Reality taking over

[mrsl]

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I guess we should be very grateful for our cable/dish channels. From the looks of it in another 2 or 3 years network TV will be nothing but reality shows.

I admit I like the Celebrity Apprentice, and Project Runway, and the Design Star competition on HGTV but those are partial reality and partial scripted. They don't do their best to cause arguments and fights, yet there is a definite routine to follow each week. These embarrassing America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, The Voice, etc, on and on and on, and on get so tedious when it makes fools of people who think they are great singers, and don't know people are laughing at them, not with them. Then of course we have the original and grandfather of them all Survivor, and The Great Race on CBS. How can you enjoy watching these people taking such chances every week with their lives?

The cable channels prove that we can still have A-One entertainment in our homes, and most of those shows were shown to the networks but in their rush to garner teenagers as audiences, they dismiss the good stuff that comes across their desks. Thank goodness for Mad Men, 24 hours, Damages, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, etc.

Am I just a grump who won't accept what's new, or what?
.

[Lzcutter]

Anne,

I think we are smack dab in the middle of a great era for television dramas and comedies. The big difference between this era and previous ones, is that the majority of those shows are on cable or premium cable channels.

Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Boss, Magic City and many more are filled with great acting, great story-telling and are must watch tv.

But while the summer months for network channels tend to be filled with reality shows (will they never learn?), the regular fall/winter seasons do have good dramas and comedies. The Good Wife, Grimm, Person of Interest are all worth the time to check out. Comedy-wise there's Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Modern Family and many others.

Even CSI: Las Vegas has been re-energized with the addition of Ted Danson and Elizabeth Shue. NCIS continues to dominant the ratings on Tuesday night. Vegas, the new Dennis Quaid/Michael Chiklis show about Las Vegas in the 1960s looks to be quite good and the new Sherlock series with Lucy Liu as Watson looks very interesting.

So, there is hope for the networks, just not in the summer time!

[mrsl]

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You're right Lynn. You however, watch a few more cable shows than I do. It's a shame though because so many people in this economy have had to give up some of their channels, if not all, and if you are not a reality fan (which I firmly AM NOT), you have a few months of boredom ahead for you. I personally will give up my phone, and eat Ramen noodles to keep my cable/dish.

Some of the shows do sound interesting, Vegas will probably have me hooked since I have loved Dennis Quaid since nobody else knew who he was. Lucy Liu turns me off for some reason but Ted Danson has upgraded CSI for me a lot. Now if NCIS will just have Tony mature a little and let Tim have some larger parts, I will be happy. I was waiting and waiting for Brothers and Sisters to start up again, and was terribly disappointed to learn it had been cancelled with no ending - that makes me so angry :!:

A summer replacement is Saving Hope starring my guy Michael Shanks from Stargate sg1 which if it shows any kind of talent I'm hoping will be held over to the winter schedule on NBC.

.

[Lzcutter]

Anne,%

I totally agree about Tony and the need for the writers to realize that he is a grown man and not a frat boy.

A couple of writers seem to realize that but too many of the other writers seem to think he is still 21 and write for him as if he were.

Did you see the season finale? I think McGee may get a major storyline in the opening weeks of the season when the show returns this fall.

I am so glad that CSI hired Ted Danson as the show has been more watchable than it has been in a couple of years.

I wish that NBC had realized what they had in both Prime Suspect and Awake as I enjoyed both of them very much. Maria Bello and the supporting cast of Suspect made that show better than the pilot hinted at and Awake with its two realities and Jason Isaacs at the heart of the show was different from 95% of what airs on network television.

I do really like Touch with Keifer Sutherland as well and am glad to see it got renewed though airing on Friday nights may not be good for the health of the show.

[RedRiver]

I'm really at a loss. I don't care for serial drama, though I do enjoy MAD MEN. It's not that they're not good. But if you miss three in a row, you may as well forget it. I don't like reality shows, gossip columns or bounty hunters. I like movies, but not with commercials. In a simple, nostalgic way, I like the re-runs. I watch the classics of yester-year and find it comforting.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS was cancelled? I watched that once and found it very satisfying.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

I'm not much for TV viewing, but I do like "The Good Wife" and "Harry's Law", mainly for the superior intelligent writing and story lines and the very good acting.....

I also enjoy "The Big Bang Theory" and have actually laughed out loud at some of the Politically incorrect language and incidents!!

Last night I watched the whole "Tony Awards" and I must say that Broadway is the place to be for real actors and actresses, not TV or the movies....
That show featured some great talent...

Other than that I find most TV shows a rehash of past stories and bad acting....

Larry

[mrsl]

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You may be right Larry, but what about us poor folk who either don't live in New Yawk, or can't afford the real theater anyway? Here in Chi town we have a Shubert , an Opera House and several other fine theaters, but we don't get the real casts, we get the road shows. I would have dearly loved to have seen Hugh Jackman in the role of Curly in Oklahoma. That would have been a playbill to treasure. But even so, I see my A-list movies only when they finally hit the premium cable channels. In addition to my regular bills, I cannot afford a trip to the show to see movies during their opening run. Anyway, from the names and posters, sometimes you can't tell if it will be mild enough to enjoy with your eyes open all through the full movie.

I, too like Harry's Law, I can't imagine where the writers come up with such weird things for Harry's crew to defend, but sadly, Harry also, has been cancelled.

I am not a big fan of the half hour comedies like Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, etc. And bringing back Dallas on TNT is interesting, not for me . . . I watched the show once and didn't like it so I never got hooked, and could not have cared less 'Who shot J.R.?' Modern Family is good but the circumstances are often old ideas that have been dredged up and revamped.

One last thought I have is that I hope the Quaid/Chicklis Vegas catches on. I seriously think we may be ready for a couple of new Western shows, and this may lead the way. They tried about 20 years ago with new shows/old characters on Bonanza (except Ben), and Young Guns, but people still felt like they were watching renewals of the old shows. New characters, and new towns might just catch on in this sudden revival of vintage clothing, and remakes of old movies.
.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

Oh mercy Anne, don't tell me they've cancelled "Harry's Law"..... It must be really hard today for good talented actresses, like Kathy Bates and Jean Smart, to plod ahead and find good roles.
And, where are the writers? Somebody help here and suggest some brilliant shows with clever, witty & intelligent writing - please.
Maybe we don't get some shows in Canada that are shown on American TV; I'm not enough of a TV fan to judge; but normally I turn things off after 10 to 15 minutes viewing. It's just all so stupid.
I can see where "the dumbing of America" (and I include Canada too) is now rampant...

Larry

[markfp]

Anne, You bring up something that is one of my biggest regrets. My wife and I were actually vacationing in London when Hugh Jackman and the original cast were still doing OKLAHOMA! We passed it up because we didn't want to see an American show and a revival at that. We went to Phantom of the Opera instead. Now, I was happy with that until years later I got to see the OKLAHOMA! DVD and saw what we had missed. I know some people will disagree with me, but I think it's so much better than the movie. Trevor Nunn's direction, Susan Stroman's fresh choreography and Josefina Gabrielle's performance as Laurey were outstanding. Oh and that Jackman fellow wasn't bad either.

And on the subject or HARRY'S LAW when when it first began it the whole "lawyer in a shoe store" plot was refreshing and quirky. My wife really enjoyed it and ask me I thought it would be picked up for another season. I told her that I would be more confident if it was on USA or TNT or some other cable channel and not on NBC. Well, they did bring it back, but reworked it so it was more of a standard lawyer show than before and we both lost interest. Too bad it wasn't on TNT, they wouldn't have mess with it and it would be running for years.

[Rita Hayworth]

I haven't watched much of the network or cable television series because in the past two months I have been watching Movies and Documentaries instead. And, that's shocking for me to do. I practically have on Turner Classic Movies about 75 percent of the time ... and I just can't help that!

[mrsl]

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Hey V. Larry:

For sharp, in your face dialog, you have to watch Rizzoli and Isles. The whole cast has great lines, from the COP down to Rizzoli's mom. In addition, I live for the dinner scenes on Blue Bloods . . . sometimes funny, sometimes teaching the two young boys rules to live by, and often arguments between brothers and sister, but always entertaining. Another good thing is the obvious love shown between detective Danny and his sister A.D.A. Erin, and also the close, but clean relationship between Danny and his partner. As I've said before, I don't do half hour comedy shows so I can't give any testimonials to them . . . and . . . my luck, 3hree of the five cable shows I watched the past couple of years, have been cancelled for the new season, so I'll be hunting for some new favorites myself.
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[markfp]

One thing to keep in mind is that television runs in cycles. We all remember the westerns cycle, the detective cycle, the medical show cycle and so on. Sooner or later (not too soon for many of us) another cycle will take the place of reality shows. Somebody will come up with new idea like a one-eyed Buddhist monk who hunts aliens with his talking dog and next thing you know monks and talking dogs will be on every channel and reality shows will in the past. It's bound to happen.

[RedRiver]

I'm working on just such a treatment!

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

OK you two - get that one-eyed Buddist monk who hunts aliens with his talking dog on TV right now. I'd watch that, as it sounds so far out, man!!
After all, if a talking horse was a hit in the beginning years of TV, it could well happen for real. I kinda enjoyed "Mr. Ed", but I was just a kid then, but it was witty.

Larry

[mrsl]

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I'm kind of keeping my fingers crossed that the new Dennis Quaid Michael Chicklis Vegas will take hold, and we may end up with some good present day westerns. With the great choices we have now for real American Indian actors, I wish someone would come up with a show featuring a sheriff of a reservation, kind of like the sheriffs character in Thunderheart . Even a 1880's Western would be fun as long as it is a new idea and not a rehash of the old Bonanza, Big Valley, Gunsmoke, etc.