Do you consider this the 'Golden Age of TV' like it has been called?

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Jayson1, Oct 8, 2017.

  1. Jayson1

    Jayson1 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I agree that sex and nudity can be overdone. I take it more as a case by case situation as to when I feel it works and doesn't. I like though the freedom to do it is there for the times it makes sense. Nude girls at the strip club makes perfect sense on "Soprano's" but I'm not sure why we needed to see Sipowitz's butt all those years ago on "NYPD:BLue" which was a rare time when you actually saw something like that on network tv, much less tv back in the 90's.

    Jason
     
  2. Apparition B5

    Apparition B5 Commander Red Shirt

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    Honestly, I'd say that since 2005 or so has been the dark age of television. Mostly everything is grimdark, and full of nudity, sex, foul language, gore, and/or graphic violence. No thank you. With the exception of a few current shows, just about everything I watch is from the 1970s through 1990s. Most television shows now are simply unwatchable dreck.
     
  3. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The golden age of television died in 2015 when Mad Men finished.

    Or Picard's in TNG "Chain of Command."

    Kor
     
  4. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I can't say with certainty that it's a golden age of television. Heck, traditional television is in a major state of destabilization, which has both good things about it & bad. What I can say similarly about this age of television, is that it's reached a level of maturity in serialized story telling the likes of which has never been achieved before, partly due to that destabilized landscape. Frankly, the cinematic medium has easily taken a back seat to television for deep, patient, deliberate drama with some of our best actors turning to that arena for their work, like Sir Anthony Hopkins & Ed Harris being absolutely stunning in Westworld, for one example.

    We're coming into an age where academy award winning talent is moving into television as the medium for that dramatic talent & artistry. That ought to tell you something. 20 years ago, no one of that caliber would even think about such a thing. Comedy on the other hand? Comedy is in some serious trouble imho. It looks to be rough seas ahead for people in humor
     
  5. Jayson1

    Jayson1 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think things are going to be getting worst for the movies since people just don't seem to go as much anymore. Plus the movies make it the tv screens faster than ever and you hear about how some movies might open on tv as soon as t's released. I also think humor might be in trouble. Everything is so PC that it's hard to do humor anymore. Political Correctness can be a good thing for real life because I feel it can create a level of civility in the public but it really hurts in comedy since everyone seems to think everything must be treated like something sacred that must never be touched.

    I always felt that humor actually helped make people become more tolerant because everyone likes to laugh and everyone knows when something is being exagerated for comic effect. I also think people love it when they see people willing to make fun of themselves because it makes them feel less like snobs and are willing to look at their own quirks and flaws. People can relate to others on that level IMO no matter what differences they might have. At least that is what I thought people use to think.

    Jason
     
  6. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    My friend & I observed while at the new Blade Runner, that the cinema experience sucks now. Gone are the days of the wide screen, where you could watch Lawrence of Arabia or Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, & it just absorbed you, & every inch of the shot was something magnificent.

    The screen we saw it on yesterday was basically just a big tv. What's the point? You can have a personalized home theater that is just as good, only a little smaller because yours is a smaller room
     
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  7. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    ...You sound like you've only been watching three or four specific shows. Sure dark violent sexual shows exist but that's like saying "I hate all fruit because they are all orange." So many great shows out there, only a few are 'grimdark'. Besides the old NBC comedy block of 30 Rock, Office, Parks & Rec, Community, there's Silicon Valley, Veep, Master of None, Insecure, Atlanta, Bojack Horseman, etc.

    The statement that all shows are 'grimdark' just because a bunch of the most water coolery ones are is just plain wrong.

    You should try actually researching what's on right now before making blanket statements.

    Or if you like saccharine dramas where everybody talks in knowing voices and makes trite feel good realizations about their personal issues, some people seem to like This Is Us.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2017
  8. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    TV has more variety now than any other period. When it didn't have variety was 90s and earlier when it was all trite sitcoms and shows where everybody learned pat simplistic lessons at the end and Terri Hatcher screamed Help in a different way every week.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2017
  9. suarezguy

    suarezguy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I haven't seen 30 Rock but from their other work I don't really like Tina Fey or Alec Baldwin and, especially given that, it's hard to see how it could live up to the hype. I think they're good examples of recent stars who both really hype themselves and get excessive praise by critics.
     
  10. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    30 Rock is only one example, the point is that saying all current TV is violent, dark and sexual is just plain incorrect and ignoring everything that exists outside of maybe ten shows.

    Especially if you're comparing it to an era when among the highest rated shows are trite garbage like Full House, Family Matters, Home Improvement, etc.

    Very happy TV has stopped trying to teach me simplistic moral lessons.
     
  11. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Absolutely, the variety and wide range of TV shows and the fact that they attract Hollywood Movie A Listers speaks for itself.

    There is everything from shallow half hour comedies that you can watch on the sides up to amazing stories and performances in drama/action/comedy shows that movies can't hope to replicate in the 2-2.5 hours they usually have (or in the trilogy craze maybe 6-9 hours with a massively larger budget).

    As has been said the advent of Streaming Services and Pay TV also opened up shows to become more realistic, i.e. swearing, sex and perhaps violence which (if sparingly or well used) can enhance the entire experience watching the show.
     
  12. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

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    If "Golden Age" means there is too much TV that I want to watch to fit in my schedule, then I guess we're in a golden age. It is both awesome and annoying. ;)
     
  13. Jayson1

    Jayson1 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't trust "30 Rock" for years but for me it was because it was on NBC and I always distrust network tv anymore. It feels like a miracle when they actually offer you something that is fun to watch. I think the show is funny but it is basically a spoof of a "SNL" type of show more than something that is grounded in reality. Plus they get lots of humor out of word play and over-the-top characters and not just wacky situations.

    Jason
     
  14. MoonlightSinatra

    MoonlightSinatra Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I don't see how we can look at programming today without thinking it to be on the whole the most creative and quality-laden period in television history. I grew up in the 80s and rewatching those shows, compared to today, is truly striking. Those old shoes simply do not have the gravitas that the current crop do. This may be a generalization but I think it accurate overall.