Have we witnessed the death of intelligent TV?

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Ryva Brall, Apr 20, 2013.

  1. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    Cool, I saw it under "Wonder Women" in OnDemand for $4.99! But now I'm able to record the repeat of Independent Lens instead. :cool:
     
  2. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    It was an interesting special. The emphasis was on Wonder Woman, but they touched on Xena, Buffy, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, and the Bionic Woman as well.
     
  3. Ryva Brall

    Ryva Brall Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Location:
    Empok Nor
     
  4. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    I think TV has become more about background noise than straight up focused entertainment. It's on while you're texting, tweeting, and facebooking. There's no strict narrative on most reality shows, so you can catch something to bring out the lulz or the omg, and then go back to your 3.5" backlit social life without missing anything noteworthy.

    Just a hypothesis.
     
  5. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2009
    Location:
    Ireland.
    This is true, but he also suggested that 'network decay' was something that was happening on every network.

    Since 'network decay' can mean networks drifting away from their stated niche (like American Movie Classics going from the channel that airs old movies to the channel behind Mad Men, Breaking Bad and the Walking Dead) I'd submit it's not that bad a thing.

    Intelligent documentaries still get made, and with streaming services you can watch them at your leisure. We have more flexibility in how we consume TV content then we ever have before. Even if you prefer say older shows, I don't think anyone can fault the evolution of the distribution system that much, even if this means among other things a shift away from networks.
     
  6. auntiehill

    auntiehill The Blooness Premium Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    Location:
    on the couch
     
  7. marksound

    marksound Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2008
    Location:
    Planet Carcazed
    "I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence. There's one marked 'Brightness' but it don't work." -Gallagher
     
  8. not

    not Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2013
    It definitely is just background noise for me despite not texting, tweeting, or facebooking but the cycle of TV entertainment is over and people just don't sit around and listen to the wireless...I mean tv anymore
     
  9. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    Surely if you figure out what you want in life, what you need to survive and be happy, all you have to do is find where whatever that is is being advertised, and whatever programming is surrounding that magic adblock is what you should be watching as a person, or the fat cats who are spending billions on market research might as well be flushing that money down the toilet.

    That may seem hard, but it's really easy to figure out who you are and what you wanted a week ago, and hopefully your personality hasn't changed too much in the last seven days.

    Look for the ads, and the programming will follow.
     
  10. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2009
    Location:
    Northern Ontario, Canada

    I'd agree with that. I do watch some Reality TV mostly when I can't find anything else to watch, because it's there, but in general, I'm not too crazy about it.

    I read an article recently about the National Geographic Channel where the CEO was boasting about all the changes he was making towards more reality shows and less documentaries with a particular disdainful slant on them as "voices of god". Rather interesting because it goes on to say that while society members claim that the channel hurts the society's reputation, it's tolerated because of the money it brings in.

    http://tv.yahoo.com/news/reboot-national-geographic-channel-140345259.html
     
  11. mswood

    mswood Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2002
    Location:
    9th level of Hell
    I don't know I watch more documentaries then I have ever previously in my life. In fact I think just as their is literally more crap out there, there is also more quality programming. But instead of 3 networks, PBS, and a handful of Cable companies. We have five networks, PBS, and literally hundreds of channels with original programming. OF course the bulk is crap, but every year I have watched tv (started probably very late 60's), there has always been more crap then quality. And I personally think TV is producing stronger and stronger material, and also producing worse and worse material.

    But seriously how hard is to find programming you like/ love. There are more resources to help locate programming then ever before. More places to get reviews of the various programming then ever before. I don't see the issue, besides having that level in a handful of localized places, and since it takes me typically a minute or less to find something to watch or to program what I want to watch it just seems rather lazy to complain about the issues of it no longer being localized.
     
  12. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2005
    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    I never thought of it that way before, but I believe you're right. Rather than compete with video games or social media for your attention, networks created something to serve as an accessory to those activities.
     
  13. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2010
    Location:
    to your immediate right
    Funny. Because TV is so much better (in my mind at least), I watch less but precisely because I don't have it on in the background.

    As for reality TV, I will admit that sometimes right before bed I'll watch "Pawn Stars" or "American Pickers" as comfort food, but that's the extent of it.
     
  14. E-DUB

    E-DUB Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    My wife won't watch anything on TV because she says there's never anything good on. This becomes a self-fufilling prophecy. I think that even though there's more crap now, there's also a lot of good stuff, too.
     
  15. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2010
    Location:
    to your immediate right
    Your wife is wrong and you are right. For what that's worth in a marriage my friend. ;)
     
  16. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    Who said "A man can be right, or he can have sex."?
     
  17. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2012
    Location:
    Melakon's grave
    The Professor on Gilligan's Island?
     
  18. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    According to the BTS Movie, which is fantastic, Sherwood Schwartz had Russell Johnson audition for the part of the professor quite shirtless... Which means that you're probably right.
     
  19. Davros

    Davros Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Kaled bunker, Skaro
    Honey Boo Boo is on cable
     
  20. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    A woman I know who I download crap for because just obeying is easier than being nice or arguing, assures me that she only watches Toddlers and Tiaras IRONICALLY... Yet I still feel complicit and dirty.