TV programming, do you agree that it sucks?

[GeneL]

Based on Newt's previous topic http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,919163 I wanted to see if there was any consensus about the quality of current TV programming

RAMd®d expressed that the show "Human Target's" season was too short.

In fact, the "seasons" of all my favorite shows seem to end almost as fast as they start.

It would be nice if the customers (you and I) had more to say about the programming.

My complaints:

1. Seasons are far too short
2. Show time slots bounced around so they are hard to follow.
3. Start and end times are sometimes inconsistent, so scheduled recordings miss the endings.
4. Program guides are inconsistent about whether a show is "New" or a rerun causing me or my DVR to miss episodes
5. Programs that I really enjoy and seem to be popular get canceled

Do you share my complaints?

Do you think that the "new" internet paradigm will improve any of these issues?

[iaJim]

Yes to everything. I'd add one more thing: TOO MANY COMMERCiALS! You only get to watch about seven minutes and then there's five or six minutes of commercials.

[ztirffritz]

Yes and no. The problem in the future will be that there will be more shows serving smaller audiences. Finding the diamonds in the rough will be the hard part. I suspect that webisodes such as Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and The Bannen Way (sp?) are examples of what the future will hold, but I don't expect the quality to be as high.

[Seacrest]

The thing of it is, the good TV shows that are around today (and of recent vintage) are really good, while the junk is equally as junky as it gets.

I rarely watch "broadcast TV" anymore though -- this is, I never watch any scripted shows during their first airing.
I watch everything on DVD (or BD).
It's a much more satisfying way to take in the stories.
The added bonus is that there are no commercials (and no monthly fee to TiVO for the privilege).

The lone exception these days is Lost, which I only watch live because I vacuumed up the entire first five seasons on disc and online in about three weeks.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

I'm not a fan of the current practice of splitting a season's worth of shows into mini-seasons that are broken up throughout the year. Seems to me to be one of the quickest ways of assuring that fans of a show will stop watching.

[GuyGene]

Yes.

[(vikm)]

TV programming is really no different than listening to FM radio broadcasts. There is really only about 5% worth watching or listening to.

I'm certainly not one of those snooty "tv is horrible and rots your brain" sorts (although it can be true). There have been plenty of shows over the years that have been really informative and entertaining. There are currently some that still have redeeming qualities. Just maybe takes a little effort to find them.

I can't stand shows like American Idol and can't be bothered to know who got voted off of the island last week. Stuff like Jersey Shore, etc. turns my stomach. It's kinda disappointing that this kind of stuff is what the majority of folks like to watch because it takes away from some stuff that involves real creativity and good writing.

As mentioned above, the stuff I like tends to get cancelled. Life was a good example. It was different than all 30 of the CSI shows and other similar cop shows. The writing was clever without trying to make sure you knew it was.

Anyway, yeah, tv sucks but there are still good things to watch. Just takes some effort to find the good stuff.

[cbelt3]

Television is a vast cultural wasteland with a few oases.

In other words, De Gustibus Non Disputandem Est

I am most certain that people happily watching "RAW" wrestling will decry those 'horrible shows on PBS'.

[pqrst]

I agree that programming is neither better or worse then before. I think that there is so many outlets that there is a lot more good stuff, and a lot more bad stuff and everything in between. On my cable box, it would be impossible for anyone to tell which is a broadcast network (abc, etc) if you didn't already know. The cable channels are mixed in with the broadcast ones.

[AlphaDog]

I happen to think that if you are of the opinion that TV programming sucks and it will not get better and that there are too many commercials, etc., then you ought to just quit watching TV.