Are we in a Golden Age or Dark Age of Television?

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I'd say we're closer to a Dark Age than a Golden Age, though I feel like we're just starting to pull out of it. So I'm sort of optimistic for the future.
 
It depends on your point of view.

In terms of dramatic television, it's closer to a Golden Age....The West Wing(I know, it's over), 24, The Sopranos, Lost(even though I personally think it's an absurd show), Six Feet Under, Studio 60(if it ever comes back), etc etc, I think the past few years have some of the best ever for television in terms of dramas.

In terms of the sitcom, it's more of a Dark Age. The 80s and 90s were a Golden Age for sitcoms...Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, The Cosby Show, Mad About You, Home Improvement, just to name a few. Sitcoms pretty much suck right now. Only the NBC no-laugh-track bunch(Scrubs, The Office, perhaps 30 Rock, et al) are funny, as well as maybe 'The Class' and 'How I Met Your Mother' on CBS. Sitcoms are dying because of...

Reality Television. If this is a dark age for television, Reality Television is the reason why. There are a precious few entertaining ones here and there, but the vast majority of these programs are utter crap. Survivor got old after the first two seasons. The Bachleor is crap. Wife Swap is completely absurd. Super Nanny is ridiculous. Big Brother is a big bore. It's just shit. Reality Television is shit. There's about as much reality involved in it as there is in a road runner cartoon.

So, yeah, it depends on your point of view.
 
Lancemc said:
I'd say we're closer to a Dark Age than a Golden Age, though I feel like we're just starting to pull out of it. So I'm sort of optimistic for the future.

It's interesting that you say that because it seems like new shows come out that could take television back to a Golden Age but get the axe or end before enough can start a snowball effect. Only two of the dramas NamkcuR listed will be back (unless Studio 60 by some miracle returns.) Of the unique comedies on NBC, 30 Rock and Scrubs might not last that much longer. Could it be as simple as giving shows more time to find their footing?
 
For drama you forgot Battlestar Galactica buddy :wink:

Yes, network television is too preoccupied with "reality" TV and formulaic sitcom/dramas than anything else right now. Shows like Arrested Development are extremely well-done and receive praise from critics and a rabid fanbase but are axed by the network (FOX is notorious for this). If this show was on HBO or Showtime or even F/X, it would still be on.

As long as a flawed ratings system is tied to ad revenue, network television will remain in a relative Dark Age while cable TV will remain Golden.
 
This whole reality thing just won't die....

because people as a whole prefer living vicariously than in their own lives.

DARK
 
Screwtape2 said:


It's interesting that you say that because it seems like new shows come out that could take television back to a Golden Age but get the axe or end before enough can start a snowball effect. Only two of the dramas NamkcuR listed will be back (unless Studio 60 by some miracle returns.) Of the unique comedies on NBC, 30 Rock and Scrubs might not last that much longer. Could it be as simple as giving shows more time to find their footing?

That was exactly my logic. Great shows kep getting cancelled, which is why we still haven't climbed out of this yet, but the potential is soooo there.
 
Dark Age

Too many crappy reality shows. Too many interrupted seasons and rescheduling of programs to different time slots. American Idol. The fact that networks kill any show that doesn't attract a minimum of "x" million viewers within a couple of weeks. The comedies are mostly junk.

The networks have killed tv with the exception of perhaps 2-3 shows per network.
 
In terms of drama and spectacle it's a golden age.

In terms of the world being flooded with "reality" crap and celeb gossip, not so much, and as others have said there's really no comedy on the American airwaves any more.
 
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