Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

[Mark Giardina]

Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I would love to read the comments.

For me growing up TV seemed devoid of this reality crap that has saturated the airwaves. Instead there were a mixture of programs to enjoy that included variety shows, westerns, comedies, dramas.

The season started in September and ended in March or April, and then if you missed any episode or wanted to watch something else, there were reruns. None of this 12 weeks of shows then wait the next year for the return season.

 

[pgtcf7806]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

A very good question.....

I can remember when NBC had 5 or 6 game shows before noon and then 3 or 4 soap operas from noon on. Now "Days of Our Lives" is the only show of any type left other than the 4-hour "Today Show" which used to be known for its news coverage and not its lifestyle and gossip segments. Jane Pauley is spinning in her grave and she isn't even dead yet!!! When "DOOL" is cancelled, and I think it might be next time it comes up for renewal, what do they intend to do? An MSNBC simulcast all day long? The thought of that makes my head hurt.

Another problem is the lack of independent stations. In the good ol' days, every major television market had at least 1 or 2 of them and they pretty much had the most variety. Dallas/Fort Worth is a good example. They had KTVT Ch. 11 which featured classic sitcoms, great movies, and the coolest kids programming around during the week and great syndicated country music and wrestling on Saturday nights. KXTX Ch. 39 was mainly the same except their wrestling was on Sunday. But KTVT became a CBS affiliate in 1995 and KXTX became I think a Telemundo affiliate. Both stations lost their unique identity and a lot of independent stations either became a major network affiliate or joined UPN or the CW. A true slice of Americana was lost there.

 

[landtuna]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I'm not sure there is one good answer for that and much of it probably depends upon where you lived and the size of your market. In the 50's I was 10 years old before the first TV station signed on. Two years later came #2 and 3 years after that #3. None were independent.

TV back then was much more diverse than today. Lots of game and special interest shows, kids shows every afternoon and Saturday mornings, lots more movies. But you have to remember that the viewers, adults and children alike, were also new to the medium.

If your version of "TV" includes cable or satellite then TV would be more diverse today. If you are talking about broadcast OTA TV then no.

The common cry today is "500 channels and nothing's on!" rings true in some areas but in others we get much more types of entertainment than back then. I think it depends on the individual as to whether today's menu has events they want to watch versus just the few in the early days.

For instance, I used to fume when Wide World of Sports started showing multi-sport shows. A typical one would be figure skating coupled with motocross. I would grit my teeth sitting through the boring hour of skating so I could see the fleeting scenes of motorcycle racing. Today you can see hour upon hour of racing without having to sit through sports you don't want to watch.

So, much to consider, but overall I would say TV today is much more entertaining than back then. If for no other reason than we get to watch all those old shows again.

 

[mbayus]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I have remarked on this before on this board. One of the things that I enjoyed most while growing up was going on vacation and staying in motels and listening to the TV stations that we could get. Each station had a unique identity. The announcers sounded different, the news openings and closings were different and so on. Now every station sounds and, I guess, (because I am totally blind) looks alike. Channel 12 in Flint Michigan sounds just like channel 4 in Pittsburgh, sounds like channel 7 in Detroit, sounds like channel 28 in Tampa.
I also use to enjoy "DXing" at home. I would get up very early on a Sunday morning, and tune around the dial ans "see" what I got.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Hell no!

 

[mississippi fan]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

No. I was bornnin 1954 and grew up in Wesson, Miss., 49 miles south of Jackson. Until 1970, Jackson had a CBS affiliate WJTV 12 and an NBC affiliatte WLBT 3. However, due to racial tensions and opionions of WLBT, Jackson was not allowed a 3rd state until late 1970 when we got ABC affiliate WAPT 16. Later Jackson got our first independent WDBD 40 until it joined Fox in '88 I belive.
Through the TV guides, I spent a lot of time turning the attenna when the folks went to sleep to try to pick up the New Orleans TV stations which ran a lot of movies. The Jackson market was not movie friendly. WAPT aired a lot more movies than the other two affiliates. WDBD did not seem to run a lot of movies in the later years. The New Orleans stations ran a lot of different horror and science fiction movies that I did enjjoy. Baton Rouge's Ch. 33 ram some for a while on Saturday night.
What I miss is local affiliates showing movies. Now I have to turn to TCM (AMC has gone to hell) to watch the older movies. i can't stand the court shows or the talk shows that dominate daytime TV>

 

[KeithE4]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I wouldn't know. I haven't watched a first-run "entertainment" program on broadcast or cable since Cheers went off the air. Other than news, sports, and the occasional old movie, TV rerun, or cartoon on my Roku box, my TV doesn't get turned on much anymore.

Prime time network television is a nonentity to me, and has been for 20 years. If I happen to catch any TV show, it's because I'm somewhere that has it on.

 

[LKellerIII]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

In my opinion - YES - TV is much more entertaining today. I grew up in the 60s in LA- which had the 3 networks, 4 commercial independent stations, and an NET (PBS) affiliate. So there was no shortage of programming.

But in the last decade, there has been an explosion of excellent original programming on basic cable channels like AMC, FX and TNT. IMO, dramas like Breaking Bad, Justified, Walking Dead, etc. - are far better than typical network fare. And it's forced the Big 4 networks to write and produce better programming.

 

[pqgeorge]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

In a word...... no. Here in the Boston area, before cable TV really spread in the mid 1980's, we got the typical "Big 3" affiliates (WBZ/ 4 NBC, WCVB/ 5 ABC and WNEV/ 7 CBS). For PBS it was WGBH/2 and WGBX/44. On UHF, we had some really dynamite indies to choose from.... WXNE/25 (owned by Pat Robertson's CBN but operated as a fairly well-run indie), WSMW/27 (partly STV, partly conventional with a lot of brokered time shows with some old syndicated product), WSBK/38 (a major sports station in its' day and had super coverage via cable throughout the Northeast), WLVI/56 (always second in the ratings behind WSBK, but was VERY competitive in its' own right) and WQTV/68 (formerly an STV outlet but in '83 became Boston's 4th Indie and really tried hard to make a go at it).

In addition, we also got stations fairly well from outside the market from Providence and Manchester, NH. It was a "Beggar's Banquet" with more programming on these stations than a whole cable dial card could ever muster. Today, I rarely watch the "Big 3" or the not-so-big FOX and CW. But, I LOVE what I see on MeTV (WCVB 5.2, WJAR 10.2 and WMUR 9.2). Many of the best shows that were on our old Indies in the past, are now on MeTV. I actually watch two of the MeTV's using an OTA antenna.

 

[ercjncpr]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Simple answers to these types of questions are sometimes best
H E L L NO!!!! :'(

 

[MCarney]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Today, I rarely watch the "Big 3" or the not-so-big FOX and CW. But, I LOVE what I see on MeTV (WCVB 5.2, WJAR 10.2 and WMUR 9.2). Many of the best shows that were on our old Indies in the past, are now on MeTV. I actually watch two of the MeTV's using an OTA antenna.

I have to agree with Peter. I'm also in the Boston area and watch MeTV from Boston and Providence (because Boston doesn't carry "Perry Mason"). I can't stand that the former Indies now run judge and talk shows all afternoon. I want to be entertained and not hear endless whining. Cable TV is worse because a station will start out with a niche market and then decide to go "general programming". I liked History better when they were showing military documentaries.

The only way I can say that TV is better is as a sports fan. I would have loved to have the MLB Extra Innings package back in the late 70s! HD has also made watching games better. OTOH games are a lot longer due to TV requirements.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Damn straight TV was more entertaining when I was growing up.

What passes for entertainment on TV today is ridiculous.

Honey Boo Boo......The Housewives of (insert city here).........The Kardasians.......

Growing up there was.....

All in the Family......The Jeffersons....... Columbo......Kojak..... The Fugitive......Gunsmoke. And just is a small sample.

 

[cd637299]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

In a word, no. Glad that I use my TV to do DXing, otherwise I'd be limited to my old VHS tapes & DVD's.

cd

 

[visaman]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I liked History better when they were showing military documentaries.

Like M*A*S*H*?

 

[landtuna]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I liked History better when they were showing military documentaries.

Like M*A*S*H*?

No, when History was known as "The Hitler Channel". ;D

 

[ShawnHill1]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

This is a good question, albeit a bit subjective. I'm almost 33, and I spent parts of my childhood in three different cities where one had a lot of viewing options (Los Angeles), another one with very little TV options (Rockford), and one more where it was kind of middling (Milwaukee).

I would say that TV for me growing up in the '80s and '90s was more entertaining than it is today, only because even back then, with more limited channel options compared to today, there was more variety in programming on any station you watched. Everyone got a little something each day, whether it was cartoons, game shows, soap operas, sitcoms, dramas, news and so forth. I can say that today's television is watered-down, daytime TV especially with tons of talk shows, courtroom shows, newscasts, and infomericals.

Just because you have 400-500 channels on your television doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of the programming matches up to the quanity.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Back in the day the major networks were actually willing to invest money in program
development, writers, actors, musicians, and other professionals needed to put a show together.

Today it is all about the bottom line. How cheap is it to produce?
Can we get a bunch of airheads to keep coming back to embarrass themselves on
our reality show for free? Or if it is a particularly tough time slot we can just punt
and go with America's Funniest Security Camera Videos.

 

[LKellerIII]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Back in the day the major networks were actually willing to invest money in program
development, writers, actors, musicians, and other professionals needed to put a show together.

Today it is all about the bottom line. How cheap is it to produce?

Not really true, IMO. I'll propose an example: Watch a current episode of Hawaii Five-O, then follow it with an episode of the original Jack Lord series, then follow that with an episode of Hawaiian Eye from the early 60s. I think you'll find that the production values, and quality of the scripts has actually gone up decade over decade, not down. And it's not just modern technology - it's that the networks (and now cable channels) are willing to shell out the money for higher quality productions because viewers expect it.

I watched an episode of Hawaiian Eye a few years ago on one of the Retro networks. It was awful. Bad script, wooden acting, and sets that looked like they were made out of cardboard. There was a "jungle" chase scene obviously filmed on a sound-stage. The "jungle" was laughingly fake-looking, and you could see that some of the tropical plants were in pots.


I can see I'm in the minority on this thread - I'm one of the few that said they found current day TV more entertaining than in past decades. Of course, this is the Classic TV thread, so the sample of people posting here here may be a bit skewed.

And for the record - I detest "reality" programming, and never watch it. I only know Honey Boo-Boo from the jokes the late-night comics make about it. I think I watched Jersey Shore once with my teenage daughter, and I can say that I never will again.

 

[jwk1979]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

I grew up in Knoxville during the 60s and 70s and we only had the 3 network affliates and a PBS station that only came on from 3 PM to 10:30/11 PM during the week and from 12 PM to 11 PM on weekends. One thing I like better about tv back then was the local channels only had their local news cast at 6 PM and 11 PM, not 3 or 4 hours of local news from 4 PM to 7 or 8 PM (depending in what time zone you live in), most of which are just repeating the same handful of stories over and over.

We also had 26 to 28 new episodes of prime time tv shows that only showed reruns, for the most part, when the entire season was over in the spring, unlike today, when we get 2 or 3 weeks of new episodes followed by 3 or 4 weeks of repeats, from either an episode that was shown just a few weeks ago or an episode from last season, that had already be repeated 4 or 5 times since it's first airing 6 months ago.

 

[landtuna]

Re: Is Television More Entertaining Today Than When You Were Growing Up?

Not really true, IMO. I'll propose an example: Watch a current episode of Hawaii Five-O, then follow it with an episode of the original Jack Lord series, then follow that with an episode of Hawaiian Eye from the early 60s. I think you'll find that the production values, and quality of the scripts has actually gone up decade over decade, not down. And it's not just modern technology - it's that the networks (and now cable channels) are willing to shell out the money for higher quality productions because viewers expect it.

I watched an episode of Hawaiian Eye a few years ago on one of the Retro networks. It was awful. Bad script, wooden acting, and sets that looked like they were made out of cardboard. There was a "jungle" chase scene obviously filmed on a sound-stage. The "jungle" was laughingly fake-looking, and you could see that some of the tropical plants were in pots.

Except for the "better scripts" part I agree with you but you also need to consider that shows like Bonanza which were very popular also took advantage of shooting "outdoor" scenes on cardboard stages. People back then didn't care.

One of the major differences between shows then and now was the expense of using locations or complex props instead of computer-generated backgrounds and SFX. TV shows didn't get the revenue that big screen productions did so they had to make do with simpler sets. Look at the original Star Trek sets for example - my ten-year old could make one of those. ;D

The shows then might have had less realistic sets but they did have, generally, better dialog (with some exceptions of course). The Defenders and Perry Mason are two examples of fairly cheap productions but excellent scripts. The original Maverick western was very well done.

Just for laughs, did you really think Hawaiian Eye (and its stablemate Surfside Six) were as quality-produced as some of the other private eye shows?

I can see I'm in the minority on this thread - I'm one of the few that said they found current day TV more entertaining than in past decades. Of course, this is the Classic TV thread, so the sample of people posting here here may be a bit skewed.

Judging by the ongoing controversy in the Oldies/Classic Hits threads I would assume you and I are a bit older than the norm and were around and watching TV in the late 50's and 60's. I agree with you that TV entertainment is better today than it was then if for no other reason than the diversity of programming. Like the game shows of old (which were generally throw-aways) the reality and talk shows of today are horrible and a great waste of broadcast resources so it hasn't improved everywhere. I do find it much more educational than in yesteryear and that, to me, is definitely a form of entertainment.

I do miss quality talk shows in which the subject wasn't just pushing his/her latest film or book and I also greatly miss the variety/comedy shows like Gleason, Skelton, Gobel and Martin.