Are broadcast networks becoming obsolete 10-20 yrs from now?

[michael hagerty]

Seinfeld was tough to "get" for everyone, and watching reruns today makes it clear how the jokes just don't work out of its time. You aren't stumbling around trying to find your car in a group and covering the same ground when everyone has a phone,

Dated references are the enemy of any TV show 30 years later.

And, c'mon, gr8oldies, the lost car in a garage episode fails now because we all have cell phones, so we either can't remember or younger people can't relate? That would make literally any TV show or movie from before 1985 unwatchable now. "Lawrence of Arabia is lost in a sandstorm. Why doesn't he check GPS and call 9-1-1?"

That said, SEINFELD built from abysmal ratings in season one and two to being either first or second in the Nielsens in its final four seasons. That's not a sign of being tough to get for everyone, and it's certainly not a rating possible to achieve by being popular in the Northeast and nowhere else.

Same goes for FRIENDS, which was strong out of the box, and was one of the top 5 shows every season.

In fact, both SEINFELD and FRIENDS are among the most popular shows in streaming today.

 

[michael hagerty]

I think it is more the talent of the host than their skin color.

Okay. So, given that this whole discussion began with your assessment that FOX10 is targeting a Black audience outside its newscasts, are you then saying that the talent of the host (which is subjective, so your opinion of the talent of the host) determines whether the show is aimed at a White, Black or Latino audience? And if so, which audience gets the best talent and are those who get the worst talent aware of the fact?

 

[michael hagerty]

And while I'm winning friends and influencing people, you guys are aware that "Too New York" is interpreted widely as not saying "Too Jewish" out loud, right?

 

[vchimpanzee]

Uhhhhh......dude? You think no white people watched Oprah? Even Soul Train?

When I was in college there was a place to watch TV, even though I had one in my room, and these Black students were surprised I was watching "Soul Train" with them. I don't know why I was, but Herb Alpert was on. He didn't do much, but the song was credited to him and it was a minor hit.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Ticket prices are about the same as any other cinema, and food and drink prices (including cocktails and wines) are on-par with standard restaurants in this city.

My first thought was and you pay dearly for all this.

 

[Mikey Radio]

My first thought was and you pay dearly for all this.

Surprisingly, no. Back in later June we went to see a movie on a Thursday night, it was the first day it had been released in cinemas across the USA (to great fanfare) and we paid $12 each for tickets, including all taxes/fees. We've definitely paid more for admission at other, standard theaters with no frills. Again, food and drink prices were on-par with standard restaurant pricing.

 

[michael hagerty]

Surprisingly, no. Back in later June we went to see a movie on a Thursday night, it was the first day it had been released in cinemas across the USA (to great fanfare) and we paid $12 each for tickets, including all taxes/fees. We've definitely paid more for admission at other, standard theaters with no frills. Again, food and drink prices were on-par with standard restaurant pricing.

Same where I live, with a bit steeper base price. $14.00 for a general admission ticket at a "traditional" movie theater, while the one with a bar and food service is $14.75.

And yeah, the food prices are in line with standard restaurant pricing, though if I'm not in a rush, I'd rather eat in a restaurant before or after the film. That said, I've done the burger-and-a-movie thing (pre-pandemic) and, apart from seeing a $70 charge for a movie theater on my VISA statement, it wasn't bad.

 

[Kemosabe]

Seinfeld was tough to get for everyone outside the northeast. And NBC didn't care because Noo Yawk was their main focus in the 1990s. Everybody else was along for the ride.

Same with Friends.

Unlike with Friends, however, some Seinfeld episodes—e.g., "The Chicken Roaster" and "The Soup Nazi"—were based on actual events and people of New York. Thus, some of the Seinfeld plots were probably more esoteric yet to viewers outside Gotham.

 

[michael hagerty]

Unlike with Friends, however, some Seinfeld episodes—e.g., "The Chicken Roaster" and "The Soup Nazi"—were based on actual events and people of New York. Thus, some of the Seinfeld plots were probably more esoteric yet to viewers outside Gotham.

Using that logic, I, a Los Angeles kid, should have been totally confused by THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

 

[davideduardo]

Using that logic, I, a Los Angeles kid, should have been totally confused by THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

Or any of the 655 episodes of Hee Haw.

 

[michael hagerty]

Or any of the 655 episodes of Hee Haw.

Well, HEE HAW did puzzle me....

But seriously. THE AVENGERS. I'm a kid in L.A., not London. I shouldn't have had any clue what was going on, but I figured it out.

FLIPPER. I didn't go to Florida for the first time until I was 49. But I managed to be okay with that and I DREAM OF JEANNIE (I hadn't been to Florida and didn't have a magic girl living in a bottle) when I was 8 and living in L.A.

HAWAII FIVE-O. Still haven't been to Hawaii yet, don't live around volcanoes, neighbors don't wear rings of flowers around their necks. Instant disqualifier.

C'mon, guys.

 

[Mikey Radio]

That said, SEINFELD built from abysmal ratings in season one and two to being either first or second in the Nielsens in its final four seasons. That's not a sign of being tough to get for everyone, and it's certainly not a rating possible to achieve by being popular in the Northeast and nowhere else.

Same goes for FRIENDS, which was strong out of the box, and was one of the top 5 shows every season.

In fact, both SEINFELD and FRIENDS are among the most popular shows in streaming today.

There are 2 reasons reason why shows like Seinfeld and Friends work(ed) so well IMO.

1) The overall premise was relatable to many. While not every event in every episode featured something that had occurred in our own lives (few of us have found sets from old TV shows in the garbage and set them up in our living rooms and hosted our friends as Kramer did with an old set from the Merv Griffin Show, for instance), nearly all of us at one time, whether in high school or college or when moving to a new city or starting a new job, had a core group we hung out with most often, went to lunch with, grabbed coffee with, went to dinner or to happy hour with, talked about work and life with, etc. for at least a period in our lives.

2) It was entertaining to many. While not everyone was a fan or "got" shows like Friends and Seinfeld, they were simply fun for many to watch. Same with shows like 2 1/2 Men, Will & Grace and others from that general era where many watched, but not all those viewers had necessarily been in a similar living situation. The mayor where I lived for a time was an old, salty war veteran who was as blue collar as they come, he cursed like a sailor when the general public and media weren't around and was known to pound drinks almost nightly at the VFW...And when he walked into City Hall, he often greeted employees with a joking "Hello, Newman!", said in the same snarky manner that Jerry Seinfeld often greeted the character Newman on the show. Turns out the guy (who I don't think had even been to NYC much less lived there), loved that show.

 

[CTListener]

Same with Friends.

Friends was set in Seattle, but it could as well have been New York. So could the Chicago of the Bob Newhart Show. So many comedians and comedy writers came from New York that on television, New York became representative of America's cities and New York's suburbs became America's suburbs. Just mentioning the Cubs and White Sox instead of the Yankees and Mets occasionally didn't make Newhart (the one in which Bob was a psychologist) a sitcom about life in Chicago.

Seinfeld's New York City, though, was often criticized for its lack of diversity. Latinos especially fared poorly. The most memorable Latino character in the series' long run was a busboy in a restaurant whom George caused to lose his job. When George visits the busboy's tiny apartment to apologize, there's a poster of a Latino prizefighter on the wall. Very stereotypical. You hardly ever saw a black or Latino character at the diner where much of the show's action takes place, nor do any of the main characters have significant minority friends, and very few minority co-workers. I wonder if more attention to those details would have improved the show's standing with minority viewers.

 

[TheBigA]

Friends was set in Seattle, but it could as well have been New York.

Friends (TV Series 1994–2004) - Plot - IMDb

Friends (TV Series 1994–2004) - Plot summary, synopsis, and more...

www.imdb.com

Follows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty-something-year-old friends living in Manhattan.
Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing, and Phoebe Buffay are six twenty-somethings living in New York City.

Central Perk was a coffee shop that is near Central Park. Thus the name.

 

[michael hagerty]

Friends was set in Seattle

FRIENDS was set in New York. FRASIER was set in Seattle.

 

[michael hagerty]

Seinfeld's New York City, though, was often criticized for its lack of diversity. Latinos especially fared poorly. The most memorable Latino character in the series' long run was a busboy in a restaurant whom George caused to lose his job. When George visits the busboy's tiny apartment to apologize, there's a poster of a Latino prizefighter on the wall. Very stereotypical. You hardly ever saw a black or Latino character at the diner where much of the show's action takes place, nor do any of the main characters have significant minority friends, and very few minority co-workers. I wonder if more attention to those details would have improved the show's standing with minority viewers.

Let's remember that part of the concept of SEINFELD was that they were supposed to be terrible people.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Or any of the 655 episodes of Hee Haw.

"Hee Haw" isn't real!

Though I actually knew a woman who talked the way Minnie Pearl talked.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Let's remember that part of the concept of SEINFELD was that they were supposed to be terrible people.

And yet the real Jerry is nice.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Using that logic, I, a Los Angeles kid, should have been totally confused by THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

My father reminded me a lot of Andy Taylor. Not the hick from the early episodes, but the intelligent version that came later. Although the hick was deceptive the way Columbo was.

 

[michael hagerty]

Just mentioning the Cubs and White Sox instead of the Yankees and Mets occasionally didn't make Newhart (the one in which Bob was a psychologist) a sitcom about life in Chicago.

THE BOB NEWHART SHOW (the one in which Bob was a psychologist) was never meant to be a sitcom about life in Chicago. It was meant to be a sitcom about a psychologist whose personal life (thanks largely to his airline pilot neighbor Howard) is only a little less wacky than his professional life.

In the same way, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW was not meant to be a sitcom about life in Minneapolis. It was meant to be a sitcom about a single woman working in a television newsroom and dealing with life in general.

Yeah, they could have set either of those shows in New York or L.A. (or for that matter, San Francisco or Philadelphia), but they chose Chicago and Minneapolis even though the shows themselves weren't terribly location-specific (both were shot in L.A. with a week worth of location shooting for exteriors and credits scenes done before each show began).

NEWHART is the one where Bob was an innkeeper in Vermont.