What I want to know...

[author_by_night]

- Who are the Kardashians? I mean, I know they have that reality TV show. I know one of them - Kim? - made a sex tape. I know their dad was OJ Simpson's lawyer. But what have they done besides those things? And am I really supposed to care what one of them named their baby?

- Is it just me, or is most TV reality TV these days? And am I the only one who doesn't watch most of it? I've seen a bit of Undercover Boss, but half the time I can't believe a lot of the employees involved really don't at least  have an inkling of what's going on when within the first two minutes they unleash their life stories. I mean, in one episode, the boss and the employee had barely exchanged polite hellos when she started  going on about how hard things had been for her. I'm not saying she was lying, but... it takes away from the "surprise" at the end of the episode.

Plus, I think ithe show could focus on actual issues instead of the boss only giving away money. While it's certainly generous to pay for someone's college or a vacation, I see all these disgruntled employees, abusive managers, and so forth, which doesn't really get addressed much. If it does, it's usually, "Bob will be retrained." That's not always the solution, and certainly not if the same thing is happening in other locations. And from horror stories I've heard, it most likely is; managers in the food industry especially are notorious for abusing their positions.

- Then again, I feel like I'm done with regular TV too. I fell in love with Happy Endings, stopped liking it, fell back in love with it, but after the tenth episode of Penny moaning about being the only single person in the universe (even though 2 or 3 of her friends are also single), I got sick of it again. It's not that I think it's sexist, I know being single is an issue for many women, but can the girl get any other plotlines? Even the most dating-obsessed people I know have other hopes and dreams. Raising Hope was kind of stupid but sweet and funny at heart,  then it just got stupid. Modern Family is like a PG-13, darker and edgier version of Full House. I will further prove this point later. I got bored of Castle after the fifth time he got emo over Kate. The Office should've ended after the fifth season, or at least I think so (being one of the few people who liked the fifth season). So that leaves... Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, and Community.




ETA: Whoops, I called reality TV "normal" TV. I meant regular, I'm not a snob, really.

Comments

[bemkah.livejournal.com]

You need more British TV in your life. Lol. I think they're more intelligent, and I like the humour so much more.

Have you tried the British Being Human? Sherlock? I think I remember you saying you watched Doctor Who, but have you watched Torchwood?

I also love QI. It's very intelligent and completely hilarious. I think they don't show it in the US because the amount of money they'd have to pay for copyright is ridiculous - they show images on the screens behind the contestants with every single question.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I don't think the British are necessarily more intelligent, but it's certainly easier to avoid their large crop of insane/inane reality shows when you have to seek out specific non-reality shows!

[bemkah.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean that the British are more intelligent - I just think their TV shows are. I don't think America has anything like QI, for instance :p

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I don't think we have anything like UK Border Force, though, either (thank goodness, I can't imagine how much worse it would be if it were set in, say, Arizona or Texas). :D

[bemkah.livejournal.com]

We could go on like all day. I think you're missing my original point. On the whole, overall, IN MY OPINION, British telly has shows that seem to have more intelligent plotlines, dialogue and characters. I enjoy them more on the whole and I relate to the sense of humour better.

I don't really have to go searching online for British shows as I live in Australia and British programming is everywhere.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

No, I do agree with you (hence my :D, I was joking). I just used to have a job that involved watching random British tv shows and writing surveys about them. The good shows are often way better than American ones, because our networks are afraid to take even minor risks on anything that isn't a guaranteed, immediate hit (for the most part - I give FOX points for holding onto Fringe with its bad ratings), but they have a lot of terrible reality shows that make people famous-for-being-famous, just like ours, that hardly anyone in fandom seems to know about because you'd have to deliberately look for them, and why would you. You said that British tv was more intelligent, so I assumed you were a part of the group that assumes all British tv is like the best parts.

Sorry to have offended! You're lucky, it seems to take shows forever to get to PBS.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

The good shows are often way better than American ones, because our networks are afraid to take even minor risks on anything that isn't a guaranteed, immediate hit

And sometimes I feel like they create hits by marketing and constantly making sure those shows have a market, like Glee. IMHO Glee shouldn't still be on the air. It hasn't been that great in a long time, even though it was amazing at first IMHO. But whoever markets it makes sure it constantly appeals to someone; high school types from every corner of the social groups (even if their version of high school social life is kind of Saved By the Bell), older fans/fans of older music, music competition show fans (especially with The Glee Project), theater fans... as a product, it's genius. OTOH, if I just wanted a product I'd go to the store. And I think that's part of the problem with a lot of American television (and film, to be perfectly honest) - it's about the product, not the creative pursuit.

The other thing is, and I think this goes along with the fact that American entertainment IS so focused on making everything it can into a product, that British TV has fewer episodes. Doctor Who has just enough to develop good plotlines (... for the most part) each season, and then you're done. There's fewer filler episodes to fill in air time, and there's not long hiatuses every five episodes. (Is it just me or does American TV have more and longer ones every year? ABC seems particularly bad with this.) In British TV, there's sometimes a mid-season hiatus that's long, and there's sometimes (often? not sure) a long break in between seasons, but that's a bit different.

So I wouldn't say it's so much that these shows are less intelligent as it is that executives are more concerned with the financial benefit, resulting in more meddling and restricted plotlines.

[annissamazing]

This is so funny because I could have written this post. I can't bear reality t.v. It always seems like a bunch of self-important A-type personalities finding new and stupid ways to do idiotic things. No thanks.

So that leaves... Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, and Community.

Yup!

Lately I've been watching a Korean drama called "Boys Over Flowers" on Netflix. I probably should have inserted the word "obsessively" before the word "watching" in that sentence. I'm not sure what I find so appealing about it, but when I'm home, that's all I want to do.

I second bemkah's suggestions of the British "Being Human" (up to season 3, anyway) and "Sherlock." I haven't seen the second season of Sherlock yet, but I really enjoyed the first.

[bemkah.livejournal.com]

The second season is even better! I LOVED Moriarty. He was brilliant.

Totally agree about Being Human up until series 3. I enjoyed series 4 but it just wasn't the same.

[annissamazing]

It's terrible, but I haven't even gotten the motivation to watch season 4. I don't want to say why because I want to avoid spoilers, but I'm sure you know.

I really need to watch Sherlock s. 2. I didn't have my DVR set when it played on network t.v., so I missed it. Netflix says it has season 2, but hell if I can find it.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

It always seems like a bunch of self-important A-type personalities finding new and stupid ways to do idiotic things. No thanks.

Yeah. And some of it goes beyond that and breaks all sorts of ethical standards, like Toddlers & Tiaras, which is a huge ethical mess - and that's why it's so popular. Crazy.

I might look into that Korean drama! What's it about, exactly?

I tried the British Being Human, but it seemed almost too dark. Which is weird because I can handle a lot of dark stuff, so maybe it's more how it's dark? Kind of like both Torchwood miniseries. (If you're into TW, I forget who is into what, heh. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, nevermind.)

[annissamazing]

Boys Over Flowers is about a poor girl (Jan Di) who gets a scholarship to go to the super-elite Shin Hwa High School. There, she encounters a group of rich bullies called F4. She rebels against them and becomes their main enemy. Eventually she and the leader of F4 (Joon Pyo) fall for each other. Since they are from two very different social circles, they have a lot of problems to overcome in order to be with one another.

It's fluffy. Really, really fluffy, and it constantly makes me laugh. I especially like the interactions between Jan Di's family and Joon Pyo. But it also has some scary moments and some fairly deep plotlines.

The show has some problematic aspects. For instance, they really overuse the man-saves-woman trope. This is only odd because Jan Di is actually a really strong character. However, my biggest problem is there are only four songs to play in the background and I'm kind of sick of all of them. Despite that, I can't get enough of the show. We seem to have a lot in common when it comes to entertainment, so you might dig it, too.

I didn't care for Being Human at first either, but it really grew on me. It does eventually balance out the dark and the fluff. The dark storylines in Doctor Who are my favorites, but I found that Torchwood went a bit too far for my liking. "Children of Earth" was probably the best 5 hours of television I've ever seen, but I don't want to see it again. It hurt too much.

[tresjolie9.livejournal.com]

To be honest, for the past five years, it seems like they are trying to blow up all non pay TV. Most of the stuff on the networks, is either shows with premises that there is no way of sustaining beyond a few seasons, or made in Hollywood by intellectuals who look down upon the audience they are writing for.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I don't know about that, but you could be right about non-paying. It definitely does seem shows are constantly dumbing things down for fear that there's too many BIG words and BIG thoughts. Which is fine for some people, but I especially don't appreciate it when it's supposed to be, or could be, a show with BIG (heh) concepts.

[kakeochi-umai.livejournal.com]

THIS SO MUCH re Undercover Boss. The one that REALLY made me crazy was when the CEO said "Yeah, we'll reverse the companywide pay cuts...some time in the next 3 years" but financed the entire college education of ONE employee's kid! What, none of the other employees have kids who have to deal with the cripplingly high cost of college education in America? I stopped watching the show for that exact reason, because instead of actually solving problems it seemed to be an exercise in making the boss look super duper generous.

The focus on sob stories in reality shows in general annoys the crap out of me too, especially after I saw one contestant get eliminated from America's Next Top Model for not playing the game. Megan from Cycle 7 was in a plane crash with her mother when she was 9ish and her mother died of hypothermia before they were rescued. But apart from the obligatory rundown of it during the casting episode, she never mentioned it - no crying, no platitudes about how she was doing it for her mother or whatever; she just got on with it. She was eliminated in the second episode for some bullshit reason and I'm convinced that it was because she didn't give the series the Hallmark Channel element Tyra wanted.

And I agree about the hype about the Kardashians. I mean, one of them gained my respect by speaking out about body bullshit, but the fact still remains that we're supposed to care what they eat for breakfast when they haven't done anything.

Is it just me, or is most TV reality TV these days?
No! My family are regulars at the cheap DVD store and eBay (as well as less legal places) because 90% of NZ TV is apparently reality shows or cooking shows.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I stopped watching the show for that exact reason, because instead of actually solving problems it seemed to be an exercise in making the boss look super duper generous.


Exactly.

he was eliminated in the second episode for some bullshit reason and I'm convinced that it was because she didn't give the series the Hallmark Channel element Tyra wanted.

Wow, that's crazy. :/

[jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

Weighing in on the British/American TV debate - I think the thing about watching shows from a different culture or region is that things that can seem cliched or offensive to a familiar audience are less bothersome.

I literally cannot BEAR Qi because to me it's a hideous boys' club of pompous public school twats showing off to each other. There's an Australian show I love called Spirited because the dialogue and look of the show is really refreshing to me, knowing very little about Australian culture. Same reason I loved Being Erica, a Canadian show. Possibly I also like these 2 shows because they are about the blending of the supernatural with the real world. I am nothing if not predictable.

There are loads of American shows I watch and enjoy but you might not because aspects of them would seem over-familiar to you. But from my point of view - you have so many good shows!

[baranduyn.livejournal.com]

I don't watch TV though I've spent the last two weeks watching every episode of QI I can find on YouTube. I've laughed myself into a near asthma attack over QI.

Reality tv isn't. I vaguely knew someone who was involved with a very successful reality series. They shoot in some cases 80+ hours of footage for one episode. Real life isn't very interesting. Even people directly involved with the production become disenchanted.

As for the Kardashians...I have no idea though it's a great opening gambit when marketing. "What are Kardashians?" I love some of the answers I've gotten including "A breed of attention groupies..."

One British series I have come to love is Who Do You Think You Are. I've watched episodes with at best a vague idea of who the subject is. Essentially people trace one or two lines of their ancestry on camera and they often get surprises, not always good ones. If you can sit through some of these episodes--I'm thinking specifically of the ones with J.K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Zoe Wanamaker and oddly enough Patsy Kensit--without weeping you are a robot. Jeremy Irons' episode was just sort of fun. He's a full-on, full-time movie star and doesn't seem to know it.

QI could never survive in America. Who Do You Think You Are has an American counterpart and it is, in my opinion, shit.

But Finding Your Roots on PBS with Henry Louis Gates has never failed to make me cry. People are such fucks, you know.