I keep reading people's posts, saying that the mid-late 2000s were the start of the 2nd golden age for television. When I see that, I don't really think that's true. Most of the shows that people keep talking about either came from the late 90s/early 2000s, or became shows that were more popular in the early 2010s. Does anybody think that the early 2000s really do count for TV's 2nd golden age, or think otherwise?

The VERY end of the decade was when the second golden age started, IMO. The 2010s are pretty strange when it comes to the quality of the tv shows. I think the early 10s was definitely a second golden age. The mid 10s television wasn't as good as the early 10s. But the late 10s look like they are going to be off the chain so far!! :D

The VERY end of the decade was when the second golden age started, IMO. The 2010s are pretty strange when it comes to the quality of the tv shows. I think the early 10s was definitely a second golden age. The mid 10s television wasn't as good as the early 10s. But the late 10s look like they are going to be off the chain so far!! :D


The mid-late 2010s are like the waning age for this era. I tend to think that there are a lot of shows that people watch nowadays, but you have to be part of their fanbases in order to fully understand the show(s).

I keep reading people's posts, saying that the mid-late 2000s were the start of the 2nd golden age for television. When I see that, I don't really think that's true. Most of the shows that people keep talking about either came from the late 90s/early 2000s, or became shows that were more popular in the early 2010s. Does anybody think that the early 2000s really do count for TV's 2nd golden age, or think otherwise?


Early 2000s TV was alright, but I find a lot of stuff from the late 2000s onward to be better. The 2010s so far has had so many hits. And even a lot of non-hits are pretty decent to watch. I just like the stories and characters in shows that we have today. But to each his own.

CW's weekday lineup this fall is FO REAL!!! If only Gotham was there on Friday's instead of FOX it be perfect!

I keep reading people's posts, saying that the mid-late 2000s were the start of the 2nd golden age for television. When I see that, I don't really think that's true. Most of the shows that people keep talking about either came from the late 90s/early 2000s, or became shows that were more popular in the early 2010s. Does anybody think that the early 2000s really do count for TV's 2nd golden age, or think otherwise?


Yes, some people feel that The Sopranos started one of the golden ages of TV.

Yes, some people feel that The Sopranos started one of the golden ages of TV.


This!!

I used to think this as well. When The Sopranos peaked in the early 2000s, that's when I think the 2nd golden age of TV started. People started to influence The Sopranos and other HBO shows after they got the general population's attention at the time. Then you had shows like Lost, Dexter, and other crime dramas.

I'm probably a minority on this, but I feel like the 2nd golden age of T.V. ended with The Sopranos finale. The late 00s were an okay time for T.V. I remember liking shows like Everybody Hates Chris (I know it technically started in 2005, but it peaked in the late 00s), The Boondocks (2005 I know, still peaked around 2006-2010ish), Archer (I know this show is still on, but I'm not familiar with the newer episodes). As for  T.V. shows in the 2010s, the only show that I really enjoyed was Regular Show (mostly the earlier seasons, as I'm not familiar with the latter ones).

I may be a minority on this, but I'm sick of all these serialized dramas. I feel like a lot of T.V. shows nowadays are trying to accomplish what The Sopranos did, but there are all doing it wrong. The reason The Sopranos worked was that each episode stood on it's own. Sure each season had it's storyline that tied the episodes together, but it's not like they depended on each other to be enjoyable. Nowadays it seems like T.V. shows are so geared towards "binge-watching", that many T.V. shows forget to focus on the individual quality of each episode.

I feel like previous decades had a lot more variety. You had great sci-fi, action shows, sitcoms, cartoons, mystery, etc., in addition to dramas. Nowadays if you're not a fan of serialized dramas, you're out of luck.

I'm probably a minority on this, but I feel like the 2nd golden age of T.V. ended with The Sopranos finale. The late 00s were an okay time for T.V. I remember liking shows like Everybody Hates Chris (I know it technically started in 2005, but it peaked in the late 00s), The Boondocks (2005 I know, still peaked around 2006-2010ish), Archer (I know this show is still on, but I'm not familiar with the newer episodes). As for  T.V. shows in the 2010s, the only show that I really enjoyed was Regular Show (mostly the earlier seasons, as I'm not familiar with the latter ones).

I may be a minority on this, but I'm sick of all these serialized dramas. I feel like a lot of T.V. shows nowadays are trying to accomplish what The Sopranos did, but there are all doing it wrong. The reason The Sopranos worked was that each episode stood on it's own. Sure each season had it's storyline that tied the episodes together, but it's not like they depended on each other to be enjoyable. Nowadays it seems like T.V. shows are so geared towards "binge-watching", that many T.V. shows forget to focus on the individual quality of each episode.

I feel like previous decades had a lot more variety. You had great sci-fi, action shows, sitcoms, cartoons, mystery, etc., in addition to dramas. Nowadays if you're not a fan of serialized dramas, you're out of luck.


I remember the early 00's seemed to be all about reality shows, while in 2005 TV started to get good again with more sitcoms. How I Met Your Mother is another 2005 show which actually didn't peak until the early 10's.

I'm probably a minority on this, but I feel like the 2nd golden age of T.V. ended with The Sopranos finale. The late 00s were an okay time for T.V. I remember liking shows like Everybody Hates Chris (I know it technically started in 2005, but it peaked in the late 00s), The Boondocks (2005 I know, still peaked around 2006-2010ish), Archer (I know this show is still on, but I'm not familiar with the newer episodes). As for  T.V. shows in the 2010s, the only show that I really enjoyed was Regular Show (mostly the earlier seasons, as I'm not familiar with the latter ones).


Well... I felt like TV was better in 2004-2007, since it did have a lot of cool stuff to watch. There were a lot of channels that had at least a couple interesting shows to watch in the 2000s.

I may be a minority on this, but I'm sick of all these serialized dramas. I feel like a lot of T.V. shows nowadays are trying to accomplish what The Sopranos did, but there are all doing it wrong. The reason The Sopranos worked was that each episode stood on it's own. Sure each season had it's storyline that tied the episodes together, but it's not like they depended on each other to be enjoyable. Nowadays it seems like T.V. shows are so geared towards "binge-watching", that many T.V. shows forget to focus on the individual quality of each episode.

Actually, I think this decade just tries to be like Game of Thrones. Ever since that show premiered on HBO, everyone has been obsessed over it nonstop, and other TV show creators just try to make stuff look serious since then. Hell, even children's programming try to be as serious as Game of Thrones, even though their target audience wouldn't really understand most of the references. I know they did the same thing towards 90s cartoons, but at least it didn't have a secret towards its other fanbase who never grew out of children's cartoons for some reason. When they understand it later, they'll go search it on Google and see a bunch of 20-30 year olds ranting about how this cartoon sucks and how cartoons prevail over what they watch (in a childlike manner, that is). It's pretty sad for those children, since they'll be grossed out over their eccentric interests on them.


I feel like previous decades had a lot more variety. You had great sci-fi, action shows, sitcoms, cartoons, mystery, etc., in addition to dramas. Nowadays if you're not a fan of serialized dramas, you're out of luck.


Or if you're not a fan of serious cartoons, action shows, sci-fi, horror, etc. then you're also out of luck.


I remember the early 00's seemed to be all about reality shows, while in 2005 TV started to get good again with more sitcoms. How I Met Your Mother is another 2005 show which actually didn't peak until the early 10's.


It makes me wonder why do people like early 2000s TV so much, when most of the non-children's ones were like that. Although, it did have a few good ones on MTV, Comedy Central, etc.

I almost missed this.

Early-mid 2000s is the outline of TV for me since that's where Cartoon Network, BET, Kids WB, Disney Channel, MTV, MTV2 and Fox Box, the main channels I watched at the time peaked.

The Boondocks (2005 I know, still peaked around 2006-2010ish).

The Boondocks really peaked from 2007.

I almost missed this.

Early-mid 2000s is the outline of TV for me since that's where Cartoon Network, BET, Kids WB, Disney Channel, MTV, MTV2 and Fox Box, the main channels I watched at the time peaked.


That's what I was gonna say. The early-mid 2000s were like one of the greatest eras for TV. The late 2000s were okay, but it wasn't like a masterpiece to me.

The Boondocks really peaked from 2007.


Yeah, I guess that would be an accurate year. The 1st and 2nd seasons were golden. Season 3 was decent, though not as good as the first two. The fourth season was just godawful though.

I almost missed this.

Early-mid 2000s is the outline of TV for me since that's where Cartoon Network, BET, Kids WB, Disney Channel, MTV, MTV2 and Fox Box, the main channels I watched at the time peaked.


My thoughts exactly! In addition to the great shows going on at that time, there was also reruns of older shows from previous decades that still retained popularity (technically they are still around now, but it seems most people would rather watch their serialized dramas on HBO or Netflix). I would also consider the early to mid 00s to be the golden age of anime.

That's what I was gonna say. The early-mid 2000s were like one of the greatest eras for TV. The late 2000s were okay, but it wasn't like a masterpiece to me.


Yeah, the late 2000s was kind of like the roots of 2010s T.V. It's sad really. I personally can't wait for the current era of shows to end.

Yeah, the late 2000s was kind of like the roots of 2010s T.V. It's sad really. I personally can't wait for the current era of shows to end.


It felt different when 2008 came. 2007 was like the transition between the early-mid 00s and modern eras.

The problem with today's TV is you can't enjoy an episode on its own. It all hinges on watching the rest of the show. If you missed out, you have to play catch up. You can't enjoy a storyline on its own.

The problem with today's TV is you can't enjoy an episode on its own. It all hinges on watching the rest of the show. If you missed out, you have to play catch up. You can't enjoy a storyline on its own.


I noticed that. Pretty much every show that's mainstream has episodes filled with continuation, which makes it seem like you have to watch the series premiere in order to get the show.

I noticed that. Pretty much every show that's mainstream has episodes filled with continuation, which makes it seem like you have to watch the series premiere in order to get the show.


You could always watch and save it for later, Can you?  ???

You could always watch and save it for later, Can you?  ???


Well yeah. You could save it on whether service you have. Hell, you could even get the DVDs or any other set of discs for it, when it comes on home video. It's just that people would spoil any moment of the show, when you're not even up to that episode or season yet.

I noticed that. Pretty much every show that's mainstream has episodes filled with continuation, which makes it seem like you have to watch the series premiere in order to get the show.


I actually like that sort of thing. Now this is all subjective, but I think continuation is what allows you to really get hooked on a Tv show and its characters. Always wondering what happens next. However, I only think this kind of thing works with series that aren't comedy. More serious shows such as Walking Dead or Breaking Bad work because of this. But don't think stuff like Malcom in the Middle or Seinfeld really need it.

I actually like that sort of thing. Now this is all subjective, but I think continuation is what allows you to really get hooked on a Tv show and its characters. Always wondering what happens next. However, I only think this kind of thing works with series that aren't comedy. More serious shows such as Walking Dead or Breaking Bad work because of this. But don't think stuff like Malcom in the Middle or Seinfeld really need it.


I liked of how serious shows do that, since it makes the show interesting. Compared to shows on Nickelodeon, which doesn't have a lot of continuity, it makes the show look very boring.

Well yeah. You could save it on whether service you have. Hell, you could even get the DVDs or any other set of discs for it, when it comes on home video. It's just that people would spoil any moment of the show, when you're not even up to that episode or season yet.


You can always DVR the episode for later to watch.

I actually like that sort of thing. Now this is all subjective, but I think continuation is what allows you to really get hooked on a Tv show and its characters. Always wondering what happens next. However, I only think this kind of thing works with series that aren't comedy. More serious shows such as Walking Dead or Breaking Bad work because of this. But don't think stuff like Malcom in the Middle or Seinfeld really need it.


It allows for much deeper character development and more fleshed out stories.


I almost missed this.

Early-mid 2000s is the outline of TV for me since that's where Cartoon Network, BET, Kids WB, Disney Channel, MTV, MTV2 and Fox Box, the main channels I watched at the time peaked.


When people say the Golden Age of Television, they are referring to TV dramas (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things etc.), rather than cartoons.

When people say the Golden Age of Television, they are referring to TV dramas (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things etc.), rather than cartoons.


It depends on the person's interests. Although, I wouldn't think cartoons are exquisite enough to be part of the modern age on TV.

When people say the Golden Age of Television, they are referring to TV dramas (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things etc.), rather than cartoons.


Nah. Their referencing all genres. I stayed in the cartoon, music video section since those were all I needed. TV dramas never really did it for me. I can say that I got enough TV drama in school. I'd need a break afterwards.

Nah. Their referencing all genres. I stayed in the cartoon, music video section since those were all I needed. TV dramas never really did it for me. I can say that I got enough TV drama in school. I'd need a break afterwards.


I'm not sure there ever was a real Golden Age of Television that encompasses all genres. I mean, how deep does it go? Are pre-school live-action shows and Discovery Channel documentaries included? :P

I'm not sure there ever was a real Golden Age of Television that encompasses all genres. I mean, how deep does it go? Are pre-school live-action shows and Discovery Channel documentaries included? :P


I wouldn't really think that pre school shows were ever included with any golden age of TV. Although, Sesame Street does come to mind with what modernized educational children's TV.

I wouldn't really think that pre school shows were ever included with any golden age of TV. Although, Sesame Street does come to mind with what modernized educational children's TV.


Sesame Street was the first golden age.

Sesame Street was the first golden age.


When it premiered, it started out the first Golden Age of Educational Television in the 70s. I think because of what it brought towards NET (before it was called PBS), it was sponsored and had donated goods from various television stations, corporations, and foundations. It also stood out for other PBS shows made for kids in the 90s and early-mid 2000s. I don't know what it made towards the late 2000s and beyond, but it's still funded by several companies.

I'm not sure there ever was a real Golden Age of Television that encompasses all genres. I mean, how deep does it go? Are pre-school live-action shows and Discovery Channel documentaries included? :P


If adults can enjoy cartoons, I don't see why cartoon channels shouldn't be included. I remember the channels you listed actually being enjoyable for me during the earlier 2000s.

If adults can enjoy cartoons, I don't see why cartoon channels shouldn't be included. I remember the channels you listed actually being enjoyable for me during the earlier 2000s.


I think some people could agree with you on that, but it depends on their opinions.

2000s TV > 2010s TV

If adults can enjoy cartoons, I don't see why cartoon channels shouldn't be included. I remember the channels you listed actually being enjoyable for me during the earlier 2000s.


My Father watches cartoons on Netflix only if they're interesting.

Nah. Their referencing all genres. I stayed in the cartoon, music video section since those were all I needed. TV dramas never really did it for me. I can say that I got enough TV drama in school. I'd need a break afterwards.

Cartoons are in a weird place this decade.
We have an influx of revolutionary shows with great drama, humor, continuity, story and creativity ( Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls) and then you have uncreative, disgusting and/or rebooted shows devoid of value ( PPG 2016 at least as of now, Super Noobs, Every show on Nick Not named "Loudhouse")

Better then the 00s, not as good as the the 90s
The best cartoon shows are in this decade though