has a critically praised show now, etc. It has less bad shit than it used to is what I'm saying, generally speaking.

[sfvega]

Dec 15, 2015 15:50:24 GMT -5 Some Guy said:

Eh, the only real garbage channels are like TLC and portions of E! Comedy Central has never been stronger, MTV has a lot of stupid shit but some of their shows have been sneaky good, USA has been constantly trying and (apparently) succeeded with Mr. Robot, Lifetime has a critically praised show now, etc. It has less bad shit than it used to is what I'm saying, generally speaking.

Comedy Central is a good niche channel, duh. But you gloss over tons of channels for producing ONE good show, when the majority of what they offer is truly bad TV. ESPN shows First Take as much as the 30 for 30s, and plenty of other trash in addition. They essentially re-hash the same 3 subjects they're told to push......all day. ALL DAY, across channels and shows. Shows like Olbermann (which they cut) and OTL are the minorities in a sea of talking head "banter" constantly, desperately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Lifetime puts out tons of trash as well. Dance Moms is garbage, the SBTB movie they produced was trash TV, tons of the movies they make are trash TV. VH1 is atrocious programming. MTV still does plenty of stupid reality shows. Teen Mom is still on it's 12th reincarnation, the Challenge is still going IIRC, My Ex on the Beach is trash, etc. It's still very much a channel riddled with trash. TLC is god awful. A&E is a shell of what it used to be. History does as much bad scripted reality as anyone, though less offensive as a whole than TLC or Bravo. Oxygen. CMT. TruTV still has a number of eyeroll-inducing programs. E! has been as bad as anyone for as long as anyone.

In terms of your average extended cable package, there is probably one quality channel for every 5-7 throwaway channels.

[Porky's Butthole]

Dec 15, 2015 3:45:11 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Dec 15, 2015 2:44:51 GMT -5 Danimal said:

I think the other options skew perception. Because there are so many other options there are network shows you'll never watch or won't give a real chance to. Also, because the other options keep getting better in terms of both quantity and quality you are less likely to accept mediocre network shows.

I have a ton of channels on DirecTV plus I watch some Netflix. I can always find something I like. When I was little we just had network. You had to get into what was there or do something else. I don't think it was necessarily much better it was just what you had and you accepted that. Now you don't have to.

See I am kind of the opposite mind. When I was a kid cable didn't make it out where I lived until late 1990. So we had 5 or 6 channels. And unless it was like 3am I could usually find something to watch. Now I got DISH and at least 900 channels and most days I have trouble finding an hours worth of stuff to watch.

I'm sure you were exaggerating to make a point, but DISH has only about 300 channels...

[willywonka666]

Primetime tv in the 80s was my life. Hell, tv in the 80s in general was

I was lucky enough to live next to my grandmother and those are memories I'll cherish-watching a plethora of primetime shows and getting to spend time with her.

She got sick and we lost her in 1990 and then life really started changing fast which partially explains my obsession with the 80s and my (mostly) general disdain for everything afterwards.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Dec 15, 2015 21:24:59 GMT -5 Porky's Butthole said:

Dec 15, 2015 3:45:11 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

See I am kind of the opposite mind. When I was a kid cable didn't make it out where I lived until late 1990. So we had 5 or 6 channels. And unless it was like 3am I could usually find something to watch. Now I got DISH and at least 900 channels and most days I have trouble finding an hours worth of stuff to watch.

I'm sure you were exaggerating to make a point, but DISH has only about 300 channels...

Yeah I was a bit. I had no idea how many channels it had. We get pretty much everything but HBO and Cinemax.