Seeking comments/opinions on TV shows (1 Viewer)

[The_Doc_Man]

I was scanning the TV's cable programming guide this afternoon and saw a dearth of good entertainment (if you are not a sports person, a real dearth...)

So I got a burr under my saddle and started looking through various TV show descriptions in the TV Guide. I noticed some real "winners" and have begun to despair. I know there are quality shows on the boob tube, but sometimes they are so hard to find as to be impossible.

I could always watch "Here Comes Honey-Boo-Boo" if I wanted to watch a spoiled child raised by a dysfunctional family.

There is "Swamp People" about folks crazy enough to go after something bigger than they are that is quite capable of eating them whole.

I could surely watch "Big Brother" or "Survivor" or "Summer Camp" if I wanted to watch vain, shallow, devious, narcissistic people try to cheat, lie, and steal their way to some case prizes.

I can also watch "Heroes of Cosplay" if I want to watch people obsess over making costumes that look like comic-book or computer-game or Anime characters.

Then there's "Breaking Amish" and "Amish Mafia" if you want to get involved with another really narrow religious subculture.

Then there are the cooking (or eating) shows where I watch people do crazy things with food and some things I wouldn't consider as food. Including folks who seek the hottest peppers on the planet and then get into contests where they end up tossing up their meal into a bucket. Folks who try to eat quantities of food that violate the #1 rule of eating: Never eat anything bigger than your head.

Let's not forget stories about bitchy brides, bridezillas, and competing brides who get to be snotty about other women's weddings. Women who try to buy elaborate wedding dresses for sums of money that would feed a family of four for a year.

Am I just "not with it any more" or has television sunk to a new low?

 

[Brianwarnock]

I can only agree with every word the Doc has written.
Where are the replacements for Porridge, Only Fools and Horses and the other great comedies that one could relax with at the end of a hard day.

As the Doc said you have to dig deep to find any decent programme of any genre.

Brian

 

[rodmc]

there are some good series out there, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Vikings to name but a few

in terms of good comedies however, there isn't much to go on

 

[Steve R.]

My "pet" complaint concerns the (misnamed) Science Fiction Channel (SyFy). They have had a several good shows, which they cancelled. These include Caprica, Dresden Files, and Stargate Universe. (The Stargate franchise, was enjoyable as a simple action series. Stargate Universe had a deeper plot, but it also strayed from the central plot and had too many Deus ex machina issues.)

Serenity was a great series. It is also another example of a good series being mishandled by the network.

Showtime has had some excellent series. Homeland, the Borgias, and the Tudors. I really enjoy historical based mini-series; even if they take extreme liberties with the real history.

As for the Walking Dead, never got into it. So I don't know if it could be considered good or bad.

Just started watching Hell on Wheels. Descent plot, a lot of (visual) detail, and doesn't seem to "pull its punches".

in terms of good comedies however, there isn't much to go on

It's a desert. I haven't seen a watchable comedy in years.

 

[Vassago]

Doctor Who!

I don't watch live tv these days. I don't even have a subscription to anything. Netflix, online, or bust for the most part.

 

[speakers_86]

Showtime has had some excellent series. Homeland, the Borgias, and the Tudors.

How could you not mention Dexter???

I'm also watching Falling Skies, I like that show. The other big one I like is How I Met Your Mother. I absolutely love that show. Oh, and House of Cards is fantastic.

 

[Fifty2One]

Best part of the list of bad shows is that most people are getting their television via cable or satellite, which would indicate that they are paying to be fed the garbage.
We have only over the air television (yes it still exists) and we are grateful that we get 3 PBS stations, which is actually a total of 10 sidebands thanks to digital over air. We also get TVO and TFO which is an English and French Canadian sort of PBS-esque programming and format. We also receive CTV CBC Global TVA and RadioCanada plus CBS NBC ABC from the US. Lots of free yet intelligence insulting offerings from some of the networks.
Aside from the PBS type offerings I rarely am attracted to any of the programs which are televised, I could not imagine having to pay for it...

 

[kevlray]

The only show that I consistently like is Myth Busters.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Ah, Myth Busters - a breath of fresh air, more or less, with a certain strange twist to it. Where else would you watch guys doing their best to make a powdered creamer turn into a fireball; or blow up a water heater; or examine the legend of the huacha, a type of early Oriental equivalent to the German WWII Nebelwurfer - with arrows...

I paid for cable in the hopes of finding more good programming. I get the same channels as are broadcast over the air in New Orleans because the cable company has made that arrangement, but I guess I was hoping for more quality. I should know better.

 

[Some]

The poor "mass" quality of TV is the main reason why pretty much everything I watch is streamed by netflix hulu etc.

However I do believe that shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Throne, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos are truely some of the best tv the last couple of years, if not forever (atleast for serious shows).

Comedy TV on the other hand seems to have died in a ditch somewhere and people aren't quite sure how to get it out/if they want to.

 

[rodmc]

Dont know if you guys in the US/OZ etc get "An Idiot Abroad", but I did find that hilarious

 

[Some]

Dont know if you guys in the US/OZ etc get "An Idiot Abroad", but I did find that hilarious

Karl is funny but I just find Ricky the most annoying man on the planet. Not for anything he does, he seems like a pretty decent guy. Just that laugh he has.:banghead:

 

[kevlray]

Dont know if you guys in the US/OZ etc get "An Idiot Abroad", but I did find that hilarious

I do not get that program on any of the channels I get, but then again I only get a subset of the channels available.

 

[scott-atkinson]

I like, Being Human, Falling Skies, Under the Dome, Game of Thrones, Vikings, Continuum, Walking Dead, Warehouse 13, also liked Fringe, but that has now ended.

I watch all these programmes online from a site called Couchtuner for free.

 

[Joe8915]

Gold Rush is pretty good

 

[GinaWhipp]

Well, I'm happy to know I am not the only one! I'm so sick of *reality* TV. If I want *reality* TV, I can sit on my front porch or, better yet, have the family over for dinner!

 

[Steve R.]

Gold Rush is pretty good

What I have most enjoyed about Gold Rush is how well they can use their equipment and their innovative repairs. However, many of the "confrontations" I believe have been staged, which detracts from the show. This year's Gold Rush has started off as having lost its luster.

 

[kevlray]

Gold Rush is pretty good

One of the problems that a co-worker of mine (who is a amateur gold miner) has with Gold Rush is that it seems Todd Hoffman barely knows what he is doing and is making costly mistakes.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If I want *reality* TV, I can sit on my front porch or, better yet, have the family over for dinner!

Gina, are we related somehow? Family dinners at my place tend to get really bizarre thanks to my younger grandson.

 

[GinaWhipp]

The_Doc_Man...

Could be! Only, the grandkids are fine, it's the adults that are bizarre here!