the most annoying aspect of modern television

[cd637299]

About all TV stations being the same:

Once there was a time when syndicated programs were "bicycled", and different markets had different episodes of the same show. Now, especially "Wheel of Fortune" & "Jeopardy" will have the same episode seen throughout the country on the same evening. In this case, it is an advance of technology, with satellites and such....in the old days, in some markets, if a "Wheel" contest was going on, some people would stand less chance of winning than others, I would think.

Also, and correct me if I am wrong here....in older filmed series reruns, stations had the films themselves, complete with scratches, dots, splices, etc. Bad as it was, it made a station unique! (I'm especially referring to Miami's old WAJA-TV 23.) Nowadays, syndicators I suppose hold the rights, and just like the above shows, often the same episode is seen in every market on the same night.

True, the quality of film is much better now with this, but the local charm is gone.

We can always go to YouTube for public domain goodies, as a throwback to those days in which I refer.

cd

 

[searadiofreak]

I'm bothered by the fact that nowadays everything sounds the same as far as local TV. Use to be, that each TV station had its own personality. Back in the day, when I was little, (1960) I use to enjoy traveling and staying at motels and listening to the station ids, and news openings etc. because they were all different for each city I visited. Now everything sounds the same.

I totally agree. But for me, it wasn't 1960, it was as late as 1985, when there still was some individuality among stations from market to market. Something changed during the 1990's, IMO. I blame the consultants, (actually I blame the local stations who used the same consultants), who adopted "the formula". It has gotten worse over the decades and now local news looks almost identical from market to market. Only the names and channel numbers have changed (to protect the innocent!). I, too, miss the individual station personality, which with just a few exceptions, look the same today from market to market. Radio is the same, sadly.

 

[mleach]

I'm bothered by the fact that nowadays everything sounds the same as far as local TV. Use to be, that each TV station had its own personality. Back in the day, when I was little, (1960) I use to enjoy traveling and staying at motels and listening to the station ids, and news openings etc. because they were all different for each city I visited. Now everything sounds the same.

I totally agree. But for me, it wasn't 1960, it was as late as 1985, when there still was some individuality among stations from market to market. Something changed during the 1990's, IMO. I blame the consultants, (actually I blame the local stations who used the same consultants), who adopted "the formula". It has gotten worse over the decades and now local news looks almost identical from market to market. Only the names and channel numbers have changed (to protect the innocent!). I, too, miss the individual station personality, which with just a feew exceptions, look the same today from market to market. Radio is the same, sadly.

To me it was as late as the early 90's even some large markets such as Denver made you fell like..well Denver. Even in smaller markets for many it was still "local" so yeah I do blame the "consultants". I still can remember our local religious station in Virginia back in the early 90s where a number of their shows the host & flock were speaking in "tounges" during their broadcast..today no consultant would allow that at all. **sigh** time have changed.

 

[Darth_vader]

"Something changed during the 1990's, IMO."

The year immediately following the time of 23:59:59'99 on December 31, 1995. What happened to radio broadcasting apparently must have happened to television broadcasting as well......

 

[Markieo]

Also, and correct me if I am wrong here....in older filmed series reruns, stations had the films themselves, complete with scratches, dots, splices, etc. Bad as it was, it made a station unique! (I'm especially referring to Miami's old WAJA-TV 23.) Nowadays, syndicators I suppose hold the rights, and just like the above shows, often the same episode is seen in every market on the same night.

True, the quality of film is much better now with this, but the local charm is gone.

We can always go to YouTube for public domain goodies, as a throwback to those days in which I refer.

cd

Oh yea, scratches, lines, cue marks (circles, squares, x's, seems every station had it's own set)...I miss those days.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

"Something changed during the 1990's, IMO."

The year immediately following the time of 23:59:59'99 on December 31, 1995. What happened to radio broadcasting apparently must have happened to television broadcasting as well......

? Care to explain the significance of 1/1/96?

 

[Bob1370]

"Care to explain the significance of 1/1/96?"

Must be a reference to the Telecommunications Act which enabled the creation of the monster radio and TV station groups like Fox and Clear Channel which brought so much of programming down to the same cheap, boring norm...

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

Thanks! On that I would have to agree.

 

[milwaukee_dave]

Maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic, but I miss theme songs! A few shows still have a 30-second opening (or somewhere in that range) with cast credits, etc., but it seems the exception these days, and not the rule.

This is the ultimate TV theme song: It's Garry Shandling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cWbkWTYwTw&feature=related

Right on!

 

[WPPCProductions]

"Care to explain the significance of 1/1/96?"

Must be a reference to the Telecommunications Act which enabled the creation of the monster radio and TV station groups like Fox and Clear Channel which brought so much of programming down to the same cheap, boring norm...

Wow I forgot about that.

 

[Limp73]

Clear Channel no longer operates any televsion stations(at least in my area anyway) but at any rate television news sunk down to new lows with Fox....it's all about sensationalism and promoting arch-conservative agendas. Every time I see Bill O'Riled-up ranting and verbally attacking his guests with opposing views via his two edged mouth..I can only think of one person.....JOE PYNE! hence I have seen this Big Time Rasslin' match before! He insists he knows it all and makes ME want to rant! Obviously they are out to recruit the angry white anglo-saxon good 'ol boy!

Same hate rhetoric.... different century.

Remember the 1970s movie "Network"? That's Fox News in a nutshell...especially when Howard Beale gets "assasinated" on the air by a terrorist. I see it coming!

"He who lives by the sword dies by the sword"
Matt 26:52

Fair and balanced??? MY FOOT!!!!

 

[ixnay]

Clear Channel no longer operates any televsion stations(at least in my area anyway)

Or in anyone's area, per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Channel_Communications . CC sold its TV stations (I never knew it ever owned any) in 2008.

ixnay

 

[BRNout]

Clear Channel no longer operates any televsion stations(at least in my area anyway) but at any rate television news sunk down to new lows with Fox....it's all about sensationalism and promoting arch-conservative agendas. Every time I see Bill O'Riled-up ranting and verbally attacking his guests with opposing views via his two edged mouth..I can only think of one person.....JOE PYNE! hence I have seen this Big Time Rasslin' match before! He insists he knows it all and makes ME want to rant! Obviously they are out to recruit the angry white anglo-saxon good 'ol boy!

Same hate rhetoric.... different century.

Remember the 1970s movie "Network"? That's Fox News in a nutshell...especially when Howard Beale gets "assasinated" on the air by a terrorist. I see it coming!

"He who lives by the sword dies by the sword"
Matt 26:52

Fair and balanced??? MY FOOT!!!!

Oh please! I was quietly lurking here in silence, amused with (and agreeing with) many of the posts in this thread. Then I come to this one, which is totally baseless. A breathtakingly intolerant comment!

Number one, you seem to be confusing the cable network known as Fox News Channel with Fox network affiliates.

Secondly, Heaven forbid that there's one network that prides itself on not having a lefty bias. An option for those who don't have the same political opinions as YOU do. Hate? The biggest source of 'hate' that I see comes from those who think that an alternate opinion is 'dangerous'. As for Bill O'Reilly, he's rude in a New Yorker sort of way and for that reason I don't watch him very often. But he's not all that conservative either. And I have never heard him, nor anyone else on Fox, preach 'hate'. Despite the crap that you may read in the likes of the Huffington Post or Media Matters.

Adding a little political variety to the cable TV lineup is hardly 'the most annoying aspect of modern television' unless you're a follower of the likes of Castro, Stalin or that most recent fan of political censorship: Hugo Chavez. If you don't like what Fox has to say, don't watch! Tune in to Olbermann on MSNBC or any number of other liberal commentators. You have plenty of choices as far as that's concerned.

 

[firepoint525]

Today many local TV anchors are either young people who often move from market to market without setting up roots in the community or older anchors who are just waiting to retire if not ONLY doing it for the money and nothing more...of course there are some exceptions.

Not to mention the unintended funny circumstances of those "youngsters" mispronouncing local names (of streets, people, or neighboring towns) that they wouldn't be doing if they were able to stay in the same place for a while.

I blame non-compete clauses, in part, for that one, because reporters must leave town whenever they leave a station, or otherwise take a year off, or whatever.

 

[hubcity]

Secondly, Heaven forbid that there's one network that prides itself on not having a lefty bias.

The truth has a well-known liberal bias, as you know.

/colbert ftw!

 

[mleach]

Today many local TV anchors are either young people who often move from market to market without setting up roots in the community or older anchors who are just waiting to retire if not ONLY doing it for the money and nothing more...of course there are some exceptions.

Not to mention the unintended funny circumstances of those "youngsters" mispronouncing local names (of streets, people, or neighboring towns) that they wouldn't be doing if they were able to stay in the same place for a while.

I blame non-compete clauses, in part, for that one, because reporters must leave town whenever they leave a station, or otherwise take a year off, or whatever.

Believe it or not some stations don't even bother with contracts period. One example is Hagerstown, MD's WHAG-TV. No non-compete ( who would they compete with anyway ? )..nothing. Its also the same with that market's radio stations, outside of those who do morning drive, one is pretty much at the mercy of "...employment at will". For those while they can quit anytime and walk to another station down the road and nobody can stop them however at the same time they can be fired at anytime for any reason so there is a plus and a minus there for working without being under contract.

 

[RBW]

I think possibly the reason for the lengthy credits at the beginning is b/c when the show goes to syndication, the operators tend to not only, speed up but "squeeze" the end credits into a tiny box as they promote something else with the other part of the screen. So, they figure they can get the credits out there in the beginning and the operators can do nothing to alter those without absolutely ruining the show. Just a conjecture.....

I guess (to a point) that makes sense. I don't honesty remember back when they first began the practice, that programs didn't actually "have" closing credits... as they (for the most part) don't have anymore. Every show runs tight to the top of the hour, so it's a quick close/promo, then the start of the next show, or news... etc.

That's another example, is when the late local news begins. Often (over the program close) the local news anchor will pop-in with a news preview, then say "blah-blah News, starts NOW" and before you know it, you've got live footage of a bloody shoot-out from around the corner looking you straight in the eye! Is this L&O Special Victims Unit or the REAL thing!! :-[

 

[RBW]

One of the things I don't like in this era is the running of back to back shows. Whether it's two "Friends" or "Judge Judy" on local stations or any of the off network on most any cable network. Especially in these days where 100 or less episodes are available. I enjoyed the old days when it was one episode per day. Took almost a year to go through "I Love Lucy". Plus it only one episode was shown, perhaps more programs could air. How many times and how many channels does one really need to watch "Ghost Whisperer"?

Syndication has been that way for a long time though. Back in the 70's and 80's our local indies would run Lucy episodes 3x a day!

Also true is the way (today) that some syndicated programming runs the same episodes in various markets. I first noticed that a few years ago with Seinfeld. Although I'm not sure if it's done as much now as back then. Perhaps with more recent off-network fare.... Three and a Half Men... for example.

 

[nightfly61]

Here goes.
I don't like the digital signal.At least back in the day, if your Cable went out you could still find a fuzzy UHF channel.
Not only the bug, but the ads that continually pop up at the bottom of the screen. Somrtimes there's 4 women running around at the bottom of the screen for :15 or so until they "virtually" run back off & have distracted me. I know this has been going on for a while now, especially on VH1 who sometimes had 3 or 4 icons at once at the bottom. :

 

[mleach]

One of the things I don't like in this era is the running of back to back shows. Whether it's two "Friends" or "Judge Judy" on local stations or any of the off network on most any cable network. Especially in these days where 100 or less episodes are available. I enjoyed the old days when it was one episode per day. Took almost a year to go through "I Love Lucy". Plus it only one episode was shown, perhaps more programs could air. How many times and how many channels does one really need to watch "Ghost Whisperer"?

Syndication has been that way for a long time though. Back in the 70's and 80's our local indies would run Lucy episodes 3x a day!

Also true is the way (today) that some syndicated programming runs the same episodes in various markets. I first noticed that a few years ago with Seinfeld. Although I'm not sure if it's done as much now as back then. Perhaps with more recent off-network fare.... Three and a Half Men... for example.

Also back in the day one can really find anything at anytime. For example one could find I Love Lucy reruns not only in the morning but even very late a night and it was the same with those "morning talk shows" too like Hour Magazine and Donahue. For some reason I seem to recall watching Jeopardy on a local Virginia station back in the 80's at 3AM.

Today OTOH I have heard that many shows can't be aired during certain dayparts. Wasn't there a station someplace who had wanted to air The Simpsons during the morning hours right after Regis & Kelly ( I believe ) only to get a "no you can't" from FOX? I seem to recall reading about this someplace. Thinking it was radio-insight.