Young people's awful taste in television

booboo88 · 31-10-2011 04:42PM

And Leonard in BBT is hotttt!!!!!

The House Of Wolves · 31-10-2011 04:45PM

Because the TV stations buy in this rubbish, the teens watch it because it's all there is, the ratings go up and the stations buy in more rubbish. It's the circle of liiiiife.

No, but really. The Inbetweeners, Shameless, Misfits. All great comedy to come out of Britain. HBO in America has some great shows. You just need to look for it on the internet because the stations here don't show it. (Or if they do, it's at ungodly hours. RTE with Mad Men, I'm looking at you.)

Ally Dick · 31-10-2011 04:59PM

I was at a birthday party yesterday, and I was absolutely shocked at all of the 40 and 50 somethings discussing X Factor. It's bloody awful rubbish. Most people watch it. Very disturbing. ITV are laughing all the way to the bank. They're making a fortune from that crap

Rjd2 · 31-10-2011 04:59PM

parker kent wrote: »

The last 15 years has been TVs golden age in terms of top quality TV. It has never been better.

The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Game of Thrones, Battlestar Gallactica are just a few of the genuinely great shows in the recent past. These are as good as any top movie.

Sure there is shít out there as well, but look at TV schedules in the 70s, 80s and 90s, there were enormous amounts of terrible shows as well. You only remember the classics.

Oh and The Big Bang Theory is funny. You may not like it, but it is has quality writing and is not the typical view of geeks.

Throw in Deadwood, Six Feet Under and Mad Men and we are still not even scratching the surface.
Its as easy to find these shows as it is to avoid all the stuff that most consider rubbish.

InkSlinger67 · 31-10-2011 05:08PM

I need to let it be known that I only thanked the OP because I do agree that the specific shows mentioned are sh1te. That's not to say there are no good US comedies out there at the moment.....South Park has been struggling for the past few years but is still enjoyable. 30 Rock also struggled after the first series but is still pretty damn funny in comparison to all the other tripe out there.

On the serious drama side of things, I tend to avoid most of the modern series still running. I usually get my drama fix on TV nowadays from old movies screened during the day on Channel 4 or Film 4 - some serious classics shown on a daily basis which is great.

So my good TV time is taken up with classic movies, one or two comedies and mainly documentaries, not a big fan of downloading these days (apart from live sports streams).

old hippy · 31-10-2011 05:11PM

It never ceases to amaze me how people's good/bad taste in telly can be so much more divisive/emotive than some of the arguments on gay marriage/Republicanism/social welfare/travellers/immigration

Dotrel · 31-10-2011 05:19PM

old hippy wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me how people's good/bad taste in telly can be so much more divisive/emotive than some of the arguments on gay marriage/Republicanism/social welfare/travellers/immigra[n]tion

That's because you'd let a tv show into your house.

Wibbs · 31-10-2011 05:21PM

hondasam wrote: »

Two and a half men is pretty good tbh.

Well I'd defo say it's not nearly as dire as some seem to make out. It had it's moments, though the shark was long ago jumped. What surprised me about the show was that unlike most US mainstream media, the "bad" guy, the alcoholic, prescription druggy, whoremaster who treated women like crap pretty much always ended up the winner. Where the "nice" guy, the underdog pretty always ended up worse off by the end of an episode. Not the usual morality tale the main channels ike to play into the homes of middle america. It's raging popularity gave me some hope for the same middle america. Yea it was dire at times, but it's premise interested me.

Mindkiller wrote: »

Why is Sheldon in TBBT seen as such a great character? All he seems to be is a slightly aloof weirdo with geeky interests.

He is funny, though funny because he's a common enough type within the nerd community if not so extreme. I've certainly met guys not unlike him in their lack of empathy and basic human understanding. He's a good actor that's for sure. Great timing. All of them have that.

Maybe more online men will tend to prefer TBBT over 2 1/2 men because of that different dynamic? Very few of them would identify with Charlie Harper. maybe even identify more with his put upon brother, but with TBBT they'd see more of themselves in the characters and would really want to identify with the Leonard guy and the fact he pulls someone like Penny and other hot babes. I'd reckon if one asked the "man/woman on the street" they would swing the pendulum back to TBBT more than online. A similar one would be Doctor Who. The online communities only love the new geeky guy but tend to get ranty about the previous guy who the mainstream preferred.

I'd defo agree with parker kent(and Rjd2) that there have been some quality TV coming out on both sides of the atlantic in the last decade or so. I remember the telly from 20/30 years back and while there were good shows(Hill Street Blues etc) there wasn't the quantity, quality and range IMHO. There were less good writers/directors/actors aiming at TV. There was more of a film/TV split.

old hippy · 31-10-2011 05:29PM

Dotrel wrote: »

That's because you'd let a tv show into your house.

I'd let most people in, tbh

4leto · 31-10-2011 05:30PM

Mindkiller wrote: »

Why is Sheldon in TBBT seen as such a great character? All he seems to be is a slightly aloof weirdo with geeky interests.

I think he is a comic genies, his timing, his delivery, he was genetically engineered for that part and the Emmy people thought so to.

I first though he was playing the nerd camp, but he is actually gay in real life and engaged to his boyfriend.

But there are a host of great characters in the show, it just works, ifI was a producer and someone was to pitch the show to me, sciencey nerds doing comedy I would toss them out of the office.

phasers · 31-10-2011 05:30PM

I have amazing taste in television and I'm 20. You just hang out with losers OP.

Mindkiller wrote: »

Why is Sheldon in TBBT seen as such a great character? All he seems to be is a slightly aloof weirdo with geeky interests.

Because betas enjoy TBBT and relate to Sheldon's aspie tendencies.

St.Spodo · 31-10-2011 06:10PM

Whenever people want to comlain about modern television, they point to Two and a Half Men. It's getting a bit lame; there have been some really excellent shows made in the 21st Century.

Also, as bad as Jersey Shore, X Factor and I'm a Celebrity Derp are, you'd be wrong to think it's just young people keeping them going. The X Factor, for example, has a large audience among older people.

Dotrel · 31-10-2011 06:17PM

old hippy wrote: »

I'd let most people in, tbh

Good for you.

Superbus · 31-10-2011 06:26PM

mickydoomsux wrote: »

American sitcoms, all sitcoms in fact, are usually utter ****e regardless of when they were on. Tame humour with laugh tracks inserted to remind you what's supposed to be "funny".

The problem is that there are tons more of them now because they are cheap to produce, you can pretty much reuse scripts from other ones you've written and just change the names (How I Met Yore Ma is literally just Friends with different named characters) and they get massive ratings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBelT-Xi1CY

paddyandy · 31-10-2011 08:02PM

All tv is Rubbish. Everything that's popular is.....always been that way...

Eathrin · 31-10-2011 08:11PM

I'm young and I can tell you that I hate Two and a half men/x factor/mtv shìte.

I don't even watch much tv but I do enjoy good shows like:
The big bang theory
Misfits
Inbetweeners
The it crowd/father ted/black books
And the sports of course:D

Yeah Buddy · 31-10-2011 08:20PM

How I met your mother = quality

Captain Limerick · 31-10-2011 08:25PM

The popularity of reality tv I don't understand,
Its all the same and so bland,
A buch of rich tools fake lives,
Its all so contrived,
This stuff really should be banned!

phasers · 31-10-2011 08:27PM

Everybody shut up and watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPqRpar4PyE

Zascar · 31-10-2011 08:32PM

You cannot possibly make a decision on a show by just watching one episode. You really need to watch a good few episodes from the beginning to really understand what its about and if you like it.

Would you pick up a book, read a few pages in the middle, and think its ok to throw it away cause it's rubbish?

vampire of kilmainham · 01-11-2011 03:36AM

ejmaztec wrote: »

The only funny thing about Two and a half men is the amount of money they get paid for writing and appearing in such sh1te.

the same thing applies to them all and all american comedy is sh1t anyway

vampire of kilmainham · 01-11-2011 03:39AM

fluorescence wrote: »

What are you on about? Big Bang Theory is amazing

O no it's not:p:p:p

krudler · 01-11-2011 03:42AM

Dotrel wrote: »

Is it not? Any time I've ever seen it they can't go 15 seconds without some pop reference to sci-fi/fantasy or have some character acting socially awkward.

....thats kinda the point.

krudler · 01-11-2011 03:45AM

also TBBT is filmed in front of an audience, they've made a point of this throughout the seasons, you can tell by the audience reactions in these clips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gE3RGn5qkU

OPENROAD · 01-11-2011 03:48AM

They don't make them like these any more imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw-GP1D6cdo

vampire of kilmainham · 01-11-2011 04:07AM

one foot in the grave
the green green grass
steptoe an son
open all hours
porridge
keeping up appearances
fawlty towers
a lot of old stuff now but i still think the brits were best at comedy

vampire of kilmainham · 01-11-2011 04:13AM

i dooooooo notttttt beliveeeee itttttt

ballsacky · 01-11-2011 04:18AM

Does anybody remember Charlie Chalk? That was real television.

EKClarke · 01-11-2011 05:58AM

I don't watch any of the shows you listed and I'm 19.
I usually watch Eden, Fox News, Blackadder, Black Books, IT Crowd, QI and anything with David Attenborough.
And Sponge Bob Square Pants 2-More Sponge Less Pants.

yawha · 01-11-2011 06:09AM

parker kent wrote: »

I didn't say that they don't show them as socially awkward or without references to sci-fi fantasy (indeed those references are a huge reason why it is popular with geek world). Of course it it is exaggerated, it's a comedy. They are heightened extremes of what geeks can be like. Nonetheless, it is a heartfelt view of them and it is not in any way cruel.

What are you on about? The whole show is about laughing at a guy with Asperger's Syndrome.

Young people's awful taste in television

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