Do you agree that TV dramas are the best they have ever been today?

pqdvdplayer · 05-03-2014 12:14AM

bur wrote: »

Season Five wasn't even the best season of Breaking Bad imo. And yes, True Detective is pretty good too, fairly overrated though.

It's only in its early days and it's already looking very promising. I don't think Tv series should be rated until they have finished completely. You wouldn't stop halfway through a movie and write a review, something great could happen after that which could change your view completely

pqdvdplayer · 05-03-2014 12:17AM

e_e wrote: »

What movies are you basing this on? I see at least 50 new films every year and I can say it's as good as it has ever been. You just need to know where to look, hell even in the multiplex right now there's some very good variety.

Whenever anyone complains of modern movies I get a whiff of "I haven't seen it, but......" which isn't a good start for making any sort of case for or against something.

I feel this way about some people talking about TV shows. People go on talking about how tv used to be better "back in the day", but all they watch it bloody RTE and SKY 1 etc etc. There's hardly anything noteworthy on traditional tv.

SEPT 23 1989 · 05-03-2014 12:17AM

The Backwards Man · 05-03-2014 12:20AM

IvaBigWun wrote: »

No.

No they weren't.

Sixties I meant, sorry.

I was frothing at the mouth typing that, didn't realise my mistake.

Muahahaha · 05-03-2014 12:24AM

I think tv really upped its game in the early 2000's. It happened as Hollywood scripts and production values were brought to cable tv. Also it was the beginning of Hollywood actors and directors popping up on tv series, Donald Sutherland, Martin Sheen, etc later followed by Kevin Spacey. West Wing and Sopranoes were leading in that regard, the series Lost had Hollywood epic stamped all over it.

I think the early 2000s and the success of the above shows displayed to networks like HBO that producing high drama series with Hollywood writing and distributing it for sale to foreign markets could be a huge money spinner. The series Friends also blazed the way in that regard, I think it was sold to over 120 countries worldwide, earning the tv network the type of earnings that were previously only seen in Hollywood.

Muise... · 05-03-2014 12:25AM

pqdvdplayer wrote: »

I feel this way about some people talking about TV shows. People go on talking about how tv used to be better "back in the day", but all they watch it bloody RTE and SKY 1 etc etc. There's hardly anything noteworthy on traditional tv.

Maybe among this group are people who were alive and tv-literate "back in the day" and prefer to let the hype settle down before judging the quality of any tv drama?

In your OP your cut-off point is the 00s - is that because you only started watching then? The media in the late 90s were full of grand "best of the milennium" polls and oddly enough, all of the best stuff had happened in the previous decade.

The_Valeyard · 05-03-2014 12:26AM

Some programming quality in the past was very high quality, granted special effects were no where as good as today, but great for their time.

I agree shows like Breaking Bad, House of Cards, The Wire, BSG, etc are all amazing and give TV a much higher standard, there are equally, many, many other shows that really grabbed peoples attention or are still worth watching (ER, Law & Order, Star Trek, Quantum Leap,

Sure im now half way through season 2 of Columbo! Just love that show.

Other notable classics: X-Files, West Wing, Firefly, Life on Mars, Band of Brothers, Fraiser, Blackadder, Doctor Who

e_e · 05-03-2014 12:31AM

pqdvdplayer wrote: »

I feel this way about some people talking about TV shows. People go on talking about how tv used to be better "back in the day", but all they watch it bloody RTE and SKY 1 etc etc. There's hardly anything noteworthy on traditional tv.

I am curious about what's out there. At any given time it just seems as if there's only a handful of shows of note whereas if I'm planning on what movies to see I'll have so much interesting looking stuff to pick from (from before the 00s and all around the world too). There's so much more variety in film and there's a "made by committee" feel to too much television to me. I kinda think that the great shows are only occasional exceptions to the rule.

Mardy Bum · 05-03-2014 12:31AM

Twin Peaks, Oz, Deadwood, The Sopranos, The West Wing, The Wire and True Detective are the stand outs. Each have brought something new to television.
The most revolutionary of all got cancelled this year; Treme.

EoghanIRL · 05-03-2014 12:32AM

Breaking bad .

Duggy747 · 05-03-2014 12:33AM

True Detective is an excellent show, just great TV with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConnaughy 2.0 in top form.

R P McMurphy · 05-03-2014 12:34AM

Starsky and Hutch was the golden age. Everything else has basically been a remake

Muise... · 05-03-2014 12:38AM

R P McMurphy wrote: »

Starsky and Hutch was the golden age. Everything else has basically been a remake

True for you. Even Sarah Lund's geansaí in The Killing couldn't top those cardigans.

thegreatgonzo · 05-03-2014 12:40AM

pqdvdplayer wrote: »

No Television show prior to the 00's had the power to completely blow people away..

You are probably right but I don't really want to be blown away by TV. I like my TV to be more soporific, I'm a bad sleeper. It's costume dramas or historical biopics all the way for me.
I do however really like The Sopranos but some scenes are a bit much for me. I wasn't always so sensitive to violence on TV but over the last few years I've started finding it more upsetting.

ygolometsipe · 05-03-2014 12:48AM

e_e wrote: »

What movies are you basing this on...

The 80's

Back to the future
Indiana Jones
Ghostbusters
Gremlins
The Empire Strikes Back
The Goonies
Blade Runner
The Terminator
Full Metal Jacket
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Aliens

The 90's
Forest Gump
Schindlers List
The Truman Show
Pulp Fiction
The Lion King
Terminator 2
The Silence of the Lambs
Goodfellas
Jurassic Park
Home Alone
The Shawshank Redemption
Saving Private Ryan
Seven

The 00
Pirates of the Caribbean ( did not like)
The Lord of the rings (which I really don't like)
The Lord of the rings - the other one
The Lord of the rings - and one more
Harry Potter - there's a couple of these ( seems very similar to LOTR, again did not like )
Batman - The Dark Night ( remake but it was ok I suppose)
No Country for old men ( was very boring)
The Departed (excellent movie but the original ->Infernal Affairs<- is better)
Avatar ( was very good in CGI terms but the story is average)
Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind ( was boring)
Gladiator ( was the best movie of the 00's)
There will be blood (it was a good movie)

The overall theme for me is that the 80 and 90 were mostly original
new movies with very little churned out sequels.
They explored cool si-fi ideas like Blade Runner and Jurassic Park with spooky ones like Alien.
It was repeated again in the 90 with Forest Gump, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas
The Shawshank redemption, so much original variety. It was great.

This is only my opinion, I can completely agree that all of this is subjective at best.
Still tho, its my opinion that the 80+90 was a better time for movies.

Setun · 05-03-2014 12:48AM

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Twin Peaks, Oz, Deadwood, The Sopranos, The West Wing, The Wire and True Detective are the stand outs. Each have brought something new to television.
The most revolutionary of all got cancelled this year; Treme.

True Detective is incredible - I'm on the second last episode and I'm wondering how they're going to wrap it all up though in the finale. Up until this point it's been very hard to fault.

I was following Treme too over the last few years, a show that went beyond entertainment and had a serious message about american folk culture, politics and corruption. It really gave plenty of space for the characters to develop and mature, and also was unprecedented in the respect it gave to the musical legends of Louisiana - the all-star jam sessions that cropped up were always a joy.

fatherted1969 · 05-03-2014 12:50AM

Hill Street Blues was a great programme, bite your tongue

mark_jmc · 05-03-2014 12:52AM

The west wing...... makes me want to have amnesia just so I could watch it all over again for the first time 😊

irishfeen · 05-03-2014 12:56AM

mark_jmc wrote: »

The west wing...... makes me want to have amnesia just so I could watch it all over again for the first time 😊

Worth a watch so?? Its one thing I am meaning to watch.

e_e · 05-03-2014 01:02AM

ygolometsipe wrote: »

The overall theme for me is that the 80 and 90 were mostly original
new movies with very little churned out sequels.
They explored cool si-fi ideas like Blade Runner and Jurassic Park with spooky ones like Alien.
It was repeated again in the 90 with Forest Gump, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas
The Shawshank redemption, so much original variety. It was great.

This is only my opinion, I can completely agree that all of this is subjective at best.
Still tho, its my opinion that the 80+90 was a better time for movies.

You're basing it on Hollywood alone though, so there's your problem. It's bound to go through up and down stages and there's so much more to cinema than it in the first place. I'd argue too that Hollywood in the early 2000s was at a downpoint but it's completely on the up now. So much more great films on offer now than 10 years ago. We're barely into March and I've already seen upwards of 20-30 new movies that I really liked.

Also I do think you're looking back with rose-tinted glasses. Plenty of rubbish sequels back then (Jaws The Revenge and Batman & Robin anyone?) and so much of the crap has been forgotten about. I do think in 20 years time we'll all be looking back on the early 2010s as fantastic years for film.

mark_jmc · 05-03-2014 01:03AM

irishfeen wrote: »

Worth a watch so?? Its one thing I am meaning to watch.

It is indeed, I watch a lot of shows and nothing has equalled it for me!

Hande hoche! · 05-03-2014 01:06AM

Duggy747 wrote: »

True Detective is an excellent show, just great TV with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConnaughy 2.0 in top form.

Indeed. A great show.

irishfeen · 05-03-2014 01:07AM

mark_jmc wrote: »

It is indeed, I watch a lot of shows and nothing has equalled it for me!

Have to finish off The Wire (S4/5), this seasons The Walking Dead/Shameless USA and then the West Wing is next on the list for things I want to watch. Have heard only good things about it so i'm looking forward to it.

ygolometsipe · 05-03-2014 01:10AM

e_e wrote: »

You're basing it on Hollywood alone though, so there's your problem. It's bound to go through up and down stages and there's so much more to cinema than it in the first place. I'd argue too that Hollywood in the early 2000s was at a downpoint but it's completely on the up now. So much more great films on offer now than 10 years ago. We're barely into March and I've already seen upwards of 20-30 new movies that I really liked.

Also I do think you're looking back with rose-tinted glasses. Plenty of rubbish sequels back then (Jaws The Revenge and Batman & Robin anyone?) and so much of the crap has been forgotten about. I do think in 20 years time we'll all be looking back on the early 2010s as fantastic years for film.

I based it on Hollywood only as most people would watch it rather than foreign films. Yeah there was a lot of sh1t too in the 80's and 90's too but I believe less than the 00.

castletownman · 05-03-2014 01:12AM

Duggy747 wrote: »

True Detective is an excellent show, just great TV with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConnaughy 2.0 in top form.

And not to mention Alexandria Daddario, who is argueably the hottest tv actress of all time :eek:

e_e · 05-03-2014 01:25AM

ygolometsipe wrote: »

I based it on Hollywood only as most people would watch it rather than foreign films. Yeah there was a lot of sh1t too in the 80's and 90's too but I believe less than the 00.

I wasn't born in the 80s, but believe me I saw more utter crap in the 90s than I did the past 2 decades combined.

Not just foreign either, there's a load of great stuff outside of Hollywood in America too (check out Short Term 12, Frances Ha and Computer Chess). You can only judge it by the good stuff anyway. Nobody here is slamming all TV based on Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, for example.

Stojkovic · 05-03-2014 01:33AM

70s ;
Rich Man, Poor Man
Roots
Salems Lot
The Sweeney

80s ;
Hill Street Blues
NYPD Blue

Just of the top of my head.

Kids these days think tv was invented in 2005.

thegreatgonzo · 05-03-2014 01:43AM

Stojkovic wrote: »

70s ;
Rich Man, Poor Man
Roots
Salems Lot
The Sweeney

80s ;
Hill Street Blues
NYPD Blue

Just of the top of my head.

Kids these days think tv was invented in 2005.

A lot of my favourites are from the 70's. I'd rate Upstairs Downstairs far above Downton Abbey for example. I can see though why someone used to Downton Abbey type production values or whatever would find it hard to get into any of the older dramas. The pace is different for one thing.

Banjo String · 05-03-2014 09:04AM

Recently got started watching Vikings. Good show.

Breaking Bad was good. (bit over hyped) but good.

Boardwalk empire was better though.

For me, still the Sopranos. Best show ever made Imo.

(haven't watched game of thrones btw)

Sunglasses Ron · 05-03-2014 10:52AM

pqdvdplayer wrote: »

No Television show prior to the 00's had the power to completely blow people away. .

You clearly never watched Cracker, from early to mid 90's.

They're all on Youtube. Amazing mix of drama and deadpan comedy (primarily the paradox of the protagonist played by Robbie Coltrane, a stunningly intelligent psychologist with the impulsive behaviour of a 12 year old with a free house for the weekend)

Hard to pick a "best of", if you can't be bothered starting from the beginning try this

The Wire et al ain't bad, but it can't touch this.

Do you agree that TV dramas are the best they have ever been today?

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