The sad state of television in 2018

[Yong Fang]

Hello.

I have been a member of this message board for several years as an American living overseas in China. Yong Fang is my wife's name. I am from Memphis, Tennessee and I return home to visit my parents, well, only parent now, since my mother passed away. Thank you for the condolences, but I really wanted to complain again with television now.

In my opinion, television is really awful. Awful is really too mild. If and when I move back to the USA, I will not pay for any television package whatsoever. No DISH, Verizon ATT or any of that.

Two reasons.

First, of the television shows currently on, I watch very few shows.I am currently watching two sitcoms, Young Sheldon and Mom, and I am somewhat giving up on Mom slowly since the show is departing from its premise. I love Young Sheldon, although I quit watching Big Bang Theory several seasons back. The only hour long shows I watch currently is Law and Order SVU (sometimes), and Star Trek Discovery (now finished until 2019) . I also watch Dr. Phil for the crazy people. I also like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Bill Maher's political show. So yes, I do like a few shows, but I can watch them online WITHOUT COMMERCIALS (see below).

One saving grace is that there are a lot of documentaries that I like. I also think there are a lack of reruns of older shows. Some of the stations like TV Land and similar stations show three or four hour blocks of one show instead of a variety of programming. There are about seventy years of televion shows now, but very little variety of older shows. Some Andy Griffith, Gunsmoke, other scattered things, but very limited, and it is difficult to follow when they will come on. Comedy Central shows "The Office" in the afternoons. I love that show (including the post Steve Carrell seasons) but it goes into my second complaint....

ALL THE COMMERCIALS! The commercial breaks are so looooooong, with so many commercials and all the same commercials day after day after day. Many more commercials now than before and it's ridiculous. The commercials are obnoxious for the most part (although I love the Geico commercial of the running of the Bulldogs, that's cute). Commercials that either show fattening food from crap chains (I officially hate the word "Burger" now), and medicine commercials, for example selling a prescription medicine for serious medical conditions like Crohn's Disease "ask your doctor of Lipator is right for you..." A new one now is a Liquid Plumber commercial with actors showing their butt cracks. I mean really? Flipping channels or trying to watch two things at once doesn't work either (maybe there is a documentary or an hour show I am watching, commercial comes on, and I will flip to Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land for a minute, if I can avoid commercial hell.).

Too long, but jeesh, TV sucks now. If and when I return to the USA to live, I will get a computer, and hook it up to the television and watch shows over the Internet, or probably just have WIFI and watch my shows on my IPad. There is a website where I watch new content every week, and YouTube. Not big into movies, but movies are usually not that difficult to find either.

I say pull the plug, unless the format changes, which it won't. One suggestion is simply to sell us the TV shows we like "On Demand". Have an "ala carte" system where we can choose channels we want, and not have to wade through the garbage. Count me as someone who will not buy a subscription to this crap.

Opinions?

[Babalu]

I don't watch network TV. I no longer watch sitcoms, dramas, any fictional TV at all. I'll occasionally watch reruns of old shows I watched years ago. The networks might as well not exist. I watch science show, non fiction documentaries, movies (mostly old), hockey, some soccer, and cable news, mostly Fox. I don't care what the networks do. I don't need their untalented writers spitting out recycled scripts that I know better than they do or trying to brainwash me with their liberal propaganda while flashing commercials on the screen on the rare occasions when the commercials aren't playing.

[DJM77]

I plan on finally cancelling my Dish subscription today. I consider $95 a month to be entirely too much for what little variety of retro programming that they offer. From now on it's just Hulu and DVD's for me. If I ever miss Dish then I can go to my parents house and watch it.

[tlc38tlc38]

Originally Posted by DJM77

I plan on finally cancelling my Dish subscription today. I consider $95 a month to be entirely too much for what little variety of retro programming that they offer. From now on it's just Hulu and DVD's for me. If I ever miss Dish then I can go to my parents house and watch it.

At least Dish offers Laff and Buzzr.

Directv doesn't offer these 2 channels.

[Regulus]

More than 11 years have gone by since I "cut the cord" in 2007. I have an on-demand a-la-carte viewing I established by myself. No obnoxious commercials to cope with, just pure programming. As for "Appointment TV" may it rest in peace.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Babalu

...I watch science show...

One of the most interesting shows on TV is How It's Made, on the Science Channel. But even there, the commercials are extremely repetitive, and mostly obnoxious.

Commercials now are absolutely unbearable. Watch the digital channels like Antenna and you're bombarded with pleas for $19 a month for St. Jude, Shriners, ASPCA, UNICEF, etc. Evidently the more people send, the more ads they buy. So it would seem the money sent goes to buy more ads for more money to buy more ads. Rounding out the mess of ads are all the stupid products like Ronco used to sell, but now you can get a second one "free", but pay a separate fee (so this is free?), along with medicare scams, diet pills and programs, and attorney ads. Whatever happened to ads for normal products, like Tide, Crest, and Ivory?

And that commercial where the lady walks into the bathroom and says, I like you, downstairs bathroom, but you stink. And the animated bear that worries that the tissue didn't get him clean enough. Egad...is there nothing they won't talk about?

[tlc38tlc38]

The commercials I'm most sick of are on MeTV:

Eva Marie climbing the cigarette hill
The hands free CPR with "Stayin' Alive" song
Monge & Associates with Rob & Gina
The diabetic commercial with the puppies
Pamela Anderson #metoo
Human trafficking the boys

These are the main ones that I'm so sick of seeing.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by stevea

One of the most interesting shows on TV is How It's Made, on the Science Channel. But even there, the commercials are extremely repetitive, and mostly obnoxious.

I watch How It's Made too. The problem with it is that the individual segments stand on their own and they shuffle them around. This way you can't just skip the episodes you've seen because in any given show there are some segments you've seen and some you haven't.

Originally Posted by stevea

Commercials now are absolutely unbearable. Watch the digital channels like Antenna and you're bombarded with pleas for $19 a month for St. Jude, Shriners, ASPCA, UNICEF, etc. Evidently the more people send, the more ads they buy. So it would seem the money sent goes to buy more ads for more money to buy more ads.

Those Shriners commercials are interminable. But it makes you feel so guilty to have animosity towards these poor crippled kids.

[stevea]

I do feel sorry for the kids, but I doubt that much of the money collected thru these horrid ads makes it to them. Those ASPCA one are even worse--they're so bad I have to mute them. Again, probably most of that money goes toward more of those shameful ads.

A lot of the ones tlc38 mentioned, I don't see on MeTV. Those are probably local cut-ins.

[Yong Fang]

http://dwatchseries.to

I use this website to watch current shows. No commercials. Pick a player and go. If I want to watch news I watch YouTube or go to news sites. Not a big sports person except for NCAA Football so no biggie.

I just do not see the need to pay for any kind of TV package.

[MrCleveland]

All I need is YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu.

I've seen more shows on them than I would if I had cable or satellite!

In a way...if I move back home or live with my brother...I'll have the converter box as well.

[TV Guy]

You should retitle this “The sad state of linear television in 2018”. There is more great television available right now than any time I can remember in my life. But it’s offered on premium cable or streaming services. If you’re waiting for the broadcast networks to be good again, forget it. All of the decent creative talent is going elsewhere. They don’t want to have to deal with dramas split up into five acts to allow for more commercials, or the content restrictions.

[bgva]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

You should retitle this “The sad state of linear television in 2018”. There is more great television available right now than any time I can remember in my life. But it’s offered on premium cable or streaming services. If you’re waiting for the broadcast networks to be good again, forget it. All of the decent creative talent is going elsewhere. They don’t want to have to deal with dramas split up into five acts to allow for more commercials, or the content restrictions.

Agreed. There are so many options nowadays outside of the networks that you really can't complain too much about modern TV. Like with music, you may have to look a little harder, but good content is out there.

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. all offer original content that's entertaining and commercial-free. And honestly, I often find myself entertained with old shows on Youtube that came from someone's VHS tapes. Overwhelming as it may be, there are pros and cons to the current state of TV.

[Yong Fang]

To TV Guy,

I can agree with this somewhat. There is actually good content, especially documentaries which I really enjoy. There are other what I call "limited run series" or what we used to call "mini series" which are good. There is a program called "Waco" about what happened there with the religious cult and the government. There is another show tomorrow about the People's Temple and the women who worked in that group. Another show I really liked was Fargo and hope they do another season of that. Looking forward to the Roseanne reboot.

There are a few things I do like which I stated in my OP.

Another thing which I find annoying is that stations will show about three to four hours of the same sitcom or show. Instead of one or two episodes of the same show, it is six. Of the same thing, every single night. For example, TV Land shows basically Everybody Loves Raymond (which is OK, but not a favorite) and Mom, and with "Mom" episodes from last year. No variety whatsoever.

I timed a commercial break and it came in at five minutes. No wonder a half hour sitcom is something like 18 minutes long. I think that the streaming format might be where it is at. Like a show or series, just pay for it and watch it On Demand without the commercial BS. Netflix, HBO, Amazon, whoever. I am a Star Trek fan. Let me buy the six seasons of a Trek show, charge me $39.99 and be done with it. Simple.

Like I said, I am an American who comes home once a year, with a newly widowed 85 year old man who is increasingly frail and tired and TV keeps him company, and in my humble opinion, TV sucks! He ends up 95 percent of the time watching FOX news.....don't get me started on that crap on a stick.

Thank God for the Internet and Wifi. Seriously.

[bmasters9]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

He ends up 95 percent of the time watching FOX news.....don't get me started on that crap on a stick.

You and me both-- FOX "News" stresses me out immensely (don't know why it does, but it does).