[dawgXdenta]

I get home to my folks place and find my little sister watching "girls of the playboy mansion"

Ummmm WTF how has a dirty little secret we had when we were 12 become idols for a WHOLE Generation!!!
Where was I when all this happened?

Am i the only one who thinks like this: Is it just me or is television getting more RETARDED?

[niceguyrichy]

Originally Posted by dawgXdenta

Is it just me or is television getting more RETARDED?

no, it's not just you.
i'm only 27 and i constantly find myself asking 'what the hell happened to tv.. ??? it was way better when i was a kid '
i watch so little actual television these days that i don't even go into the living room anymore, i just stream the few shows i watch on my comp

[dawgXdenta]

yeah seriously:

I remember growing up watching Family entertainment
"step by step", "Family matters"....


I don't know whats goin on but I'm NOT buyin a tv when/if I have kids.

I know some o y'all are gonna mention its the parents duty to raise the kids and its their responsibility...... I agree, my parents work for most of the day and can only engage with them when they get home @ 8pm so its NOT easy for them, it was the same for me growing up except I didn't have such KAK shows with strippers on daytime television .
Its the same worldwide

[Cow_160483]

well this one of the reasons i dont watch TV anymore its full of nonscence and seams to convey no meaning just mindless entertainment

[ET3D]

It's just you.

I don't know if "retarded" is the best description, since TV didn't provide really intelligent entertainment even before. TV did change to be more violent, rude and paparazzi-like with time. Reality shows allow you to watch 24 hours a day people being jerks, idiots and whatnot and not caring one bit that everyone sees that.

[Lowfat]

I think TV is awesome right now. However I only watch my specific prime time shows. So my views are kind of biased.

[Tyrsonswood]

TV has always been retarded, I haven't owned one for ten years, rarely watched it before then......

[Mousey]

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

no, it's not just you.
i'm only 27 and i constantly find myself asking 'what the hell happened to tv.. ??? it was way better when i was a kid '
i watch so little actual television these days that i don't even go into the living room anymore, i just stream the few shows i watch on my comp

The nanny state has decided that scary programs that might scare children despite it being post watershed are banned. Programs with swearing that might influence people are banned, Programs with drug use, Banned. Programs that portray dangerous driving, Banned. Programs that show people watching other programs, Banned.

Not quite that extreme ofc but well on it's way over my neck of the woods

[SeraphicSorcerer]

There's only a handful of great shows on TV.
It seems like they're not popular as they should be either.

I still like Smallville, been watching it since season 1 (I was 19)
I've been watching Chuck, Since the beginning omg, does that show kick arse.
I get excted seeing just the commercials, and Craig Ferguson.

[Judas]

I haven't had a tv for 6 years..


it's 90% shit, with the occasional 5% of which is unexpected goodness, usually due to reairing old stuff that is actually good, or 5% of which is stuff i don't mind watching that i get through torrents the night they air anyways..

[Tinkerhell]

It's not you. TV sucks. Just keeps getting worse. I've not had cable for over a decade. I'm busy these days trying to buy old shows & cartoons & such for my son. He'll be able to grow up watching the same kind of thigns I did. Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons... things that had great music scores behind them, were actually funny without being gross or deviate, what violence was in them was patently unrealistic.

Anyway that's my plan. Specially with being able to buy the few tv series or movies that are worth watching.

But then TV just mirrors the world. I think it's on the steep side of the down hill these days...

[Veridian3]

TV is fine... its not worse than it used to be there is just more of it so you need to spend time finding the stuff you like. (Thats a downside) The upside is there is usually a quality group of programs/shows for every individual.

Kids TV for example is miles better than it used to be. Whether its just entertainment or if its educational (or both) there are loads of shows/channels.

For adults every sport you can imagine is shown, we now have a far better access to news and music/movies. Entire channels dedicated to factual stuff too... documentaries, nature shows, scientific content... you name it.

I'm not saying there isnt a whole pile of crap on TV, but there is an equal (if not greater) amount of good stuff on if you are willing to look.

One thing I would say is that the show that prompted the post might be dire but it serves a purpose for some people. Its escapism in the same way that 20 years ago people would read crap fiction or romance novels.

[niceguyrichy]

Originally Posted by Veridian3

Kids TV for example is miles better than it used to be.

what the F have you been smoking ??!!!!??

kids tv is the worst of the bunch!!

i still occasionally like to watch stuff that i watched when i was 4.
Danger Mouse and the like.
how many people are gonna want to watch The Hoobs when they're heading for 30 ??
the only kids show that's any good these days is Pingu

[Zardon]

mainstream UK tv sucks.

some great USA tv though

In Treatment
House
Fringe
30 Rock
Big Bang Theory
Breaking Bad
Californication
CSI series
Curb your Enthusiasm
Dexter
Entourage
Flashforward
Nip Tuck
Stargate
True Blood
The Mentalist
Two and a Half Men
White Collar.
Lie To Me

Reality tv sucks however - far too much of it online - its almost as bad as going to the pub to watch the public make idiots of themselves but not even making the effort to leave your sofa.

[Veridian3]

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

what the F have you been smoking ??!!!!??

kids tv is the worst of the bunch!!

i still occasionally like to watch stuff that i watched when i was 4.
Danger Mouse and the like.
how many people are gonna want to watch The Hoobs when they're heading for 30 ??
the only kids show that's any good these days is Pingu

Kids TV years ago (like Danger Mouse) was basically adult entertainment done in a kid friendly way. A lot of kids TV now is actually aimed at kids... just because you get bored and can solve the puzzles in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse doesnt mean that a 3-4yr old doesnt learn good problem solving skills at an early age.

[niceguyrichy]

Originally Posted by Veridian3

Kids TV years ago (like Danger Mouse) was basically adult entertainment done in a kid friendly way. A lot of kids TV now is actually aimed at kids... just because you get bored and can solve the puzzles in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse doesnt mean that a 3-4yr old doesnt learn good problem solving skills at an early age.

New Scientist is educational, but my 9yo hates it when i give her one to read..
sorry, but you'll never convince me that kids tv these days is anything other than complete tosh

[Veridian3]

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

New Scientist is educational, but my 9yo hates it when i give her one to read..
sorry, but you'll never convince me that kids tv these days is anything other than complete tosh

Probably true, just in the same way that we couldnt prove to a 4yr old that Curb your Enthusiasm is one of the funniest things on TV.

[IvanV]

I don't know about your countries, but here... I remember the children's programs from when I was little: musical shows, quizzes, educational and drama shows. Today, the same old shows are available on DVDs, but I don't see any TV station even attempting to produce anything like it anymore. We have specialized children's channels, but no matter what kind of a show is on, they're just trying to sell a toy or a candy in a way I think I would have found too obvious when I was 7.

Six (I think) TV stations have national coverage. Tune to the one which likes to label itself urban, progressive, etc, and you're likely to see "Big Brother". Turn on their worst ideological enemies (there were several law suits between them and they are considered by a majority of people to be poles apart), you get "The Farm" (same sh*t as "Big Brother" only with low ranking and washed up celebrities... on a farm). That's the lowest form of entertainment known to man and also the cheapest kind of program to produce. Take 12 people (no particular talents required) and put them in a house with cameras and feed them and they'll give you 24h a day of program. You can often take the daily program and not find anything worth watching on any of them. Films and series are either pathetic or have been rerun a million times already, documentaries are really scarce, there's probably one decent quiz being produced (maybe two), the music selection is worse than ever and the rest (which is probably most) is news, commercials and reality shows.

[comp_ali]

I don't bother about TVs any more we had two and I have DVB card attached in my computer but I rarely use it unless there is an important match or something . TV here sucks , my grandmother spend most of here time watching series around the day , I don't know how they stand this s*#t .

MY little brother is also addicted to stupid kids programs on TV which meant to increase the "stupidity" amongst kids Damn !. Good thing my father don't let him spend much time now watching TV , theree are some good stuff shown on TV already but the ratio is very low compared with the silly stuff.

Also don't forget Disney channel and the likes

[Dark Lord]

i never watched a lot of tv, but i watch less and less every year. for the most part, i only watch cartnoon network anymore. i might watch the occasional random movie i find when channel surfing (all of 8 channels) but thats about it.

oh wait, i forgot i found american chopper reruns on one station, so i have been watching that lately.

[ET3D]

One thing TV definitely did get over the years is faster. Several years ago I noticed that when I saw some episodes of Thunderbirds. Each 45 minute show would have easily fitted in under 20 minutes if done these days. Same things goes for a lot of 60s and 70s shows.

[IvanV]

Okay, I just have to share this "jewel" of TV programming I stumbled upon while browsing the channels tonight. It was on "The Moment of Truth", the guy was asked if he was unjustly accused of rape (apparently he's been in and out of prison during his life), he answered "No" and got cache. A while ago, there was a huge mess in the media when, on the same show, a woman was asked if she ever had an orgasm while her father raped her. That kind of... excrement... would have never got on the air until a few years ago (actually, not until this year, I believe that it's a new low for the TV in my country).

[Tril]

There are good shows and bad ones.

Good TV series : stargate, house
Bad TV series : Heroes (too much graphic gore)

There's a show I watch that I like, it's called Holmes Inspection. They basically go to houses with problems that were missed by inspectors and they repair the houses.

There are some pretty stupid cartoons on tv. On TELETOON in Canada, there's a cartoon called "Total Drama Action" and another called "Total Drama Island". It's some kind of animated reality show were they eliminate contestants. It's extremely stupid if you ask me. I just took a look on youtube and there are episodes. People are actually arguing over the choices made by the contestants in the comments. It's a cartoon, it's not real people. I don't see the point in arguing over what some script writer decided what the story would be.

I've got a DVR with dual-tuners. Most of the time, I set it to record what I want to see and I watch it when I want to and I skip the commercials.

In the province of Quebec, commercial advertising to children under 13 is prohibited by law. So there's no toy advertisement on TV.

[Tyrsonswood]

In the province of Quebec, commercial advertising to children under 13 is prohibited by law. So there's no toy advertisement on TV.

Now, there's a good law!

[OmegaRED]

Tv is fine, it's the people who are more retarded than ever. Look at the ratings for the crappiest tv programs and you'll see intelligent writing and thought provoking shows rarely find an audience because the audience they are aimed at is the minority. Stupidity is on the rise and tv executives are only happy to feed the decaying grey matter with more garbage.

Quality programs are still thriving but you have to look on a global scale to get all the best ones, which means either having hundreds of channels, downloading your tv shows off the net, or getting the dvd's. Tons of amazing shows are out there if you have the means to find them.

[dawgXdenta]

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

TV has always been retarded, I haven't owned one for ten years, rarely watched it before then......

thats funny coz reality shows are around that very age, looks like you knew when to jump ship

[Tyrsonswood]

Yup!

[dawgXdenta]

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

Tv is fine, it's the people who are more retarded than ever. Look at the ratings for the crappiest tv programs and you'll see intelligent writing and thought provoking shows rarely find an audience because the audience they are aimed at is the minority. Stupidity is on the rise and tv executives are only happy to feed the decaying grey matter with more garbage.

Quality programs are still thriving but you have to look on a global scale to get all the best ones, which means either having hundreds of channels, downloading your tv shows off the net, or getting the dvd's. Tons of amazing shows are out there if you have the means to find them.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste, if we can propel things into space and push the sciences further each day, why are we wasting our precious gray matter on shows that preoccupy ourselves with TOTAL IDIOCY, to me the word RETARDED is well placed used with precision and strategy.

If I were a global dictator i'd force everyone to watch Zeitgeist type shows ,yeah boi then we'd see people off their asses and doin somethin

[dawgXdenta]

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

Yup!

Oh i'm 27 so i mean 80s and early 90s shows, but I agree that there has been lots of fluff too it just seems too beneath our humanity to me, all of us not just me. We deserve far better dammit

[Zardon]

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

Tv is fine, it's the people who are more retarded than ever. Look at the ratings for the crappiest tv programs and you'll see intelligent writing and thought provoking shows rarely find an audience because the audience they are aimed at is the minority. Stupidity is on the rise and tv executives are only happy to feed the decaying grey matter with more garbage.

sadly you are 100% accurate.