Would you say that television evolved or devolved over the years? We used to have stupid shows like the Brady Bunch, The Flying Nun, Mr. Ed, etc. Now we have stupid shows like Surviver, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Fear Factor, etc. What is your opinion?



Cat

Would you say that television evolved or devolved over the years? We used to have stupid shows like the Brady Bunch, The Flying Nun, Mr. Ed, etc. Now we have stupid shows like Surviver, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Fear Factor, etc. What is your opinion?

Cat


Definitely DEVOLVED.  Today it is about "gross out" contests, or exhibiting behaviour that is considered by the mainstream to be inadviseable.

The idea is that if you show it on TV long enough people will think it is OK.

Definitely devolved.  Way too many reality shows that are way too weird.

Devolved. I hate what they show on television today. :P

Devolved....except for the Soaps...oh wait...did I just type that :-X

Devolved....except for the Soaps...oh wait...did I just type that :-[
;D ;D ;Dhahaha,btw,do uou think Days of our lives has jumped the shark?Just asking! :-\\

Devolved big time

There needs to be a better way (or a way at all) for viewers to say what they wanna see, rather than have it decided for us  :)

once we coined the term "jump the shark" it went down hill

Ok, I'll be the odd one out...

In some ways, I think TV is better. There are a lot of "specialty" channels on now where you can find some very educational and entertaining documentaries like History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Science and the lot, Animal Planet, there are many more.

And of course, there's MAD TV!! Blows the present-day SNL away...

Ok, I'll be the odd one out...

In some ways, I think TV is better. There are a lot of "specialty" channels on now where you can find some very educational and entertaining documentaries like History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Science and the lot, Animal Planet, there are many more.

And of course, there's MAD TV!! Blows the present-day SNL away...

I agree with you gamblefish except on one thing. MAD TV used to be good until Will Sasso left, now I watch SNL.  :(

I just hate it! Fear Factor is stupid! >:(


Howard

I would say no different because essentially all the TV companies want to do is stick bums on sofas to watch their channels. There are the good, the bad and the downright ugly programmes depending on viewers desires at that particular point in time - always has been, always will.

Definitely devolved.  I prefer the stupid shows of the past MUCH more than the stupid shows of the present.  I have to admit, I'm a TV Land junkie.  :)

I think it's evolved, because there is more sex on TV. I'd gladly let there be things like "Big Brother" (ugh ugh ugh, sick sick. My sister actually WATCHES a bunch of people sitting around the house all day. All she has to do is wait until the holidays and stare at me) and "Survivor" if I get to see more sex scenes.
I once actually launched a formal complaint to Ofcom because there wasn't enough of it in one of my favourite programmes. I even listed scenes in the show where more sex could have been shown. It was after the watershed, for goodness's sake!

Darn that Mary Whitheouse. I'm going to set up my OWN campaign group: The National Voyeurs and Listeners Association.
And I'll change my name... to Hairy White-Mouse.

Just because the stupid of the 60's was a cleaner kind of stupid doesn't make it a better kind of stupid.

Just because the stupid of the 60's was a cleaner kind of stupid doesn't make it a better kind of stupid.


What does a better kind of stupid consist of? ???


Howard

Like the rest, devolved.

But the world of prime time cartoons have evolved. Though the only good thing currently on.


Besides a few turkies like "Stripperella", "Gary the Rat", & "Kid Notorious".

There's Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, & Sealab 2021.
Plus, the return of Family Guy.  :)

devolved (all this talk of "devolution" is making me thing of devo), but i like the devo-ed TV better.  true, i can't stand TV reality, but i do like "MXC," "south park," "brendan leonard show," "what not to wear" (oops :-[), and "queer eye."  i don't really watch much other TV than that, and i only watch "south park" regularly.

anyway, i'd much rather watch "survivor" than "the waltons" or "leave it to beaver" any day of the week. :-X

;D ;D ;Dhahaha,btw,do uou think Days of our lives has jumped the shark?Just asking! :-\\


Days jumped the shark when Marlena was possessed by the devil.  Of course it got worse when they couldn't let Alice die a peaceful death...no they had to murder her.  >:(

-I think it's evolved, because there is more sex on TV. "
-if I get to see more sex scenes.
-more sex could have been shown.

I'm with you on that!  ;D

Campaign, that's what I say. Why should they show naked babies on nappy adverts when we don't see anything interesting on condom or tampon adverts for example? I don't see why pervs should get all the fun when their activities are wholly discouraged by the rest of society.
Fight the power. Ahem.

Whoever thought that The L Word a show about lesbian love would turn out to be the hottest show on Showtime? ???


Howard

Campaign, that's what I say. Why should they show naked babies on nappy adverts when we don't see anything interesting on condom or tampon adverts for example? I don't see why pervs should get all the fun when their activities are wholly discouraged by the rest of society.
Fight the power. Ahem.

yeah, we see naked kids on TV, but they have to censor an adult's butt?  that confuses me a little. ???

At least any adults who get naked on TV consent to it, plus if they're remotely attractive, acne-ridden teens across the world (such as I) get turned on by it. Those kids on nappy adverts, however, don't have the faintest idea that they're being filmed. Boy, are they going to hate their parents when they grow up!

yeah, we see naked kids on TV, but they have to censor an adult's butt?  that confuses me a little. ???


Or an adult's private area? ???


Howard

I would rather see more sex than violence on t.v. Of course, all you have to do is watch the news and see violence.  :(



Cat

I would rather see more sex than violence on t.v. Of course, all you have to do is watch the news and see violence.  :(


I agree.

Well, in the past, it was cleaner, but it was like they were hiding stuff.  The sitcom families were all fake and cliche'd (2 regular parents, a son and a daughter, and sometimes a dog... nevermind single parents and anything else).

Nowadays, tv's more technologically advanced and they don't hide stuff at all anymore aside from nudity; but what comes from it is terrible.

So in one way, it's evolved; another way it's devolved.

Or an adult's private area? ???


Howard


Here in Britain, they have a stupid law that really p***es me off. Basically, one can show a woman's "private area" on TV freely, as long as it's after the watershed, but one can't show a man's "private area" at any time unless it's "at an angle less than the one the Kintyre peninsula makes with the British mainland."
WTF?!
Although, come to think of it, even if people were allowed to show an erect "private area" on TV, they wouldn't. TV producers like to stay safe, as it were, and make sure they don't get complaints from sad people who probably have to cover their eyes whenever they take a shower.

Would you say that television evolved or devolved over the years? We used to have stupid shows like the Brady Bunch, The Flying Nun, Mr. Ed, etc. Now we have stupid shows like Surviver, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Fear Factor, etc. What is your opinion?



Cat

De- or evolved, I'll take Fear Factpr over a Lucille Ball sit-com any day.  ;)

Well I've noticed that with sattlight or digital cable the choice have seemed to split between reality shows (including home decorator)
and documentaries. Course there are other forms of TV but this seems to be the only choice most of the time. That's why something like Lost or Adult Swim can be very refreshing.

It has devolved over the past few years.

Definitely devolved.  I only had 6 or 7 channels to choose from as a kid, and I usually had trouble deciding what to watch because there were two good shows on at once.  Now, I have hundreds of channels, and I usually can't find anything I want to watch.

Definitely devolved.  I only had 6 or 7 channels to choose from as a kid, and I usually had trouble deciding what to watch because there were two good shows on at once.  Now, I have hundreds of channels, and I usually can't find anything I want to watch.



Now with Direct TV you have thousands of channels to choose from.

Now with Direct TV you have thousands of channels to choose from.


...and still there's nothing on.

Television has definitely devolved. When I was young, we only had two tv channels to choose from, and Friday nights were awesome!
Now, I have 43 channels and I hardly ever watch tv.

Older TV just doesn't appeal to me.. kinda like older movies. While lowbrow entertainment has become more dominant, there is still quality TV, and it far outranks that which was considered quality television in years past.

I always thought that television was a very cheesy and cliche medium. Wether it was in the fifties or now, it's hard to make a good, original show. Most of my favorites were ones in the early nineties, but this may be because I was too young to realize how cheesy they are. Now, don't get me wrong, there are still good shows now (and back then), but I don't really care for either. If I had to pick, I'd go for the newer shows, because the production quality and sound quality are twice as good, not on the writing.

There's a few good shows on TV these days, but all these cable channels I never even watch.  If I only had the basics (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc ...) I could make do

...and still there's nothing on.

Television has definitely devolved. When I was young, we only had two tv channels to choose from, and Friday nights were awesome!
Now, I have 43 channels and I hardly ever watch tv.



When I was young,channels were only 2-13