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

[Jayson1]

This.

I think there is a novelty aspect in being able to do television as basically an extended R-rated miniseries that has a cinematic widescreen feel to it. And while at first you think "gee, this is a step up" it's also...tonally monochromatic. I also think a lot of the back-patting that's done over the unrestrained content is to some extent covering up some underlying graphic exploitation. Not every nude/sex scene in your GoT type of thing is motivated by anything more than the fact that guys like to see boobs and sex scenes. At its worst it's sort of a Silk Stalkings for snobs.

So today's TV is not the be all end all because it just doesn't have the variety.

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

 

[Apparition B5]

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.

 

[Kor]

I got to say that I think it really is that label. Right now we have more options and options worth watching ever before and thinks to cable and places like HBO that kind of started it all you have shows that don't have to deal with government censorship which means they have more creative freedom which doesn't just means things like nudity,violence and cussing. It means you can tell stories about things other being just another cop,doctor or lawyer show, though when they do those kind of shows they also tend to be better than the network options.

I will say that this isn't quite the golden age of sci-fi tv. I think that JC Cowen guy I think he is called on Youtube was right in one of his video's and that golden age was between 1987 to 200 5 or so which I think allows enough room to also cover Firefly,Battlestar Galatica,Stargate Atlantis and Lost. Comic book shows and more fantasy based stuff like Game of Thrones,Walking Dead seem to be bigger right now and i'm not sure if they count as pure sci-fi or if they do they tend to belong to other labels more clearly.

Jason

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

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

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

Kor

 

[Mojochi]

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

 

[Jayson1]

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

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

 

[Mojochi]

I think things are going to be getting worst for the movies since people just don't seem to go as much anymore.

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

 

[JirinPanthosa]

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.

...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.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

This.

I think there is a novelty aspect in being able to do television as basically an extended R-rated miniseries that has a cinematic widescreen feel to it. And while at first you think "gee, this is a step up" it's also...tonally monochromatic. I also think a lot of the back-patting that's done over the unrestrained content is to some extent covering up some underlying graphic exploitation. Not every nude/sex scene in your GoT type of thing is motivated by anything more than the fact that guys like to see boobs and sex scenes. At its worst it's sort of a Silk Stalkings for snobs.

So today's TV is not the be all end all because it just doesn't have the variety.

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.

 

[suarezguy]

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.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

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.

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.

 

[FPAlpha]

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.

 

[USS Triumphant]

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.

 

[Jayson1]

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.

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

 

[MoonlightSinatra]

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.