US made telly shows are dying..

[Dowly]

..well they should be, unfortunately they just seem to be more and more popular every year.

This is something I've been meaning to post ages ago, but havent really known how to say it (stil dont).

Righto, American shows. Sooo... when did they decide to **** it all up? For the past 4-5 years they've been degrading significally.

Example.

American Gladiator (and what's with the American in every darn name?! American Idol, American talent, yaadi yaa.) The 80's gladiator was awesome, the gladiators were competing, but they were nice to the competors, unlike now as they TRY to look and sound mean (prolly works on a 2yo kid). I mean, they are the american gladiators, so it's good to show how american you are by being a real wanker, right? :dead:

Right, so how about documentaries..

Why oh why, cant we have an neutral take on things. Be it anything, as long as it's american made, we get a glorified version of what really happened.

Example.

The North Hollywood shootout in 1997. I've seen propably 90% of the documentaries made out of it and what I hear in everyone of them? LAPD were true heroes. Umm.. excuse me, but werent they kinda outgunned for 45 minutes by 2 gunmen eventho there were over 300 cops trying to take them out? And in the end it took 3-5 SWAT guys to take out the other while the other shot himself.


Could someone please explain me, when and why the american telly took a nosedive to ****tiness? :doh:

[Task Force]

yea, tv shows are starting to suck...:shifty: I barely watch tv anymore... other that maby the discovery channel...

Why oh why, cant we have an neutral take on things. Be it anything, as long as it's american made, we get a glorified version of what really happened.

cause the America or die people would have a fit if they said anything other than americas great!!!...

*the music industry over here sucks also...*

[Platapus]

TV production, like any product, has to respond to the desires of the customer.

Evidently, the public likes dumb "reality" crappy shows. It sells advertising.

That's why they call Television a Medium. Because it is rarely well done.
:D

[Torplexed]

American Gladiator (and what's with the American in every darn name?! American Idol, American talent, yaadi yaa.)

Actually that tradition goes way back although it's getting done to death as of late. It's kinda like putting 'new and improved' on a product. Helps it sell better even if it's no better. If you type in 'American' at IMdb you get well over a thousand movie and TV titles.

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=American;more=tt;ttype=df

http://lynnrockets.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/loveamericanstyle.jpg http://frasermacpherson.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/greatest-american-hero.jpg

[Task Force]

I once heard someone say that someday tv was going to be dominated by reality shows... they knew what they were saying....:yep:

[Dowly]

Actually that tradition goes way back although it's getting done to death as of late. It's kinda like putting 'new and improved' on a product. Helps it sell better even if it's no better. If you type in 'American' at IMdb you get well over a thousand movie and TV titles.

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=American;more=tt;ttype=df


Yea, I know it's a bit of an tradition, but like you said, it's been overdone the past few years. :doh:

[Torplexed]

Time for Finland to stop importing telly and start exporting. Well...maybe they already have. :D

http://i32.tinypic.com/w7kmfk.png

[Task Force]

Yea, I know it's a bit of an tradition, but like you said, it's been overdone the past few years. :doh:

I think its so the people over here know where it was made... so they watch it...

(well, those shows are also the only thing still partualy made in america... lol)

[Dowly]

Time for Finland to stop importing telly and start exporting. Well...maybe they already have. :D

http://i32.tinypic.com/w7kmfk.png


Ow bollocks, they've gone silly aswell (tho, I kinda enjoyed the last season). What world needs is British telly shows, now those are good. :yeah: (and movies, some of the best horror movies are british, no BS CGI, but real horror stuff :rock:)

[Task Force]

yea, britian has some good tv shows... top gear being probably my favorite shows...

They beat any car show over here, by a long shot...:yep:

[Dowly]

yea, britian has some good tv shows... top gear being probably my favorite shows...

They beat any car show over here, by a long shot...:yep:

Aye, true that. Top Gear's awesome show. :salute:

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

Its true most TV shows here in the US suck, there are only a few channels that I watch any more History and Discovery Channels are two but not much else. The movies here are also really lacking too. Its getting more and more difficult to find good TV shows and movies anymore. As for reality shows :yawn::yawn::yawn::down::down::down::nope:.

[SteamWake]

Nova is usually pretty good albeit with a liberal slant at times.

[Task Force]

Its true most TV shows here in the US suck, there are only a few channels that I watch any more History and Discovery Channels are two but not much else. The movies here are also really lacking too. Its getting more and more difficult to find good TV shows and movies anymore. As for reality shows :yawn::yawn::yawn::down::down::down::nope:.

yep... Same, the movies seem to repeat themself... All the movies have in them are effects, and idiots running around in circles...

(I think movies were better in the pre 1980s-1980s-early 90s, I believe it is because of the stupid idiotic culture over here...)

[Dowly]

Might need to explore abit more the US telly stuff over the internet. :hmmm:

I mean, obviously, in Finland we only get the popular shows, like Deadlies Catch (witch I loved, until the episode where a supposedly 30kg ice block fell onto someone's head, he'd be dead or out cold if it was of that weight :doh:), Ice truckers etc.

[Dowly]

(I think movies were better in the pre 1980s-1980s-early 90s

I beg to differ. :hmmm:

I loved movies up until 2000. They had flashy effects, but all of them had a meaning and were tied to the plot. Take Independency Day for one, only the needed CGI was used.

Tho, I must say, when it comes to horror (which is my favorite genre naturally) nothing beats the late 1970 and 1980 movies. Anything from J. Carpenter in 1980 was a sure hit. And 1990 was pretty much 'owned' by Stephen King' movies. The Stand was so darn awesome! :rock:

[Task Force]

yea, there were some good movies in the late 90s also...

The late 90s early 2000s is when the us entertainment started really going to hell...

[Dowly]

The late 90s early 2000s is when the us entertainment started really going to hell...

Aye, that's true. The movie nowadays are just about CGI, nothing more. :shifty:

I'm not against CGI, but if it's used to replace scenes that could've been done without it, it's always a bad thing.

But hey, atleast we got Pixar still doing some quality CGI stuff for kids (and me :D).

The thing with CGI nowadays is that it's made so darn easy to do. Poser, Vue and FumeFX, those are the programs you need to make a very real looking CGI. And the cost is minimal (havent checked but I'd say $2000 total) compared to a movie budget.

[stabiz]

BBC knows tv, I wish the BBC would get the responsibility for all tv shows on the planet. I am watching "Natures most amazing moments" right now, and it freakin rocks.

"Planet Earth", "Natures most amazing moments" and "Yellowstone" = great TV.

I also love Top gear, of course. (You should have seen the ****ty version Norwegian TV made, it starred a hardcore Christian guy who always looked like he was doing amphetamine, and he constantly tried to shove a whole bread up exhaust pipes of cars to show how big the pipes were . . . actually, this might come of as drunken blabber, so i will prove it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2XGaApg3T4 it has English subs, and gets really embarrassing from 1:30)

[Sea Demon]

Evidently, the public likes dumb "reality" crappy shows. It sells advertising.



Yes. So many stupid programs...I can't even watch modern TV shows anymore. And screw "reality" TV. When looking for sitcom type programming, the only thing I can stomach is going down memory lane like on TVLand. Some of those old episodes of Sanford and Son crack me up. The closest I can get to "modern" is some of the episodes of Seinfeld. That's it. Then it's Sports, Discovery, Sci-Fi, and a few others.

[mookiemookie]

TV production, like any product, has to respond to the desires of the customer.

Evidently, the public likes dumb "reality" crappy shows. It sells advertising.

That's why they call Television a Medium. Because it is rarely well done.
:D

Not to mention that reality shows are, by comparison, very cheap to make.

There's still great TV around - The Wire comes to mind. Planet Earth (well, that was BBC, but still), Mad Men...I'm also a sucker for House.

[Dowly]

BBC knows tv, I wish the BBC would get the responsibility for all tv shows on the planet.

Amen to that! BBC makes some very good shows. Tho, some are a bit biased, but most are very well done. :salute:

[Task Force]

yep, bbc does do a good job with there tv...

I think the only good channels over here are... (in my opinion.)
BBC america
Discovery
TV land
Vh1 puts some intresting stuff on sometimes
animal planet can be cool at times
err... and thats about it...

[Lil' Subsim]

It's all about Family Guy nothing else.

[Cohaagen]

As much as I detest almost all US TV programmes that get shown in the UK (and that's a lot), it must be noted that there are some good shows amongst them - The Wire is great, though massively over-praised, and does feature a reesty smackhead who is a dead ringer for Hailie Selassie in a ripped cagoule :haha:. Monk is also good fun, Deadwood isn't bad for all that it is an artful self-serious swearathon featuring Lovejoy after some serious Just For Men treatment.

Sadly, there are no more series like X-Files (best show of the 90s), Homicide, NYPD Blue (cue shaky-cam), new Outer Limits, Star Trek: TNG, Babylon 5, My So-Called Life, and so on. I have also been banging on for years that TV, film and music took a serious wrong turn around 2000/2001, and that we've nothing to show for this rotten decade. It says a lot about our cultural bankruptcy that we've fallen back so heavily on crappy, threadbare tropes such as vampires, werewolves and zombies these last five years or so.

The BBC is still a "national treasure" [vomits at the phrase] and is at its best when it isn't trying to ape US shows (see Spooks as an example of this horrible practice). Even the new Doctor Who is a bag of balls. I wish someone would tell Russell T. Davies that crap CGI isn't camp.

The BBC was at its best during the 80s. If you want to see an example of the best it can do, download or buy a mini-series called Edge Of Darkness. Best thing the corporation has ever done :up:

[Dowly]

Yes yes yes, there are some great shows. X-Files and Babylon 5 are hands down the best ever scifi shows ever made. :salute: (Star Trek fans please PM so I can insult you privately :O:)

[MothBalls]

I save myself quite a bit of money every month because of American television. I refuse to pay for cable or satellite. What good is 900 channels if 899 of them are all crap?

I live in the US and the only thing I ever watch on TV is BBC. Mostly the news and a few comedy shows like "Waiting for God", "As Time Goes By". At least Brit humor is actually funny.

American television, especially the commercials, really insult my intelligence. How stupid do they think we are? I don't think I've watched an American sitcom since "Sanford and Son" went off the air.

[Task Force]

Yea, well you see, alot of americans dont request good tv, they will watch anything... sadly it is because as i mentioned before americas culture...

no wonder other countrys have somany stereotypes for americans...

[nikimcbee]

I just want the original A-Team back:yeah:.

[SUBMAN1]

So what you guys are saying is that you hate reality TV shows. Join the club. All media in the US of A is degrading as time goes on. This is why I don't watch it much anymore either.

Why reality TV shows? They are cheap. No script writers need to be paid. No actors need to be paid. And the best part? People like them! It's all profit.

Terrible.

-S

[Sledgehammer427]

@ nikimcbee, YES!

I just got out of (graduated, i did not, but the credits are coming) high school, and let me tell you, I have developed a sincere dislike for anything on tv that isn't on Adult Swim, History or Discovery.
you could see reality shows taking over the whole school, so many people were fitting into their racial/ethnic stereotypes, it wasn't even worth going.
(but I did, thank god I'm finishing school in college where there isn't somebody screaming at their friends across the cafeteria in the morning)
I'm italian, I'm a guitar player, and I am an avid gamer (not HALO, but other games that require more brains than reflexes.) so where would that leave me?
I would be a fedora-wearing eyeliner-using guy who talks with a brooklyn accent (which I have adopted from my second home in CT) who has a fohawk, sixteen peircings, mainly on my face, and did I mention I would wear Tripp pants with lots of chains?
psh.
I wear band t-shirts and I talk in an average tone of voice with enough volume so my friends nearby can hear me.
I despise what TV has done to america. now we can't live without drama

[SteamWake]

Hey I gotta ask... Is Michael Jackson still dead ? :haha:

[Sledgehammer427]

well, something new killed him every week. it's only a matter of time before he is spotted in Brazil or something :rotfl:

[Buddahaid]

I'm stuck in Waukesha Wisconsin for some training and watching way more than I ever do, and guess what? It sucks! Good thing I brought a few books as the CGI in my head is best. :shucks:

Buddahaid

[Spoon 11th]

British comedy ftw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9UMoWCxI0

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

I wish I could watch the BBC out here were I live, I used to watch Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS along with The Last Of the Summer Wine. I started to watch Dads Army on DVD and youtube. They just don't make'em like they used to.

[stabiz]

But the US made Rome didnt they? Thats one truly amazing show, and not to forget Carnivale, my all time favorite tv show. Both were on HBO, I believe. The Wire and Sopranos are also good, but overrated IMO.

[Biggles]

Amen to that! BBC makes some very good shows. Tho, some are a bit biased, but most are very well done. :salute:

I'll second that! When SVT imports a show from BBC, it's more often than not good stuff.

[Biggles]

British comedy ftw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9UMoWCxI0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1leDAwjtto

:03:

[Takeda Shingen]

Nova is usually pretty good albeit with a liberal slant at times.

I would also add The American Experience as thoroughly enjoyable. Personally, I am fond of both Great Performances and Live from Lincoln Center also.

[Torplexed]

then it's Sports, Discovery, Sci-Fi, and a few others.

Aren't they the SyFy Channel now? Bizarre name change, but I guess it made sense from a business standpoint, since they so rarely show actual Sci-Fi anymore.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BnOj0l4tXYk/SlWfYRrBSgI/AAAAAAAACVI/RzvmO6J2WbI/s400/SyFy+Channel+Sci+Fi+Network+Logo.jpg

[Task Force]

yep, they changed there name...

[Buddahaid]

I think the SyFy channel is my biggest disappointment in all of cable TV. When I got my cable years ago, I thought I would watch it a lot, but very few things held my interest and I ended up addicted to Speedvision instead. Then, that was ruined when it became Speed channel and I never watch it. Speedvision was great, F1 cars, boats, Reno air races, world rally, Dakar, IRL, etc. Now it's mostly NASCAR, which I hate, except for the road courses. And now, much of the stuff on the science and documentary channels is hard to watch as it seems tailored for short attention spans. "When we come back..", ad, ad, ad, ad, ad, summarize previous ten minutes, five minutes of content, "When we come back...". A whole hour show has fifteen minutes of content! :damn:

And yes, the British programming we see here is the best, but it's all on PBS and you are compelled to donate or feel guilty. Mystery, Red Dwarf, Father Ted, etc. :up:

Buddahaid

Buddahaid

[OneToughHerring]

Out of US television I only watch the documentaries, mostly from PBS. I used to follow the series Seconds from disaster which is kind of a documentary series but I think I've seen the whole series by now.

Germans and French make good documentaries with a good, non-US point of view. Too bad there aren't more of those with subs around.

[goldorak]

TV production, like any product, has to respond to the desires of the customer.

Evidently, the public likes dumb "reality" crappy shows. It sells advertising.

That's why they call Television a Medium. Because it is rarely well done.
:D

Whats strange though is that tv programming in the seventies, eighties and early ninties was way way better than the crap we see today.
So were people just more intelligent a decade or 2 ago ?
On the other hand I appreciate public funded (through tv license) channels, such as the BBC, ARTE, RAI TRE etc...
The real change at least in Italy, was that during the eighties and ninties our tv stations bought american amd japanese (mostly anime) tv series like there would be no tomorrow. :D
Nowadays a lot of shows are locally produced so we tend to see less and less american shows. We even get to see BBC shows such as Life on Mars. I was nicely surprised by this. Now all I want is Dr Who and Torchwood. :woot:

[goldorak]

Yes yes yes, there are some great shows. X-Files and Babylon 5 are hands down the best ever scifi shows ever made. :salute: (Star Trek fans please PM so I can insult you privately :O:)

+1 on the Bablyon 5 best science fiction show ever (I'll put it right behind Space 1999 season 1 though).
No need to insult Star Trek fans, just show them "Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning". :O:

[Wolfehunter]

I rarely watch tv anymore. 90% of the shows suck. Old shows remade new from the 60's, 70's and 80's have lost there canon or fluff. Producers today don't honour the old visions of quality shows. Sure Nice to have CGI etc. But there storys suck.

Battlestar galactica, startrek they killed it. Can you imagine what they would do to Archie Bunker show if they make a new one? With all the politically correctness today? These reinvented shows would surely suck. All the classic shows kick ass.

England has good shows like Mr bean and Keeping Up Appearances, Allo Allo, Black adder etc. Aside from discovery channel or history channels.. european stuff is better than the US stuff now.

So many classics.

[August]

Actually that tradition goes way back although it's getting done to death as of late. It's kinda like putting 'new and improved' on a product. Helps it sell better even if it's no better. If you type in 'American' at IMdb you get well over a thousand movie and TV titles.

Notice that many don't actually have "American" in the US release title. It was added for the foreign versions or contained it in the working title.

So "Lords of Dogtown" becomes "American Knights" in England and the TV series "The Office" becomes "The Office: An American Workplace" in on the DVD set sold in Finland.

[Tribesman]

"The Office" becomes "The Office: An American Workplace"
Thats because "The Office" was already done.

[TLAM Strike]

Yes yes yes, there are some great shows. X-Files and Babylon 5 are hands down the best ever scifi shows ever made. :salute: (Star Trek fans please PM so I can insult you privately :O:)

*cough* *cough* Firefly *cough*

That new show Defying Gravity isn't too bad, its at least trying for Scientific Accuracy. its got no no sound in space, a realistic spaceship with centerfuge grav. I just wish they would spend more time on the spaceship stuff and less on who was banging who back on Earth!

[HunterICX]

*cough* *cough* Firefly *cough*

:yeah:

HunterICX

[Sailor Steve]

...(and what's with the American in every darn name?! American Idol, American talent, yaadi yaa.
Should an American show made for an American audience be called Finnish Idol? Have you heard how other people have complained over the years because the baseball finals are called the World Series? What exactly should they have called it?

Could someone please explain me, when and why the american telly took a nosedive to ****tiness? :doh:
The day it was born, actually. TV was referred to as "The Vast Wasteland", "The Boob Tube" and "The Idiot Box" way back in the 1950s. There are as many good shows on American TV today as there have ever been. You just have to find them. Myself, I don't watch much TV these days, but a friend has just turned me on to DVDs of Boston Legal, which was a very witty and entertaining show (and just went off the air earlier this year).

Also HBO and Showtime have some excellent shows on at the moment. I'm thoroughly enjoying Dexter.

[FIREWALL]

Hooray for Hollywood. :roll: :down: That is why I have a 1500 dvd collection and growing.

I just don't watch tv anymore. Except for the news if you want to call it that.

[Dowly]

*cough* *cough* Firefly *cough*

*cough*wasnt anything special*cough* :O:

[Sailor Steve]

*cough*wasnt anything special*cough* :O:
That's a matter of taste.

I can't help it if you don't have any.:rotfl:

[August]

Also HBO and Showtime have some excellent shows on at the moment. I'm thoroughly enjoying Dexter.

Soon to be broadcast on Finnish TV under the name "American Slasher".

[Task Force]

I just fugured out why alot of shows slapped together in america have america in the title...

to warn people ahead of time...:rotfl:
should just say...
CGI and s*** storyline ahead...

[Overboard]

Hollywood has done lots of stupid things in all the years i can remember, but that don't make me mad or stop me from finding something i like to watch.
The problem is that they (hollywood) try to make it seem like one
generation just passes on leaveing the next so they change there programing to suit the younger ones.

Ok with that being said we either deal with it or stop watching the tv,
whitch neither one is what we want as consumers. (god i hope you can put up with my spelling), anyway the op needs to see that american movies were ment for an american audiance. :D

And with that in mind Why dose someone from another country complain about them in such a way?.. your not telling us something that we don't allredy know. Remember there just showes and you don't have to watch them. Do you not have moives made in your courntry by your people? and if not.. why not??

Its kind of like a mod for a game when you try it and don't like it and then come to a fourm and say... "This pice of crap SUX!!!!!!!, Well "imho" no one makes you download and and play the mod so why not change the chanel or deleat that mod from your hdd and go on to something else, but dont bitch about it.. Just don't play it, Realy is that simple. :88)

And remember theres allways something better just around the next bend. :sunny:

[longam]

American TV - to many channels and networks and not enough sponsors to go around to pay the bills.

Solution - run around with cameras and film people doing their job, but make it exciting and pay them squat.

Man they run things into the ground these days. Its starts out kinda interesting but then they go over the same thing over and over. My favorite use to be the crab fishing show and Ice road truckers, but its been done to death. Then there is Dog - the bounty hunter. They dress up in leather way to much and whats with the mullet from hell and his buddies with thier bat belts on, cant help but laugh when I see that one.

Time to just jack the TV into the PC and stream what I want.

[Task Force]

Time to just jack the TV into the PC and stream what I want.

I like your idea!!!:D

[Blacklight]

The reason for the spate of annoying reality shows is because they take pennies to produce and there are a large pecentage of people out there who watch them.

I'm getting REALLY REALLY tired of cop, doctor, lawyer, cop/doctor, cop/lawyer shows that are getting made in addition to the reality shows. The public is to blame for this mostly. Every time the studios have tried to do something different (Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Wonderfalls, etc..), they don't even cross the radar of 99% of the people out there and therefore can't get the viewership that they need to survive.

Another example of this is in the bookstore. Remember what the science fiction section was like 10 years ago ? Now look at it today. The number of books coming out that aren't based on video games or role playing games has been dropping and dropping. The size of the section has been decreasing steadily as well. No one has really stepped to the plate to take the place of masters like Asimov, Larry Niven, and Frank Herbert or if they have, they aren't getting published. American society has seemed to have turned away from the bookstore's sci-fi sections for the most part now.

It seems that us Americans are turning away from anything that makes us think now and anything that isn't the same old is deemed bad or not worth it.

[Overboard]

I'm waiting to see some finnish tv,...:06: Ummm by the way what chanel are those on ?? :hmmm:

[Sonarman]

The main problem I have with US Tv is that every time something good does come along it gets cancelled mid season leaving storylines unresolved.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Well, pretty much anything which comes from HBO is good. Otherwise, I take things on a show-by-show basis. Some are good, others less so. No real mystery.

Of course, there's a HUUUUGE side to American T.V. I'll bet you don't see: Spanish language!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL !!!!!!!!!

Well, I think I stretched things out like John Holmes.

EDIT: Darn. It autocorrected itself!!!

[Torvald Von Mansee]

The main problem I have with US Tv is that every time something good does come along it gets cancelled mid season leaving storylines unresolved.

The Wal Martians have a very short attention span, so blame them!!!!

[TLAM Strike]

That's a matter of taste.

I can't help it if you don't have any.:rotfl:

I think he has a problem with his brain being missing... :DL

Another example of this is in the bookstore. Remember what the science fiction section was like 10 years ago ? Now look at it today. The number of books coming out that aren't based on video games or role playing games has been dropping and dropping. The size of the section has been decreasing steadily as well. No one has really stepped to the plate to take the place of masters like Asimov, Larry Niven, and Frank Herbert or if they have, they aren't getting published. American society has seemed to have turned away from the bookstore's sci-fi sections for the most part now. Take the place of Larry Niven? Larry Niven is still alive and writting books. (Of course a little thing like death hasn't stopped Robert A. Heinlein from publishing a book here or there), Joe Halderman is still writting too. I can't forget to mention John Scalzi eather.

Soon to be broadcast on Finnish TV under the name "American Slasher". I thought they were using that title for when the nightly news is broadcast from the US?

[August]

I thought they were using that title for when the nightly news is broadcast from the US?

Could be :DL

But I always thought "Daily Bovine Feces" was a more descriptive term for the nightly "news"!

[SteamWake]

Most of the time the TV is on and I dont even watch it Im playin silent hunter or something.

LOL Ill have it on the weather channel for an hour or two :rotfl:

Or my wife will come in to chat and she will change it to her cooking contest show. Then she leaves and a half hour later Ill be like "What the hell am I watching" :D

Honestly when I watch a movie I do it on my pc... better picture and control over the dvd.