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I'm done with Television

TV will get worse, and shows that are looked down on today will be remembered fondly in the next decade. There are a few shows that I dropped mid season because I just couldn't commit to the plot or the style or writing, no point in hate watching just for the sake of it.
 
Madflavor said:


(Three years for this shit?)
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That's hilarious. Is the shot on the right the actual final cut used for the show? :goog_oops: :lollipop_squinting:

March Climber said:
Madflavor Madflavor take a long break then fix your algorithm when you return.

Don't let Stranger Things of all shows be the one to break you.

Also don't bother following trending shows anymore. I know it's a scary thing to jump in blind, but you'll be better off in finding hidden gems that way.

Only 2 out of my top ten TV shows this year were actually discussed at large on social media sites and GAF, and even then I'd argue the two more popular ones were quickly drowned out by other, larger, releases.
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ZeroZeroZero comes to mind.

Such a quality show that was.
 
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Madflavor said:
The past few years have really tested my patience, and I'm finally throwing in the towel. I'm done. The only television I'll watch is older shows I love (Breaking Bad/Saul, Sopranos, True Detective S1, etc), or I'm just going to wait until a show is completed and I hear that all seasons were good.
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Don't.

First of all because shows that were actually good over its entire lifespan are very, very rare even in the past. Secondly there's a lot of shows that actually have REALLY good jumping off points, where most of it is resolved and is left in a decent state and the show should have ended.

That by far not only applies to tv, but its just something I live by. I'm done letting shitty decisions ruin what I actually did enjoy. I've learned to embrace the headcanon and I'm happier for it. Got enough imagination for it anyway.
 
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HRK69 said:
God this thread is depressing
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the marshall mathers lp stan GIF by Eminem
 
It's true that even the best shows often had a dip in quality, but there's a world of difference between this and a show unravelling so badly (or just stopping with no conclusion) that it retroactively ruins the whole thing.

If someone asked me whether they should start watching (or reading) GoT now, I would absolutely say don't bother.
 
Most of the TV shows I watch are pre 2010 and are super cheap on DVD/Bluray. I then upload them onto my Plex server and throw them in a box in the closet. I'm always seeing something from my childhood or something I missed that came out before I was born and picking it up under $20.
If I don't like the show, then I delete it and move on.
 
I mostly like limited/mini series these days.
Stuff like Chernobyl, ZeroZeroZero, Midnight Mass, Fargo S1/2, True Detective S1, etc.
Better paced and more concise stories that don't get stretched to oblivion with endless seasons that seem to take longer and longer to come out.

I'm mostly done with this modern format of "well the season is done, hope you enjoyed that cliffhanger. See you in 4 fucking years with a season that will likely disappoint". Even though I still get caught by some of them every now and then (like Severance and Pluribus).

For these longer shows, now I mostly wait until they are all done, even if it takes 10 years, and if by the end the consensus is still that it's great I'll just binge watch it.
 
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calico said:
Television is now intended to be background noise (mostly a subliminal hum of woke messaging) while you're on social media or whatever. It's very unlikely to be consistently good if you actively pay attention to it, as this is well beyond what is expected or required of it.
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Tried watching some old shows over Christmas, it was difficult.. I had to put my phone down to keep up because every shot served a purpose! They simply don't make it worth paying attention to today.

One change i'd love to see is an innovation from the porn industry... a straight, gay, trans option when the app loads up.

I was watching a new bbc mini series the other night and two episodes in it was gay sex, gay star, gay drama. In one scene two disabled people working the tech... cuz you know one wheelchair is a token, two is brave! Of course it mattered not for the story or characters one jot, but we must slap a few dicks in families faces and tick boxes or it just aint right. I expect Netflix rewriting history and making a tornado disaster documentary about someones personal battle with their sexuality but I can choose to cancel that shit.

If these priority themes could be categorised I could have avoided this and watch something with good writing and those who get a kick out of it could have got straight to it. At present talentless perverts are earning a living and getting a thrill out of ruining everything.
 
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I get it 100%. Nothing kills the hype faster than a massive cliffhanger that leaves you screaming at the screen... only for the next season to take 3 years to drop, and then it lands with a whimper. The buildup dies, you barely remember the stakes, the actors have visibly aged and suddenly the payoff feels flat or straight-up disappointing. 100% a legit complaint.

That said, there's another side worth hearing: a lot of these long gaps come from chasing actual quality in a post prestige era. Shows are way more ambitious now: movie-level VFX (dragons, Upside Down horrors), tighter serialized writing, bigger sets and bigger-name talent who juggle multiple projects

Back in the 2000s, networks cranked out 22+ episodes a year with formulaic stuff, but today's 8-10 episode "prestige" seasons take serious time to polish. Creators often say they need extra months (or years) to top the last one without rushing and tanking it (hello, some late GoT seasons). Strikes, COVID fallout, and data driven execs waiting for metrics haven't helped either

So yeah it sucks when it disappoints (House of the Dragon S2 felt slow/underwhelming after its 2 year wait), but when the long game delivers? It can feel earned.

Still, I think most of us would trade some of that "perfectionism" for not getting blue-balled for years
 
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Most of the best 2000s shows were serialized and ~12 episode seasons, and the writing was superior. Long gaps between seasons probably hurts the writing more than it helps, not that the industry really gives a shit about writing anymore.
 
Most TV series are and always have been slop. There's a few gems, but the format does not encourage high art. Sitcoms made sense, but these long running stories that have 10 episodes of ideas stretched to 4+ seasons are almost always bad.

To paraphrase Patrice O'Neal, I ask my girlfriend to tell me the end of the story before I invest in the whole thing.
 
TV is mainly a way to kill a lot of time. Melodrama, relationships, exposition. Always preferred movies. The big exceptions are HBO's top tier output and anime, which can tell meaningful long format stories.
 
I'm waiting for the day our ai overlords let me input a prompt to create my own movie, and wait 5 mins for the thing to generate. It's coming, just not sure how soon., and what the dollar amount (price) it will cost me on Google.
 
I've wondered this myself lately about why everything takes so much longer now. It's not just a few things, it's everything related to entertainment.

This reminds of how games are reaching unsustainable levels of cost and time consumption.

What is actually driving this time extension?
 
Justin Timberlake Crying GIF by StickerGiant


Theres like a million modern shows that are generally praised that might click for you. Keep looking if one thing doesnt click with you and stop living in the past/nostalgia bubble. Shows aren't worse, it's just your taste.
 
Trogdor1123 said:
What is actually driving this time extension?
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Well its primary the rise of streaming services and the content produced through it. You're not bound to any tv schedule. And after that had taken off it became more and more the norm. As for why its advantages: Attract more A-Listers, no time constraints like you have when producing yearly content and perceived *increase in quality*.

I personally think all of these advantages come with downsides too and I'm actually sad it's going extinct. Old *TV* Shows was prodcued by groups of people that saw each other most of the year and maximized themselves within their constraints. It was a job. Newer shows are extended movie productions with sequels.
 
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Salz01 said:
I'm waiting for the day our ai overlords let me input a prompt to create my own movie, and wait 5 mins for the thing to generate. It's coming, just not sure how soon., and what the dollar amount (price) it will cost me on Google.
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Newest season of black mirror had a great episode about AI generated tv
 
DeepEnigma said:
You sure throw out a lot of assumptions.

Hop off your narcissistic copium.
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That made literally no sense. Copium? Narcissism? You deserve my tag. You're not proving me otherwise aside from shitposting. Are you saying and this is at the top of my head, shows like Dexter Ress, Severance, Andor, etc. or the hundreds of asian cinema such as Mouse, Taxi Driver, etc. are all bad?
 
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The Cockatrice said:
That made literally no sense. Copium? Narcissism? You deserve my tag. You're not proving me otherwise aside from shitposting. Are you saying and this is at the top of my head, shows like Dexter Ress, Severance, Andor or the hundres of asian cinema such as Mouse, Taxi Driver, etc. are all bad?
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Okay, Cock.

Do people use hyperbole? Sure. Are things more intelligently written than before on average? No.

OP outlined what he felt were the golden years.
 
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This is why I still respect the fuck out of The Walking Dead, no matter how badly most of you miserable slobs shit on it.

They gave us 16 episodes per season, every season, every single year, for 13 years. Plus multiple spinoffs. They worked hard as hell.

That show was the last of its kind. Wont see anything like it again

Bu bu they killed Glenn, I stopped watching - STFU. They actually produced episodes at a proper pace.

I will always respect The Walking Dead.
 
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I feel you, OP. I kind of want to (mostly) be done with gaming and just play 1-3 games a year. I want to create something (and read more) and as much as I have fun with games, I don't think I have time for responsibilities, work on creating something, and game regularly.
 
I gave up in 2009. Maybe a good serie here and there but just checked out, especially traditional tv. Movies almost as well. I barely watch a movie. Rather watch a good documentary
 
JimmyRustler said:
What do you expect? Different people are entering the entertainment industry these days. The golden days are not coming back. Passion work will decline even more and be replaced by contract work. And what you see today is the result.

I've been listening to a few interviews with James Cameron the past couple of days because of the new Avatar movie. That dude was a truck driver before he got into the industry by a friend of a friend. Then he writes the Terminator script, gets funding and a wide commercial release for it. Do you really think something like this happening is possible in 2025? No, it is not. People making films today are largely pulled for film schools where they have been indoctrinated with politics instead of hard/passion work.

Every now and then something legit will still slip through the cracks but you have to accept that the attitude of the people making this stuff will never be what it once was.
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And therein lies the problem. I can bet you that there are dreamers out there with unseen ideas/stories that will never get a chance to be told in current Hollywood because they're too "eccentric". Much like other creative industries, they don't really care about the appeal of genuine imagination and authenticity. They just want to manufacture and fabricate it in a vain attempt to get "close" to the real thing while surrounding themselves with yes-men.
 
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Poppinfresh said:
It's not the same since Bob Barker left.

Even more depressing, 18-year-old adults today were born after Bob Barker left the show. They have never known a world where Drew Carey wasn't the host of The Price is Right.
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Drew does fine. He isn't Bob. But he is fine. People today know nothing about what things cost.
 
Coconutt said:
At least we still get some decent anime here and there not all doom and gloom. Wish we would still get some decent sitcoms though.
naruto bae GIF
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Superstore is the most recent good one I can recall

There used to be several good ones on at a single time

I honestly blame this one largely on wokeness and it's general impact on comedy in general

Comedy as a whole is a lot shittier now
 
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