Has anyone given up on TV?

[Greg Cox]

I keep hearing this "golden age" comment, and I just don't get it. Why is show after show of dark, brooding, angst ridden characters a "golden age"?

Well, that's a whole other issue. Whether the characters are "dark" or not has nothing to do with a show's quality: the acting, the writing, the production values, etc. You can have great shows about brooded, troubled, morally ambiguous characters and you can have great shows about more sunny, upright characters. And you can have bad shows either way, too. Whether the characters are dark or light doesn't determine whether a show is worth watching or not. IMHO.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, TV shows are neither dark nor light. Only well done or badly done.

 

[JoeZhang]

Yes, but those "short pat stories where characters learn valuable lessons at the end" should be preferred.

Why? Most of the lessons that characters learn at the end of that type of show were pretty obvious and hokey - outside of shows for small children is there much of a demand for such content?

 

[Greg Cox]

Yes, but those "short pat stories where characters learn valuable lessons at the end" should be preferred.

So all modern TV shows should aspire to the artistic heights of an ABC Afterschool Special?

By that standard, a "Very Special" episode of THE FACTS OF LIFE is preferable to, say, "City on the Edge of Forever" or pretty much any episode of THE X-FILES.

 

[RandyS]

So all modern TV shows should aspire to the artistic heights of an ABC Afterschool Special?

By that standard, a "Very Special" episode of THE FACTS OF LIFE is preferable to, say, "City on the Edge of Forever" or pretty much any episode of THE X-FILES.

No, that was just my way of saying I prefer episodic TV.

 

[Greg Cox]

No, that was just my way of saying I prefer episodic TV.

Ah, I think I conflated that comment with your earlier complaint about dark, angsty characters and assumed you were lobbying for more upbeat, moralistic endings or whatever.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I don't necessarily want Stepford characters, but neither do I want nuBSG-style "scrape the bottom of the barrel" types.

 

[ThankQ]

...should be preferred.

There's our issue. If you have it on authority what other people should like, I can understand why you find it frustrating when they don't enjoy what they should.

 

[RandyS]

Ah, I think I conflated that comment with your earlier complaint about dark, angsty characters and assumed you were lobbying for more upbeat, moralistic endings or whatever.

Well, Yeah, I would like to see those things on occassion, sure. Dark stories and angsty characters have their place, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I just think it's gotten to be too much there for a while. I'm hoping the new Star Trek takes a lighter approach.

 

[RandyS]

There's our issue. If you have it on authority what other people should like, I can understand why you find it frustrating when they don't enjoy what they should.

Then there's no issue. I only speak for myself.

 

[Kor]

I like characters that are dark and complex, and I like endings that don't offer neat, trite, and simplistic morality lessons.

What I don't like are indecisive, touchy-feely characters that reflect society's trend toward passive-aggressive oversensitivity and taking personal offense at everything. Show some hardness and strength.

Kor

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't necessarily want Stepford characters, but neither do I want nuBSG-style "scrape the bottom of the barrel" types.

Or we can have both, and every gradation in-between, depending on the show, the genre--and what you're in the mood for on any given occasion. Not every show needs to have the same kind of characters, nor do we as viewers need prefer one over another..

Sometimes you want something light and heart-warming. Sometimes you want something dark and disturbing. We are large, we contain multitudes . . .

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Sometimes you want something light and heart-warming.

Yes, that would be a nice change.

 

[RandyS]

I like characters that are dark and complex, and I like endings that don't offer neat, trite, and simplistic morality lessons.

What I don't like are indecisive, touchy-feely characters that reflect society's trend toward passive-aggressive oversensitivity and taking personal offense at everything. Show some hardness and strength.

Kor

Agreed, there should be a mix of both, but not too heavy on the darker stuff as has been the trend for the last decade or so.

 

[Pondwater]

I only watch DVDs. The only time I watch TV is when I go over to my folk's place or whenever I pet sit.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Yes, but those "short pat stories where characters learn valuable lessons at the end" should be preferred.

Thank goodness they aren't!

 

[Sir Anthony Eden]

This year I've been enjoying Scream, Orange is the New Black, Suits, The Good Wife, Jessica Jones, Top Gear, Gotham, Daredevil, Doctor Who, The Daily Politics, Big Bang Theory, Two Broke Girls, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Recreation, New X Files, Bates Motel, The Americans, From Dusk till Dawn, Man in the High Castle, Supergirl, The Flash, Agent Carter, Agent's of Shield, 12 Monkeys, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Silicon Valley, Veep, Blindspot, Limitless, Game of Thrones and Castle. So for me there's a lot of great stuff on TV.

 

[Greg Cox]

And tonight is Sharknado: The Fourth Awakens!

(I'm not helping my case here, am I?)

 

[Nerys Myk]

And tonight is Sharknado: The Fourth Awakens!

(I'm not helping my case here, am I?)

They seem to have a certain self awareness. At least the ads make me think so.

 

[Greg Cox]

They seem to have a certain self awareness. At least the ads make me think so.

If by that you meant that they're deliberately campy and dopey and over-the-top . . . absolutely!

 

[DimesDan]

We don't watch any live TV really, it's mainly using the on-demand services that we use or streaming sites.