The Reason for the Coming Collapse of Television...? The "Second Screen" Principle

For years, I have been railing against "prestige" cable.

It's too flabby. Rather than getting to points quickly, every show now pads the hell out of its runtime by limiting the number of consequential events in an hour's worth of show to 1-3, and then filling up the rest of the time with people talking to each other about their soap opera problems.

And not resolving them. That is key. If there's an interpersonal problem that gets resolved, fine, that's a bit of drama carried by conversation.

But when they just keep blabbing about the same problems every week, never resolving them? That is just stringing the audience along, padding the runtime, and spinning plates on stage.

Another element of the flabbiness is that every actor takes long actorly pauses when speaking. To further pad out the runtime.

That can be an effective tactic when used sparingly.

When used with

Every

Single

Sentence,

it's maddening.

People, and by people I mean women, keep suggesting I watch this show or that one. And I keep telling them, I cannot sit and watch an hour long TV show to see three or four minutes, tops, of actual story.

If I had that kind of free time, I'd actually read a book for once.

I had previously watched shows like this, "prestige" shows which thought "prestige" meant "wasting the viewer's precious time." Netflix's overpraised Marvel TV shows were all like this.

I've noticed that women have solved this problem by... always being on their phones or computers while watching -- theoretically -- television. They have realized that 90% of the runtime of the shows they watch is pure filler, so they mostly play on their phones scrolling through Twitter and watching TikToks and occasionally look up if they hear someone shouting dramatically or maybe if they hear a gunshot.

I've said before, maybe not here, that a cell phone is now a required peripheral for "watching" television. You absolutely just cannot watch this very expensive paint drying without something else to occupy your mind.

I quit watching the Marvel TV shows when I realized that when I was "watching" these shows, I was actually just reading Twitter 90% of the time (this is when I was on Twitter) and only occasionally looking up at the TV show. Usually I would miss the few important moments in a show, but would realize I missed something, so I'd rewind a bit and see if anything consequential happened.

A show that had to be watched like that is not worth watching. That's how people watch porn.

Yesterday Instapundit linked an article from July 25th. Not only is Hollywood aware that their "prestige" cable shows are 43 minutes of flabby filler and three minutes of actual story, but they're actually demanding that scripts be written this way.

And they're demanding that shows be written this way because they're aware that they've now conditioned their audience -- mostly women -- to play on their phones while "watching" their boring content, and don't want to interrupt "viewers" too much by requiring that they pay attention too much.

They don't want the TV shows interfering with Twitter and TikTok.

This was all confessed by Justine Bateman. Yes, that Justine Bateman. Mallory from Family Ties. She's a producer now.

And she says that scripts get notes that say, basically, too much is happening in this episode, it might bother viewers to make them look up at the TV too much.

They have a term for this type of "entertainment" -- Second Screen.

No, the phone isn't the Second Screen. The phone is the First Screen, the more important screen people are looking at.

It's the TV that's the Second Screen, the unimportant one.

Today [this is from July 25, remember], I came across this amazing interview with Justine Bateman in The Hollywood Reporter. For those of you who don't know, Justine Bateman is a writer, director, and producer. Recently, she contributed her expertise as an AI consultant for SAG-AFTRA's negotiating committee.
Bateman began her career in Hollywood with an acclaimed and Emmy-nominated portrayal of Mallory Keaton on the TV show Family Ties.
In her interview, Bateman discussed a range of ideas in Hollywood, but one quote about storytelling shook me to my core.
Bateman said, "I've heard from showrunners who are given notes from the streamers that 'This isn't second screen enough.' Meaning, the viewer's primary screen is their phone and the laptop and they don't want anything on your show to distract them from their primary screen because if they get distracted, they might look up, be confused, and go turn it off. I heard somebody use this term before: they want a 'visual muzak.' When showrunners are getting notes like that, are they able to do their best work? No."
It's hard to put into words how horrifying this situation is to hear for a writer and for anyone interested in storytelling as a career. The very idea that streamers would want us to dumb down material so people who are not watching won't lose their place is the direct antithesis of the art we all strive to create.

Well to be honest I saw clips of She-Hulk and I'm not sure you guys have anything better to offer.

But yeah, I agree with the general point. Television is now written by people who are only pretending to write, and watched by people only pretending to watch.

In the headline I promised a "collapse" of television. I can't guarantee that, but the future looks dim: Disney is trying to sell off its broadcast and cable operations, because they see little future in them.

They're going to focus on streaming.

Which is also a bust.

The Anticlimactic Death of the Streaming Wars
Productions are grinding to a halt and Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and Max are leaning hard on ad-supported models. The result of all this disruption might just be everything old being new again.

The article whines that the "queer" A League of Their Own just got cancelled by Amazon after only one poorly-viewed season. Amazon took the cover of the strike as an excuse to cancel a show they had already tried to cancel once, before the woke gay producer made noise about it and forced Amazon to give him a second season with half the episode count of the first one.

The article starts by complaining that this kind of edgy All Gay All the Time crap was what made streaming and "prestige" cable different, but now market forces are pushing streamers to offer shows that normies might actually want to watch.

Just like regular TV.

When the world looks back in, say, 30 years, the halcyon days of streaming will be looked upon as optimistic and fleeting--a time when Silicon Valley largesse meant Amazon would drop hundreds of millions of dollars on the Tolkien adaptation Rings of Power and Netflix would back money trucks up to Shonda Rhimes' house so she could develop Bridgerton. In all likelihood, those kinds of deals will still exist in 2053, but as competition in the streaming space gets tighter, the moonshot projects will likely be fewer and the emphasis on return-on-investment will only increase.
This writing has been on the wall for a while, but got reinforced this week when The Hollywood Reporter pointed out that streamers are increasingly guiding users to ad-supported versions of their services, largely by increasing the cost of their ad-free tiers. Earlier this month, Disney announced that the cost per month of Disney+ and Hulu would be going up three bucks. Paramount+ swapped its $10 ad-free plan for a $12 one that includes Showtime. Netflix offers a $7/month ad-backed plan and a premium one that costs more than $15. Peacock, in July, upped the price of its ad-supported version by one dollar and its ad-free iteration by two.
As long foretold, this all just seems like streaming becoming the new cable TV. Now that there are more streaming services than there used to be network television stations, people are trying to save money on all those subscriptions. If ads help them do that, so be it.

So... people cut the cable because they were tired of paying huge amounts of money for TV, and then having to sit through commercials to watch it.

And now streamers are charging people an arm and a leg to subscribe to their services, and then forcing people to sit through commercials to watch it. (At least, if they don't want to pay about double the subscription fee for the ad-free version.)

And this is going to work out better than the dying broadcast TV sector because why, exactly? Just because they have 50% gay and "diverse" content, which people aren't interested in watching?

Posted by: Ace at 04:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 I'm happy I don't have a TV.
First

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at September 08, 2023 04:32 PM (zJW56)

2 Somewhere in the general vicinity of first.

Posted by: That Northernlurker what lurkd at September 08, 2023 04:32 PM (VdGjU)

3 You'll never guess who initiated TX AG Paxton's ouster.

Yeah, It was George P Bush

Once a scum sucking globalist shill. Always a scum sucking globalist shill.

---------------

willowed from previous thread. Was this just thrown out there or did something come out of this afternoon's trial?

Posted by: SH (But Prefer Clark Griswold) at September 08, 2023 04:33 PM (sX1BW)

4 Die quicker.

Posted by: Next2Nothing at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (tA1/w)

5 I've noticed that women have solved this problem by... always being on their phones or computers while watching -- theoretically -- television.

I see you've met my wife.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls - an election is simply a festival for the majority at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (ppBhU)

6 It's a gray day today, my friends.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (xTRSc)

7 I nooded below

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (zJW56)

8 Yeah, I've read about this.

You can't be challenging because someone will be on their phone instead of watching the TV and then get lost and turn to something like reality TV where they can just absorb it without paying attention.

I'm not completely innocent of this, but come on...it was Friday the 13th Part III.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (LvTSG)

9 I may be in the minority here, but I don't watch TV and don't miss it. I waste my time with YouTube, movies and video games.

Oh and dogs. But that's wasting time. That's spending it wisely. Dogs are great but they don't live forever, so you gotta spend time with them while you can.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:35 PM (xcxpd)

10 And now streamers are charging people an arm and a leg to subscribe to their services, and then forcing people to sit through commercials to watch it. (At least, if they don't want to pay about double the subscription fee for the ad-free version.)

And this is going to work out better than the dying broadcast TV sector because why, exactly? Just because they have 50% gay and "diverse" content, which people aren't interested in watching?

========

Movies > television

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:35 PM (LvTSG)

11 I see you've met my wife.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls - an election is simply a festival for the majority at September 08, 2023 04:34 PM (ppBhU)

Wait a minute... are we married to the same person?

Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (fKIdX)

12 I've noticed that women have solved this problem by... always being on their phones or computers while watching -- theoretically -- television. They have realized that 90% of the runtime of the shows they watch is pure filler, so they mostly play on their phones scrolling through Twitter and watching TikToks and occasionally look up if they hear someone shouting dramatically or maybe if they hear a gunshot.
++++
That isn't just women by any means. It's extremely common. It's both because a lot of content on TV is boring, and because attention span has cratered - in part because of the very stuff they're doing on their phones all the time.

And it isn't just "prestige" shows - though they do it a lot. It's everything. They have to fill the runtime. One of the reasons this is so bad in the "prestige" shows is because they're really movie story lines, drawn out to 8-15 hours.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (t0OGg)

13 Another element of the flabbiness is that every actor takes long actorly pauses when speaking. To further pad out the runtime.

That can be an effective tactic when used sparingly.

When used with

Every

Single

Sentence,

it's maddening.

That's!

Not!

Funny!

Posted by: William Shatner at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (Bd6X8)

14 9 I may be in the minority here, but I don't watch TV and don't miss it. I waste my time with YouTube, movies and video games.

Oh and dogs. But that's wasting time. That's spending it wisely. Dogs are great but they don't live forever, so you gotta spend time with them while you can.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:35 PM (xcxpd)

=========

Taskmaster is the best television.

But other than that, yeah, movies are where it's at. It takes more craft to tell a whole story in 90 minutes than to tell an incomplete one at 10 hours.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (LvTSG)

15 Kids today do not watch TV ... at all. So yes, eventually it will die.

Posted by: SH (But Prefer Clark Griswold) at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (sX1BW)

16 *peeks in*

Is it safe?

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (DRSnL)

17 Throw in the writers and FAG strike and its a perfect storm. Maybe our society will go back to treating Hollywood types as they were treated throughout most of history. Like the whores, pimps, and carnies they actually are.

Posted by: GM27, SEP Field Technician at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (RKLPC)

18 And here I was just going to go with "because it sucks?"

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (qPw5n)

19 I admit that sometimes I do watch television "second screen" style, though I don't watch *current* programs.

I'll pop in a DVD of a television show and just let it run while I'm doing something else on the computer.

I rarely sit down for the entire runtime of a movie just to watch the movie. I always have to get up at least once or I'll fall asleep.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (YIVH2)

20 Everything good on TV was made over 40 years ago.

Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (vFG9F)

21 Seems weird that they would spend millions making shows with 10 minute plots.

But I haven't been a TV watchers for a couple of decades.

Posted by: Just Lily at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (IePYJ)

22 It's interesting. If I want to watch TV, I'll watch TV.

If I want to read things on my phone, I'll read things on my phone.

What kind of people put on TV (or movies) that they aren't going to watch?

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (JMAcK)

23 I've noticed that women have solved this problem by... always being on their phones or computers while watching -- theoretically -- television. They have realized that 90% of the runtime of the shows they watch is pure filler, so they mostly play on their phones scrolling through Twitter and watching TikToks and occasionally look up if they hear someone shouting dramatically or maybe if they hear a gunshot.

Now that you mention it, Mrs928 is always on her laptop when she watches "her stories". I think you have made a cromulent observation.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (aD39U)

24 And they're demanding that shows be written this way because they're aware that they've now conditioned their audience -- mostly women -- to play on their phones while "watching" their boring content, and don't want to interrupt "viewers" too much by requiring that they pay attention too much.
++++
So they're cucks. Entertainment cucks. They're the ones being interrupted and rather than fight it - say, by being compelling - they timidly don't want to cause offense and draw attention away from Instagram?

Way to tuck under, guys.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (t0OGg)

25 Ace, how did you like "The Wire"?

Posted by: EFG at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (Ae67h)

26 I've noticed that women have solved this problem by... always being on their phones or computers while watching -- theoretically -- television.

I admit, I am guilty of this.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:37 PM (DRSnL)

27 "...the direct antithesis of the art we all strive to create."

What they have yet to understand is that they are not Artistes, as they were lied to in school. They are a beach of Entertainment. And for the proles, no less.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at September 08, 2023 04:38 PM (zJW56)

28 Thought it was because mine broke and haven't fixed it yet

Posted by: Skip at September 08, 2023 04:38 PM (fwDg9)

29 I gotta tell yas, it will be a sad day here when Eric Braeden dies.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:38 PM (aD39U)

30 TV was more than a means of entertainment. It was shared cultural moments because a TV show was fixed. That era is over.

Posted by: SH (But Prefer Clark Griswold) at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (sX1BW)

31 Well, that's... RETARDED

Though, honestly, the stuff I do watch, does not seem to have this problem at all.

Posted by: deadrody at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (vFm8O)

32 Compare to the memo that David Mamet wrote for the writers for The Unit.

Posted by: MikeN at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (XygMV)

33 It's hard to put into words how horrifying this situation is to hear for a writer and for anyone interested in storytelling as a career. The very idea that streamers would want us to dumb down material so people who are not watching won't lose their place is the direct antithesis of the art we all strive to create.
++++
Yeah. I kind of get it, though. Think of it from the streamer's standpoint.

To keep - and gain - subscribers, you need to do one or both of two things well:
1. Be compelling. Hook the audience in and make them want to come back for more. Be *good.*
2. Be vague crap that fills silence and doesn't really matter.

Door #1 is really damn hard. Door #2 is cheap and easy.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (t0OGg)

34 They're going to focus on streaming.
......

Just don't cross them.

Posted by: wth at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (v0R5T)

35 Two-screen guilty as well. No wonder I have the attention span of a gnat.

Cut the cord over 10 years ago. But of course the aggregate cost of various prescriptions plus the internet feed is approaching the threshold that prompted ditching cable. Time to re-assess some entertainment spending.

Posted by: GM27, SEP Field Technician at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (RKLPC)

36 >>>But when they just keep blabbing about the same problems every week, never resolving them?

======

Come on, Ace! It's not about the nail!

https://youtu.be/-4EDhdAHrOg?si=2-pL2TiWyG3_cpZc

Posted by: Turn 2 at September 08, 2023 04:39 PM (R7Bq9)

37 A man's got to believe in something, so I believe I'll have another drink
~~ WC Fields (considering his options)

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (B8BLL)

38 20 Everything good on TV was made over 40 years ago.
Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (vFG9F)

Um...well tastes vary but just in the past two decades we've had:
Rome
Deadwood
The Wire
The Shield
The Unit
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Archer
The Office

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (xcxpd)

39 I bet most of you don't know that quite a few TikTok and other short form videos are now formatted with a split screen, with some Subway Surfers gameplay or a Family Guy clip in the bottom half, just to try to keep the attention of Gen Z. On an already short and aggressively edited video.

We've absolutely annihilated the attention span of our youngest generations. It's frightening.

Posted by: Dworkin Barimen at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (mfOz/)

40 Another element of the flabbiness is that every actor takes long actorly pauses when speaking. To further pad out the runtime.

maybe that's just the way they talk

Posted by: shatner at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (oY6Yp)

41 My wife does that. Watches a show while paying more attention to what's on her iPad.

I almost never do that. I do keep my iPad close by while watching a movie (almost always DVD or BluRay) in case I see an actor who I've seen before** and can search it up on the interwebz. But I pause the movie* to do so.

*My baby brother hates that. He has to experience the film start to finish without pause.

**For example: Timothy Olyphant was in Rock Star

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Not Exactly Streets Ahead at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (xPJvm)

42 Taskmaster is the best television.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (LvTSG)

=====

I'm up to the season with Noel Fielding.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (DRSnL)

43 "35 Two-screen guilty as well. No wonder I have the attention span of a gnat."

There are 8 screens in front of me right now. I've got an 8-track mind.

Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (vFG9F)

44 "People, and by people I mean women, keep suggesting I watch this show or that one. And I keep telling them, I cannot sit and watch an hour long TV show to see three or four minutes, tops, of actual story."

OK, but the same is true for men and their obsession with football. A game with run time of three hours from kickoff to final whistle (and four for the Super Bowl) contains about 11 minutes of actual field action. I gave up on the NFL with Colin Kaepernick, but should have done that a lot earlier.

Posted by: clams on the half shell and roller skates, roller skates at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (kvDvI)

45 Rather than getting to points quickly, every show now pads the hell out of its runtime by limiting the number of consequential events in an hour's worth of show to 1-3, and then filling up the rest of the time with people talking to each other about their soap opera problems.

This is about me, isn't it?

Posted by: Ahsoka, walking slowly through a temple for 15 minutes in episode 1, then talking feelings in hallwa at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (JCZqz)

46 >>>Rome
Deadwood
The Wire
The Shield
The Unit
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Archer
The Office

=======

Justified

Posted by: Turn 2 at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (R7Bq9)

47 another maddening way tv stretches things - and i only watch crime shows - is instead of the cop who has FINALLY located the serial killer/terrorist is instead of calling for backup, which would end the episode and the series, she (and yeah, it's usually the woman detective who has relationship issues) will go in alone, alone, alone, at which point she get bonked on the head and wakes up after the serial killer/terrorist has escaped for another eight episode. sorry. this really roasts my pecans.

Posted by: Fat Jonah of Krypton at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (PwP1X)

48 Holy first world problems

Posted by: A dude in MI at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (/6GbT)

49 It's hard to put into words how horrifying this situation is to hear for a writer and for anyone interested in storytelling as a career. The very idea that streamers would want us to dumb down material so people who are not watching won't lose their place is the direct antithesis of the art we all strive to create.

Here they are trying to explain to trogs and sister-humpers that man-on-man action and trans stuff is wholesome, and the barbarians won't stop playing bubble witch. Cretins!

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls - an election is simply a festival for the majority at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (ppBhU)

50 42 Taskmaster is the best television.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (LvTSG)

=====

I'm up to the season with Noel Fielding.
Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (DRSnL)

=======

He's fun. My favorite cast might be season 7.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (LvTSG)

51 Posted by: Pug Mahon, Not Exactly Streets Ahead at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (xPJvm)

=====

Amazon Prime actually has a very cool thing where if you pause a show, it will show you what actors are in that scene. Also what music is playing, if any.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (DRSnL)

52 Justified
Posted by: Turn 2 at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (R7Bq9)

I left a few off the list that didn't stick the landing. I put Justified in that category. First 3 or so seasons were, good, season 1 was excellent.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (xcxpd)

53 OK, but the same is true for men and their obsession with football. A game with run time of three hours from kickoff to final whistle (and four for the Super Bowl) contains about 11 minutes of actual field action. I gave up on the NFL with Colin Kaepernick, but should have done that a lot earlier.
Posted by: clams on the half shell and roller skates, roller skates at September 08, 2023 04:41 PM (kvDvI)

Baseball is worse, and yet I love it.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (aD39U)

54 Something else funny?

My children LOVE The Andy Griffith Show.

They have almost nothing in common with the circumstances of the people in that show, but human stories are human stories and they connect.

Our new media overlords don't get that at all.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (JMAcK)

55 Mallory was pretty great in Family Ties.

Posted by: SH (But Prefer Clark Griswold) at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (sX1BW)

56 What kind of people put on TV (or movies) that they aren't going to watch?
---
About the only thing I watch on tv anymore is classic car auctions. Sometimes I'll sit and watch for awhile, other times I'll be doing something else and stop to watch if I hear a car I'm interested in. I have no interest in Mustangs, Chevelles, or Camaros so I go putter around and check back later.

It's probably time to cancel the tv because I've turned it on once in the last 3 months...

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (aBJcM)

57 Productions are grinding to a halt and Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and Max are leaning hard on ad-supported models. The result of all this disruption might just be everything old being new again.
++++
It will be. It will follow the same progression as cable did.

First, you paid your money and had no ads. Then, you paid your money and got some ads. Finally, you paid your money and got all the ads. To get an ad-free experience, you had to go *premium* - that is, stuff like HBO.

Streaming is already there, it just hasn't shaken out yet. Ad tiers and content restrictions are how this is going to shake out. It will probably settle on a three-tier system: Ad-supported "free" tier with limited content, then a buyup tier with a monthly fee that still gives you ads and the whole library, then a big buyup for ad-free.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (t0OGg)

58 Bateman said, "I've heard from showrunners who are given notes from the streamers that 'This isn't second screen enough.' Meaning, the viewer's primary screen is their phone and the laptop and they don't want anything on your show to distract them from their primary screen because if they get distracted, they might look up, be confused, and go turn it off. I heard somebody use this term before: they want a 'visual muzak.' When showrunners are getting notes like that, are they able to do their best work? No."

The door to the parlour opened and Mildred stood there looking in at them, looking at Beatty and then at Montag. Behind her the walls of the room were flooded with green and yellow and orange fireworks sizzling and bursting to some music composed almost completely of trap-drums, tom-toms, and cymbals.

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (BRHaw)

59 Hmmm...I see Southwest Airlines is still working on their computer problems.

They just sent me an email rewards account statement saying I have "0" points in my account. I do believe I will jot a little note for their consideration.

Dear Fuckwads,...

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (B8BLL)

60 The article starts by complaining that this kind of edgy All Gay All the Time crap was what made streaming and "prestige" cable different, but now market forces are pushing streamers to offer shows that normies might actually want to watch.

Just like regular TV.
++++
Oh no!

Anyway...

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (t0OGg)

61 >>>left a few off the list that didn't stick the landing. I put Justified in that category. First 3 or so seasons were, good, season 1 was excellent.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (xcxpd)

=====

Sure. For us Morons, that probably went without saying.

Posted by: Turn 2 at September 08, 2023 04:43 PM (R7Bq9)

62 Amazon Prime actually has a very cool thing where if you pause a show, it will show you what actors are in that scene. Also what music is playing, if any.
Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (DRSnL)

Not sure if we have that. But it's a cool feature. Perfect for my non-linear brain.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Not Exactly Streets Ahead at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (xPJvm)

63 Rings of Power truly sucked tho

ANYWHO there are some shows that are fast paced and worth watching, and not glorified soap operas

you just have to look for em

but yeah 80-90 percent of these shows are glorified soaps

Posted by: BlackOrchid at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (AcWfM)

64 Um...well tastes vary but just in the past two decades we've had:
Rome
Deadwood
The Wire
The Shield
The Unit
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Archer
The Office

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (xcxpd)

It's Always Sunny
First few seasons of Rick and Morty
I'm going sneak The Sopranos in there
Rules of Engagement

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (KbCG3)

65 "There are 8 screens in front of me right now. I've got an 8-track mind."

I guess I'm at more like 2.5 screens?!? TV, tablet, and occasionally checking the Tigers score on the MLB app.

Posted by: GM27, SEP Field Technician at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (RKLPC)

66 20 Everything good on TV was made over 40 years ago.
Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (vFG9F)

"Your Show of Shows" was...70 years ago.
"The Honeymooners" and "The Steve Allen Show" both over 60 years ago.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (zJW56)

67 And this is going to work out better than the dying broadcast TV sector because why, exactly? Just because they have 50% gay and "diverse" content, which people aren't interested in watching?
++++
No, it will work out better because of flexibility. It isn't going to some promised land of great content and low prices. It never was and it never will be. People want to get paid, and that means there will be a bill.

But streaming, unlike cable, is flexible. It's on-demand, location doesn't matter, it's portable, it's on your device of choice whenever you want, etc. That's the only real benefit.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (t0OGg)

68 Mark Felton Productions, Brian Cox Physics lectures, Virtual Railfan - all on YouTube

Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (gmo/4)

69 Two screens?

40 years ago I'd have the PC running, TV at low volume, radio slightly higher volume, and a lava lamp bubbling.
Can't handle lack of stimulation.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (ga8qR)

70 I liked the first season or two of The Man in the High Castle. And the first season of See, with Aquaman.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (aD39U)

71 I have about 4-5 shows that I tend to stream in rotation just when I want to have something on:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Futurama
Archer
Arrested Development
Red Dwarf

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (YIVH2)

72 because they're aware that they've now conditioned their audience -- mostly women -- to play on their phones while "watching" their boring content, and don't want to interrupt "viewers" too much by requiring that they pay attention too much.

you know what else people aren't paying attention to if they're fiddling with their phones while watching tv?

Posted by: commercials at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (oY6Yp)

73 71 I have about 4-5 shows that I tend to stream in rotation just when I want to have something on:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Futurama
Archer
Arrested Development
Red Dwarf
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (YIVH2)

Arrested Development is criminally underrated.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (KbCG3)

74 I keep noticing that YouTube channels seem to take 4 minutes of information and drag it out to 60+- minutes

Posted by: SMOD at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (l4/F+)

75 "Quality" television? I remind them there are various levels of "quality," beginning with "High," proceeding through "Low," and fetching up at "Crap."

Oh, for the days of Route 66, Ben Casey, The Defenders, The Fugitive, and Star Trek. Or more recently, Buffy and Gilmore Girls.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (J2vNu)

76 Um...well tastes vary but just in the past two decades we've had:
Rome
Deadwood
The Wire
The Shield
The Unit
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Archer
The Office

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:40 PM (xcxpd)

Vikings

Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (gmo/4)

77 I am not guilty of this. I don't watch television. I have a movie collection I like watching and I'm not wasting hours on things that suck.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (OpyYl)

78 But streaming, unlike cable, is flexible. It's on-demand, location doesn't matter,

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (t0OGg)

=====

Not 100% true; I found out the hard way that Canada doesn't have Hulu.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (DRSnL)

79 It's hard to put into words how *horrifying* this situation is to hear for a writer and for anyone interested in storytelling as a career
--------
This word horrifying is way overused.

Posted by: EFG at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (Ae67h)

80 The other benefit to streaming is niche service that was difficult to manage before. This an upside within the downside of "too damn many streaming platforms."

Want anime? There's a streaming service for that.
Want K-content? Ditto.
Want old stuff? Ditto.
Want Euro stuff? Ditto.

It's easier to find what you want and tune out the rest. It's not quite the a-la-carte dream, but it's getting there.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (t0OGg)

81 A nice set of tits will keep my eyes glued to whatever screen that has them. I'm not picky.

I'm not really the best authority to be discussing the pros and cons of tv storylines.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (BdMk6)

82 Babylon 5.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (qPw5n)

83 The last show I watched regularly before I shut off cable was Swamp People. Watching people kill alligators is cool, but you can only hear "choot 'im" so many times before it becomes tedious.

Posted by: huerfano at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (7zEAH)

84 Just as an experiment.

-busty women

-action/adventure

-some good humor (non secual or political)

See how it works.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (z8X7p)

85 Vikings
Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (gmo/4)

=====

Vikings was good until Travis Fimmel left. I only watched a few episodes after that.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (DRSnL)

86 Letterkenny

Shoresy

Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (gmo/4)

87 If we're allowing for shows that had a great few seasons but then fell off hard, we also have to count shows like:

Westworld
Game of Thrones
Battlestar Galactica
Dexter
House of Cards

And a decent number of shows had a single season or were "limited series" format that were pretty good as well. Queen's Gambit, Chernobyl, etc.

Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (fKIdX)

88 This happened to me so the that old Heroes program. "Save the cheerleader, save the world"

We'll, they saved the cheerleader and then.... nothing happened. I was out after that.

Posted by: InZona at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (grRII)

89 We find ourselves watching 30 t0 50 year old sitcoms like
The Bob Newhart Show, (and then simply "Newhart")
Finished all those. Now watching Season 1 of Frasier.
There's a lot of those, more than a dozen seasons.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (MeG8a)

90 Yeah, same, most of my watching is:

American Dad
Solar Opposites
My Hero Academia
Archer
Futurama (reboot is better than I expected)

And the occasional K-drama

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (luDxL)

91 Productions are grinding to a halt and Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and Max are leaning hard on ad-supported models. The result of all this disruption might just be everything old being new again.

Didn't we have an article yesterday about California losing 5 billion in tax revenue or something because of the various writer and actor strikes? Maybe the DNC will lose millions in political donations for 2024 and have to grift even MORE illegal overseas donations? That'll open them up to....aw, who am I kidding.....

Posted by: Moron Analyst at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (JCZqz)

92 Many nights, the TV is never on.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (fZEM+)

93 This idea about second screen is really, really sad.

Posted by: Max Power at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (q177U)

94 keep noticing that YouTube channels seem to take 4 minutes of information and drag it out to 60+- minutes
Posted by: SMOD at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (l4/F+)
++++
It comes down to how YouTube incentivizes creators. Monetization thresholds aren't just about numbers of subscribers. "Minutes streamed" is a big, big influence. Longer video == more minutes streamed. Even if you have to bounce around. YouTube's structure encourages more runtime.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (t0OGg)

95 86 Letterkenny

Shoresy
Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (gmo/4)

Letterkenny was one of the easiest shows to quit of all the shows that I've ever said I loved.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (KbCG3)

96 And the first season of See, with Aquaman.
Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (aD39U)

=====

I'll have to look for this. He's hot.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (DRSnL)

97 Babylon 5.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at September 08, 2023 04:47 PM (qPw5n)
---
Another quality show. Although I seriously hope they don't try to bring it back. I've heard some rumors to that effect.

It just won't work, if only because most of the actors from the original have passed beyond the Rim...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (YIVH2)

98
I'm afraid that if I watch TV at all it's only for sports. I've never been particularly gripped by anything else.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (X+/q/)

99 Vikings
Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 04:46 PM (gmo/4)

Killing Athelstan hurt that show. Up until he died, I had assumed that it was his show, that he was the author of the chronicle.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (aD39U)

100 Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Wanted Dead or Alive. These are what entertainment should be.

Posted by: Eromero at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (z3WCn)

101 Guess ace wont be watching Jeanne Dielman anytime soon....interesting ending, though . A surprise you might say.

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (5rMwN)

102 Frasier is much better than Cheers.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 08, 2023 04:50 PM (fZEM+)

103 We watch
Death In Paradise
Reacher
The Old Man
Slow Horses
Grantchester (first couple of seasons)
Broadchurch
lots of different kinds of movies
Bear (just started)
Lincoln Lawyer (first season, season 2 not so good)
Person of Interest (first couple of seasons)

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 04:50 PM (B8BLL)

104 And the first season of See, with Aquaman.
Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:45 PM (aD39U)

=====

I'll have to look for this. He's hot.
Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (DRSnL)

It is an interesting premise for a one season show, that they are trying to make a multiseason show.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (aD39U)

105 I often play on my phone when "watching" TV.

Specifically, I'm playing solitaire. A lot of what I watch on YouTube doesn't really matter visually because it's discussion or analysis of something. The fact that there's a picture isn't really relevant. Something robotic and non-distracting - like driving, or playing solitaire (not at the same time) - doesn't detract from it.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (t0OGg)

106 Women are so attached to their phones they will hardly put them down to pick up their crying children.

Couples on dates ignore each other while they scroll through their phones.

Even the dog playing fetch barely earns recognition.

We are a sick society.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (Ihn6X)

107 Didn't we have an article yesterday about California losing 5 billion in tax revenue or something because of the various writer and actor strikes? Maybe the DNC will lose millions in political donations for 2024 and have to grift even MORE illegal overseas donations? That'll open them up to....aw, who am I kidding.....

California's about to lose a lot more. They voted today to strip parental rights from those not "affirming" their child's "gender identity."

Posted by: William Shatner at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (Bd6X8)

108 Farscape, you phillistines.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (z8X7p)

109 100 Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Wanted Dead or Alive. These are what entertainment should be.

Posted by: Eromero at September 08, 2023 04:49 PM (z3WCn)

Currently working my way through Bat Masterson. Love it. My wife is really concerned that I'm an 80-year old man trapped in a 40-year old's kind of meh body.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (KbCG3)

110 And a decent number of shows had a single season or were "limited series" format that were pretty good as well. Queen's Gambit, Chernobyl, etc.
Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:48 PM (fKIdX)

=====

The Outlaws. British show, 2 seasons. I liked it a lot.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (DRSnL)

111 Death in Paradise is still hood, but nit as god as before.

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5rMwN)

112 I guess a good amount of money is paid by consumers for cable and streaming services; but if those consumers are paying attention to the first screen, why are advertisers buying time on the second screen?

Do they hope the audio level changes and repetition will be enough? Maybe hoping the audio gets picked up by the mic on the first screen to associate ads there? What is the second screen advertiser getting when their billboard is intended to be ignored?

Posted by: Leland at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (KVDMz)

113 For years, I have been railing against "prestige" cable.

____________

I think I see your problem.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (dpmG8)

114 'Scuse me while I slip the old has been actor sock off.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (Bd6X8)

115 My tastes run to Ma and Pa Kettle, but haven't seen them for years.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (HRAid)

116 *good

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5rMwN)

117 The best TV made after 1980 was MST3K up thru Mike. I can fight you about this if you'd like.

Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (vFG9F)

118 I used to turn on the tv for pink noise when I wasn't even the room or I was reading an engaging novel in my younger years. Especially when I was home alone and didn't want my imagination going wild with every outside sound. But then I realized that most of the shows were insulting my background and worldview and once you catch that shit, you start noticing almost every instance, which was a lot even 10-20 years ago or so. Now I not only can't stand to watch the trans pushing current drivel, I have no interest even in somewhat older stuff that I used to watch back in the day.

Posted by: PaleRider at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (3cGpq)

119 Death in Paradise is still hood, but nit as god as before.
Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5rMwN)
---
I think your autocucumber needs a swift kick...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (YIVH2)

120 Wait until people make the connection between that fat electric bill and the teevee.

Posted by: torabora at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5LoUq)

121 2nd screen? It was a habit a long time ago too.
My mother was a knitter and knit while watching movies with us. "What just happened?" was a semi-constant refrain. I heard this phrase so many times I finally was rude to my mom, stop knitting if you want to watch the movie.
She of course did the right thing and ignored me.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (mi63s)

122 108 Farscape, you phillistines.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (z8X7p)

=========

Shout Factory just announced a new Blu-ray of the whole show. Not sure if it includes Peacekeeper Wars, though. Specs aren't complete, but I'd have to assume it's there.

It's also unclear if it'll be a new master, but at least it'll be in print again.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (LvTSG)

123 I admit I have to have IMDb open when I watch a movie now, just so I can identify every character actor and get all the backstage gossip.

Honestly, I usually have Arse of Spades up on my second screen, so you're part of the problem, baby!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (0Mqam)

124 We watch
Death In Paradise
Reacher
The Old Man
Slow Horses
Grantchester (first couple of seasons)
Broadchurch
lots of different kinds of movies
Bear (just started)
Lincoln Lawyer (first season, season 2 not so good)
Person of Interest (first couple of seasons)
Posted by: Huck Folly

I enjoyed Death in Paradise

wood at September 08, 2023 04:50 PM (B8BLL)

Posted by: That Northernlurker what lurkd at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (VdGjU)

125 If you enjoy some great British humor, The IT Crowd is hilarious.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (KbCG3)

126 We watch
Death In Paradise

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 04:50 PM (B8BLL)

=====

I just finished Death in Paradise this morning. I guess I'll try Beyond Paradise next.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (DRSnL)

127 >>The Reason for the Coming Collapse of Television...? The "Second Screen" Principle

Shorter:

1. Too much content on too many different platforms that all cost too damn much.

2. Most Content is Garbage or woke or woke garbage.

3. Content is largely narrowcasting to more and more select demographic and nothing is being made to cater to as broad an audience as possible.

As I said the other day, a 20 year old episode of a Japanese Competition Cooking Show Dubbed in English is more entertaining and edifying than anything currently being broadcast.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (XV/Pl)

128 You absolutely just cannot watch this very expensive paint drying without something else to occupy your mind.

Hey ace, since you obviously broke into my house and were looking over my shoulder, you should at least have said Hi.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (CHHv1)

129 The only thing saving our Netflix subscription is 'Wentworth'
And it's unavailability as a Region 1 DVD

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (luDxL)

130 108 Farscape, you phillistines.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (z8X7p)

Wasn't that more than 20 years ago now?
20 years was my ballpark cut off.....

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (xcxpd)

131 123 I admit I have to have IMDb open when I watch a movie now, just so I can identify every character actor and get all the backstage gossip.

Honestly, I usually have Arse of Spades up on my second screen, so you're part of the problem, baby!
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (0Mqam)

I do something similar. Always read the trivia.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (KbCG3)

132
Couples on dates ignore each other while they scroll through their phones.

________

I've been married to Her Majesty for almost 30 years and I'm afraid we both look at our phones when we go out to dinner.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (X+/q/)

133 I have a theory that LOST was the first horseman to ride over the horizon heralding the death of television.

It was the first TV show that I can remember people really jerking each other off about and tuning in and watching and discussing the ins and outs on a weekly basis and hanging on the edge of their seats for revelations and plot points that NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED.

That pile of shit was supposed to be a miniseries and the showrunners realized they had a cash cow on their hands, then proceeded to hastily and sloppily write season after nonsensical stupid-assed season of filler material with something mildly interesting happening twice a season. But the 1.0 version of Highly Online People ate that shit up like mothers' milk.

Downhill from there.

Posted by: ballistic at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (oXNqT)

134 Robot Chicken.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 08, 2023 04:54 PM (fZEM+)

135 Almost all the new shows are garbage, and I've seen everything that interests me from the back catalog. There might be one show on any particular service that looks like it might be good to me. So I'm effectively paying $150/year for one show.

No. I'll wait a few years and watch it on Amazon Prime. Or not, since producers seem to be unable to tell a story to the end without dropping the ball.

Posted by: Ace's liver at September 08, 2023 04:54 PM (wGeit)

136 The way my wife and I watch TV: when she's in control, she has the TV as the 2nd screen, and fiddles with her first screen (phone or tablet), while I ignore the 2nd screen as best I can to fiddle with my phone or tablet. When I'm in control, I set aside the phone or tablet, and watch the TV only -- something worthwhile from TCM, or Criterion, or a DVD. Then the wife suddenly sets aside her first screen, and is paying rapt attention to what I'm watching and telling me how bad it is. It's a system. I'm not saying it's a good one, but it's a system.

Posted by: Bud Norton at September 08, 2023 04:54 PM (6cOMd)

137 The missus and mom watch a lot of Brit shows during the daytime. These usually involve a weekly mass murder in a small village of 800 or so that no one can seem to figure out.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 08, 2023 04:54 PM (MeG8a)

138
The only stuff I watch are streaming Amazon bought comedies from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. No 'wokeness' at all - just the way comedy once was. Somebody gets a well deserved poke in the ribs? That's funny.

When Amazon goes 'woke' I'm gone. For now, they know better.

Not sure I wanna bet it's gonna last too much longer.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at September 08, 2023 04:54 PM (enJYY)

139 God forbid anyone reads a book.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (dpmG8)

140 117 The best TV made after 1980 was MST3K up thru Mike. I can fight you about this if you'd like.
Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (vFG9F)

I like the Mike years too. The skits were worse after Trace left but the riffing and jokes were still gold.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (xcxpd)

141 Ii is evident that you have never watched a Soap Opera.

Posted by: timactual at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (Cmxuw)

142 133 I have a theory that LOST was the first horseman to ride over the horizon heralding the death of television.

It was the first TV show that I can remember people really jerking each other off about and tuning in and watching and discussing the ins and outs on a weekly basis and hanging on the edge of their seats for revelations and plot points that NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED.

That pile of shit was supposed to be a miniseries and the showrunners realized they had a cash cow on their hands, then proceeded to hastily and sloppily write season after nonsensical stupid-assed season of filler material with something mildly interesting happening twice a season. But the 1.0 version of Highly Online People ate that shit up like mothers' milk.

Downhill from there.
Posted by: ballistic at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (oXNqT)

I never watched but from all the whining I used to see right after each episode, it would appear that The Walking Dead was similar.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (KbCG3)

143 I hardly watch any modern media, but when I do....it's usually anime. It's not woke, it has twists i don't see coming, and the Japanese aren't afraid to draw women sexy.

Posted by: Moron Analyst at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (At65q)

144 Um...well tastes vary but just in the past two decades we've had:
...
What We Do In The Shadows

Posted by: Methos at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (Dnobf)

145 I don't think I've watched any "new" other than the Yellowstone series for 5 years or better. I have old westerns on in the garage for background noise when I'm working.

Posted by: SaltyD65 at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (UohIj)

146 Shout Factory just announced a new Blu-ray of the whole show. Not sure if it includes Peacekeeper Wars, though. Specs aren't complete, but I'd have to assume it's there.

I wonder if they'll include any of the extras from the ADV disks.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (CHHv1)

147 Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5rMwN)
******
Are you sure your nic shouldn't be "rummer"?
You know, like rum?
Rum, the drink?
.
.
.
Nothing?
.
.
I'll see my way out.

(Jeeze, tough crowd.)

Posted by: EFG at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (Ae67h)

148 54 Something else funny?

My children LOVE The Andy Griffith Show.

They have almost nothing in common with the circumstances of the people in that show, but human stories are human stories and they connect.

Our new media overlords don't get that at all.
Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (JMAcK)

---

Well, you're in luck - we're rebooting the series!

In the new version, Andy and Barney are hispanic gay lovers, Opie's an African-American girlboss who's smarter than all the adults put together, and Aunt Bee is a transwoman.

Posted by: Disney, probably at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (1W3+D)

149 142 I never watched but from all the whining I used to see right after each episode, it would appear that The Walking Dead was similar.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (KbCG3)

========

I gave up on that halfway through the second season.

The first was good enough, but largely just, you know, a long zombie movie, but that second season was just soooo boring.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (LvTSG)

150 I've been married to Her Majesty for almost 30 years and I'm afraid we both look at our phones when we go out to dinner.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (X+/q/)

My spouse knows I will embarrass him if he ever pulls that stunt on me on a date. I let him be on his phone 24-7 normally, but if he's taking me on a date and we're paying for the experience, his attention is on me or the experience - that's it.

Posted by: Nova Local at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (exHjb)

151 Never watched a lot of TV. I hate cop shows, medical shows, drug dealer shows, reality shows and anything with CSI in the title. Oh, hate anime.

Of the 2000’s Deadwood, Rome, Lost.

Hardcore reading has kept me entertained.

Posted by: 13times at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (Df1rq)

152 I usually stream documentaries, so these issues don't bother me too much.

Posted by: logprof at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (B2GCI)

153 Farscape, you phillistines.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (z8X7p)

Heh. I just finished season 1 on Freevee

Posted by: Methos at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (Dnobf)

154 What We Do In The Shadows
Posted by: Methos at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (Dnobf)

=====

This season that just finished was great. I didn't care for seasons 3 and 4 much.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (DRSnL)

155 I've been watching European tv series for the last month or so. Some of them are quite good. Then again, some of them are nothing but woke dog shit.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (BdMk6)

156 I've been married to Her Majesty for almost 30 years and I'm afraid we both look at our phones when we go out to dinner.

Open a stupid game on your phone. Wordle, Text or Die, crosswords, etc. Take turns putting in guesses. Now you're doing something together.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (Bd6X8)

157 I never watched but from all the whining I used to see right after each episode, it would appear that The Walking Dead was similar.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM (KbCG3)

The Walking Dead did have a cult following, but that's a different kind of thing than LOST. Lost was about the mystery, people were wondering what was going on and trying to piece together the clues.

TWD was just a zombie show and all the buzz was "omg, could you believe they killed off that character?!"

Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (fKIdX)

158 133 I have a theory that LOST was the first horseman to ride over the horizon heralding the death of television.

It was the first TV show that I can remember people really jerking each other off about and tuning in and watching and discussing the ins and outs on a weekly basis and hanging on the edge of their seats for revelations and plot points that NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED.

Posted by: ballistic at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (oXNqT)

I never watched it, but heard about the gray smoke or fog or whatever. If they had discovered it was Gilligan and the Skipper causing it and ending the series with that reveal, it would have been an epic ending to a series. It certainly would have been remembered and talked about.

Posted by: InZona at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (grRII)

159 What I love about Death In Paradise is they show the first part of thee story and just as the camera swings to th dead body, the show theme song kicks in to high gear, a very dance-able reggae beat. You have to laugh at the contrast.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (B8BLL)

160 what it is the daily disney post for today ?

Posted by: food man chew at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (JjNlG)

161 Yellowstone is pretty good. They still owe us some episodes which were due in August but now in a couple weeks, I've read.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (MeG8a)

162 I've been married to Her Majesty for almost 30 years and I'm afraid we both look at our phones when we go out to dinner.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 04:53 PM (X+/q/)
_______________

Sorry, but I would definitely have that looked into.

I take my phone with me when I go out, but I leave it in the car.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (dpmG8)

163 Ace we bought the first 11 of 13 seasons of CBS' Blue Bloods -- Tom Selleck and Donny Wahlberg cop show, on DVD. Me and the folks watch 1 episode per night at dinner.

It's excellent. Also none of it seems to match your complaints above. First, it's single-episodic, not serial -- IOW each episode is a self contained story, except for the season finale which is usually two. Also very wholesome show, probably aimed at the Matlock, Murder She Wrote audience. Not too heavy with The Message, although me and dad figure out which white guy did the crime in each episode. I say "not too heavy" but one, they can't avoid the message: it's TV people here, and two, we're watching stuff from 13 years ago. I'm sure it will creep leftward over the course of the series. But they do walk a good line, trying to not offend, respectful to Catholics and cops...

Plus has Tom Selleck ever produced anything reprehensible?

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (kjOVp)

164 I gave up on that halfway through the second season.

The first was good enough, but largely just, you know, a long zombie movie, but that second season was just soooo boring.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (LvTSG)

It was fascinating. Its most ardent fans HATED every episode.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (KbCG3)

165 146 Shout Factory just announced a new Blu-ray of the whole show. Not sure if it includes Peacekeeper Wars, though. Specs aren't complete, but I'd have to assume it's there.

I wonder if they'll include any of the extras from the ADV disks.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (CHHv1)

========

Rights around extra material can hold that sort of thing up. Depends on who produced it and whether the original publishers owned the extras or licensed them from either a third party or the studio/network itself.

It's Shout, who are good with extras, so I expect it to not be bare bones, at least.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (LvTSG)

166 122 108 Farscape, you phillistines.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (z8X7p)
---------

They haven't made its equivalent.

My TV's been in the closet for six years.
Dragged it out for football until they took a knee.
No mas.

Posted by: Braenyard at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (ziH0B)

167 The Walking Dead did have a cult following, but that's a different kind of thing than LOST. Lost was about the mystery, people were wondering what was going on and trying to piece together the clues.

TWD was just a zombie show and all the buzz was "omg, could you believe they killed off that character?!"
Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (fKIdX)
---
Yeah, I never got the hype around either Lost or TWD. I tried watching Lost and quickly got bored with it after a couple of episodes.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (YIVH2)

168 >>God forbid anyone reads a book.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:55 PM

That's me. Even before I shut off cable, I read while watching tv. I'd look up when something sounded interesting. It's amazing how much reading you can get done during a football game and even more during a baseball game.

Posted by: huerfano at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (7zEAH)

169 Hardcore reading has kept me entertained.
Posted by: 13times

Did you just admit you read Tank Adams stuff?!?

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (mi63s)

170 164 It was fascinating. Its most ardent fans HATED every episode.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (KbCG3)

========

"Why can't we go back to that farm where all the characters were perfect and everything was just so boring?"

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (LvTSG)

171 I take my phone with me when I go out, but I leave it in the car.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (dpmG

______________

Because I'm just not that important.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (dpmG8)

172 COVID policies were the final nail in the coffin for me. I just can't stand to be inside and watch tv any longer. I'd rather be doing things, meeting people in the community, forming and cultivating bonds, and staying healthy.
YMMV tho...

Posted by: Eagle Lips at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (yukqQ)

173 I gave up on that halfway through the second season.

The first was good enough, but largely just, you know, a long zombie movie, but that second season was just soooo boring.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:56 PM (LvTSG)

You can only go through the "we need to get to the safe place - Here's the safe place, wait, this place sucks! - burn it all down and move on to the next safe place" format so many times before it just loses interest.

Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (fKIdX)

174 1883 and 1923 are pretty good. Yellowstone is like a train wreck, can't help but watch.

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (5rMwN)

175 170 164 It was fascinating. Its most ardent fans HATED every episode.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 04:57 PM (KbCG3)

========

"Why can't we go back to that farm where all the characters were perfect and everything was just so boring?"
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 04:58 PM (LvTSG)

Just reminded me of an argument I once had with a co-worker about a show.

Me: I hate that show. It's so boring.
Him: Hey, man, sometimes life is boring.
Me: Yeah, that's why we watch shows!

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (KbCG3)

176 You can only go through the "we need to get to the safe place - Here's the safe place, wait, this place sucks! - burn it all down and move on to the next safe place" format so many times before it just loses interest.
Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (fKIdX)

That was me and Walking Dead...although I made it to Glenn getting killed, and then quit...

Posted by: Nova Local at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (exHjb)

177 106 Women are so attached to their phones they will hardly put them down to pick up their crying children.

Couples on dates ignore each other while they scroll through their phones.

Even the dog playing fetch barely earns recognition.

We are a sick society.
Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan at September 08, 2023 04:51 PM (Ihn6X)

Soo correct. 'smart' phones are one of the worst things to come to society. Handy as all get out...but so many can. not. put. them down!

Posted by: a dude in MI at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (/6GbT)

178 "Perfessor": I agree with you on them not remaking Babylon 5. They'll never capture the actor interaction "lightning in a bottle" like they did with the original cast. Also, the story's been told now.

What I would like to see is all the original film footage (which is in widescreen) be paired with brand new widescreen CGI to match. I'd want the new CGI team to be serious B5 fans who wanted to do justice to the original. Some of the stuff I've seen from fans in the past years is absolutely stunning, proving that it can be done. The mountain to get over will be Warner Bros.

As an example, watch this in 1080p:
https://youtu.be/YYBjIbs4bPc

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (qPw5n)

179 One thing I like about being at the range is I have almost zero desire or reason to look at my phone, except perhaps to take a picture of a target. All distractions need to be out of my head. Focus totally on the moment.

This is also a reason I enjoy MoMes. No one is on their phone. Speaking of, is it October yet?

Posted by: screaming in digital at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (aBJcM)

180 Faster, Hollywood! Die! Die!

Posted by: ShainS -- Deplorable AND Listless Vessel AND Overimaginative Scamp at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (QjjcC)

181 Just reminded me of an argument I once had with a co-worker about a show.

Me: I hate that show. It's so boring.
Him: Hey, man, sometimes life is boring.
Me: Yeah, that's why we watch shows!
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (KbCG3)

Drama is life with the boring bits cut out

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (xcxpd)

182 Amazon Prime actually has a very cool thing where if you pause a show, it will show you what actors are in that scene. Also what music is playing, if any.
Posted by: Jordan61

VH1 had that in 1996. But you didn't have to pause. The show was called "pop-up video."

Posted by: mikeski <- this poster has been making stupid references on AoS for over a decade at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (DgGvY)

183 You can only go through the "we need to get to the safe place - Here's the safe place, wait, this place sucks! - burn it all down and move on to the next safe place" format so many times before it just loses interest.
Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (fKIdX)

=====

Also, what is with all these pockets of survivors giving themselves retarded names, like they're a post-apocalyptic softball team? The Whisperers, The Saviors, The Kingdom.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (DRSnL)

184 When used with

Every

Single

Sentence,

it's maddening.

Are you, perchance, referring to Star Fleet's GOAT Captain?

He's lightyears ahead of that asshoe who's always telling me to "Shut up, Wesley!".

Posted by: Wesley Crusher at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (a3Q+t)

185
Wait until people make the connection between that fat electric bill and the teevee.

Posted by: torabora at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM

Recently bought a 'survivalists dream' battery backup system that - if plugged into an appliance - tells the wattage consumed per hour. Refrigerator? 150 watts per hour. TV, Fire Stick, and sound bar? 125 watts per hour.

When the SHTF, tv is over.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (enJYY)

186
Sorry, but I would definitely have that looked into.

__________

*polite cough*

There are, however, a great many things we do together without distraction.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (X+/q/)

187 The best thing about Lost was the writers had no idea what they were doing, which led to dead ends and plot holes, which drove the spectrum ADD completionists insane with fury and frustration.

People needed every fucking detail explored and explained.

Posted by: 13times at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (/1HxO)

188 And they're demanding that shows be written this way because they're aware that they've now conditioned their audience -- mostly women -- to play on their phones while "watching" their boring content, and don't want to interrupt "viewers" too much by requiring that they pay attention too much.

or, alternatively, they could create content so engaging that the phones get put down.

Myself, if I am watching something, I am watching something, not doing something else. If I want background noise, I'll put on music or an audio book.

Posted by: AK at work at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (o+IHV)

189 Media does do something to the brain, conditions it for instant gratification .

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (5rMwN)

190 I hate cop shows, medical shows, drug dealer shows, reality shows and anything with CSI in the title. Oh, hate anime.
__________________

I can't stand zombie shows. I've never even watched one, but just the very principle puts me off.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (dpmG8)

191 If you enjoy some great British humour, The IT Crowd is hilarious.

----
Updated.

Posted by: DaisyB at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (AbL8c)

192 I watched TWD until it devolved into sadistic murder porn.

Posted by: Braenyard at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (ziH0B)

193 Soo correct. 'smart' phones are one of the worst things to come to society. Handy as all get out...but so many can. not. put. them down!
Posted by: a dude in MI at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (/6GbT)

Phones have this screen time thing now where it'll show how much you've looked at your phone in a day.

I once commented on how much my wife looks at her phone. She denied she was on that much. I told her to turn the screen time on and see.

She looked at me and vehemently declined. I counted it as a dubya.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (KbCG3)

194 187 The best thing about Lost was the writers had no idea what they were doing, which led to dead ends and plot holes, which drove the spectrum ADD completionists insane with fury and frustration.

People needed every fucking detail explored and explained.
Posted by: 13times at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (/1HxO)

========

The best thing is that they begged for two more seasons because they had a plan to close everything out, and then the last two seasons are completely random and the ending sucks.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (LvTSG)

195 screaming in digital, soon!

Posted by: Ben Had at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (7or3J)

196 192 I watched TWD until it devolved into sadistic murder porn.

Posted by: Braenyard at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (ziH0B)

=======

So...three episodes?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (LvTSG)

197 1883 and 1923 are pretty good. Yellowstone is like a train wreck, can't help but watch.
Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:59 PM (5rMwN)
=================
I agree on 1883. 1923 starts to be marginally less interesting, and Yellowstone only interests me when Kelly Reilly climbs into her tub.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (B8BLL)

198 I'm at this moment reading, hanging with you losers on my second screen, and grooving on the fall weather.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (0Mqam)

199 the newer version of The Tick is good

I think Ben Edlund is the producer/writer

finishing up Better Call Saul finally - that show got painful at the end. just glacial pacing.

Beef was great tho. Brand New Cherry Flavor - great! there have been some really interesting productions recently.

Posted by: BlackOrchid at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (AcWfM)

200 191 If you enjoy some great British humour, The IT Crowd is hilarious.

----
Updated.
Posted by: DaisyB at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (AbL8c)

Ruined.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (KbCG3)

201 "But when they just keep blabbing about the same problems every week, never resolving them? That is just stringing the audience along, padding the runtime, and spinning plates on stage."

I feel like you are talking about me.

Posted by: Oak Island at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (53oGX)

202 The best thing is that they begged for two more seasons because they had a plan to close everything out, and then the last two seasons are completely random and the ending sucks.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (LvTSG)

The opposite and yet the same as Game of Thrones!

Posted by: joe, living dangerously at September 08, 2023 05:03 PM (fKIdX)

203 A friend and I were discussing something like this and he mentioned a YouTube reviewer who contrasted I, Claudius with contemporary crap especially over using quick-cuts and no longer doing long-shots and long takes and actors' abilities, using the scene with Augustus interrogating the men who had slept with his daughter. You don't even see the men's faces but you know how all of them are reacting just from the backs of their heads.

https://tinyurl.com/3k8sbb6z
2:37 minutes

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:04 PM (krqg6)

204 I'm so old I remember when this new thing called cable was going to give us quality programming with no commercials! Bravo actually had arts shows!!

I dropped them all except Amazon bc they deliver my stuff on time and I got Criterion instead. I think someone here recommended it. All the PC movies and shows make me sick. Mostly I just want to drop out of their culture.

Posted by: PJ at September 08, 2023 05:04 PM (G1dq6)

205 I was rooting for the zombies.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 08, 2023 05:04 PM (RIvkX)

206 Ace's point nails the over-praise of "Breaking Bad."

Cordially...

Posted by: Rick at September 08, 2023 05:04 PM (Ppyph)

207 Speaking of TV, are they still digging up Oak Island?

Posted by: fd at September 08, 2023 05:05 PM (vFG9F)

208 Soo correct. 'smart' phones are one of the worst things to come to society. Handy as all get out...but so many can. not. put. them down!
Posted by: a dude in MI at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (/6GbT)
______________

As mentioned above, I usually leave my phone in the car when I go out. When I'm at home, I leave it in my study.

Friends get onto me ("I texted you HOURS ago!") but I only look at it maybe twice a day.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:05 PM (dpmG8)

209 204 I dropped them all except Amazon bc they deliver my stuff on time and I got Criterion instead. I think someone here recommended it. All the PC movies and shows make me sick. Mostly I just want to drop out of their culture.
Posted by: PJ at September 08, 2023 05:04 PM (G1dq6)

========

Criterion is a streamer that works because it's just curation, not content creation outside of some talking head interviews.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, searching for more with John Huston at September 08, 2023 05:05 PM (LvTSG)

210 I cut the cord a decade ago and got Tablo, an over-the-air receiver/recorder. No monthly fees, just a one-time hardware setup. You can get local stations in HD. We have Amazon Prime, and the wife uses one other streaming service at a time. I sometimes get Sling over the holidays if relatives are visiting and we want to watch bowl games. So the overall cost is pretty low.

That said, it nearly all sucks and I very rarely watch anything myself.

Posted by: Eternity Matters at September 08, 2023 05:05 PM (MTm8X)

211 178 What I would like to see is all the original film footage (which is in widescreen) be paired with brand new widescreen CGI to match. I'd want the new CGI team to be serious B5 fans who wanted to do justice to the original.

i know someone who could do the cgi dirt cheap

Posted by: chatgpt at September 08, 2023 05:06 PM (oY6Yp)

212 102 Frasier is much better than Cheers.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory

I absolutely agree.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan at September 08, 2023 05:06 PM (fjTbJ)

213 Shout Factory just announced a new Blu-ray of the whole show.

25th anniversary edition.

Man, how did that many years go by? Quickly, I guess.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls - an election is simply a festival for the majority at September 08, 2023 05:06 PM (ppBhU)

214 This might be advice for ace, but I do notice the days I'm not in my phone much, I sleep better. So, uh, imma gonna go now.

Posted by: InZona at September 08, 2023 05:06 PM (grRII)

215
When you watch any series, ask yourself how it resembles the world of Hollywood.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 08, 2023 05:06 PM (X+/q/)

216 Second screening is important.

But third screening is how you keep track of the latest midget porn.

Posted by: Roy at September 08, 2023 05:07 PM (rqgpJ)

217 I really like Walking Dead but got repetitive, still like Zombie movies

Posted by: Skip at September 08, 2023 05:07 PM (fwDg9)

218 I have previously outed myself as a consumer of the music we blithely call "jazz".
The 3 part Amazon documentary on the life of (recently deceased) musician Wayne Shorter is very good.
For comedy lovers, Amazon has a similar doc on the life of Gary Mule Deer, which was hysterical.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at September 08, 2023 05:07 PM (MeG8a)

219 Death in Paradise is still hood, but nit as god as before.
Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (5rMwN)
---
I think your autocucumber needs a swift kick...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 08, 2023 04:52 PM (YIVH2)
......

AoS AI glitch.

Posted by: wth at September 08, 2023 05:08 PM (v0R5T)

220 One of the things I always admired about America was its ineptitude at foreign intelligence and it's chronic unpreparedness for war. It used to be a country where people were focused on the important things: eating food, drinking beer, and hangin' with the family.

We only did war when people fucked around too much, and then we always sucked at it from being out of practice, and then we killed everyone.

Now, we're less good at everything except starting shit, where we excel.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 08, 2023 05:08 PM (0FoWg)

221 Man, how did that many years go by?

Gradually, and then suddenly.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at September 08, 2023 05:08 PM (olroh)

222 The one show I watched recently had the obvious and nauseating PC checklist for every minority and perversion and such. Apparently all the shows have that going for them now. As if we needed more reasons to abandon Hollywood.

Posted by: Eternity Matters at September 08, 2023 05:09 PM (MTm8X)

223 199 the newer version of The Tick is good

personally, i was always hoping for a sewer urchin spinoff of the animated series.

Posted by: anachronda at September 08, 2023 05:09 PM (oY6Yp)

224 Hockey season starts soon, so NHL Center Ice almost every night.

Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 05:09 PM (gmo/4)

225 Ha! This is funny because I do this all the time. I even found myself doing it with the new Justified. I sure hope season 2 is better. The fling Raylan had with the lawyer was so out there I almost stopped watching.

Posted by: jewells45 fuck cancer at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (iF0sF)

226 Bravo actually had arts shows!!
-------
And A&E had classical music performances; and TLC had history documentaries!

Welcome to "lowest common denominator programming" where we need to add to our audience beyond our original base.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (krqg6)

227 It's hard to put into words how *horrifying* this situation is to hear for a writer and for anyone interested in storytelling as a career

Maybe writers need to get a writer to do that for them.

Posted by: t-bird at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (Sv58p)

228 willowed from previous thread. Was this just thrown out there or did something come out of this afternoon's trial?
Posted by: SH
------
Came out in cross examination, some of P. Bushie campaign aides ran to the Feebs to start investigating Paxton even though they could not find anything that he had done wrong.

Posted by: whig at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (o3VVz)

229 All of us are Dead > The Walking Dead

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (srHV1)

230 The fling Raylan had with the lawyer was so out there I almost stopped watching.
Posted by: jewells45 fuck cancer at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (iF0sF)

=====

I *did* stop watching.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (DRSnL)

231 But when they just keep blabbing about the same problems every week, never resolving them?
______

Isn't that pretty much what every husband has to listen to? Resolving issues isn't a female thing.

Posted by: Eeyore at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (brAQZ)

232 The ending didn’t suck, TJM. Well, it isn’t Serious Fucking Cinema. So, you’ve got me on that.

Posted by: 13times at September 08, 2023 05:10 PM (KzxSg)

233 Ace's point nails the over-praise of "Breaking Bad."

Cordially...
Posted by: Rick
---------
Sure, Rick. And the best you can do is 50 bucks, right??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (krqg6)

234 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

235 "...don't want to interrupt "viewers" too much by requiring that they pay attention too much."

Back in the day, Police Squad was canceled because viewers had to pay too much attention to it to catch the jokes.

Posted by: hobbitopoly at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (6xRrr)

236 I cut the cord a decade ago and got Tablo, an over-the-air receiver/recorder. No monthly fees, just a one-time hardware setup.

Tablo is a worthy investment for the cable cutter. I get 58 channels over the air, half in HD. I combine this with Roku and borrowing from my Romanian friends and have more video than I can ever hope to watch.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (aD39U)

237 I ditched TV in 2012. I realized 1) I was only watching movies and football, and 2) there were places on the web where I could watch movies and football for free.

Everything is on the internet. Eh Vre Thing Uh.

Posted by: DB - camped out at the edge of reality at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (geLO8)

238 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

=====

Truth

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (DRSnL)

239 I used to enjoy watching Question Time, when the Brit PM had a sense of humor.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (B8BLL)

240 Now, we're less good at everything except starting shit, where we excel.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 08, 2023 05:08 PM

Must I remind you that we built "the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization" ever a mere two years ago?

Posted by: J. Robinette Biden at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (a3Q+t)

241 It is The Idiot Box. I watch sports with the sound off and read my iToys. When I was younger, I read a book. But, still, it is The Idiot Box.

Posted by: Jamaica NYC at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (Eeb9P)

242 The ending didn’t suck, TJM.

Well, it’s true, it isn’t Serious Fucking Cinema. So, you’ve got me on that.

Posted by: 13times at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (cdwVa)

243 Just because they have 50% gay and "diverse" content, which people aren't interested in watching?

Must be watching KTLA.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko stuff at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (Nfps1)

244 One of the things I always admired about America was its ineptitude at foreign intelligence and it's chronic unpreparedness for war. It used to be a country where people were focused on the important things: eating food, drinking beer, and hangin' with the family.

We only did war when people fucked around too much, and then we always sucked at it from being out of practice, and then we killed everyone.

Now, we're less good at everything except starting shit, where we excel.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 08, 2023 05:08 PM (0FoWg)
________________

This.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (dpmG8)

245 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

Concur 10,000%

Posted by: Archer at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (gmo/4)

246 Watched the History Channel - Ancient Empires (TV series 2023) this week.
"Showcases the three titans of the ages (Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra)"
Not bad.

Posted by: wth at September 08, 2023 05:13 PM (v0R5T)

247 I used to enjoy watching Question Time, when the Brit PM had a sense of humor.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (B8BLL)
______________

I love the Brit facility with language. They're at the opposite end of the scale from Biden, Harris, Fetterman ...

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (dpmG8)

248 Compare to the memo that David Mamet wrote for the writers for The Unit.

Posted by: MikeN

Loved that memo.

//

And the worse slow show is NBC Dateline. I watched it once and thought the TV was broken or something. People just staring into space between statements.

Posted by: PJ at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (G1dq6)

249 I witnessed a moment of cable television recently and the ads were heavily seeded with HIV and AIDS commercials where same sex couples snuggled and cavorted like newlyweds after a marathon honeymoon.

Two dudes in flannel canoodling with the "extended" family is not fucking mainstream in ANY world I have ever seen.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (KVGVf)

250 Perfesser Squirrel, I liked TWD because it was about people's reactions to the walkers. It wasn't about the walkers. In addition, and mostly, it was a primer on survival, which all of us are concerned. Haven't watched it since maybe 5 years ago.

Posted by: Eromero at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (z3WCn)

251 "Your Show of Shows" was...70 years ago.
"The Honeymooners" and "The Steve Allen Show" both over 60 years ago.
Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at September 08, 2023 04:44 PM (zJW56)

My with picked my up from Hosp and I wondered out loud is she new it was farter from 2000 today than the day we started college.

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (BRHaw)

252 Justine Bateman also has a degree in Computer Science from UCLA. She recently weighed in on the impact of AI on Hollywood:

https://is.gd/PKgkV3

Posted by: Darrell Harris at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (/iWhV)

253 I'm not a fan of zombie stuff but I liked the one from South Korea called Train To Busan.

Posted by: Mark1971 at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (xPl2J)

254 I think the remain in Texas stuff is a stick to make sure Paxson is killed off.

Posted by: Jamaica NYC at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (Eeb9P)

255 Shaun of the Dead, Not Sean Bean of the Dead.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (LLGFx)

256 Been watching the Green Hornet, was a 1 season run in 66-67 on YouTube.

Posted by: Skip at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (fwDg9)

257 Just because they have 50% gay and "diverse" content, which people aren't interested in watching?
_______________

You have to watch TV, otherwise, where would you see all the interracial couples?

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:15 PM (dpmG8)

258 Just reminded me of an argument I once had with a co-worker about a show.

Me: I hate that show. It's so boring.
Him: Hey, man, sometimes life is boring.
Me: Yeah, that's why we watch shows!
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at September 08, 2023 05:00 PM (KbCG3)

Drama is life with the boring bits cut out
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:01 PM (xcxpd)

Drama nowadays means having to listen to 10-15 minutes of a character(s) description of their fucked up childhood leading to how fucked up the world is now. Always so much self pity.

I end up screaming, "Get over it."

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 08, 2023 05:15 PM (BdMk6)

259 Kids today do not watch TV ... at all. So yes, eventually it will die.
Posted by: SH (But Prefer Clark Griswold) at September 08, 2023 04:36 PM (sX1BW)

My kid is 18 and I think the last time she turned on the TV to watch an actual television show was 10 years ago.

Posted by: hobbitopoly at September 08, 2023 05:15 PM (6xRrr)

260 238 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

=====

Truth
Posted by: Jordan61

Such a funny movie. That would be a good one to have a watch party and live stream.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (TXEHw)

261 The one show I watched recently had the obvious and nauseating PC checklist for every minority and perversion and such. Apparently all the shows have that going for them now. As if we needed more reasons to abandon Hollywood.
Posted by: Eternity Matters at September 08, 2023 05:09 PM (MTm8X)

=====

I binge-watched The Bear on Hulu a few weeks ago. No sex scenes, no gays (that I recall anyway). There are a lot of black characters, but it's set in Chicago, so at least it kind of makes sense. There is a lot of swearing though.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (DRSnL)

262 I'm at this moment reading, hanging with you losers on my second screen, and grooving on the fall weather.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

What are ya reading ?

Posted by: JT at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (T4tVD)

263 Perfesser Squirrel, I liked TWD because it was about people's reactions to the walkers. It wasn't about the walkers. In addition, and mostly, it was a primer on survival, which all of us are concerned. Haven't watched it since maybe 5 years ago.
Posted by: Eromero at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (z3WCn)

It took me until the end of the first season to realize that the eponymous Walking Dead were the survivors, not the zombies.

I can be slow some times.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (aD39U)

264 hiya

Posted by: JT at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (T4tVD)

265 247 I used to enjoy watching Question Time, when the Brit PM had a sense of humor.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:12 PM (B8BLL)
______________

Wasn't that on C-Span? I remember some epic taunts flung back and forth across the aisle. A couple of fist fights too. Since we gave up cable, I haven't seen it. And DJG is correct, their wordsmithing is fantastic.

Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (JrN/x)

266
Killer on the run is still killer on the run in my hood. Top. Men. With one single dog to cover the state of Pennsylvania. Who got exhausted in the heat.

Is there any state that can compete with Pennsylvania for most embarrassing in the past year?

:: Hides Fetterman card behind back ::

Posted by: Divide by Zero at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (enJYY)

267 Killer on the run is still killer on the run in my hood. Top. Men. With one single dog to cover the state of Pennsylvania. Who got exhausted in the heat.

Is there any state that can compete with Pennsylvania for most embarrassing in the past year?

:: Hides Fetterman card behind back ::

its fucking ridiculous

Posted by: BlackOrchid at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (AcWfM)

268 "SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE
THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM,
AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR
NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE
DRAMATICALLY ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING,
USELESS, REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT
LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF
MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE
TALKING ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE
IT ON THE FIRST DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT
FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL
BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE
ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE."

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (xcxpd)

269 __Such a funny movie. That would be a good one to have a watch party and live stream.__

Our gaming guild did The Room on a movie night.

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (srHV1)

270 Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (BRHaw)
-----

You might want to check for a gas leak.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (0Mqam)

271 Sorry....formatting messed up, but that's an excerpt from David Mamet's memo to The Unit writers.

David Mamet knows writing.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (xcxpd)

272 farther

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (BRHaw)

273 And the worse slow show is NBC Dateline. I watched it once and thought the TV was broken or something. People just staring into space between statements.
Posted by: PJ at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (G1dq6)
_______________

A lot of Brit dramas tend to be like that (because VERY low budget).

Empty room. Door opens. Someone walks in, closes door. Walks over to window and stares plaintively into the middle distance. Door opens again. Someone else walks in, closes door. First person turns around, the two exchange looks as if constipated. First person walks over to door, opens it, and leaves.

I'm not a fan of car chases, explosions, CGI, etc. but this is the other extreme.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (dpmG8)

274 You might want to check for a gas leak.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (0Mqam)

ha

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (BRHaw)

275 ... while "watching" their boring content,

*******

This may be the winter of our discontent. ..

...And dat content. And doze contents over dere. And dat big pile of boring content.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (991eG)

276 farther
Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (BRHaw)

=====

Yeah we're gonna need more help than that.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (DRSnL)

277 >>>Another element of the flabbiness is that every actor takes long actorly pauses when speaking. To further pad out the runtime.

It's more noticeable when you watch old film noir movies from around WWII. The dialogue in them is so busy and nonstop, that it's like everyone on the set was coked up.

Posted by: Roy at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (rqgpJ)

278 @252
Justine Bateman makes an intriguing point about AI:
==========

But when I could see that it was going to be used to widen profit margins, in white-collar jobs and more generally replace human expression with our past human expression, I just went, "This is an end of the progression of society if we just stayed here." If you keep recycling what we've got from the past, nothing new will ever be generated. If generative AI started in the beginning of the 20th century, we would never have had jazz, rock 'n' roll, film noir.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (r72PE)

279 253 I'm not a fan of zombie stuff but I liked the one from South Korea called Train To Busan.
Posted by: Mark1971 at September 08, 2023 05:14 PM (xPl2J)

That was an excellent movie! You might enjoy The Host as well - I think it's the same director. Korean film directors seem to be able to do character development efficiently. It's not drawn out. The deaths are, however. I'm not mad about that.

Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (JrN/x)

280 We tossed cable/satellite TV early in the JEF presidency. We watched very few shows and couldn't help notice that the same block of episodes from some show would be shown on multiple channels. This was probably due to syndication of what was put up for sale that year.

We do have Prime and Netflix but rarely watch anything. We only have Netflix for the grand munchkins. I'd drop it in a minute if I could convince the wife

Posted by: Beartooth at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (azYCi)

281 Meh fuck the entertainment industry as a whole. May the good ones survive.

Posted by: thathalfrican - The One at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (dzH00)

282 JT, I just started "Terminal Freeze" by Lincoln Child. It was recommended by someone in the book thread.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (0Mqam)

283 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

To Whom It May Concern: When the zombie apocalypse happens, let it be the Walking Dead zombies and not the World War Z zombies because I can't run very fast

Thank you, Kindltot, age 12

Posted by: Kindltot at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (xhaym)

284 Wasn't that on C-Span? I remember some epic taunts flung back and forth across the aisle. A couple of fist fights too. Since we gave up cable, I haven't seen it. And DJG is correct, their wordsmithing is fantastic.
Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:16 PM (JrN/x)
____________

"I predict the hono(u)rable gentleman will either die of the pox or on the gallows."

"That depends on whether I embrace your mistress or your values."

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:21 PM (dpmG8)

285 I don't see why Hollywood even needs writers.

They could just put their beautiful monkeys in a room with drugs and booze and other beautiful monkeys. Oh, wait, nvmd... they already did reality TV.

Hollywood's fucked, bruh.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 08, 2023 05:21 PM (0FoWg)

286 When I'm in a business meeting I always put my dad on speaker phone. Don't all of you?

Posted by: An Observation sez China Joe not my president at September 08, 2023 05:21 PM (CecP5)

287 JT, I just started "Terminal Freeze" by Lincoln Child. It was recommended by someone in the book thread.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

Let me know how it is.....please !

Posted by: JT at September 08, 2023 05:21 PM (T4tVD)

288 Back in the day, Police Squad was canceled because viewers had to pay too much attention to it to catch the jokes.
----------
And Frank's Place that wasn't Venus Flytrap or a 30-minute comedy, often being more like an hour dramedy.

And cancelling Sledge Hammer! -- nothing could beat Cosby! And I believe David Rasche saying it was a VCR hit with people recording it to watch later but the Nielsen ratings didn't/ couldn't take that into account.

"Trust me; I know what I'm doing!"

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:22 PM (krqg6)

289 Hollywood is still making billions. Of course they are spending billions to make billions, but sometimes they are in the black .

Posted by: runner at September 08, 2023 05:23 PM (5rMwN)

290 You might want to check for a gas leak.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM (0Mqam)

Very interesting idea that zombies cannot use a bad body or diseased body.

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:23 PM (BRHaw)

291
its fucking ridiculous

Posted by: BlackOrchid at September 08, 2023 05:17 PM

There's some new theory that 'vigilantes' are gonna get him. I suspect the opposite is gonna happen - that some fellow border jumpers are gonna snatch him and make him disappear. Forever.

Such a Biden era fluster of cuck is almost predictable.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at September 08, 2023 05:23 PM (enJYY)

292 sorry my c and p sucks

Posted by: rhennigantx at September 08, 2023 05:23 PM (BRHaw)

293 Part of it is also economic. They need X hours of programming. If they can get 10 hours of programming out of 6 hours of actual content, that’s a feature not a bug. That, and women tend to like slower, longer shows with more pointless (to men) emoting. Even female PORN takes forever to get to the point.

Posted by: Elric Blade at September 08, 2023 05:24 PM (oDOXV)

294 David Mamet knows writing.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:18 PM (xcxpd)
-///

We just watched "Glengarry Glenross"! What a cast. I wish there was a counter in the corner for every "Fuck" and "Lead".

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:24 PM (0Mqam)

295 It's more noticeable when you watch old film noir movies from around WWII. The dialogue in them is so busy and nonstop, that it's like everyone on the set was coked up.
Posted by: Roy at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (rqgpJ)
______________

The irony is that it is the actors and actresses of today who are coked to the eyeballs.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:24 PM (dpmG8)

296 Sean of the Dead > The Walking Dead
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:11 PM (srHV1)

Honorable Mention to "The Crazies," with Timothy Olyphant. Some tropiness (not a word, but you know what I mean), but the cast was really solid, and it was action-packed.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Not Exactly Streets Ahead at September 08, 2023 05:24 PM (T/Lqj)

297 I wish I had a nickel for every time someone asked me "Do you watch (insert crap show here)?" and I answer, "No". I'd be rich enough to buy my own island by now.

Posted by: hobbitopoly at September 08, 2023 05:24 PM (6xRrr)

298 My wife has Kocawa because she likes the Korean soap operas. Me personally, I find the titles like "Young Woman and a Gentleman" to be inspiring, but I don't speak Korean.

We were leeching on her daughters Neflix, but that apparently is being discouraged

By the way, in regards to Netflix, were you aware there was a Netflix sharing bubble?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hi9E7CDpLs

Posted by: Kindltot at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (xhaym)

299 Ace, if you're reading this, you have Benny Mardones in the sidebar all wrong. I thought exactly the same thing, but in this interview with Professor of Rock, Mardones completely explains the lyrics and it's pretty heartbreaking.

Benny died not that long ago and after seeing this, I felt terrible for thinking he was a pervert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLgSNZFD9sQ&t=1013s

Posted by: The_Hoser at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (N66D6)

300 Back in the day, Police Squad was canceled because viewers had to pay too much attention to it to catch the jokes.
_______________

They should have stuck to watching "Balls!," the movie.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (dpmG8)

301 It's more noticeable when you watch old film noir movies from around WWII. The dialogue in them is so busy and nonstop, that it's like everyone on the set was coked up.
Posted by: Roy at September 08, 2023 05:19 PM (rqgpJ)

It's the style used in sitcoms like Frazier, Cheers, etc. You miss a few seconds and you've missed the joke.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (BdMk6)

302 I don't do TV. Seven years after my move it's still in the box. YouTube is my TV.

Same problem there...three minutes of decent content mired in twenty minutes of fluff.

Posted by: creeper at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (cTCuP)

303
"I predict the hono(u)rable gentleman will either die of the pox or on the gallows."

"That depends on whether I embrace your mistress or your values."
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:21 PM (dpmG

Here, it's more like"

"Fuck you"

"You can't say that to me, fuck you!"

"I just did, fuck you."
ad nauseum.

(Actual conversation husband overheard at work one day betwee two senior guys.)

Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (JrN/x)

304 Forget "Must-See TV", they're selling ad space for being "That TV That's Left On In The Living Room"

Posted by: t-bird at September 08, 2023 05:26 PM (e2onP)

305 I seem to be an oddball. My favorite series is British, called Last of the Summer Wine. Basically, it followed three pensioners around 50 (in the first seasons), and the trouble they could get into around their Yorkshire town. It ran for 31 series, and didn't seem to move much on the woke scale over that much time.

They replaced a lot of characters, but my favorite lasted from the pilot to the final episode. Norman Clegg was the only character in every episode.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at September 08, 2023 05:26 PM (mNmNo)

306 We've accidentally stumbled on the solution to series.
We generally have two conversations about watching TV each night.

1) "This looks good."
"Is it a series?"
"Yes'
"Pass"

"This looks good."
"I don't want to watch a series."
"It's a movie."
"Ok"

2) "This is supposed to be a really good series."
"Is it finished?"
"No."
"Let's watch something else. Like a movie."

"This is supposed to be a really good series."
"Is it finished?"
"Yes."
"Is the ending good or does it stink?"
"The ending's good."
"Okay. Let's try it."

Posted by: naturalfake at September 08, 2023 05:26 PM (QzZeQ)

307 The deliberately slow pace of action on TV might also explain the frenetic pace of action in most movies if you accept the idea that we have very short attention spans, but people expect to watch new movies straight through.

To keep people's attention for around 2 hours they need to have a chase scene or a fight every 5 minutes and a joke every 10 seconds.

Posted by: Dave at September 08, 2023 05:27 PM (nLwaa)

308 Here, it's more like"

"Fuck you"

"You can't say that to me, fuck you!"

"I just did, fuck you."
ad nauseum.

(Actual conversation husband overheard at work one day betwee two senior guys.)
Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (JrN/x)
_______________

"You're racist!"

"No, YOU'RE racist!"

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:27 PM (dpmG8)

309 1923 "A" plot is decent, "B" plot is weak, with a Snidely Whiplash villain, and the "C" plot is abysmal and makes me want to jump in front of a locomotive.

Posted by: Dworkin Barimen at September 08, 2023 05:28 PM (mfOz/)

310 1) "This looks good."
"Is it a series?"
"Yes'
"Pass"

Posted by: naturalfake at September 08, 2023 05:26 PM (QzZeQ)

=====

LOL, this happened to me recently. I saw previews for Hijack on Apple TV. We got a free trial so I went to go watch it and damned if it wasn't a series. Which wasn't very good.

Posted by: Jordan61 at September 08, 2023 05:28 PM (DRSnL)

311 They don’t care if anyone is actually watching their rubbish content. So long as the ‘audience” doesn’t change the channel, it counts as a “viewer” or stream or whatever bogus metric they use to pretend to measure viewership.

Posted by: Elric Blade at September 08, 2023 05:28 PM (oDOXV)

312 For British TV, the best I've seen in a long time is All Creatures Great and Small. It is perfection.

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:29 PM (kjOVp)

313 Yeah, I use my phone to kill time when I'm alone, but when it's date night with the wife or dinner out with the entire family, that shit stays put away. I'm an introvert, but I love having a dinner date with my wife, talking, living in the moment, and people watching.

Posted by: Dworkin Barimen at September 08, 2023 05:30 PM (mfOz/)

314 What can anyone expect from the SAG or the writers?

There has to be a quid pro quo in any negotiation, and they have nothing. They're all retarded heroin addicts demanding medical coverage from their employers while on strike, presumably so they can get their Ozempic and Biktarvy. None of them have produced a single relatable thing in many, many years.

Personally - even knowing the terrible shortcomings of AI """writing,""" - I'd just go for it, if I were a studio or net exec. Whatever it comes up with, it can't be worse than the She-Hulk or whatever is next.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 08, 2023 05:30 PM (0FoWg)

315
I don't do TV. Seven years after my move it's still in the box. YouTube is my TV.

A screen is a screen is a screen.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 08, 2023 05:30 PM (63Dwl)

316 re: padding

My wife and I have noticed that the first several seasons of Gunsmoke were half hour time slots, with a set-up, a conflict, an action scene culminating in a crisis with resolution and a brief wrap-up. Bingo, bango bongo, Matt Dillon's yer uncle and some bad guy is pushing up daisies on Boot Hill! Story telling extraordinaire!

By the 12th season the episodes were hour-long slots, with a long slow build-up, some hippy-dippy emo crap, a lot of dialog and only infrequent shooting. With all the filler dialog that didn't advance the story they should have changed the name to 'Gimflap'! Or 'Matt Dillon, LCSW*'

(*Licensed Clinical Social Worker)

Posted by: Muldoon at September 08, 2023 05:31 PM (991eG)

317
After the success of '50 Shades of Gray' you can't tell me Nell didn't really want Snidely to tie her to the train tracks.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at September 08, 2023 05:31 PM (enJYY)

318 For British TV, the best I've seen in a long time is All Creatures Great and Small. It is perfection.
Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:29 PM (kjOVp)
______________

"Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" are both fantastic. Funny, and trenchant commentary on contemporary politics.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:31 PM (dpmG8)

319 I'm an introvert, but I love having a dinner date with my wife, talking, living in the moment, and people watching.
Posted by: Dworkin Barimen at September 08, 2023 05:30 PM (mfOz/)

I hear ya, brother.

Posted by: Jack Ryan at September 08, 2023 05:32 PM (aD39U)

320 None of them have produced a single relatable thing in many, many years.

I kind of find the Chucky tv series relateable. Like Chucky, I want to kill all the actors in that series.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls - an election is simply a festival for the majority at September 08, 2023 05:32 PM (ppBhU)

321 My lucky day!

I just found the I, Claudius versus modern directing YT my friend recommended.

||This Old TV Show Has Better Directing Than Anything Today
Moviewise 10.7K subscribers
A video essay about the legendary 1976 BBC miniseries "I, Claudius": the intrigue-heavy, blood-soaked, sex-maniac, decades-spanning story of the first four Roman emperors.

Brilliantly adapted by Jack Pulman from the novels by Robert Graves, the series was directed by journeyman Herbert Wise. Here you'll see how his deft camerawork and creative blocking elevated a seemingly stagy production into an extraordinary example of effective cinematic staging.||
https://tinyurl.com/yc4pz45u
9:22 minutes

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:32 PM (krqg6)

322 A friend saw a show in London of Abba's music and said there were no humans in the show, it was all computer generated replicas of the band from different periods of their careers.

Very weird.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at September 08, 2023 05:32 PM (1IQZc)

323 JT, I just started "Terminal Freeze" by Lincoln Child. It was recommended by someone in the book thread.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:20 PM (0Mqam)

Both Child and Douglas Preston intermingled characters from their own stand alone book series which makes sense since they co-write the Pendergast series.

I recommend starting with both of their initial books and follow the characters that way. You can get the paperback versions cheap online.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 08, 2023 05:32 PM (azYCi)

324 "Television is now written by people who are only pretending to write, and watched by people only pretending to watch."

Take #1: Hollywood shows its Soviet colors (see joke about pretend pay for pretend work).

Take #2: With AI at work on the 'creative' side, how long before they get the idea of having AI viewers, specifically to goose the numbers for advertising purposes?

Posted by: Another Anon at September 08, 2023 05:33 PM (hwP7U)

325 A screen is a screen is a screen.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.

So, watching Davie504, Electroboom and Pitch Meeting is still watching TV?

How about playing Skyrim or Borderlands 3?

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (kjOVp)

326 One day you'll be able to ask chatgpt to tell you a story about boy meets girl, make the boy Elvis and the girl Meg Ryan, throw in a killer robot so I can watch it with my wife and make it no more than 90 minutes long. and bada bing bada boom you'll have a 90 minute movie to watch.

Posted by: Lancelot_Link at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (uxAXv)

327 I've been watching "Wheel of Time" on Amazon Prime at my sister's suggestion. Someone who has read the books tell me, are the characters as flat and boring as they are on the tv show?

Posted by: Tuna at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (gLRfa)

328 322 A friend saw a show in London of Abba's music and said there were no humans in the show, it was all computer generated replicas of the band from different periods of their careers.

we talkin' animatronics or cgi here?

Posted by: anachronda at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (oY6Yp)

329 __For British TV, the best I've seen in a long time is All Creatures Great and Small. It is perfection.__

Rewatching the good episodes of Doctor Who before they made him a Wahman

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (qeRdX)

330 Holy crap reading the HQ is watching a screen too!

😉

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (kjOVp)

331 Nood... gainnnzzz

Posted by: Hawkpilot at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (7U1Vx)

332 326 One day you'll be able to ask chatgpt to tell you a story about boy meets girl, make the boy Elvis and the girl Meg Ryan, throw in a killer robot so I can watch it with my wife and make it no more than 90 minutes long. and bada bing bada boom you'll have a 90 minute movie to watch.

your life likes killer robots? classy lady.

Posted by: anachronda at September 08, 2023 05:35 PM (oY6Yp)

333 If I was able to ween my 75 year old mom off overpriced cable, then anyone can be weened off overpriced cable.
She was paying over $200 for cable service and a couple of cable boxes.
She now has two Roku tvs and we share a $2/mo Hulu subscription that I got for Black Friday.
So she has free news channels thanks to Roku and Law and Order thanks to Hulu and she's happy.
$2 a month.

Posted by: Iasonas at September 08, 2023 05:35 PM (7MYrS)

334 I was second screen watching 30 years ago
Now I do it with podcasts instead.
However, I notice that the US Open commands attention
Really exciting tennis matches and for a change, non victim hood players.

Posted by: groovygirl at September 08, 2023 05:35 PM (3+oIa)

335 "A show that had to be watched like that is not worth watching. That's how people watch porn."

If you're spending 90% of your time checking Twitter or something else, you're not watching porn.

Posted by: SFGoth at September 08, 2023 05:35 PM (KAi1n)

336 327 I've been watching "Wheel of Time" on Amazon Prime at my sister's suggestion. Someone who has read the books tell me, are the characters as flat and boring as they are on the tv show?
Posted by: Tuna at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (gLRfa)

The TV show did a....not terrible job with Rand but the book versions of everyone else is much better.

Though Nynaveve is a bitch for like 9 books.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:36 PM (xcxpd)

337 311 They don’t care if anyone is actually watching their rubbish content. So long as the ‘audience” doesn’t change the channel, it counts as a “viewer” or stream or whatever bogus metric they use to pretend to measure viewership.
Posted by: Elric Blade at September 08, 2023 0

I wonder if ratings are still figured by Neilson? I would imagine the streaming companies know their ratings etc., but I wouldn't trust them to self report honestly anyway.

Posted by: CaliGirl at September 08, 2023 05:36 PM (Br8mK)

338 Scene from Gunsmoke, S15Ep7: "Since Ma died Pa ain't never understood me and how much I love Billy Ray Jepsom and we want to get married but Pa wants me to stay on the farm and raise hogs and fix his mealls and do his laundry but now that I'm 17 he cain't stop us no longer and we're going off to St. Louiee and get hitched and..."

Muldoon: "Oh for Pete's sake, shut up and have Matt Dillon shoot a bank robber already!!"

Posted by: Muldoon at September 08, 2023 05:36 PM (991eG)

339 I try to read a book while "watching " streaming

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at September 08, 2023 05:37 PM (t4aku)

340 A lot of Brit dramas tend to be like that (because VERY low budget).

Empty room. Door opens. Someone walks in, closes door. Walks over to window and stares plaintively into the middle distance. Door opens again. Someone else walks in, closes door. First person turns around, the two exchange looks as if constipated. First person walks over to door, opens it, and leaves.

I'm not a fan of car chases, explosions, CGI, etc. but this is the other extreme.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara
---------
Very low budget for a little known Cold War era Brit spy show, Sandbaggers. Another is a counter intel spy show, with very little action but taut cat and mouse mind games--Palfrey of Westminster. The pilot Palfrey show is on youtube and the series was revised a bit for the two year series.
But the writing is taut and these stories are about believable human beings--not James Bond fantasies.

The same guy that did Sandbaggers also did an earlier excellent series called Warship which is a very good series set on a British frigate. He won a knighthood for Warship.

Posted by: whig at September 08, 2023 05:37 PM (o3VVz)

341 (Actual conversation husband overheard at work one day betwee two senior guys.)
Posted by: Moki at September 08, 2023 05:25 PM (JrN/x)

I worked with welders. The correct response is "It'll make your throat sore"

Posted by: Kindltot at September 08, 2023 05:37 PM (xhaym)

342 If you're spending 90% of your time checking Twitter or something else, you're not watching porn.
Posted by: SFGoth at September 08, 2023 05:35 PM (KAi1n)

LOL.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 08, 2023 05:38 PM (BdMk6)

343 Should I go on the GAINZZ Thread and say I don't have a gym membership or use weights??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:39 PM (krqg6)

344 329 __For British TV, the best I've seen in a long time is All Creatures Great and Small. It is perfection.__
--------
The books it is based upon are quite good and the original All Creatures (not the remake) is pretty faithful portrayal of the books.

Posted by: whig at September 08, 2023 05:39 PM (o3VVz)

345 I laughed at the "primarily women" comment. I used to get annoyed by the guys (some related to me) asking "What happened?"about a movie or "Did they score?" about the game. Shut the TV off if you're not going to watch it, as my mom and dad used to say.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at September 08, 2023 05:39 PM (y+0kp)

346 To keep people's attention for around 2 hours they need to have a chase scene or a fight every 5 minutes and a joke every 10 seconds.
Posted by: Dave at September 08, 2023 05:27 PM (nLwaa)

I don't know about short attention spans. Rogan talks for three hours and adds viewers. I think it is content. things to chew on. Meaning.

Posted by: Kindltot at September 08, 2023 05:40 PM (xhaym)

347 Whig, I had the whole set of Herriott books as a kid.

Only learned last year they were all fiction. Mind: blown.

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:41 PM (kjOVp)

348 233 Ace's point nails the over-praise of "Breaking Bad."

Cordially...
Posted by: Rick
---------
Sure, Rick. And the best you can do is 50 bucks, right??

Whoa, that goes right over my head. If it harks to some of BB's dialogue, well it isn't in the league of "say my name" and "I'm the one who knocks."

Cordially...

Posted by: Rick at September 08, 2023 05:42 PM (Ppyph)

349 Thumbs up on "Sandbaggers".

I also liked "1990" which starred Edward Woodward as a journalist in totalitarian England (I.e., 1984 was off by six years).

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 08, 2023 05:42 PM (0Mqam)

350 @303
ad nauseum.

Sorry Moki, you're a loser.
If you can't do Latin, leave Latin alone.
Nothing wrong with saying "until you're sick of it" in English.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at September 08, 2023 05:46 PM (4PZHB)

351 For British TV, the best I've seen in a long time is All Creatures Great and Small. It is perfection.
Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at September 08, 2023 05:29 PM

----------------------------

Assuming you're talking about the new production, it's not bad. But they've amped up the female roles, especially Mrs. Hall, way beyond anything in the original books, while cutting way back on the eccentric farmers and pub scenes. I actually prefer the previous 70s/80s version overall. It's worth watching if you haven't seen it and like the new one.

Posted by: Bigsmith at September 08, 2023 05:46 PM (RzNpo)

352 Too long to develop? Are you suggesting they could've done all the character development and nuance of Walking Dead in fewer than 15 (or whatever the hell they're on now) seasons??

Posted by: red speck at September 08, 2023 05:48 PM (0Id0S)

353 Cordially...
Posted by: Rick
--------
Rick the reality-TV pawnbroker on Pawn Stars.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at September 08, 2023 05:56 PM (krqg6)

354 [every show now pads the hell out of its runtime by limiting the number of consequential events in an hour's worth of show to 1-3, and then filling up the rest of the time with people talking to each other about their soap opera problems.]

I watch "Peter Gunn" and "Judge Judy" and "The Addams Family" on Roku free streaming.
They don't do that.

FJB

Posted by: jbspry at September 08, 2023 06:00 PM (s78zi)

355 I can watch a sitcom that ended around the time I was born (The Dick Van Dyke Show) for free now on YouTube - every single episode in its entirety.

But with commercials, just like they were intended to be seen.

OK, now they're commercials for Walmart and Tesla instead of Marlboro cigarettes, but still.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at September 08, 2023 06:04 PM (BHrzb)

356 Tubi is pretty great too. "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" FTW!

Posted by: The_Hoser at September 08, 2023 06:06 PM (N66D6)

357 I am watching "Remington Steele" on Prime. When Doris Robert raises her ugly head, I am out.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at September 08, 2023 06:12 PM (8fpTj)

358 The pawsonal trainers are adorable, the kitteh crunches as well...cat was mimicking its owner who does crunches on that equipment!

But I wouldn't allow any animal with a tail near a treadmill.

Posted by: kallisto at September 08, 2023 06:14 PM (2IaMe)

359 That's how people watch porn.
Nooooo. With porn you fast forward to the interesting parts. You don't ignore it until one happens then backtrack. You might backtrack to watch it again.

Posted by: GWB at September 08, 2023 06:17 PM (M+Nrs)

360 Part of the reason I like Taylor Sheridan shows is the dialog has some depth to it. It is intelligent writing.

Compared to Sorkin on Billions. Lots of topical cliches with no meat to it. I do not hate that show, but if I switch from a TS written/produced show to a Sorkin written show, it jumps right out at me.

Posted by: Evi L. Bloggerlady at September 08, 2023 06:24 PM (8yM+6)

361 Something else funny?

My children LOVE The Andy Griffith Show.

They have almost nothing in common with the circumstances of the people in that show, but human stories are human stories and they connect.

Our new media overlords don't get that at all.
Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 08, 2023 04:42 PM (JMAcK)

I have gotten onto many detours on Youtube that I would have never thought I'd watch hours on just because the other person cares. One was a woman that duplicated historical Roman and historical hairstyles using period tools. They used thread instead of spray to hold curls up. Another was a lady who made Eduardan clothes for herself from period patterns and even wears them out in NY City, or did.

Posted by: Oldcat at September 08, 2023 09:31 PM (eoQWY)

362 I hate cop shows, medical shows, drug dealer shows, reality shows and anything with CSI in the title. Oh, hate anime.
__________________

I can't stand zombie shows. I've never even watched one, but just the very principle puts me off.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at September 08, 2023 05:02 PM (dpmG

Vampires make more sense. People are predators, and good ones. Zombies by nature are not. They care nothing about self defense and have no reasoning power. Any group of survivors would quickly learn how to defend, trap and eliminate them. And there's too few zombie source material out there.

Posted by: Oldcat at September 08, 2023 09:35 PM (eoQWY)

363 327 I've been watching "Wheel of Time" on Amazon Prime at my sister's suggestion. Someone who has read the books tell me, are the characters as flat and boring as they are on the tv show?
Posted by: Tuna at September 08, 2023 05:34 PM (gLRfa)

The TV show did a....not terrible job with Rand but the book versions of everyone else is much better.

Though Nynaveve is a bitch for like 9 books.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, anti-Marxist, buy ammo at September 08, 2023 05:36 PM (xcxpd)

I got like 8 or 9 back in the day, and I started to get annoyed at it. It started out as discount Tolkien with a few twists - men and women have different magic, men who do magic go insane and have to be stopped, etc. As it went on though it seemed to be plodding and each book had less content for the 400 pages. I started naming them "Rand al'Thor's Breakfast" since so little plot was happening in each.

Probably the best you can do is watch Disparu's reviews of it (and other drek from recent memory) where he does go into how the show changes the books and why that's mostly bad.

Posted by: Oldcat at September 08, 2023 09:42 PM (eoQWY)

364 To keep people's attention for around 2 hours they need to have a chase scene or a fight every 5 minutes and a joke every 10 seconds.
Posted by: Dave at September 08, 2023 05:27 PM (nLwaa)

I don't know about short attention spans. Rogan talks for three hours and adds viewers. I think it is content. things to chew on. Meaning.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 08, 2023 05:40 PM (xhaym)

There's a group chat thing on YT called "Every Frame a Pause" where they go into a clip, or movie at intense length kind of like MST3K used to be. These can be 12 hours to go through 2 movies, and are actually have good points from real writers which you can pause and take a break from. These guys make decent money off them, so not everyone has short attention spans.

Posted by: Oldcat at September 08, 2023 09:46 PM (eoQWY)

365 Rupert Murdoch owns Tubi. Rupert Himself. And he's doing with Tubi the same thing he did with FOX Television, by taking on a niche UHF channel in most markets, and focusing on creating and buying content at a low cost, and distributing it, often at higher quality because of the cheap broadcasting prices at the time allowing better redundancy. Then Came Roku and Roku paved the way to the death of Cable. Now Tubi comes along, and a niche ad supported streamer with limited, but beloved content (every major TV show from PBS) and low distribution movies (horror in particular) and then injection efficiently purchased, and produced content.

Tubi is definitely no the end all be all, but it is the harbinger.

Posted by: Wickedpinto at September 08, 2023 10:01 PM (VD/Zp)

366 Y'all should check out some of the interviews of Amanda Milius and her insights into the world of entertainment, as someone who grew up with it and as a participant herself.

Among other things, she says the dialogue is required to be third grade english so that it can be translated easily for foreign audiences.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at September 08, 2023 10:20 PM (MZ+PY)

367 It's for that very reason that I often watch episodes at 1.5X speed. Or go to Man of Recaps on YouTube. You want Complete Star Wars recap up to The Rise of Skywalker in 28 minutes? You got it!

I also enjoy 10-30 minute YouTuber episodes from people like Minty Comedic Arts (movie review), Steve Magnante Junkyard Crawl, Mark Felton (WWII), and Itchy Boots, Kara and Nate and Gone with the Wynns (travel). Cable cut over 10 years ago, so all Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc.

Greetings from New Hampshire. Hope you and yours are well, Ace!

Posted by: Rodent at September 08, 2023 10:45 PM (A3Tmb)

368 Old news about the mediocrity of TV

QUOTE--

[Post Title:]

Police Squad! was cancelled because the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it
***
Police Squad!, which hit the air in the fall of 1982, was a thirty-minute comedy on ABC created by Zucker Abrahams and Zucker, who'd had enormous success two years earlier with Airplane!.

A broad parody of television crime shows (perhaps especially, of Lee Marvin and M Squad), Police Squad! ran for only four episodes before it was jerked by the network — for reasons explained in the quote that titles this post (uttered by Tony Thomopoulos, President of ABC Entertainment).

UNQUOTE

Posted by: Dan at September 10, 2023 08:30 PM (+NG5U)

Processing 0.07, elapsed 0.0735 seconds.
15 queries taking 0.021 seconds, 377 records returned.
Page size 215 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.