Anyone else hate new TV shows?

[Tony D.]

I can't seem to have the same enthusiasm for today's TV shows as I had for Miami Vice. Especially the "reality" shows with filthy talk & boring lives. So, I intend to start watching all my MV & Nash Bridges episodes when I've seen enough Fox news reports.Anyone else thinking of going back to good TV??

[Tony D.]

I shouldn't say I hate them all....I like the American Pickers. Some interesting finds........I do hate the Pawn Stars...they are the greediest crooks going. How anyone can bring them things to offer a price, I don't know. They offer you $1000 for something appraised for $5000. They would sell their own mother for $10!! :pI watch the new Hawaii 5 - O and wish Miami Vice would do the same with new & original actors.

[Viceman Cometh]

Left to my own devices, I could be quite content watching my DVDs of old shows. Not only Vice, but Rockford, Quincy, Magnum, Midnight Caller, Benson, Silver Spoons, Frank's Place, the Shaft tv movies.But Mrs. Cometh doesn't share my enthusiasm for classic tv, so there are a number of new shows we watch, too.On pay cable, there's Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, True Blood. On broadcast, Criminal Minds, the new Ted Danson-infused CSI (we stopped watching long before Peterson left), House and Terra Nova. In fact, special effects aside, Terra Nova is structured much like a show from the 1970s.

[Ferrariman]

I can't say there are any new shows that made an impression on me. Gave "Terra Nova" a shot but once they got back to the stone age I lost interest. Dinos look cheesy by today's standards. Never went back. I'm surprised (and pleased) that "House" is still as good as it is. "Criminal Minds" is still at the top of my "must see" shows. Won't even give "Two and a Half Men" or "C.S.I." a chance. Both shows should have gone the route of their former stars. Aside from those , give me "Breaking Bad", "Supernatural" and "Blue Bloods" and I'm happy.If TV as we know it ever ceases to exist, I have enough TV shows and movies on DVD to last me the rest of my life so I'm good.

[Viceman Cometh]

How could I forget AMC! Yes, we watch Walking Dead and The Killing (excellent show). Mrs. Cometh loves Breaking Bad. I'd probably like it, too, but I'm so far behind I've never tried to watch it.

[Ferrariman]

Also like "The Killing" As for "Breaking Bad" do yourself a favor and buy the DVDs to catch up like I did. Relatively cheap and man do you get hooked! It's also the best way to watch the show because the writers do such an incredible job of tying everything together that you sit there and go "wow" I went through the whole first season (7 eps) in a day.

[Viceman Cometh]

I really like Terra Nova because of the 1970s story structure I alluded to before. It follows a very straightforward plotline -- the male co-lead even looks like Stepehen J. Cannell, the godfather of 70s TV drama!

[Jimmy]

sports and Conan is pretty much all that i watch regularly on TV. i occasionally watch Dragon's Den/Shark Tank, as it's usually on when i come home. perfect for relaxing after a long, hard shift at the manure plant.

[maynard]

Hawaii Five-5-0, Person of Interest, and Body of Proof about the only new ones I care for. Unforgettable just not believable! Five-0 is actually shooting on location and using local actors, a big plus in my book...plus Kono is a lot better looking than the original one!

[aussiefan]

Have to say the main show i've watched with any intheusiasm recently is "criminal minds", but now in Australia we just get the new one " criminal minds suspect behaviour"?. Like "law and order" the original was good but just so many spin offs. Must be the modern thing "when you're on a good thing flog it to death" Did love "two and a half men" but no Charlie no watch it. Will nearly always watch "cheers" and "frasier" when I get the chance.But it is mostly DVDs' of Miami Vice when I want to relax and watch TV. Takes me back to growing up in the 80s'. Much better time, now is good, but far better memories back then. Like the "Noiseworks" song says "take me back"

[agent 47]

Well to be honest I don't think TV Shows overall have never been what you call "good", there has always been exceptional shows like Miami Vice, The Sopranos, Homicide: Life on the Street and Twin Peaks but overall it's been pretty weak because I think it's always treated like a lesser medium, you can't take chances with it and produce exceptional stuff too often but stick to what is the trend set by executives, plus TV Shows rely on commercials which breaks up the story into small segments, it's hard to flesh anything out well enough when you're writing for seven or eight minute segments as you need to cut out for three or four minutes for ads, every now and then you can get a creative writer who does something great with that time limit but it still constricts enough to hamper the writing process.While a lot of people wax nostalgic about every era of TV and point to others for being bad, you have to remember that those great shows that survive the 80's like Miami Vice or Magnum P.I. are the shows that were exceptional enough to survive the test of time, there were hundreds of mediocre shows that came from that decade that no one ever heard of and some that never saw the light of day, just look at those Miami vice clones various members here have found and brought to light. This decade has been worse than others because the networks are losing viewership and money, also shows are becoming more and more expensive to produce and thus the bar for ratings is being set higher and higher due to the higher production costs causing tons of shows, some that had been on TV for years are getting axed, even producing the same ol' stuff like reality shows and forensic cop shows isn't working too well.

[Frey]

There isn't much original programming that I watch anymore. I do like the new Hawaii 5-0, Desperate Housewives, and Covert Affairs (which returns with new episodes next Teusday at 10PM on USA Network ).Other than that, I'd be content to watch DVDs or VHS tapes of Miami Vice, Magnum, 24, Nash Bridges, Spenser: For Hire, A Man Called Hawk, Vega$, or (the new) Hawaii 5-0.

[Spyder]

Left to my own devices' date=' I could be quite content watching my DVDs of old shows. Not only Vice, but Rockford, Quincy, Magnum, Midnight Caller, Benson, Silver Spoons, Frank's Place, the Shaft tv movies.But Mrs. Cometh doesn't share my enthusiasm for classic tv, so there are a number of new shows we watch, too.[/quote']Why doesn't she care for those great classics?

[Beach_Vice]

Left to my own devices' date=' I could be quite content watching my DVDs of old shows. Not only Vice, but Rockford, Quincy, Magnum, Midnight Caller, Benson, Silver Spoons, Frank's Place, the Shaft tv movies.[/quote']Is The Equalizer missing from the list or is it just me? Good pics Viceman.

[Jimmy]

Well to be honest I don't think TV Shows overall have never been what you call "good"' date=' there has always been exceptional shows like Miami Vice, The Sopranos, Homicide: Life on the Street and Twin Peaks but overall it's been pretty weak because I think it's always treated like a lesser medium, you can't take chances with it and produce exceptional stuff too often but stick to what is the trend set by executives, plus TV Shows rely on commercials which breaks up the story into small segments, it's hard to flesh anything out well enough when you're writing for seven or eight minute segments as you need to cut out for three or four minutes for ads, every now and then you can get a creative writer who does something great with that time limit but it still constricts enough to hamper the writing process.While a lot of people wax nostalgic about every era of TV and point to others for being bad, you have to remember that those great shows that survive the 80's like Miami Vice or Magnum P.I. are the shows that were exceptional enough to survive the test of time, there were hundreds of mediocre shows that came from that decade that no one ever heard of and some that never saw the light of day, just look at those Miami vice clones various members here have found and brought to light. This decade has been worse than others because the networks are losing viewership and money, also shows are becoming more and more expensive to produce and thus the bar for ratings is being set higher and higher due to the higher production costs causing tons of shows, some that had been on TV for years are getting axed, even producing the same ol' stuff like reality shows and forensic cop shows isn't working too well.[/quote']that's insightful. i couldn't have said it better myself.

[Leigh Burne]

Generally I find modern TV pretty crap (and I'm only 23, what does that say...). That being said there are still good shows out there. It's going back a few years now, but Band Of Brothers was superb. And I absolutely LOVED the new Battlestar Galactica, even though I didn't think I would; it may well take the title for my all-time favourite television series.There's also some good stuff still being made here in the UK, like Life On Mars and the excellent conspiracy miniseries Hidden, which is finishes this week. But generally, I don't watch TV drama these days, too much of it is rubbish.

[Viceman Cometh]

Why doesn't she care for those great classics?

Hard to say. She's just all about whatever's new. Even with movies. I'd be perfectly happy to rent back catolog titles, because there are a lot of classic movies from the last 70 years that I've never seen. But with her, unless it's a new release, she has zero interest.

[Viceman Cometh]

Generally I find modern TV pretty crap (and I'm only 23' date=' what does that say...). That being said there are still good shows out there. It's going back a few years now, but Band Of Brothers was superb. And I absolutely LOVED the new Battlestar Galactica, even though I didn't think I would; it may well take the title for my all-time favourite television series.There's also some good stuff still being made here in the UK, like Life On Mars and the excellent conspiracy miniseries Hidden, which is finishes this week. But generally, I don't watch TV drama these days, too much of it is rubbish.[/quote']Brit TV has some great stuff, but in the States, unless you have BBC America (which I don't), it's hard to find them. It's rare that they get a Region 1 DVD release. I have all the "Cracker"s and both seasons of Life on Mars, but it seems Ashes to Ashes will never get a release here. I'm also curious about Spooks (called MI-5 here, I believe) and Luther.

[arsanat]

This question just came up at my writer's group.I think writing on TV (for drama) is actually far better than it was in the 80s. Where things fall down for me is in content and tone. I think there are too many police/forensic procedurals ala CSI. I think a lot of the content is too grim. I loved the writing on the updated Battlestar Galactica--one of the most intelligent shows I've ever seen--but it was so unrelentingly grim (and I understand that that was the point) I couldn't stick with it. Having said that I will take BG's grim over the ugly stuff happening every week on the procedurals and so-called reality TV. I think what's often missing is the actual entertainment. I'm not having fun watching a lot of shows. My intellect may be engaged and that is satisfying on one level, but when my emotions are engaged at the same time, ooh that's a treat. As far as new shows go the only one that's standing out for me right now is Prime Suspect on NBC. That's the only one I'd be sad to see gone. I miss visiting NYC with Law & Order every week, so PS takes care of that. I went in with low expectations (US TV always seems to f-up translating British shows for an American audience), but the writers have done a good job.I'm about to start watching The Wire, which ended on HBO three years ago. Yep, I know it's grim, but I'm a sucker for a smartly written show.

[Viceman Cometh]

I think the shortened running times doesn't help, either. 1970s and 1980s shows ran 48 to 50 mins per hour. Today's are down to 42 mins. And today's shows pack in a lot more plot in that shortened time frame, too. You hardly get a chance to catch your breath. Then it's over so fast, you feel like you've been mugged.

[alleycat]

I am missing something.The television shows of today is not like in the 80's mind me repeating myself on that.I can't get really into the shows of today for some reason,theres something missing in them.I can't put my finger on it but there is.I wonder why I go back to watching tv shows from way back.GOD,I feel old saying that and I am not old.

[maynard]

I am missing something.The television shows of today is not like in the 80's mind me repeating myself on that.I can't get really into the shows of today for some reason' date='theres something missing in them.I can't put my finger on it but there is.I wonder why I go back to watching tv shows from way back.GOD,I feel old saying that and I am not old.[/quote']Its primarily the writing...many start out great, but I fall asleep in the middle because the writers can't deliver!Not to mention the fact that every episode seems to be about the the bad corporations, etc. Dick Wolf's Law & Order's writers can't even write a show withpout taking the plot from the headlines. Ok once in a while, but give me a break

[aussiefan]

Hard to say. She's just all about whatever's new. Even with movies. I'd be perfectly happy to rent back catolog titles' date=' because there are a lot of classic movies from the last 70 years that I've never seen. But with her, unless it's a new release, she has zero interest.[/quote']My wife and I sit up late every few weeks watching a movie from the 30s, 40s or 50s. Usually happens when we both have a day or two off work. Sit up having a few drinks and talking and then an old movie comes on the TV. Not that I don't love new stuff but just some of those old movies are classics, even the ones you've never heard of.

[Viceman Cometh]

Oh, I left out Wisguy, another classic TV show I enjoy on DVD.

[mvnyc]

I watch the new Hawaii 5 - O and wish Miami Vice would do the same with new & original actors.

That's the one show I go "out of my way" to watch, like I used to when "Miami Vice" originally aired. I guess you could call it the "Miami Vice" for today's generation, at least it's shot in Hawaii ...